Pope Francis is coming to Ireland to strengthen and comfort families and to challenge the Church to be with those families that struggle and fail, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin (above) has said.
In his homily for Palm Sunday, he said the Pope was also coming to challenge those families that believe that “an empty bourgeois lifestyle” or “a narrow piety of certainty” makes them somehow a “better class of family”, adding: “The ideal family is not the one of the fashion magazines.”
The archbishop, who is president of the World Meeting of Families, which takes place in Dublin from 21-26 August, said that homelessness, domestic violence, infidelity, unemployment and lack of social support, or forced migration, all degrade families.
Separately, Bishop Alan McGuckian of Raphoe has said that he still holds out hope that Pope Francis will visit Northern Ireland during his visit. Asked by RTE Radio if the Pope would meet abuse survivors, Bishop McGuckian said he would be “amazed” if that didn’t happen – it would be a “priority” for him.
The Pope has appointed Bishop Philip Boyce as the Apostolic Administrator in the diocese of Dromore, after the resignation of Bishop John McAreavey. Bishop Boyce, who commenced on Thursday, retired as Bishop of Raphoe last year after serving for 22 years. Bishop McAreavey resigned after criticism for concelebrating Mass with Fr Malachy Finnegan in 2000, a priest accused of sexual abuse.
The organiser of the 40 Days for Life vigil outside a medical centre in Nottingham, Dr John Edwards, has had a temporary injunction against him lifted.
It had been brought by Nottingham City Council who had accused Dr Edwards of anti-social behaviour. But Judge Richard Owen QC said that the council’s action could “simply not be justified.”
As he left court, retired teacher Dr Edwards said: “I am delighted because this was about the expression of free speech. This has been a peaceful vigil and we do not approach people. This was a deeply misguided attempt by the city council to attack free speech simply because they disagreed with our point of view.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury has told the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) that he has learnt to be “ashamed of the Church again”.
On the penultimate day of a three-week hearing on the Anglican Church – focusing on the diocese of Chichester – Archbishop Justin Welby said that he could not read the transcripts from the hearing without being moved and ashamed. “I want to put on record again – I don’t know how to express it adequately – how appalled I am and how ashamed I am of the Church for what it did to those who are survivors and are coping with this,” he said. “The apologies are fine, but you have got to find ways of making it different and we have got to do it as soon as possible.”
The archbishop said that he had “seen afresh the insanity of clericalism and of a deferential culture” within the Church. Archbishop Welby said bishops and other members of the clergy were now given training, which made it “quite clear” that if a safeguarding issue was not reported it was a disciplinary matter. “Nobody can say it is not my fault. It is absurd,” he said.
Nichols to give O’Brien homily
Cardinal Vincent Nichols will be the main celebrant and will deliver the homily at the funeral of Cardinal Keith O’Brien who died on 19 March. Requiem Mass will take place at the Church of St Michael, Newcastle, on 5 April at 1 p.m. The burial will take place the next day in Edinburgh, with the cardinal’s body laid to rest in the grave of his parents, in accordance with his wishes. The cardinal stepped down as Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2013 after apologising for sexual misconduct.
Questions of faith
One in 10 young adults in the UK identify as Catholic, compared to seven per cent as Anglican and six per cent as Muslim. A study of 16-29-year olds was conducted by the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, in partnership with the Institut Catholique de Paris.
The report explores religious affiliation and practice in 22 European countries and aims to inform the synod of bishops on “young people, the faith and vocational discernment”, to be held in Rome in October.
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