Catholic priests’ group won’t take stance on referendum

In Ireland the bishops oppose same sex marriages and Association of Priests say nothing.

Association of Catholic Priests has decided not to take a position on the same-sex marriage referendum on May 22nd, and has urged priests not to direct parishioners to vote either Yes or No.

In a statement the group, which has a membership of more than 1,000 priests in Ireland, said: “After a consultation with our members, the results of which indicated clearly a wide range of views, the Association of Catholic Priests has decided not to adopt a position in favour or against the marriage equality referendum.”

The association appealed for “a respectful and civilised debate in which the issues involved can be discussed in a calm and reasonable manner”.

“Sexual orientation does not debar anyone from God’s love. If as priests we are speaking on this matter, we need to remember that the use of intemperate language can cause deep hurt among gay people and their families, as well as doing further damage to an already ailing church.”

The association said priests had a “particular responsibility” to measure their words carefully, and “not to direct their parishioners to vote Yes or No”.

“We look forward to a debate that will be characterised by freedom of speech and respectful listening so that the best result for the Irish people might be reached.”

Position of Christians

Meanwhile, the archdiocese of Dublin has issued a transcript of what Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said in response to a question on the position of Christians who did not agree with same-sex marriage, should the referendum be passed.

Archbishop Martin was speaking following a talk he delivered on “The Teaching of the Church on Marriage Today” at an Iona Institute gathering on Thursday night.

The transcript was issued by the archdiocese in response to what it described as “commentary, some inaccurate, in mainstream and social media in recent days concerning responses given by Archbishop Martin to a question at a public meeting which he addressed in Dublin last week, in particular in relation to freedom of conscience”.

The archdiocese said that at the event “the archbishop limited his comments to the broad issue of freedom of conscience, without making any specific proposals in the context of the upcoming referendum”.

It had been reported that Archbishop Martin had called on the Government to insert a “conscience clause” in the legislation to accommodate troubled Christians should the referendum be passed.

‘Brutal persecution’

On a more global scale, the Irish Catholic Bishops have joined with Pope Francis in calling for an end to the “brutal persecution” of minorities in the name of religion. They prayed for “a renewed global commitment to respect freedom of conscience and religion”.

The bishops said that “across the world the denial of the freedom of conscience and religion is closely connected to other human rights abuses”.

“The consequences include violent conflict, loss of life, forced displacement of populations, and the abduction and exploitation of women and children. This is a truly global crisis, but it is the poorest communities that remain most at risk.”

Catholic priests’ group won’t take stance on referendum

Pope's man in Ireland oversees a quiet revolution

 

A quiet revolution has been taking place in the leadership of the Catholic Church in Ireland since Archbishop Charles Brown became papal nuncio three years ago. He has overseen the appointment of 10 new bishops to Ireland’s 26 dioceses, with potentially five more to come this year.

Included in the appointments made are two of the church’s four archbishops, one of them the new Catholic primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, who at 53 is also one the youngest bishops on the island. The youngest is the new Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin Denis Nulty (51).

No papal nuncio before has overseen the appointment of so many bishops in such a short time. This has been down to retirements, resignations, and ill-health. But it is likely to have a major influence on the Irish church in the years to come.

February has seen the appointment of a new bishop and the installation of another one. Fr Alphonsus Cullinan (55), a priest of Limerick diocese, was appointed to succeed Bishop Emeritus of Waterford & Lismore William Lee, who retired on grounds of ill-health.

The new Archbishop of Cashel & Emly, Kieran O’Reilly(62), was installed in the post after moving from Killaloe diocese where he was bishop since August 2010.

 

Neither was a priest of the diocese to which he has been appointed, representing a departure from the practice where a bishop generally came from among priests in the diocese.

There appears to be less emphasis nowadays on academic qualifications, as opposed to pastoral experience, in the selection of candidates.

Within two years of his arrival in January 2012, Archbishop Brown had appointed six new bishops, some to particularly sensitive postings following publication of the Murphy report in 2009 into sexual abuse in the Dublin archdiocese and the Cloyne report in 2011 into sexual abuse in that diocese.

In January 2013 he ordained Fr William Crean (63), parish priest of Cahirciveen, Co Kerry, as Bishop of Cloyne, succeeding Bishop John Magee, who resigned followed publication of the Cloyne report.

Msgr Brendan Leahy (54), a priest of the Dublin archdiocese, was ordained Bishop of Limerick in April 2013, succeeding Bishop Donal Murray, who resigned following the Murphy report.

In April 2013 Msgr Eamon Martin was ordained Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh. He succeeded Cardinal Sean Brady, who retired on age grounds, as Primate of All Ireland in September 2014.

In July 2013 Fr Raymond Browne (57), a priest of Elphin diocese, was ordained Bishop of Kerry, succeeding Bishop William Murphy, who retired on age grounds.

In August 2013 Bishop Denis Nulty, a parish priest in Dundalk, was ordained Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin, succeeding Bishop Jim Moriarty, who resigned following the Murphy report.

In October 2013 a priest of Kilmore diocese, Fr Francis Duffy (56), was ordained Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnois, succeeding Bishop Colm O’Reilly, who retired on age grounds.

Since 2013 four more episcopal appointments included Down & Connor Auxiliary Bishop Donal McKeown (65) as Bishop of Derry in April 2014; Dublin parish priest Fr Kevin Doran (61) as Bishop of Elphin in July 2014; Bishop O’Reilly as Archbishop of Cashel & Emly; and Fr Cullinan as Bishop of Waterford & Lismore.

Five other appointments may potentially take place in 2015 in Killaloe, Clonfert, Raphoe, Meath, and Cork & Ross dioceses.The appointment to Killaloe will fill the vacancy created by the “translation” of Bishop O’Reilly to Cashel & Emly.

Before the end of June four bishops will have reached the age of 75 when every bishop must offer a letter of resignation to Rome. It is at the pope’s discretion when it is accepted.

The Bishop of Clonfert, John Kirby, was 75 in October 2013. Bishop of Cork & Ross John Buckley was 75 in November 2014, while the Bishop of Raphoe, Philip Boyce, was 75 on January 25th, 2015. Ireland’s longest serving bishop, Bishop of Meath Michael Smith, was ordained Coadjutor bishop of the diocese in 1988 and is 75 in June 2015.

Auxiliary bishops

One of the three remaining auxiliary bishops in Ireland, Bishop Anthony Farguhar of Down & Connor diocese, is 75 in September 2015. Should his resignation be accepted it will mean there will be just two auxiliary bishops remaining in Ireland.

Bishop Ray Field was 70 last May, and Bishop Eamonn Walsh was 70 last September.

No new auxiliary bishop has been appointed in Ireland since April 2001, when Bishop Donal McKeown became auxiliary bishop in Down & Connor.

Assuming all potential vacancies arising this year are filled, it is the first time in Ireland for 15 bishops to be appointed so quickly after a papal nuncio’s arrival.

The influence of Archbishop Brown on these appointments has been central. Considering his background at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, where he worked for 17 years before coming to Ireland, and that some new bishops are of a traditional hue, the emphasis on pastoral experience in selecting bishops has come as something of a welcome surprise. Clearly valuable lessons have been learned.

Archbishop Charles Brown: profile of a New Yorker who became papal nuncio to Ireland

Archbishop Charles Brown (55) is a native New Yorker, born in Manhattan’s predominantly Jewish East Village area. The family moved upstate when he was five. He is the eldest of six, born to a lawyer father with German lineage and an Irish American mother Patricia Murphy.

He has said: “Of my eight great-grandparents, five were Irish and the others were German... My Irish ancestors came to America during and after the Famine. They left because they were poor.”

Ordained for New York in 1989, he served in a Bronx parish for two years before going to Rome for studies. In 1994 he joined the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in Rome which needed an English speaker.

Working alongside the future Pope Benedict XVI there for 10 years, he remained at the CDF until November 2011, when it was announced he had been appointed papal nuncio to Ireland. This was at the direct request of Pope Benedict and a surprise as Archbishop Brown had not been a member of the Vatican’s diplomatic corps.

Since his arrival in Ireland he has not been without critics. At the World Day of Peace Mass on New Year’s Day 2013 in the Church of St Thérèse in Dublin, he spoke forcefully on the “need to work vigorously and courageously to protect and nurture human life from conception to natural death”.

This was in advance of the debate on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill and a week before the Oireachtas health committee began its hearings on the Bill. His congregation included President Michael D Higgins, the Taoiseach’s aide-de-camp Cmmdt Michael Treacy, representatives of the political parties and members of the judiciary and the diplomatic corps. While no one was surprised to hear a Catholic bishop speak in such terms on the issue, it was felt by many present that the occasion was inappropriate.

In September 2013, co-founder of the Association of Catholic Priests Fr Brendan Hoban queried whether the new nuncio was “the right man to appoint, effectively on his own, a whole phalanx of new bishops”.

Archbishop Brown, he said, had “spent very little time in parish work and he has no formal training as a papal nuncio, in that he was catapulted out of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith into the diplomatic service by Pope Benedict as Rome’s answer to the dysfunctional Irish Catholic Church”.

Archbishop Brown has been very active meeting and greeting. He has made a positive impression overall which, it is believed, helped towards Ireland’s Embassy to the Holy See being reopened last year.

Pope's man in Ireland oversees a quiet revolution

'Time is not right for the Pope to visit Ireland', reveals top papal envoy - Herald.ie

 

FOUNDING member of a body representing over 1,000 Catholic priests has said the time is not right for the Pope to visit Ireland, as there are too many existing problems in the Irish Church.

 

Speculation has been growing that a historic papal visit could take place in the near future, following recent comments from the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown.

Fr Brendan Hoban, one of the founders of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), said he believes a high-profile visit by Pope Francis (inset) would hamper their efforts to bring about reforms and changes in the Church.

"A papal visit is exactly what the Irish Church doesn't need at the moment, because it would distract us from tackling the issues which we need to put right," he said.

"Problems which need to be resolved, like the vocations crisis, would be camouflaged by a papal visit. And all the time, effort and expense involved in organising the visit would set us back from doing what needs to be done.

"I've certainly no objection to the Pope visiting at some stage in the future, but the timing isn't right at the moment."

Fr Hoban said he believes Pope Francis himself would prefer that the huge sums of money involved in funding an elaborate papal visit to this country would be spent on helping those in need.

"Pope Francis isn't into hype and jamborees. He doesn't like them and avoids them if possible. He would prefer that money to be spent on the poor and the homeless than on a papal visit," Fr Hoban said.

solutions

The Co Mayo-based priest also called on Catholic Church leaders to open up dialogue with the ACP's members to find lasting and realistic solutions to the vocations crisis.

He warned that unless radical new changes are implemented, hundreds of parishes could be forced to be closed.

"Unless the bishops make changes, we're facing a catastrophic situation in the next 10 to 20 years, because there simply won't be enough priests to say Mass to our people. If you haven't got Mass, then you no longer have a Church," he said.

'Time is not right for the Pope to visit Ireland', reveals top papal envoy - Herald.ie

Religion shouldn’t make people miserable. Association of Catholic Priests

 

Religion shouldn’t make people miserable

Why can’t we get it?

Religious people often give the impression of over-seriousness. It’s as if
the weight of the worries of world is hanging from our shoulders giving us a
droopy, hand-dog appearance. Making us more than a tad miserable. The kind
of people, maybe, that you’d cross the street to avoid. The kind of people
who sigh their way through the day, expecting the worst. Waiting for some
inevitable disaster to occur. Or possibly, with a bit of luck, the end of
the world.
There are exceptions, of course. Pope Francis for one seems to sing from a
different hymn-sheet. Now there’s a 78 year-old man with huge
responsibilities, difficult decisions, an impossible job and yet he seems,
well, happy. Usually religious people don’t seem to be happy. Priests don’t
seem to be that happy anymore. Happy bishops seem to be fairly thin on the
ground. But the pope is happy.
What’s different about the happiness Francis exudes is that it’s based on
the very essence of the Christian faith, that God loves us beyond all our
imagining. And he loves us regardless of what we do or what we fail to do.
For some inexplicable reason some ‘religious’ people tend to want us to
believe the opposite, that we’ll get to heaven only if we succeed in
building up enough brownie points by negotiating successfully a series of
jumps on a complex and difficult circuit. A kind of snakes and ladders
version of religion where despite the ladders we might have successfully
negotiated there’s always a snake waiting to send us to ground zero again.
To such a degree indeed that it’s almost impossible to envisage anyone
getting to heaven at all apart from a few miserable saints.
I suspect that Francis believes that God loves us so much that we’re all
going to end up in heaven anyway. Why else is he so happy to say he’s a
sinner? He wants us to believe that it’s no big deal because to be human is
to fail (and to sin) but the unimaginable, inexpressible, incredible love
God has for us will conquer all our limitations and our sinfulness.

• Isn’t it extraordinary that after 1500 years of Christianity in Ireland, so many of us still haven’t got our heads around the essence of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ – God so loved the world that he sent his Son to tell us about it? Isn’t it extraordinary that so many of us still don’t get it?
• Isn’t it extraordinary that people who have said their prayers, met their responsibilities and lived admirably can arrive at the end of their lives worrying if they’ll get to heaven when the dogs in the street know that they have to be a shoo-in?
• Isn’t it extraordinary that the inevitable failures and peccadillos of the human condition have been promoted into huge sins by misery-inducing Christians who don’t seem to understand the central message of the Gospel?
• Isn’t it extraordinary that we’ve found it easier to believe that, despite everything Jesus Christ said and suffered, that we still find it easier to believe in a God who doesn’t love us rather than in God who does?

A priest who spent much of the pre-Christmas days sitting long hours in the
Confessional told me that though he heard hundreds of Confessions ‘there was
hardly a sin among them’. He’s on the ball because most of the sins
confessed in Confession aren’t really sins at all, just obvious examples of
human failure.
It can be difficult, especially for those of us old enough to remember the
hell-fire denunciations of sin in the past, to get our heads around the fact
that the religion presented to us (and the image of a judgemental God that
was used to sustain it) seemed to have more to say about sin than about
love. I once heard the priest-philosopher, the late John O’Donohue, talk
compellingly about growing up in rural Ireland at a time when almost
everything seemed to be a sin: ‘You could hardly stir at all’, he said in
his booming voice, ‘without committing some kind of sin!’
It has taken us a long time to realise that such an understanding of the
Christian faith is fundamentally skewed. Younger people, who have no memory
of the fears, worries and scruples that damaged our belief in a loving God,
wonder what all the fuss was about. Sadly some older people still worry,
even after a lifetime of living decent and moral lives, about whether God
will turn them away from him when they die.
Here’s a question to ponder: what can we do to bring the central truth of
the Christian faith – that God loves each one of us individually, uniquely
and personally beyond what any of us deserve or could ever expect – into the
very heart of our religious experience?
Part of the answer may be making Confession simpler. Getting it out into the
open, away from the often-dreaded and dreary Confessional Box. Dare I say
it, making it a bit easier for us to recognise and acknowledge our
sinfulness, without the tortuous and scrupulous detailing of every possible
sin, as if God would refuse to give us the benefit of the doubt if we failed
to include every possible peccadillo for the Great Accountant in the Sky?
Part of the answer too may be to domesticate sexual sin, to place it in due
context rather than at the centre of life’s stage with a great spotlight
emphasising the grand obsession. As Pope Francis seems to be suggesting.
Some priests, of course, don’t want Confession to be easy. For some
inexplicable and probably heretical reason they prefer to retain Confession
as a harrowing experience, as if the forgiveness of God can only be mediated
by making us feel miserable. Some priests talk dismissively about people
today ‘losing their sense of sin’ when what’s really happening is that
despite the guilt we have poured for centuries over the natural compulsions
of people’s lives, so many (to their credit) have retained a natural and
human understanding of what makes sense, sin-wise, and what doesn’t.
So, if religion is making you miserable, give your face a holiday and smile.
Because God loves you. He really does. That’s what it’s all about

Above is from:  Religion shouldn’t make people miserable. Association of Catholic Priests

Outspoken priest urges church to examine celibacy and abuse 'link' - Independent.ie

Sarah MacDonald

Fr Flannery has been suspended from ministry and threatened with excommunication by the Vatican over his stand on mandatory clerical celibacy, contraception and women priests. He is one of the first priests to publicly question a possible linkage of celibacy and clerical abuse.

He made his comments in an interview with the Irish Independent ahead of the launch on Thursday of his new book, 'A Question of Conscience'.

Outspoken priest urges church to examine celibacy and abuse 'link' - Independent.ie

Magdalene refusal - This is about much more than money | Irish Examiner

 

Irish orders, particularly the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Charity, have taken considerable assets off the table by transferring them to various trusts. Echoing that philosophy in recent days the four congregations who ran Magdalene laundries announced that they will not make a financial contribution to the taxpayer fund set up for former residents. The Mercy Sisters, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Sisters of Charity and the Good Shepherd Sisters had been expected to make a contribution to a €58m scheme.
Their refusal follows a pattern. After the Murphy and Ryan reports were published it was proposed that the 18 congregations involved share an estimated compensation bill of €1.3bn on a 50:50 basis with Government. Last year, there was a shortfall of €200m on the part of the religious orders.
The situation has been made even more fraught by a recent court ruling on land zoning which enhanced that value of lands owned by the Sisters of Mercy and the Sisters of Charity considerably. The orders succeeded in getting a veto on development in regards to properties in Dublin overturned.

Click on the following for more details:  Magdalene refusal - This is about much more than money | Irish Examiner

Ireland will have no Catholic priests in twenty years predicts a senior cleric | Irish News | IrishCentral

 

For 22 parishes, there are now seven priests under 55. Spool on for two decades and there will be seven (or thereabouts) under 75

Ireland will have no Catholic priests in twenty years predicts a senior cleric | Irish News | IrishCentral

What the new pope should do. Association of Catholic Priests of Ireland

 

What the new pope should do

To restore the credibility of the Catholic Church for alienated Catholics and the wider society, a new Pope should :

1 . Decentralise the absolutism and creeping infallibility within the papacy in favour of national bishops’ conferences, who should exercise co-responsibility with the Pope, with the Roman Curia reformed to become an administrative arm of the Church .

2. Establish that unity through diversity rather than uniformity be a guiding principle in all areas of Church governance and theological reflection.

3  Ensure that respect for the human rights of all the people of God should be foundational in the exercise of power within the Church.

4. Make all ministries within the Church  open to women.

5. Oversee democratic structures being developed in the selection of all church offices.

6. Establish a revitalised theology of sexuality (especially on homosexuality) based on the dignity of the human person rather than on natural law.

7. See the creation of a more inclusive Church community where everyone is welcomed into full communion of our Church

8. Give a renewed impetus towards full Christian unity to eliminate the scandal of Christian division.

The above is taken from :  What the new pope should do. Association of Catholic Priests

Tony Flannery is threatened with excommunication. Association of Catholic Priests

 

Fr Flannery will be allowed back into ministry only if he writes, signs and publishes an article (pre-approved by the CDF) accepting the Catholic Church can never ordain women to the priesthood and accepting all Church stances on contraception, homosexuality, and the refusal of the sacraments to people in second relationships.
“I could not possibly put my name to such an article without impugning my own integrity and conscience,” he said today. “The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is orchestrating all this while refusing to communicate with me. I have had no direct communication with them. I have never been given an opportunity to meet my accusers, or to understand why this action is being taken against me when I’ve raised the same issues, consistently, for decades.”
The documentation Fr Flannery received, apparently from the CDF took the form of a typed A4 page (not a letterhead) which was unsigned.
“The only reason that I can be sure that this came from the CDF is that Michael Brehl, the head of the Redemptorists, told me it did,” he said. “All requests for direct communication with the CDF have been ignored.””
Fr. Flannery described as “frightening, disproportionate and reminiscent of the Inquisition” the actions against him.

Click on the following for more details:  Tony Flannery is threatened with excommunication. Association of Catholic Priests

Association of Catholic Priests « Bondings 2.0

 

An Irish Times news story of the press conference reported the scope of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) investiagation of the priest:

“Fr. Flannery told a press conference in Dublin yesterday he had been threatened with excommunication by the CDF for refusing to recant his more liberal views on church teachings concerning women priests, contraception and homosexuality.”

According to theBBC.com, at the press conference, Fr. Flannery stated that signing the loyalty pledge that the Vatican has asked for would violate his conscience:

” ‘It would mean that I was saying that I accept the teaching on contraception, which I have been on record for a long time saying that I thought Humanae Vitae (official Catholic teaching on procreation) was a big mistake,’ Fr Flannery told the media.

“He claimed that accepting the pledge would also mean that he ‘fully accepted all the teaching on homosexuality’ including the church’s use of what he called ‘some of the awfully unfortunate phrases – like disordered state and intrinsic evil.’ “

A press release from Fr. Flannery’s press conference contained this reflection from the priest:

“The choice facing him, he stated at a press briefing today, Sunday 20th January, was between deciding between Rome and his conscience.

“ ‘I must also question if the threats are a means, not just of terrifying me into submission, but of sending a message to any other priest expressing views at variance with those of the Roman Curia,’ he added. ‘Submitting to these threats would be a betrayal of my ministry, my fellow priests and the Catholic people who want change.’

“Fr. Flannery said that because he believes he is being subjected to unfair treatment, he has taken legal advice under Canon and Civil law to help him defend his rights as a member of the Church and as an Irish citizen.”

In the op-ed in The Irish Times, Fr. Flannery gives a summary of the development of his ministry, the need for discussion in the church, the difficult proceedings with the Vatican, and concludes with a statement of resolve:

“There are people who will say I should leave the Catholic Church and join another Christian church – one more suitable to my stance. Being a Catholic is central to my personal identity. I have tried to preach the gospel. No matter what sanctions the Vatican imposes on me I will continue, in whatever way I can, to try to bring about reform in the church and to make it again a place where all who want to follow Christ will be welcome. He made friends with the outcasts of society, and I will do whatever I can in my own small way to oppose the current Vatican trend of creating a church of condemnation rather than one of compassion.”

A 66-year old member of the Redemptorist community, Fr. Flannery received strong support in a statement from his brothers in faith.  The BBC report noted:

“In a statement, the Irish Redemptorist order said it was ‘deeply saddened by the breakdown in communication’ between its priest and the CDF.

“It described Fr. Flannery as ‘highly regarded and respected by many in Ireland’ and added that there was a ‘very lively spirit of debate and dialogue’ within the order.

“The statement said that although it did not accept the priest’s views on all matters, it understood and supported his efforts to listen to and articulate the views of people he met during the course of his ministry.

” ‘It is of immense regret that some structures or processes of dialogue have not yet been found in the Church which have a greater capacity to engage with challenging voices from among God’s people, while respecting the key responsibility and central role of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,’ the statement said.”

Priestly support came, too, from the members of the Association of Catholic Priests, an Irish organization that Fr. Flannery helped to found.  The Association’s statement, in part, read:

Read more about Father Flannery and the Irish Associaition of Catholic Priests by clicking on the following:  Association of Catholic Priests « Bondings 2.0

Constitution. Association of Catholic Priests of Ireland

 

Constitution

1. Name: The Association of Catholic Priests (Ireland). (ACP)

2. Purpose of the association: To promote the aims and objectives, as laid out below:

Providing a voice for Irish Catholic priests at a time when that voice is largely silent and needs to be expressed.

Giving an opportunity for Irish priests to engage proactively with the crucial debates taking place in Irish society

Full implementation of the vision and teaching of the Second Vatican Council, with special emphasis on:

• the primacy of the individual conscience.
• the status and active participation of all the baptised.
• the task of establishing a Church where all believers will be treated as equal.

A redesigning of Ministry in the Church, in order to incorporate the gifts, wisdom and expertise of the entire faith community, male and female.

A re-structuring of the governing system of the Church, basing it on service rather than on power, and encouraging at every level a culture of consultation and transparency, particularly in the appointment of Church leaders.

A culture in which the local bishop and the priests relate to each other in a spirit of trust, support and generosity.

A re-evaluation of Catholic sexual teaching and practice that recognizes the profound mystery of human sexuality and the experience and wisdom of God’s people.

Promotion of peace, justice and the protection of God’s creation locally, nationally and globally.

Recognition that Church and State are separate and that while the Church must preach the message of the Gospel and try to live it authentically, the State has the task of enacting laws for all its citizens.

Liturgical celebrations that use rituals and language that are easily understood, inclusive and accessible to all.

Strengthening relationships with our fellow Christians and other faiths.

Full acceptance that the Spirit speaks through all people, including those of faiths other than Christian and those of no religious faith, so that the breath of the Spirit will flow more freely.

3. Membership: Membership of the ACP is open to all priests, those working in Ireland and also those working abroad.

4. Associate Membership: This is open to other Catholics who wish to join.

5. Becoming a member: To become a member a person can register on the website, or give their name and details to any of the leadership team.

6. To cease being a member a person can unsubscribe on the website, or inform one of the leadership team in writing.

7. Membership fee: This is currently €20, but may be changed by the leadership team, with the approval of an AGM. The funds of the association can only be used for the purposes of the association. A statement of account will be given at the AGM each year.

8. There will be a leadership team of five. Each person on the team may serve for three years, with the possibility of being elected for further three. Nobody can serve on the Leadership Team for more than six consecutive years. A leader may resign before the end of his term if he so wishes.

9. Leaders will be chosen at the AGM, which will be held annually.

10. An extraordinary general meeting may be called by two thirds of the members at 21 days notice, or by the Leadership Team.

Constitution. Association of Catholic Priests

Thousands protest in Ireland to liberalize abortion laws - CSMonitor.com

The street protest, the second the city has seen in three days, was called in response to the Oct. 28 death in a Galway hospital of Savita Halappanavar, who was pregnant and reported to the hospital complaining of severe pain. She was reportedly refused an abortion, and died after complications during a miscarriage. Her widower, Praveen, says they were told this was because Ireland was "a Catholic country."

Ireland outlaws abortion under an 1861 statute, but a 1992 Supreme Court judgment demanded the country legislate to allow for abortions when a woman's life is threatened by pregnancy. Successive governments have not brought any legislation forward, but a 2010 European Court of Human Rights judgment demanded Ireland clarify the status of abortion in Irish law.

Click on the following for more details:  Thousands protest in Ireland to liberalize abortion laws - CSMonitor.com

Pope's Envoy to Ireland: We Won't Have Women Priests

 

His edict is in direct opposition to the majority of Irish Catholics — 77 percent whom said in a survey commissioned by the Association of Catholic Priests that they believed women should be ordained.

Read the entire article by clicking on he following:  Pope's Envoy to Ireland: We Won't Have Women Priests

Church is 200 years out of date, top cleric claims - National News - Independent.ie

 

Co Mayo priest Fr Brendan Hoban, one of the leaders of the organisation, has spoken of how the church needs to face its current crises such as the series of child sex abuse scandals and the fall in vocations.

And speaking ahead of two conferences aimed at increasing the participation of lay Catholics, he said bishops and priests can't solve the church's problems on their own, that it needs the help of ordinary Catholics.

Church is 200 years out of date, top cleric claims - National News - Independent.ie

What Archbishop Martin thinks of the ACP. Association of Catholic Priests

 

Dr Rosemary Eileen McHugh
September 25th, 2012 at 5:48 am

I have tremendous respect for the courage of the members of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland. At this time in the history of our church, you are fostering dialogue, which is critically needed in our church.

I do not know how the Association of Catholic Priests is doing in the States. If they are looking to you as their model, I will be hopeful that something good will come of all of this for the church.

However, if the American ACP prefers to reflect the views of the American hierarchy, who just seem to want to please the Pope at any cost, rather than face the real needs of the church, then I do not have much hope for the American ACP.

In regard to the clergy sexual abuse scandal, Archbishop Martin is doing a fine job in Dublin in making the abusers accountable. In contrast, the American hierarchy are still denying that sexual abuse by priests is happening, when they can get away with their lies. The American bishops even re-victimize the victims in court through their lawyers. The American bishops are definitely not acting as Good Shepherds, in my view, and neither is the Pope acting as a Good Shepherd.

If the priests, bishops, cardinals and the Pope would reflect on and do what they believe Jesus would do in similar circumstances, I believe that there would be more success at ending the abuse of innocent children. In my experience, as a Catholic physician, the hierarchy in the US are just looking to the Pope as their model, and not Jesus.

I believe that the Pope and Curia want to suppress all dialogue, and want us all to act as obedient children, so that they can maintain their power. Unless there is dialogue, there cannot be healthy change.

Thankyou for supplying ways of being able to dialogue about the critical issues in our church.

Sincerely, Dr Rosemary Eileen McHugh, Chicago, IL.

What Archbishop Martin thinks of the ACP. Association of Catholic Priests

Schism or Bust: The Irish Catholic Church in Flux | The Platform

 

On the issue of sexuality, three-quarters reported that they do not view the Catholic Church’s teachings on sexuality as relevant to them or their families. Sixty per cent disagreed with the statement ‘that any sexual expression of love between gay couples is immoral’, while just nine per cent strongly agreed with the Church’s teachings on homosexuality.

The research further found that nine out of ten were in favour of allowing priests to marry. Fifty-five per cent want bishops to serve a fixed term as opposed to serving until they are 75 years of ages, as is the current practice. Up to 77 per cent of the study group also want women to be ordained.

Most interestingly, perhaps, is that a significant proportion of churchgoers and nearly one-quarter of its clergy are experiencing a shift in collective values which may very well lead to the ultimate change; a break with Rome in favour of an independent Irish Catholic Church

Click on the following for more details:  Schism or Bust: The Irish Catholic Church in Flux | The Platform

Many Irish priests now using iPads at the altar and at mass | Irish News and Politics spanning the US, Ireland and the World | IrishCentral

 

A growing number of priests are taking their iPads to the altar. According to TheJournal.ie, priests are using the devices to do everything from reading the gospels to downloading blessing and even updating their Twitter accounts.

While there are no official figures on how many priests are using iPads in church, Fr Sean McDonagh, a spokesperson for the Association of Catholic Priests, told TheJournal.ie that a large number of younger ones are using it.

“There’s a growing number who would be more clued in than old fogies like me. But why wouldn’t they when they can get the prayers, canon all there in front of them.”

However, opposition to iPad use in church is also growing in some quarters. Bishops in New Zealand have declared that only the official printed copy of the Roman Missal may be used at Mass and at the Church’s other liturgies.

Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Many-Irish-priests-now-using-iPads-at-the-altar-and-at-mass-164177476.html#ixzz223vmRP6X

US priest who improvised liturgy is removed by bishop. Association of Catholic Priests

 

US priest who improvised liturgy is removed by bishop

Parishioners at St Mary’s parish in Mount Carmel, Illinois, were officially informed that the local diocese is removing their parish priest of 18 years, because he improvised some prayers at Mass.

Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville Diocese sent a letter on Friday to Fr William Rowe informing him of the decision.  Fr Trevor Murray, 36, has been asked leave his parishes in West Frankfort and Royalton, Illinois, and take over as parish priest of St Mary’s on July 10.

The letter from Bishop Braxton was read at Sunday Masses.  The Bishop wrote, “I am deeply aware that you, your parishioners and your friends are saddened by this change in your assignment.  I am saddened as well.  In your years at St Mary Parish, you have (surely) touched many hearts.”

Bishop Braxton went on: “Throughout our many conversations, it has been my hope that this action would not be necessary.  However, the long, winding road down which we travelled never led to the open door of complete acceptance and obedience to the disciplines and doctrines of the Catholic Church.” Fr Rowe, who is 72, was to make another appeal to the Bishop on Monday and if this is rejected he will take his appeal to Rome.

Fr Rowe says he got into the habit of adding a few words to prayers in the Mass and other services over the years, in order to make the liturgy more meaningful.

The introduction of the new translation of the Missal, he said, made it even more difficult to stick to every word proscribed by the Vatican.  Fr Rowe said, “I just found, especially with the new translation, that it doesn’t match what I’m talking about.  The new wording is so awkward, and people don’t understand it.”

“I have heard that there have been a few priests that do what I do … but I haven’t heard of anyone being removed,” he said.  “This is new ground I guess.”

Earlier this year, parishioners protested outside of St Peter’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Belleville against plans to remove Rowe.

The above is taken from: the Association of Irish Priest in Ireland, click on the following for the article;  US priest who improvised liturgy is removed by bishop. Association of Catholic Priests

Waterford Today - Reasons for Hope

Reasons for Hope

by I. Kennedy

Garret Fitzgerald attributed the erosion of church influence to "its overuse of authority rather than reason in promulgating its views on social morality." He suggested that after Humanae Vitae "many Irish Catholics began to do their own theology, so to speak, testing the Catholic Church's teaching against their own rational morality."

This issue raises important questions about the nature of authentic Christian teaching. Is a person obligated to obey the teachings of a papal encyclical? What is the place of individual conscience in such matters? Why pronounce on this when the bible does not directly address the issue?

The matter has led to silent revolution among many rank and file Catholics and many clergy have also expressed disquiet. Among the objectives of the Association of Catholic Priests is the recognition of the "primacy of conscience" and a "re-evaluation of Catholic sexual teaching and practice."

Click on the following for the entire story:  Waterford Today - Reasons for Hope

Association of US Catholic Priests calls for reexamination of liturgical translation

 

The resolution on the new missal is carefully worded to justify, based on canon law, the right and duty of the new organization to express its opionions for the good of the church. In a sign of the desire of the AUSCP to work respectfully and constructively with bishops, the resolution on the missal was sent first to Cardinal Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, before being issued publicly. The full text of the missal resolution is below.

*         *         *         *         *

The New Roman Missal

• Whereas Canon 278§1 asserts: “Secular clerics have the right to associate with others to pursue purposes in keeping with the clerical state”; and
• Whereas Canon 298§1 includes clerics among the Christian faithful; and
• Whereas Canon 212§3 states: “According to the knowledge, competence and prestige which they possess, they [the Christian faithful] have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons”; and
• Whereas Canon 215 declares: “The Christian faithful are at liberty freely to found and direct associations for purposes of charity or piety or for the promotion of the Christian vocation in the world and to hold meetings for the common pursuit of these purposes”; and
• Whereas Canon 218 affirms: “Those engaged in the sacred disciplines have a just freedom of inquiry and of expressing their opinion prudently on those matters in which they possess expertise, while observing the submission due to the magisterium of the Church”; and
• Whereas Bishops are guaranteed collegial powers and responsibilities documented  in the Vatican II Decree, Christus Dominus, [especially in ¶s 2 through 6], thereby preserving the integrity of their Apostolic Office.  A reference from ¶2 points out: “Bishops, therefore, have been made true and authentic teachers of the faith, pontiffs, and pastors through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to them”; and
• Whereas the Missale Romanum, Editio Typica Tertia [herein, New Roman Missal] has caused disharmony, disruption and discord among many, for both laity [including religious non-clerical men and women], and for clerics, in our Church, frustrating rather than inspiring the Eucharistic prayer experience of the Christian faithful, thus leading to less piety and to less “full, active and conscious participation” in the Mass, [cf. Canons 898 and 899 §s 2 and 3 and Vatican II Constitution, Sacrosanctum Concilium, ¶11 and 14]; and
• Whereas the New Roman Missal, as we have experienced it in our day to day celebrations of the Eucharist with the faithful, has created pastoral problems, in particular because of its cumbersome style, arcane vocabulary, grammatical anomalies, and confusing syntax;

Be it resolved that the Association of United States Catholic Priests urge our Bishops, who are also our Pastors, to exercise their collegial powers and responsibilities by addressing in a collegial way, with the appropriate Vatican authorities, the problematic prescriptions of Liturgiam authenticam which brought about the New Roman Missal.

Click on the following to read the entire article:  PrayTell - Worship, Wit & Wisdom