Articles

With no guarantee that ‘bad news’ will end soon, might the Irish Catholic Church turn a corner even so in 2018 – with the visit of Pope Francis?

What exactly divides Pope Francis from those who oppose him? Sean O’Conaill takes issue with the Manchester Guardian’s account of this profoundly important dispute.

In what so many experience as a ‘Dark Night of the Church’ Aidan Hart argues that a sincere apology for failure, and forgiveness for those who have failed, can bring a new beginning.

Gerald Donnelly’s brave experiment in broaching the subjects of prayer and faith – even to atheists – in a diverse community in Dublin.

Aidan Hart believes that Bishop Donal McKeown’s call to ‘mission’ in Derry "still has to  move from vision to detailed plans, from aims to objectives, from Bishop to local clergy and laity".

For Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry, ‘maintenance’ of the Irish Catholic church is not enough: we need to move to ‘mission’ – a new ‘going out’. How will this be possible?

Aidan Hart challenges what he sees as a completely inadequate response by the Catholic hierarchy to a multi-dimensional church crisis.

An initiative called “DeaconChat” has the goal of bringing Catholics, ordained and laity together in conversation to continue to learn and discern together on this subject.

Teresa Mee’s account of an experience she had recently of celebrating a memorial.

Easter Sunday is the time for Christians to rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ and, with the indwelling power and guidance of His Holy Spirit, to strengthen their resolve to resurrect the whole of humanity by the constant practice of unconditional love.

How are we to understand what happened to convince the earliest Christians that Jesus had risen from the dead? Did the apostles resurrect Jesus out of fond memory, or did the Father intervene?

The complete text of Marie Collins’ statement to the National Catholic Reporter on her resignation from the Papal Commission for the Protection of Minors

"I find it impossible to listen to public statements about the deep concern in the church for the care of those whose lives have been blighted by abuse, yet to watch privately as a congregation in the Vatican refuses to even acknowledge their letters!"