This trend is being hailed as a hopeful sign amid ongoing challenges in meeting the pastoral and sacramental needs of the country's parishes.

At present, at least 26 seminarians from dioceses in Northern Ireland are studying to become Catholic priests.

Notably, the Archdiocese of Armagh leads the way with 16 seminarians.

Other dioceses reporting vocations include Dromore with two, Derry with four, and Down and Connor with three. The latter has also confirmed that six new seminarians will enter next month, marking the highest intake in the past three years.

Fr Eddie Magee, Diocesan Communications Officer for Down and Connor, expressed encouragement at the rise in numbers, highlighting the importance of these new vocations in addressing the increasing demands on the Church.

"Vocations are particularly welcome during a time when it is increasingly challenging to meet the pastoral and sacramental needs within parishes across the Diocese," Magee told the Irish News.

"The increasing numbers of those entering seminary also reflects an enduring commitment on the part of the Church to accompany and support those who are considering a calling to ministry."

Magee said new vocations are being nurtured, with each diocese having a designated Director of Vocations to guide those discerning their call.

He also mentioned the annual organisation of vocation retreats and other events designed to support those considering a life in ministry.

"As a Diocese, we ask God's blessing on all those who are responding to the call to ministry in the priesthood, diaconate and religious life, and encourage all to continue to pray for vocations" he added.

The slight rise in vocations comes when the national seminary in Maynooth was once designed to house over 500 trainee priests.

Last year, the Maynooth seminary had only 20 seminarians studying to become priests for Ireland's 26 dioceses, underscoring the challenges faced by the Church in attracting new candidates.

The closure of St Malachy's Diocesan Seminary in Belfast in 2018 has further complicated the situation, with seminarians now dispersed across institutions in Italy, Ireland, Spain and France.

Source

• Irish News

Catholic youth groups are experiencing a resurgence. Hundreds of young Catholics are being drawn to faith-based activities and community service, the word from youth groups says.

Hope is in the air

Bishop Fintan Gavin of Cork and Ross says the resurgence makes him feel hopeful.

"I am very hopeful.

"We had last Sunday the Eucharistic procession (pictured) and we had more than 4,000 people.

"Many of them were young people who were living their faith on the streets.

"It is not about numbers, but it is about being there… We need to find a way where young people can be in the culture of today and be a life-giving force within that culture.

"Not running away from the culture but not embracing every aspect of the culture either. That is why young people need the support of one another."

Counterculture recognised

Presentation Brother Martin Kenneally who works with youth leaders says he sees "a young Catholic counterculture emerging in Ireland.

"They are genuine young people searching for meaning."

Some of the young Catholics he works with are involved in a Leadership Education and Formation project.

There are also several prayer groups. Like Kenneally, organisers say they also are seeing a resurgence of interest among young people.

A parish catechist in County Dublin says about 60 young people packed into a small café for a talk on ‘Does God exist?'

"We as a Church need to be creative in our apologetics and getting back to what it means to be a Christian…" he says.

"The younger people who are making the jump to come to church want community, but they also want the answers to their faith. We are in the position to give 2,000 years of philosophy and theology on the good life."

Be signs of hope

Gavin notes that "Maybe we come from a picture in the past that we had too much support from the culture, and we keep contrasting things.

"This is where we are called to be ‘the Church of the here and now' as St Joan of Arc said.

"We need to be signs of hope. A Christian without hope is not really a Christian."

Source

• Irish Catholic

It's quite impressive for a country with a population of just 5 million. One might wonder what makes the Irish such gifted storytellers.

It's worth noting that Ireland hasn't always been a welcoming place for its literary community. The dominance of the Catholic Church and state censorship during the 20th century created an unfavourable and intolerant environment for writers.. Read more

"We rarely hear about sin, but it's rampant, it's rampant.

"We see it in the promotion of abortion. .. in this lunatic approach of transgenderism,... in the promotion of sex between two men or two women. That is sinful. That is mortal sin. And people don't seem to realise it. But it's a fact, it's a reality," said Fr Seán Sheehy.

"What I'm saying is not what I invented, it is not what I came up with, [it] is what God is saying. And the day you die, you will find out that is the truth.

Sheeny says when he was talking to a woman recently, who told him her daughter handed her a condom.

"She said an HSE van was handing these things out in Tralee. And I said my gracious me, that is promoting promiscuity."

A number of people walked out.

Undeterred, Sheehy said: "And to those of you who happen to be leaving today, God help you, and that is all I have to say to you."

Apologising for the priest, Bishop Ray Browne of Kerry said Sheehy's comments had caused "deep upset and hurt".

"The views expressed do not represent the Christian position.

"The homily at a regular weekend parish mass is not appropriate for such issues to be spoken of in such terms," said Browne.

Undeterred, during the week, Sheehy was a guest on Ireland radio station, where he repeated his claims that the bishop was "muzzling the truth in order to appease people".

He also pointed the finger at some of Ireland's politicians.

Not everyone is appalled, though.

In Crisis Magazine, Cole Kinder asks how Ireland can be considered Catholic if these traditional teachings are not upheld.

Sheehy's homily is very inclusive— it is calling all people to repent, wrote Kinder.

"How can you say Ireland is Catholic if those following its core tenets are considered controversial?

"And it gets worse.

"Not only is Ireland barely a Catholic nation anymore in its laws and actions, but the freedom to be Catholic is under attack, with many bishops completely complicit in the persecution.

"It feels like a story out of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Church.

"A bishop, yes, the person who is actually an apostolic successor, has apologised for the homily not being Christian!

Kinder's perspective was not endorsed by the Association of Catholic Priests who have called on Sheehy to be banned from celebrating the sacraments.

Cork parish priest Fr Tim Hazelwood says "the majority of priests are absolutely appalled" by what Sheehy said in his homily, as well as his subsequent comments about politicians going to hell.

"He puts himself in the position of God to make judgments," said Hazelwood.

He thinks Sheehy's s celebret should be removed, saying that if he didn't have a celebret he wouldn't be able to repeat the performance.

A celebret is a letter of permission from his bishop allowing a priest to celebrate the sacraments and preach.

• Source
  Independent.ie
• CAN
• Crisis Magazine

For the first time in a century, a reigning British monarch set foot in what is now the Republic of Ireland but for centuries had been the impoverished vassal of its English overlords.

The royal visit marked the full realization of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the international agreement between the British and Irish governments that restored home rule to Northern Ireland and brought an end to decades of bloody conflict.

For Queen Elizabeth II, the visit marked another milestone.

After nearly 60 years on the throne and millions of miles travelled, she had never visited the Republic of Ireland.

Yet she was determined to make the trip, motivated in large part by her sense of Christian duty to reconcile the estranged, to be a healer of the breach.

"God sent into the world a unique person—neither a philosopher nor a general (important though they are)—but a Saviour, with the power to forgive," she said in her Christmas broadcast that year.

"Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships, and can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God's love."

Forgiveness, of course, is much more than a feeling.

It is a series of small, often painful acts that culminate in a conversion of hearts that creates the very possibility of peace.

Queen Elizabeth II put forgiveness into action.

"With the benefit of historical hindsight, we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all," she said at the state dinner hosted by the Irish president, Mary McAleese.

"To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past, I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy."

That sympathy runs deep, for the queen's visit to the republic was not just a moment of reconciliation between two long-estranged peoples, but her personal act of forgiveness.

When Lord Louis Mountbatten was killed by agents of the Irish Republican Army in the summer of 1979, the queen suffered the loss of one of the most beloved members of her family, the uncle of her husband and the godfather of her first son.

It was a truly extraordinary moment, therefore, when she laid a wreath at a memorial garden in Dublin dedicated to the memory of "all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish Freedom."

She had somehow found the courage within her to forgive, to rebuild, to begin anew.

It is from numberless such personal acts of courage and charity that peace has, at last, come to Ireland.

As important as big international agreements are, they are not the true stuff of reconciliation. Peace happens when hearts meet. Continue reading

• This column appeared in the April 18, 2016, issue of America.

But the quiet was disturbed this year in Ireland with the publication on Aug. 16 of the synthesis document for Ireland's contribution to the universal synod on synodality.

The Irish Times, Ireland's premier newspaper, led with the news on Aug. 17, proclaiming that "Irish Catholics demand changes in church" and focusing in particular on issues like the church's attitude to women, L.G.B.T. people and those who have been divorced and remarried.

They quoted former President Mary McAleese, who also has a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and who described the document as "explosive, life-altering, dogma altering, church altering."

Later in the week, in an editorial, The Times came back to the topic and concluded that "unless the church can change, its survival in Ireland is an open question."

The week concluded with one of its columnists, Breda O'Brien, offering her opinion in a piece headed "Catholic Church is not a democracy so forget about radical change" and concluding with the words: "But those waiting for the church to become something it is not will wait in vain."

As the dust settles on this controversy, what is it saying about the synodal process initiated by Pope Francis and now completing a global consultation stage?

For all the buzz surrounding its publication, the Irish document is both sober and humble in tone and yet inspiring and hopeful.

It notes in the introduction the difficulties around engaging the young and disaffected, the fears of some that the exercise would be just listening without any action, that "gatekeepers" would filter proposals or that certain topics would be vetoed and the final document censored.

This sense of apathy, indifference, even scepticism and cynicism gradually gave way on the part of those who engaged, and people began to enjoy the safe, patient, listening environment that supported honesty and transparency.

This sense of apathy, indifference, even scepticism and cynicism gradually gave way on the part of those who engaged, and people began to enjoy the safe, patient, listening environment that supported honesty and transparency.

Not all shared this positive view of the process: Some feared that the essential teaching and practice of the church would be undermined.

But when the compilation of the fruits of this consultation were presented by the National Synodal Steering Committee to a National pre-Synodal Assembly in Athlone in June, there was a palpable sense of peace and even joy. People felt that they had been "heard," that the discernment process had reached a point of "confirmation."

The contents set out more formally in the August document covered a variety of different themes.

These ranged from abuse as part of the story of the church to

• co-responsible leadership,
• the role of clergy,
• lay ministry,
• the need to develop a greater sense of belonging,
• the role of women (with calls for equal treatment in leadership and decision making and access to ministries ordained and non-ordained),
• L.G.B.T. people (a more welcoming approach and, from some,
• a request for change in teaching),
• sexuality and relationships (the theology underlying current teaching is but one strand in a far richer tapestry),
• adult faith formation,
• liturgy (funerals and other special occasions are done well, but in general, liturgies are "boring, monotonous, jaded and flat: they no longer speak to people's lives"),
• youth,
• education and catechesis,
• family,
• the Covid-19 pandemic, and
• culture.

The document goes on to note various issues that were not strongly present in the consultation:

• the wider ecumenical and interfaith context (at a time in Ireland where peace is still a delicate flower in Northern Ireland, and there is a sizable influx of non-Christian immigration to the island);
• the environment (climate change and biodiversity);
• social justice (at a time of a housing crisis in Ireland and many other instances of social injustice);
• the sacramental life of the church (little mention of other sacraments apart from the Eucharist, but also a sense that Irish Catholics may be "sacramentalised but not evangelized");
• and the missionary outreach of the Catholic Church.

The document concludes with an interesting reflection on the general context of the church in Ireland.

It spoke, for example, of how coming toward the 200th anniversary of Catholic Emancipation, the dismantling of the church's hegemony in Irish society means that a profound change is being experienced "from a national identity overly dependent on Catholic culture, to one suspicious and often intolerant of its Catholic inheritance."

The dismantling of the church's hegemony in Irish society means that a profound change is being experienced "from a national identity overly dependent on Catholic culture, to one suspicious and often intolerant of its Catholic inheritance."

There is no romanticization of the process of synodality itself.

Echoing the words of Pope Francis that the translation of the rhetoric of synodality into the reality of ecclesial life can often be "wearisome," the Irish report concludes that "a synodal process is not easy—it often entails the Way of the Cross," and yet "the church in Ireland is heartened by the enthusiasm, energy and expectation generated," which has "whetted our appetite for what lies ahead." (The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference in March 2021 committed the Irish church to a five-year synodal pathway that will continue to harvest the fruits of this initial consultation period.)

A closer analysis of the Irish experience may yield some interesting perspectives of more global interest. Continue reading

"Anyone with two eyes in their head can see that renewal in our church is clearly and urgently necessary.

"The challenge is to find the good way of renewal," says Archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell.

The Catholic Church in Ireland and across Europe is on "a journey towards another way of living, with God, and with each other," he says.

He was referring to insights gained from synthesising the diocesan feedback from of Ireland's synod on synodality. The synthesised report was sent to the Vatican on Monday.

The feedback called for several major changes.

These include: a greater role for women in the church, including ordination; removal of mandatory celibacy for priests; radical change in the Church's attitude to LGBTI+ and other marginalised people; a much greater role for the laity.

Campaigners for reforming the Catholic Church in Ireland are hoping the report will help bring about radical change to the Church.

As an institution it is increasingly out of touch, they say.

On Tuesday, Ireland's former president Mary McAleese described the National Synthesis document as "explosive, life altering, dogma altering, Church altering".

The document had come "not from the hierarchy, not from Rome, but from the people of God", facilitated by the "openness of the process" which "was never the case before," McAleese pointed out.

It illustrates "the momentum of the people of God for change," she said.

"Clearly there was a very, very strong movement for reform and change and this is reflected fairly and truthfully" in the synthesis document, she added.

"There's no denying those voices now.

"I hope when it is received in Rome it will be fully honoured."

She particularly referred to the LBGTI+ focus group, which prepared its own uncompromising report, published with but separate from the Elphin diocese report.

That report has since "gone viral," she said, while "its powerful voice drew particular attention in the national synthesis document".

In the letter sent with Ireland's feedback, Catholic Primate Archbishop Eamon Martin said it pointed "to many challenges for the handing on of the faith in this country".

There is "a need for inner healing and hope, especially among those who have suffered abuse by church personnel and in church institutions".

Fresh models of responsibility and leadership are needed, he wrote. These will especially recognise and facilitate the role of women, as well as men.

"Our listening process has identified the need to be more inclusive in outreach, reaching out to those who have left the church behind and, in some cases, feel excluded, forgotten or ignored."

Source

• Irish Times
• Irish Examiner
• Irish Times

The crowds assembled at Parnell Square at lunchtime, before marching down O'Connell Street and onto Custom House Quay.

The Rally For Life was the first in-person march to be held since 2019 because of Covid restrictions.

Organisers said the chief aim of the rally was to urge the public and the Government to rethink abortion.

A campaign to retain the three-day waiting period before undergoing an abortion was launched at the rally.

Megan Ní Scealláin, a spokesperson for the Life Institute, said: "Voters were guaranteed that women would have a three-day period to reflect between a first abortion appointment and the doctor giving the abortion pill, and it is appalling to see abortion campaigners now push to have that time to think scrapped.

"We know from figures released to Carol Nolan TD that between 800 and 1,000 women did not proceed with an abortion after that initial appointment."

Archbishop Eamon Martin has said campaigners will continue to advocate that "both lives matter".

He said those who support the pro-life movement are constantly "reminding society that every human life is sacred".

Archbishop Martin said the right to personal choice has "been elevated above the fundamental right to life itself" in today's society.

Sources

• RTE News
• The Independent

Martin made the comment after attending Ireland's national pre-synodal assembly this week.

"The question is — what next?

"We are still not entirely certain, but we are open to what the Holy Spirit might be saying and to a quiet and gentle renewal of the faith. We are moving from maintenance to mission.

"In order to make space for something new, we have to accept that there is no point in trying to maintain a particular form of the life of the Church which was for a different time."

The facts are clear. In 2016, people identifying as Catholic in Ireland made up 78.3 percent of the population (approximately 3.7 million people), down from 84.2 percent in the 2011 census. It's predicted the 2022 census will show a further decline.

Ireland also has an ageing clergy and few vocations to the diocesan priesthood or religious life.

Martin noted the past year's synodal conversation with people all over Ireland culminated in the assembly, which was a moment to hear the fruits of that conversation.

"One of the things that is coming across is the (pre-)synodal conversations - an awful lot of people are very passionate about their faith in Jesus Christ ... with the Church. But they want the church to be open to something different," he says.

There are some big barriers to renewal though.

Feedback to the assembly revealed "a despair among a lot of our young people, a lack of hope, and a lack of a sense of purpose" and at the same time "a belief in faith, in hope and in love". This is "what we are trying to rekindle in the life of the Church," Martin says.

His confrere, Archbishop Dermot Farrell, says clerical sexual abuse had irreparably damaged the church's reputation in Ireland. This could spell the end for Catholicism in Ireland if major changes were not implemented within the church, he warned.

He said evidence of Christian belief in Ireland today "has, for all intents and purposes, vanished" and this "underlying crisis of faith was particularly acute among the younger generations". He added, "The current model of the church is unsustainable".

Martin has a more hopeful view.

"We are moving into a new period of evangelisation, recognising that many people - even those who have been baptised in the faith - perhaps don't have a personal relationship with Jesus, don't have a personal sense of God, and indeed maybe don't have a sense of direction in their lives," he says.

"We are trying to find new ways of communicating the joy of the Gospel, which is very much a theme that Pope Francis has been revealing to the Church during his pontificate."

He stresses the importance of reaching out to young people who "are living in a very different space," suggesting the Church play an important pastoral role among an increasingly disaffected youth.

Source

• The Tablet
• Catholic News Service

The hue — St Patrick's blue, a lighter shade — can still be seen on ancient Irish flags.

But the use of green on St. Patrick's Day began during the 1798 Irish Rebellion when the clover became a symbol of nationalism Read more

"When you're dealing with a deadly virus, ultimately what you're doing is putting people's lives at risk," Donnelly says.

Clerical abuse survivor Andrew Madden says the bishops are placing children at risk of "reckless endangerment. Again."

At least three of Ireland's Catholic bishops have said they intend to resume First Holy Communion and Confirmation ceremonies in their dioceses, despite the Government's anti-Covid-19 guidelines.

The bishops' stance is yet another COVID controversy between the Church in Ireland. The Church is also arguing with the government about the increase in numbers permitted to attend weddings, which went up from 50 to 100 this week. At the same time, the COVID guideline for funeral attendance remains unchanged at 50 mourners.

In announcing his diocese's intention to resume celebrating these ceremonies, one bishop said he and senior diocesan priests had decided they should be held in line with public health regulations for general religious services.

"The mission of the Church cannot be put on hold indefinitely," he said. The ban is a "guideline" and not a binding law, he pointed out.

Madden, however, says taking public health guidance as advice rather than regulation, reminds him of the late Cardinal Desmond Connell's description of the Church's then child protection measures as "only guidelines" with no authority in canon or civil law.

"That was why Children First [State's child protection legislation] was put on a statutory level," he points out.

In Madden's opinion, the defiance of health guidelines show some bishops "have learned nothing from any of this and are now encouraging people to ignore health and safety ... church before children, old habits die hard".

The Health Minister acknowledges Doran is right to say the communion and confirmation ban is "a public health guideline - not a law" and as such can be ignored by the Catholic bishops.

"But we have a lot of evidence of ‘spreader events' arising out of communions and confirmations. We know this and that's the only reason the public health advice is there not to do it."

Donnelly also says he understands the frustration people of religious faith are feeling and salutes the patience shown by church leaders of all denominations.

"The public health measures have been very difficult for people of faith and for religious institutions. In spite of this, the churches have played an essential role in Ireland's national efforts to suppress COVID," he says.

They are there to keep people safe and ultimately to keep people alive, he added.

"Ireland is doing well and I would ask any clergy considering going against the public health measures to stick with them."

Source

• Irish Times
• Independent
• Image: SkyNews

Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin says after consulting with clergy, baptisms, First Holy Communions and confirmation ceremonies will be held. The regulations for general religious services will be followed.

"The mission of the Church cannot be put on hold indefinitely," he says. He describes the state's guidance as "advice by government rather than regulation."

Three other Irish Catholic dioceses will follow suit. Like Doran, the bishops of Clogher, Waterford and Lismore wrote to the government last week informing it that access to the sacraments "will go ahead from mid-August."

Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheál Martin responded, saying he did not approve "any unilateral breaching of regulations no matter what quarter they come from.

"I'd say to the Church authorities that the government's only motivation here in terms of the regulations we have brought in, in respect of gatherings and congregations, is to protect people and to protect people's health."

Last month Archbishop Eamon Martin, who is the Primate of All Ireland, accused the government of communicating in a "grossly disrespectful" way that the baptism, confirmation and communion ceremonies should be delayed due to COVID-19.

The government's decision marked a "complete reversal" of its previous position in June, where the Taoiseach indicated the ceremonies could go ahead the following month.

Martin says he has been "deluged with calls from parishes" and priests and others have been extremely disappointed by the government's change of mind.

By 31 July, Ireland's 4.9 million people had recorded 299,549 COVID-19 cases and 5,035 related deaths. It is currently experiencing a fourth COVID wave driven by the Delta variant.

Waterford and Lismore's bishop is criticising the way the government and its COVID health team saying its communications with the Church "regarding the sacraments leaves a great deal to be desired.

"We are all conscious of the need to remain vigilant. Parishes have been exemplary ... but for any local parish community and their priest who wish to avail themselves of these sacraments, they must be allowed to do so."

The bishop of Clogher, whose diocese straddles the border with Northern Ireland, says the ceremonies will take place in the Republic of Ireland from 20 August.

"The appropriate protocols presently in place in our churches will be maintained, and families are reminded of the need for adherence to public health guidance in relation to social interactions following the church celebration," he says.

He says the diocese will follow the same practice as last year. The liturgies will involve small groups of children. Attendance will be restricted to the child, the parents/guardians, and sponsor."

The new regulations effectively criminalise Mass with a congregation, Martin says.

After meeting with Ireland's health minister, he stressed that priests' pastoral work should be "deemed essential, rather than subject to penal sanction" amid the pandemic.

Source

• The Catholic World Report
• Image: Independent.ie

The government introduced the rule last week in a surprise move.

Archbishop Eamon Martin (pictured) says the penal provisions associated with the new regulation are "provocative" and "draconian".

They also potentially infringed religious freedom and constitutional rights, he says.

"From our initial reading of it, it is clear to us that it is now making it a criminal offence for a priest to say mass with a congregation and it's making it a criminal offence for somebody to go to Mass."

The Irish bishops are seeking legal advice about the new rules. They are also planning to meet with the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly.

Martin says along with other Churches and faith communities in Ireland, the Catholic Church has been cooperating fully with public health messages for over a year.

"It is highly disappointing then, that despite the reassurances of the Taoiseach to Church leaders only two days ago that he understood the importance of faith and worship to the people of Ireland, this statutory instrument was introduced in a clandestine manner and without notice or consultation. We consider this to be a breach of trust," he says.

Donnelly says the new rule dealt with "the position that we have been in for quite some time".

His response to the bishops' concerns that the new rule targets religious worship, Donnelly says: "The measure isn't focused specifically at religious communities or any other communities; the measure is focused explicitly at indoor gatherings."

However, Martin says church services "are indeed singled out in this statutory instrument for particular attention.

"Statutory instruments are only published when there is something new to say, they don't come out just to say what we already know. If it's not doing anything new, then why have it?"

He is also concerned that the new rule is unclear and could cause confusion.

"A priest would be forgiven for wondering after this statutory instrument, if he is breaking the law by going over to his church to say mass if he hasn't got a webcam."

Another concern is the lack of clarity over weddings.

"For some reason, this statutory instrument does not specify that it's okay to do a wedding Mass. It does say you can go to a wedding reception."

Martin says in contrast to the dialogue that has taken place between church and state in Northern Ireland over public worship, "South of the border, it appears that everything has to be through statutory instrument, through regulation… and I wonder about the maturity of that relationship."

Source

• The Tablet
• Image: Eamon Mallie

The Gardaí (police) fined Fr. P.J. Hughes, 500 euros (NZ$830) after he offered Masses with a small number of parishioners present.

This was the second time Hughes defied the gardai's request to lock the church's doors when he celebrated Mass to prevent parishioners from attending. He ignored their first request last November and continued to leave the church open.

Despite the police action, Hughes remains adamant that people should be able to enter the church and participate in public Masses.

"I do not accept this demand by people who do not realize the wrong they are doing. It is our constitutional right to protest so long as it is peaceful; it is our constitutional right to practice our faith and assemble to pray together."

"For those who are afraid of catching the virus in the church then they have the free choice to stay at home and live their lives as they think it best to do.

"I will exercise my constitutional right even though people are complaining, even though I am not obeying my bishop when I go against his advice. We can't just reject Jesus in the Holy Eucharist."

Sources close to Hughes say he is not willing to pay the fine and is ready to be jailed rather than cease public worship.

In a parish newsletter dated March 21, Hughes wrote:

"Next Sunday marks the journey of Holy Week.

"It is hard to believe that for a second year people cannot come to take part in the ceremonies of Holy Week.

"Despite the size of the church and the holy place that it is because of the presence of Jesus in the Holy Tabernacle, the church has been deemed a hot spot for the spread of the virus by the gardaí."

Emphasising his constitutional right to celebrate public Masses and encouraging parishioners to make up their own minds, he said:

"The majority of people are healthy and able to go shopping, bring their children to school and many are working in enclosed environments.

"We are committing a grave mistake by rejecting our Lord and God Jesus Christ by staying away because government officials say we must."

This is the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic began that public Masses have been suspended in a nationwide lockdown in Ireland.

The first lockdown ran from March until June during the pandemic's first wave.

Public worship was suspended again last October and remains off-limits.

Ireland is under strict "Level 5" COVID-19 restrictions until at least April 5. The government has not revealed what COVID-19 restrictions will be in place after that.

In Northern Ireland, bishops have announced that public worship may resume from 26 March in time for Holy Week.

Ireland, a country with a population of almost five million people, has recorded a total of 230,599 cases of COVID-19 and 4,587 deaths as of 22 March.

Authorities reported 769 new cases on Sunday, the highest figure since 26 February.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: The Irish Times

Catholic Archbishop Eamon Martin (pictured), Church of Ireland primate Archbishop John McDowell, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland's Rt Revd David Bruce and the Methodist Church in Ireland's Revd Tom McKnight released a joint statement saying it is their responsibility "to ensure that our services of worship are safe places for all who join with us."

The four prelates say their move followed recent consultations with public health authorities.

They say it has become clear that the wearing of face coverings, in conjunction with hand washing and other guidance, "is likely to reduce the spread of coronavirus, thus helping to protect others."

Wearing a mask at services is "one way in which we can evidence protection for the most vulnerable, support for our health workers, and practical love for our neighbours," they suggest.

Although it may not be appropriate for those who are leading from the front during worship, including preaching, to wear face coverings, the prelates said the leaders should always maintain at least two metres physical distancing from one another, and four metres physical distancing from the front row of the congregation.

Bishop Denis Brennan of Ferns also recommended Catholics wear masks at public Masses and services, "in solidarity with the vast majority of our fellow citizens who actively promote and pursue as safe an environment as possible - in their homes, their places of work and where they shop or gather."

Martin said face coverings should be worn in all but exceptional circumstances.

He stressed that especially in smaller places that are not well ventilated the wearing of face coverings is " obligatory".

Source

• The Tablet
• Image: The Tablet

At Dublin's Pro-Cathedral on Sunday, the Archbishop said racist intolerance is always "an affront to the dignity of those who are its objects."

He said the Church must be a place where people are welcomed, respected and cherished even in their difference.

"Hatred and intolerance can never foster goodness and love. Hate language can never be reconciled with the teaching of Jesus. When believers and indeed Church communities become narrow-minded and judgemental, they leave people marginalised and unloved with their hope blunted and their dignity broken," he said.

Dr Martin also highlighted the growing polarisation within the Church and expressed concern over those who feel that they are zealously defending the Church while being intolerant and disrespectful to those with whom they disagree. Continue reading

On July 11, Father Emanuele Moscatelli, from the former pastor of the Church of St. Lawrence the Martyr in Sant'Oreste, presided over the wedding of two close friends identified as Beatrice, 50, and Francesca, 38 in the Italian press.

The pair were eager to enter into a civil union and enjoy the legal benefits that come with marriage.

A few days prior to the ceremony, Father Moscatelli even sought out the approval of the mayor of the Rome province, visiting the municipal registry to ensure he could conduct the service. Read more

The relaxation of the rules responds to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin's concerns about the feasibility of enforcing the restrictions.

Ireland's Phase Three set a limit of 50 people for indoor gatherings and 100 people for outdoor gatherings.

In Phase Four - similar to New Zealand's Stage 1, the indoor limit will be raised to 100.

However, last Thursday, Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar said besides being exempt from indoor gathering restrictions, houses of worship would be permitted to police their own congregations.

This is in line with social distancing norms being expected in the country's retail locations.

While the 50-person limit worked, "albeit with some difficulty" at weekday Masses since churches reopened for publish worship, Martin said the priests were concerned about "turning many people away or having them remain outside where social distancing is more problematic.

A "more reasonable and responsible" standard was needed, he said.

Martin said it seemed "strange that in a church with a capacity of 1,500 people - which has been scrupulously fitted out for conformity with social distancing ... that only 50 people might be present, while ... large retail outlets [are] brimming with people.

"The new Northern Ireland advice is that the number should be calculated on the basis of proportionality to the size of each Church whereas in the Republic of Ireland a blanket cap of 50 people is still in place."

Ireland's Chief Medical Officer and the public health authorities were "strongly against" making any exception for churches from the maximum number of 50 at indoor gatherings.

They felt that the larger a gathering the greater the risk of infection and they referred to examples overseas where outbreaks had occurred around church gatherings.

Ireland has had about 25,400 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, with 1,727 deaths attributed to the disease.

The number of new cases discovered in the country each day has dwindled to the low double digits.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• The Tablet
• Image: BBC

Far be it from me to make the prediction, but I have a feeling that religion in Ireland is getting a boost from coronavirus.

There could be a massive upsurge in attendance at Masses in church when they reopen full-time after the Covid-19 shutdown.

I am aware people have been struggling to fill their days since the country went into lockdown in mid-March.

That could partly explain a rise in church viewing figures on TV.

But the more I hear about it the more I realise that Catholics in Ireland, who deserted their churches in droves in recent years, seem ready to return in some numbers.

The series of clerical sex scandals and the appalling cover-up by the hierarchy of outrageous abuses drove people away.

Now, according to TV viewing figures I spotted lately, the deadly hidden menace that has swept the world is bringing folks back.

I'm not just talking about people stuck at home because they are over 70, or the infirm, or the residents of nursing homes where daily masses will be screened even if it's just to give them something to view while they are waiting for Tipping Point or The Chase and the soaps.

There's also the one million or so out of work and hoping desperately their jobs will somehow be rescued. Some of them seem to be returning to prayer, and not just on Sundays but every day as well.

The other day I read a report that over 1.2 million people watched live streams from Knock shrine in Co. Mayo since the middle of March.

Now, it seems, plans are in place to facilitate virtual pilgrimages to the Marian Shrine.

Staff in Knock devised methods to enable the faithful to take part in the usual pilgrimages, from the comfort of their own homes.

Companies streaming parish services say there's been a tenfold increase in traffic over the last month or so, with over half a million people tuning in for Sunday masses, broadcast from churches in every corner of the country.

One of the providers, Church Services TV, says it is now broadcasting masses from over 150 churches in Ireland.

I haven't seen it myself, but I have been told that some priests who are cocooning have been transmitting daily services from their own homes. Continue reading

• Paddy Clancy has held high executive positions in Irish and British national papers and radio. During a 30 year celebrated career, he has covered many major stories at home and abroad.

The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, says reopening churches for worship "has serious public health concerns and we have to make sure that we are ready for them."

One of the recommendations that has already been put to him is for Eucharistic Ministers to wear facemasks and disposable gloves when distributing Holy Communion.

Another option to ease congregation numbers and facilitate social distancing could be to remove the Sunday obligation so people could go to Mass any day during the week, he says.

In Ireland, restrictions on public worship due to the Covid-19 pandemic have been in place since 23 March, although many have stayed open for private prayer. In Northern Ireland churches are following the UK government's rules and are completely closed.

Under the Irish government's exit strategy from lockdown, Sunday Masses will resume on 20 July. Numbers at these Masses will be restricted.

Reopening the churches for public worship will occur during the fourth stage of the Irish government's five-stage road map for reopening the country.

One of Ireland's leading psychiatrists has criticised bishops for not actively lobbying the Government to restore public worship sooner than 20 July.

Writing in the Irish Independent this week, Professor Patricia Casey, who is a consultant psychiatrist and Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry said the lockdown has been a huge spiritual sacrifice, in the interests of the common good.

"This makes the resumption of public services a significant event for Christians of all denominations and for other faiths," she said.

Casey also criticised a lack of information around a meeting last week between the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and three Archbishops.

"The bishops should advocate for the spiritual welfare of the people in the pews. They should not be sounding like Department of Health bureaucrats."

"Their passivity does not attract admiration but rather disrespectful glee from those actively hostile to religion," she said.

Source

• The Tablet
• Image: The Tablet