St William Parish, Louisville, Kentucky – the future for Irish parishes – ploughed by Irish emigrants from 1901. (Republished by permission of NCR)
Articles
High Time for Lumen Gentium No. 37 (1964)?
What different path might the Catholic Church in Ireland have taken, if this 1964 Vatican II declaration had led to never-ending dialogue in every Irish parish?
When did Jesus call anyone to a secondary role in the church?
That Jesus called people to ‘follow me’ in the Gospel is indisputable, but was he calling some to a primary role of ‘ministry’ and others to be merely deferential receivers of that ministry – a secondary role? Sean O’Conaill thinks otherwise.
‘Lay involvement’ – is it happening in your parish?
The ACI Steering Group asks for feedback from members on the progress of lay involvement in an Irish church running increasingly short of clergy.
Pope Francis’ experts disagree on the issue of women deacons
On May 7, 2019 Pope Francis said his own experts could not agree on whether women were ordained as deacons in the same way that men were in the early church. The Wijngaards Institute suggests that the Pope should consult documents in the Vatican library to clear his own mind on the subject.
21st Century ‘Status Anxiety’ is Gospel ‘Worldliness’
Is the ‘worldliness’ that Jesus ‘conquered’ the same as the 21st century ‘status anxiety’ that led to high-profile cheating re US university admissions? Sean O’Conaill thinks so, and offers a ‘cure’.
Richard Rohr – Jesus and the Cross
In the week of February 4th-8th 2019, Richard Rohr OFM reflects on the history of Christian understanding of the meaning of the crucifixion of Jesus.
A New Year Resolution for ACI Catholics
Aidan Hart suggests an appropriate New Year’s resolution for ACI Catholics which would help bring about the necessary reforms of the Church into a Christ-centered lay movement, humbly served by priests and hierarchy.
Catholic Education and the Future: Insights from René Girard
Eugene McElhinney and Sean O’Conaill – retired colleagues in the same Irish Catholic second-level school – are optimistic about the long-term impact of René Girard’s key insights on Catholic Education.
What underlies René Girard’s ‘mimetic desire’?
What underlies the tendency that drives so much consumerism and rivalry – even at Christmas? Sean O’Conaill attempts an explanation.
ACP Letter to Irish Bishops calls for a National Assembly to discuss Church Reform and Renewal
Dear Bishops, We write in the aftermath of the visit of Pope Francis. It was a strange few days. On the one hand, the palpable delight of so many in the visit of Pope Francis and the lift it has given to the Irish Church. On the other, a sinking feeling that the visit...
The Diaspora of a Disconnected Church
Sean O’Conaill, in a recent letter to the Irish Times, questions that paper’s continued use of the term ‘Catholic Church’ as if that term is describing a unitary entity instead of a much divided reality. The Irish Times refused to publish the letter. It is published on this website (below) to access the response of our readers to the issue.
Women deacons – when will we know?
The Wijngaards Institute for Catholic Research wonders when Pope Francis’ Study Commission on The Women’s Diaconate (set up in August 2016) is going to report back and be published and if Cardinal Ladaria is right that it is impossible for the Catholic Church to ordain women to the priesthood or permanent diaconate.
‘No little disappointment’: Fr Gerry Moloney
"Starting out, I never dreamed I would fall foul of Rome." Fr Gerry Moloney tells of his disillusionment with an institution that acts unjustly.
Deacons: clericalised laymen?
Aidan Hart laments the ‘clericalisation of the laity’ in the apparent intended role for nine new deacons in the diocese of Down and Connor.