tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post3003595140068284734..comments2023-12-16T16:17:43.886+00:00Comments on Fr Ray Blake's Blog: Benedict's BootcampFr Ray Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05584140126211527252noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-17861372109884731332010-03-28T16:59:52.174+01:002010-03-28T16:59:52.174+01:00I am sure it is far too late to add anything usefu...I am sure it is far too late to add anything useful to an already eloquent post from Fr Ray and comments - however.. just in case...<br /><br />Mike..<br />There is absolutely no doubt that Scotland's Catholics are blazing a trail. I often look for news of the Catholic Church in Scotland because it gives hope for the rest of us ! Keep strong and keep faithful because we need you.<br /><br /><br />That you are pioneering Eucharistic Adoration in these times is a Prophetic witness in itself.<br /><br />We know that Jesus Himself promised that The Church would always survive. Our role is to stand in that gap and to be able to say, when we stand before Him, "yes, Lord, I did plant that insignificant tiny seed. I said that word, I did my small bit" ...<br /><br />And, from what you say, it sounds as though you have/and are doing so. The Church in Scotland is a Gold Standard for the Church in England and Wales in my personal opinion.<br /><br />You need to pray for the Bishops in England and Wales. God will use them.<br /><br /><br />"annoyed in Ireland" - you are, of course, right to be annoyed. The extraordinary thing is, that, out of all the hundreds of people who might have noticed this sacrilege, God has given that discernment to you.<br /><br />You can either choose to get more annoyed, or to understand that God needs his people to continue to adore Him at the moment, until sufficient numbers come forward.<br /><br /><br />John the Baptist frequently wondered what on earth his role was. He preached, he witnessed, he prepared the way to the point where most ordinary folks dismissed him as a nutter.<br /><br />I sometimes wonder whether God is rasing up many, many John the Baptists in the 21st Century.<br /><br />We won't really ever see the fruits of our work, we will be utterly ridiculed and demised and we will be preaching a very unpopular message.<br /><br />I don't see any alternative option than: "Keep going, because the Lord, your God, is with you."<br /><br />Although, I do wish that Eucharistic Adoration in E and W was more routinely practised. I was told by one priest, recently, that it was "Bad Theology".bernadettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-2705675050650344182010-03-25T01:04:01.834+00:002010-03-25T01:04:01.834+00:00'Priests seek atonement at Lough Derg''...'Priests seek atonement at Lough Derg''<br /><br />http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0325/1224267012108.htmlshanehttp://adamnan.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-38336360835663382010-03-23T21:34:26.641+00:002010-03-23T21:34:26.641+00:00nature of the oath administered*nature of the oath administered*shanehttp://adamnan.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-15132771914875985662010-03-23T21:09:57.765+00:002010-03-23T21:09:57.765+00:00The Catholic Communications Office has issued this...The Catholic Communications Office has issued this press release to correct media lying about the wording and nature administered:<br /><br />Catholic Communications Office concerning Irish Independent published article of 18 March 2010 <br />PRESS RELEASE<br />19 March 2010 <br />http://www.catholicbishops.ie/media-centre/press-release-archive/71-press-release-archive-2010/1813-19-march-2010-correction-note-from-the-catholic-communications-office-concerning-irish-independent-published-article-of-18-march-2010<br /><br />Correction note from the Catholic Communications Office concerning Irish Independent published article of 18 March 2010<br />The following is a correction note from the Catholic Communications Office regarding the Irish Indepedent article "Revealed: Oath taken by Smyth, children, and Brady" by Breda Heffernan published yesterday, 18 March 2010.<br /><br />In relation to the wording of the oath involved in the 1975 enquiry involving the then Fr Seán Brady and concerning Fr Brendan Smyth, the published words used in yesterday’s Irish Independent (18 March 2010) were incorrect. The wording of the oath is as follows:<br /><br />“I [name] hereby swear that I have told the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and that I will talk to no-one about this interview except authorised priests.”<br /><br />In addition, the following sentence was included in the second oath:<br /><br />“So help me God and these holy Gospels which I touch.”<br /><br />Authorised priests in this case refers to the personnel who were taking evidence. The intention of the oaths was to avoid potential collusion in the gathering of the enquiry’s evidence and to ensure that the process was robust enough to withstand challenge by the perpetrator, Fr Brendan Smyth. It was understood by canonical personnel in Ireland that the oaths were no longer binding when the taking of evidence from all witnesses was complete.<br /><br />Further information:<br />Martin Long, Director of Communications 086 172 7678shanehttp://adamnan.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-44341896131170955742010-03-23T10:18:32.889+00:002010-03-23T10:18:32.889+00:00A few inaccuracies and more than a little hyperbol...A few inaccuracies and more than a little hyperbole in today's Grauniad: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/23/pope-benedict-catholic-paedophile-crisis<br /><br />The bit about the Austrian prelate and injudicious comments re Hurricane Katrina puzzled me. IIRC it was the CofE Bishop of Carlisle who made those remarks. If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me.Crux Fidelishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03949811845963570447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-85027261681066568572010-03-23T09:42:33.460+00:002010-03-23T09:42:33.460+00:00GOR,
Gosh! I have arrived!GOR,<br />Gosh! I have arrived!Fr Ray Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05584140126211527252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-64243624877804937812010-03-22T22:33:35.203+00:002010-03-22T22:33:35.203+00:00Father, an FYI - you have arrived!
In addition to...Father, an FYI - you have arrived!<br /><br />In addition to being quoted in USA Today and The Argus, you have now been linked to by Paolo Rodari - the Italian Vaticanista - on his blog <i>Palazzo Apostolico</i>!<br /><br />Good for you - and good that the voices of orthodoxy are being recognized!GORhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14313101159848740722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-91219387236795968232010-03-22T20:57:06.036+00:002010-03-22T20:57:06.036+00:00Dear Father, i read your blog with great interest....Dear Father, i read your blog with great interest. it is apparent from the comments that you are held with enormous respect within your Parish, and i thank you for the debate you encourage.<br />Returning to the original subject, i have 2 great concerns for the future:<br />Firstly: that our beautiful Church, that gives me great love, comfort and joy represents a place of threat, distaste, distrust and pain to so many victims. This is hard to reconcile.<br />Secondly: last week saw a landmark decision made in the Court of Appeal, where a Roman Catholic charity was permitted to override common law and continue its practice of embracing one of doctrines of our Faith. Whether one agrees with the principles of this decision, what it demonstrates is the ability for the Church to have its beliefs recognised over and above common law. Sadly the example of past decades in relation to abuse could damage and challenge such recognition in the future, leaving the Church no option but to wholly abide by the law of the land. Respect can only be given when it is earnt.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14143866065672887907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-82411105433685234732010-03-22T19:57:26.286+00:002010-03-22T19:57:26.286+00:00"Jansenism". The Oxford Companion to Iri...<b>"Jansenism". The Oxford Companion to Irish History. 2007.</b><br /><br />"Jansenism was viewed with great suspicion by Rome, and 17th‐century Irish synods toed the Roman line. Indeed, while its moral rigorism made it attractive to elements of the Counter‐Reformation church, Jansenism's theological and political radicalism alienated both local hierarchies and Catholic monarchs. This was especially the case in France and most Irish clerical students there associated with milieux hostile to the movement. Indeed their anti‐Jansenist opinions were singled out for criticism by the pro‐Jansenist journal Nouvelles ecclésiastiques, Irish clerics, in general, being more attracted to Jesuit‐style humanism. The success of the anti‐Jansenist bull Unigenitus (1713) marginalized the movement but it survived as a popular millenarian‐cum‐miracle cult. Neither as a theology nor as a political attitude did Jansenism recommend itself to the Irish Catholic community, either at home or abroad. The frequent claim that Irish Catholicism was Jansenist‐influenced springs from the tendency to confuse Jansenism with mere moral rigorism."<br /><br />Dr Thomas O'Connor. Ph.D. <br />Senior Lecturer - Department of History, National University of Ireland, Maynooth faculty<br />https://history.nuim.ie/staff/oconnorthomas<br /><br />author of:<br /><br />_Irish Jansenists 1600-1670: politics and religion in Flanders, France, Ireland and Rome (Dublin, 2008)<br />_Strangers to Citizens: the Irish in Europe 1600-1800 (Dublin, 2008)<br />_An Irish Jansenist in seventeenth-century France: John Callaghan 1605-54 (Dublin, 2005)<br />_An Irish Theologian in Enlightenment Europe: Luke Joseph Hooke 1714-96 (Dublin, 1995)<br /><br /><br /><b>Healy, John. Maynooth College : its centenary history (1895). Dublin : Browne & Nolan, 1895.</b><br /><br />"During the eighteenth century many of the most eminent Churchmen in France were, to some extent, tinctured with these Jansenistic views, even when repudiating the Jansenistic errors regarding the operation of grace and free will. But although so many of our Irish ecclesiastics were educated in France during the eighteenth century, none of those who came to Ireland ever showed the slightest trace of this Jansenistic influence, either in their writings or their sermons. Nor has any respectable authority asserted, so far as we know, that the French Professors of Maynooth were in any way tinged with the spirit of Jansenism."<br /><br />Most Rev. John Healy, D.D., LL.D., M.R.I.A.shanehttp://adamnan.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-76705614639420842122010-03-22T16:14:59.298+00:002010-03-22T16:14:59.298+00:00Annoyed: I take your point about the lack of rever...Annoyed: I take your point about the lack of reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. While I have not witnessed some of the things you noted, here in the US, there is a definite lack of respect and realization of the Real Presence when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. At my parish we have Adoration on Tuesday mornings after the 8:30 Mass. But I see people chatting at the back of the church with backs to the Blessed Sacrament even after Exposition has started.<br /><br />I don’t believe it is intentional disrespect - rather “they know not what they do”. This comes, I believe, from a general lack of decorum and respect in church at all times. Even if the Blessed Sacrament is not exposed, Our Lord is still present in the Tabernacle and we should show proper respect for Him at all times.<br /><br />People have not been adequately catechized on the Real Presence for a generation or more. And this is not helped by the example of some – clerical and lay – during the Liturgy. If Father or the other ministers at the altar pass the Tabernacle without as much as a bow (it should be a genuflection, except at rare times during Mass) people copy what they see.<br /> <br />When people are taught that the Mass is just a ‘meal’ and the House of God is merely a ‘meeting place’ like the parish hall, and when the Tabernacle is hidden away out of sight or not even present in the Church proper, people never develop a sense of respect and awe for the Blessed Sacrament.<br /><br />We have lost much in the past 40 years. We have much to re-gain.GORhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14313101159848740722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-61668776604985969852010-03-22T16:05:31.383+00:002010-03-22T16:05:31.383+00:00NO MORE on schools!NO MORE on schools!Fr Ray Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05584140126211527252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-65672312857244223052010-03-22T13:12:36.370+00:002010-03-22T13:12:36.370+00:00Ma Tucker, it is your position that is unreasonabl...Ma Tucker, it is your position that is unreasonable. 90%+ of primary schools are under the patronage of Catholic bishops. That does not nearly reflect the proportion of the population who want Catholic education. Yes Catholic taxpayers fund them, as do all other taxpayers; and most Catholic taxpayers would support patronage reform. Educate Together schools, in their current format, are already often a wasteful duplication of resources. Whatever capital invested to buy the site (and often that was provided by the state anyway), the government has more than amply remunerated by paying their total running costs since the foundation of the state. Pat Rabbitte, the leader of the Labour party, demanded the total nationalization of primary schools as a means of recompense for the taxpayers bailing out the religious orders. Holding onto such vast swathes of education infrastructure is both unnecessary and counter-productive - it forces bishops to take account of the sensitivities of parents who do not want a Catholic education for their child, but have no other option.<br /><br />Archbishop Martin's approach is prudent. He knows this is the only way to save Catholic education. When the post-conciliar catechetical disaster is resolved, and a Catholic ethos is once more enforced, Catholic schools may possibly recover lost territory simply by Darwinistic means. The reactionary position you suggest would result in every single Catholic school being expropriated to the state. Either way reform of the education system to take account of demographic changes is inevitable - Archbishop Martin has got there first so as to get it on the Church's terms.<br /><br />Regardless, this does not directly concern the topic at hand. It is a rabbit hole and I shan't be responding to any more comments on it.shanehttp://adamnan.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-15730585310622957652010-03-22T12:01:18.550+00:002010-03-22T12:01:18.550+00:00'On my frequent visits to Ireland, I have foun...'On my frequent visits to Ireland, I have found one thing that separates it from the English church at the moment: Eucharistic Adoration is to be found much more easily.'<br /><br />Yes this is true... BUT I am not sure the Holy Father would agree with the way it is done right now. <br /><br />Not in accordance with correct practice or proper reverence I would think. <br /><br />To often one sees the Blessed Sacrament alone in the churches here in Ireland and if you are lucky two candles (there should be more), or a corporal. Often the Sacrament is exposed by a lay person, who I have even witnessed just walking up to the altar and giving a 'benediction' at the end. Even the clergy do not observe the correct rites. One church near here has exposition every week. Never a priest in sight and the monstrance with Our Lord is placed on a small plastic topped table to the side of the altar.<br /><br />The cathedral here exposes the Blessed Sacrament from inside a glass fronted 'tabernacle' (forbidden so far as I was aware), no candles, no 'watchers' and even witnessed people practising 'liturgy' chatting away, not a genuflection in sight, as though this was normal.<br /><br />Not sure this displays externally what the belief should be interiorly (which I cannot judge).<br /><br />Surely we shouldn't treat God this way?<br /><br />Symptomatic of the problems the Holy Father refers to I suspect.Annoyed in Irelandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-50161595928169460962010-03-22T11:30:27.026+00:002010-03-22T11:30:27.026+00:00Shane,
I really thing your position is quite unrea...Shane,<br />I really thing your position is quite unreasonable.<br />The Catholic school system is not national property simply managed by the Catholic Church. The schools were built by Catholics and mantained by Catholics. Catholic taxpayers pay for teachers and school buildings and maintenance. The government may be obliged to offer diversity but not at the expense of the bulk of the population. In fact they are obliged to support parents in their primary duty (parents have the primary duty under that Irish constitution) to educate their children. Yes, their are parents who wish a secular education sytem. "Educate Together" is a group set up and funded to provide this. <br /><br />What I and all the Catholic parents I know desire is a good and proper Catholic education for our children. What many non-religious parents (I know of) desire is also a good Catholic education for their children. It is the gold standard when done properly and parents know it. <br /><br />As regard your poll from the Irish times issued at the height of the controversy, well I think I would be sorely tempted to discard it. It does not state that parents do not want a Catholic education for their children. It was carried out it at the height of the scandal and lets face it the Irish times is hardly a credible purveyor of truth. The Iona institue is a lot more reliable.<br /><br />You are quite right to state that many constitutions (in this case mis-named as Treaty) do not recognise Christ and the role of the Catholic Church but you will find that the Irish constitution does. Not only that, it recognises the role of the family and the legitimate right of the people to be governed by laws agreeable to them. This, you may sign away unknowingly and with good intentions but not "in good conscience". While many of our Bishops supported the Lisbon Constitution I would hope that not all. However, I would not take any moral guidance in their position of support given that the Pope recognises their need for conversion. A case of the blind leading the blind.<br /><br />You are quite right to point out the serious failings of Catholic education in many of our schools but surely this can change. By handing them over to the State the challenge of re-evangelisation becomes more difficult. Not only that, you also expose children to poor moral direction guided by perverse notions of humanity. The State is a poor educator and a notoriously negligent parent. Look to the UK to see this.<br /><br />You were also quite right to state that the Lisbon Constitution did not deny Christ. It simply sidelined the Christian heritage of Europe as one among many religions that have played a "role" in the formation of European culture. The Lisbon Constitution gave the major credit for this formation to the Endarkenment (otherwise known as the Enlightenment by those in the dark). Now, any person taking a trip around Europe can plainly see its cultural heritage written in it's buildings. It is overwhemingly Christian. In fact, the majority of European citizens are Christian. To sideline this fact of heritage is to deny your roots. It is a lie to do so. So, no the Lisbon Constitutions did not explicitly deny Christ, it simply brushed him aside with a lie which, according to the Standing committee of the Irish Bishops conference, you can sign up to "in good conscience".Ma Tuckernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-68726067738036237442010-03-22T10:29:34.270+00:002010-03-22T10:29:34.270+00:00In my parish in England during Lent we had Station...In my parish in England during Lent we had Stations of the Cross followed by a "communion service" this conducted by the PP! In other words no Mass. This strikes me as crazy. "Communion services" are becoming more and more the norm and these fools wonder there is an identity crisis in the priesthood? It´s all self-inflicted with help from the mafia of lay people who haunt parish life.Sadie Vacantisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04823532366874114366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-27500675677892467562010-03-22T08:33:39.458+00:002010-03-22T08:33:39.458+00:00It's a problem because the Constitution guaran...It's a problem because the Constitution guarantees school choice, but the government fully funds these schools. There are virtually no 'state' schools in Ireland. The current system is a relic of a long gone Ireland. Everyone accepts the need for reform here. If the Archbishop doesn't voluntarily give up schools, the next government will do the job for him. And they'll confiscate <b>all</b> his schools, not just the superfluous ones.shanehttp://adamnan.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-6145118894758909152010-03-22T02:35:58.381+00:002010-03-22T02:35:58.381+00:00Why is it a problem if 90% of the schools are Cath...Why is it a problem if 90% of the schools are Catholic? As long as there's no law stopping the building of private schools run by other people, or government schools run with public money, that's entirely a matter of what the people want, surely? If the government wants to run schools, don't they have the power to ask for funding and build them?<br /><br />I mean, do people really complain if 90% of houses are owned by families instead of the government? Does the government go in and take house deeds away from Catholics, because too many Catholics own houses?<br /><br />Now, if you're questioning the competence of the bishops to run a school system, that's a matter of encouraging the bishops to hire people who can run it.Bansheehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12594214770417497135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-52437109187300466052010-03-22T01:08:38.926+00:002010-03-22T01:08:38.926+00:00While the Holy Father’s letter is directed to the ...While the Holy Father’s letter is directed to the Irish Church and the present circumstances, I think it is clearly a message to the Universal Church. The way he crafted the letter was very well done. He called to people’s minds the great missionary history of Ireland and the fact that most Irish families can – and always did – boast of members in the priesthood and religious life. This is probably truer in Ireland than in say, a Germany, an Austria or other European countries.<br /><br />It is a reminder to people of a glorious past history and also the fact that this scandal hits close to home for most families in Ireland. The way some people in Ireland speak of and relate to this is almost as if it all happened in a vacuum. The men and women in clerical and religious life - both guilty and innocent - come from Irish families. They are the brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts of much of the population - not outsiders who came from somewhere else. And that includes the hierarchy!<br /><br />The Holy Father’s reminder of the tradition of popular devotions, missions and attendance at the Sacraments that we grew up with in earlier times is a wake-up call to people that everyone needs to get on board with their Faith once again. As others have pointed out, Eucharistic Adoration is still very much in evidence in Ireland. In my old parish there is Perpetual Adoration in a hospital chapel – not just weekly or for Forty Hours, but 365 days a year. It is not a cloistered community but ordinary laypeople who keep vigil there and have done so for years.<br /><br />As to the bishops, Pope Benedict has long been critical of Episcopal Conferences and how they often muddy the waters, give cover to individual bishops and allow them to shirk their responsibilities. He is not one to knock heads and act precipitously. Rather, like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son, he would like to draw them to repentance, see the error of their ways, and reform themselves. He doesn’t “desire the death of the sinner”, but that he repent. And that message is not just for them but for us all!GORhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14313101159848740722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-88319888451249834432010-03-21T23:55:49.039+00:002010-03-21T23:55:49.039+00:00Ma Tucker, opinion polls on school preference diff...Ma Tucker, opinion polls on school preference differ sharply depending on the way the question is constructed.<br /><br />A Irish Times /Ipsos/MRBI poll in January found that:<br /><br />"61 per cent of people said the church should give up control of the school system, 28 per cent said it should maintain its position and 11 per cent had no opinion on the matter"<br />Irish Times /Ipsos, MRBI poll.<br />http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2010/0125/1224263037668.html<br /><br />90%+ of primary schools are under the patronage of a Catholic bishop. That is ridiculous and unsustainable. Almost everyone accepts the need for reform in this area. The Archbishop knows full well that if he takes a reactionary stance and refuses to give up schools, the government would take matters into their own hands and that would be a much worse prospect. Archbishop Ryan, one of Martin's predecessors, bears much blame for the post-conciliar catechetical disaster, but we must face facts. A smaller number of Catholic schools, and consequently greater school choice, will allow a more authentically Catholic ethos to develop.<br /><br />The Lisbon Treaty is a controversial issue and I don't want to open a rabbit hole. But I'd imagine all bishops supported it. I certainly did. The Treaty does not 'deny' the Christian heritage of Europe, it just doesn't recognize it, which is a bit different. Treaties rarely give recognition to historic facts. But let's not get bogged down in this.shanehttp://adamnan.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-81391618129938438132010-03-21T23:18:24.955+00:002010-03-21T23:18:24.955+00:00If the Irish Church was anti-intellectual in the p...If the Irish Church was anti-intellectual in the pre-conciliar era (I have seen no evidence of it...but anyway), then the blame must surely fall on the French Church. Maynooth was little more than a transplant of the ancien regime Sorbonne; most of its professors were emigrés from the Revolution and the curriculum was the French standard. Even to this day, the Maynooth gown is an adaptation of that worn by clergy professors in the pre-Revolution Sorbonne. <br /><br />I think it's too easy to scapegoat the Irish Church. Like flogging a dead horse.shanehttp://adamnan.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-43367024559566558052010-03-21T23:00:52.260+00:002010-03-21T23:00:52.260+00:00I think you have got to the kernal of the letter, ...I think you have got to the kernal of the letter, Father. I believe the Pope’s letter to Ireland is for the Catholic Church worldwide, pour encourager les autres. <br />The collegial model all too often appears to have resulted in self-contained little fiefdoms answerable only to themselves, whilst fobbing off the faithful with platitudinous drivel.<br />Surely there has to be a middle way. Loyalty to the Pope and acceptance of his guidance would be a start.<br />I really hope that the E&W bishops do not think that with the current focus on Ireland and other European countries they can rest easy and that it’s business as usual. <br />If nothing else, they should be aware that with the advent of the internet the laity has found a cohesive voice beyond the boundaries of dioceses and nation states and it will not be silent on those matters which gravely compromise the Catholic Faith. <br />The first sign that the E&W Bishops Conference has grasped this fact would be the overhaul of the discredited CES.georgemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-32534208602662568032010-03-21T22:57:18.914+00:002010-03-21T22:57:18.914+00:00bernadette said...
“On my frequent visits to Irela...bernadette said...<br />“On my frequent visits to Ireland, I have found one thing that separates it from the English church at the moment: Eucharistic Adoration is to be found much more easily. <br /><br />Whether it is in Dublin city centre or in the rural south west, the practice of Adoration is much more part of the routine devotion of the local church than it is in the UK.”<br /><br />I cannot comment on either Ireland or England but I can tell you that there is frequent Eucharistic Adoration in Scotland. In the Glasgow Archdiocese, for example, there is a programme of Forty Hours Adoration involving at least one church every week. This week there are four churches involved.<br />At my one local church there is Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after Mass on Saturdays, at least, and at another church I attend there is daily Exposition and Rosary before the Blessed sacrament immediately before Mass on Mondays to Fridays.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-88405312975215543242010-03-21T22:48:06.041+00:002010-03-21T22:48:06.041+00:00Fr. Ray, your summation is accurate unfortunately....Fr. Ray, your summation is accurate unfortunately. I thank God for this Pope because he gets to the heart of the problem. Many of our Bishops and priests have gone astray. It will be a great day when the scales drop from theirs eyes though. Please God, if we follow the Pope's Instructions, we'll see the light at then end of this horrible tunnel.<br /><br />Shane Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was a member of the standing commitee of the Irish Bishops conference who issued a letter saying a Catholic could vote yes in good conscience to the Lisbon Constitution ( otherwise miss-known as treaty). A constitution which denies Christ and the FACT of the Christian heritage of Europe. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin proposed giving away up to 40% of Catholic schools to the government for secularisation, despite the fact that parents overwhelmingly desired Catholic education for their children. A rather curious reason stated was that it would allow non-catholic teachers more choice. Sorry, but these two facts alone make him rather undeserving of the title "pastoral" in my view. Furthermore, the way he handled this whole crisis was really poor. I'm here and I do love him but he needs bootcamp bigtime.Ma Tuckernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-26932708879087279382010-03-21T22:40:18.430+00:002010-03-21T22:40:18.430+00:00I'd love to see episcopal pilgrimages to St Pa...<i>I'd love to see episcopal pilgrimages to St Patrick's Purgatory.</i><br /><br />Father, I agree completely.<br /><br />The bishops of Ireland, health permitting, should go barefoot to Lough Derg and do the pilgrimage. The public needs to see the bishops 'in sackcloth and ashes' publicly repenting for the wrongs of either themselves or their brother bishops.Sharonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31069882.post-82652609675821922252010-03-21T22:38:44.162+00:002010-03-21T22:38:44.162+00:00I see that "Paddy Power" has reduced the...I see that "Paddy Power" has reduced the odds of Pope Benedict's resignation to 3 to 1.<br />Personally I hope that the Pope never resigns. I pray for him daily as also I pray for Bishop Willie Walsh...but for a far different outcome.<br />My own Archdiocese here in Australia has a very large number of parishes with Eucharistic Adoration on at least one day per week. My own parish has it twice a week and there are four parishes with Perpetual Adoration.Our number of seminarians is one of the highest in Australia as is the number of Ordinations.<br />As they say, time is a great healer, but, unfortunately, this healing is going to take a very long time.<br />JARayJARayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18138004129894177863noreply@blogger.com