Mental health provision is now an issue for NI school students – and with politics in a quagmire the churches could play a role too, they say.
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Irish Catholic Schools: Avoidance of Research Threatens Integrity
A retired principal’s candour raises a stark question: is avoidance of research into the true state of ‘faith formation’ in Irish Catholic schools fostering hypocrisy?
The Two Popes: What have they said to one another?
With speculation rife on how two living popes view one another, Des Brady reviews an equally speculative Netflix movie on the subject.
Readying Irish Catholic Faith for the ‘Public Square’
Our faith should indeed determine our politics, argues Sean O’Conaill – in agreement with Archbishop Eamon Martin. However, in the wake of the Ryan report of 2009, a whole new conversation about that needs to happen.
Gloria Before Credo
Love before Knowledge: Aidan Hart suggests that the religious education of Catholic children and young people should follow the sequence of the Confession, Gloria and Credo of the Mass.
Can laypeople lead a parish? Look to Louisville, KY, USA
St William Parish, Louisville, Kentucky – the future for Irish parishes – ploughed by Irish emigrants from 1901. (Republished by permission of NCR)
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.