The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin says it feels like the Lord has abandoned Ireland’s Catholic Church. This “confronts us with something new, but something we do not clearly understand. “There are hardly any priests or practising Catholics. “We feel perplexed, even that the Lord has abandoned us. We feel that we have lost our way” Read more
Catechumen and candidate numbers in Brisbane and Sydney dioceses are continuing to rise as hundreds of people are choosing to become Catholic. They – catechumens (those who have never been baptised) and candidates (who have been baptised, but not as Catholics) – will all become members of the Catholic Church this Easter. Numbers up In Read more
James Joyce once described Kingstown Pier as a “disappointed bridge”. Now known as Dun Laoghaire, it is also where most passenger ships arrive at and leave from Dublin both then and now. The idea of the Kingstown Pier as a disappointed bridge, unable to go all the way across the Irish Sea, says much about Read more
The Vatican’s new document on “the pastoral conversion of the parish community at the service of the Church’s evangelizing mission” has not been well-received by all. The new document, an instruction rather than law, deals with the theme of the pastoral care of parish communities. It’s focus is on what parish communities mean to the Read more
One of the more recent challenges for Catholic parishes is how to welcome L.G.B.T. parishioners, as well as families with L.G.B.T. members. But that challenge is also where grace abounds because L.G.B.T. Catholics have felt excluded from the church for so long that any experience of welcome can be life-changing—a healing moment that can inspire Read more