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    Irish Catholic Blogs

    • Nuncio comes to ‘more humble, but confident’ Church
      19 Feb 2012
      Michael Kelly
      Pope Benedict XVI is acutely aware that recent years have been tough for Irish Catholics as a result of the clerical abuse scandals the new Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland has said. Speaking during a Mass to mark his formal welcome as the Pope’s representative in Dublin Pro-cathedral at the weekend Archbishop Charles Brown said the Pontiff...
    • Chinese VP Xi, Ireland, the Vatican and George Bush
      19 Feb 2012
      David Quinn
      Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping is in Ireland on a three day visit. The Government has rolled out the  red carpet in the hope of reaping some trade dividends down the road. Pushed into the backgrounds are concerns about human rights violations in China. Lip service only is being paid to these. Realpolitik is the order of the day. The...
    • Old Media as the Catholic Church
      8 Feb 2012
      David Quinn
      There has been a lot in the papers over the last few days about the potentially mortal threat that New Media (that is, news websites and blogs) pose to Old Media (meaning mainly newspapers). Newspapers are complaining that if they continue to decline or go out of business altogether, news standards will go through the floor and every manner...
    • Church can become world leader in child protection
      7 Feb 2012
      Michael Kelly
      If bishops around the world courageously embrace robust child safeguarding policies the Church can lead the way the Rome conference on abuse has been told. While the Church has failed dramatically to respond properly to abuse by priests and religious “there are clear signs of progress and hope” according to US-based Msgr Stephen...
    • Accountability is only way to restore trust – Marie Collins
      7 Feb 2012
      Michael Kelly
      Prominent abuse campaigner Marie Collins has insisted that victims of abuse can only begin to find healing when there is a full acknowledgement of the hierarchy’s failure to tackle abuse and not just an apology for the abuse itself. Mrs Collins, who was abused as a child by Fr Paul McGennis, said her experience of not being listened to by...
    • Act before media has to expose crimes warns cardinal
      6 Feb 2012
      Michael Kelly
      A senior Vatican official has warned Church leaders that they must be proactive in addressing allegations of abuse rather than waiting on the media to expose such crimes. Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told delegates at a Vatican-sponsored conference on abuse that it had to be acknowledged that...
    • Garda child protection failures and the Church
      3 Feb 2012
      David Quinn
      A new report from the Garda Inspectorate on how well or how badly the Gardai are investigating child abuse allegations describes what amounts to a turf war between the HSE and the Gardai over who is responsible for what in terms of child protection. The report says this turf war is compromising child safety. In addition, The Irish Times reports...
    • Tackling the commercialisation of Communion
      2 Feb 2012
      Michael Kelly
      The Catholic hierarchy has warned that commercial considerations should not be allowed to distract from the religious nature of First Holy Communion. It comes after a debate in the Dáil today where some deputies raised concerns about cuts to special grants that parents who are in receipt of social welfare benefits can avail of. Such...
    • Taoiseach vows to ‘review’ Holy See Embassy closure
      2 Feb 2012
      Michael Kelly
      A clear rift has now emerged between the two coalition parties on Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore’s controversial decision to downgrade Ireland’s diplomatic relationship with the Holy See. The Fine Gael Parliamentary Party last night (Wednesday) voted unanimously to support a motion that the closure of the Embassy to the Holy See should...
    • Irish clerical abuse survivor to address key Vatican...
      29 Jan 2012
      Michael Kelly
      Senior Vatican officials will hear first hand of the experiences of Irish abuse victims at a major conference in Rome next week aimed at extending better Church guidelines worldwide to ensure abuse allegations are handled properly. Marie Collins, who was abused by Dublin priest Fr Paul McGennis, was one of the first people to come forward on how...