Is there any room for dissent in the Catholic Church? For me, that was the question at the heart of Monday’s BBC One documentary on Fr Brian D’Arcy, The Turbulent Priest.
As I wrote in my post yesterday, D’Arcy’s … Read more...
Category: Secularisation
Fr Brian D’Arcy and Vocation – Reflecting the Changing Nature of Priesthood?
I plan to blog later in the week about last night’s BBC One documentary about Fr Brian D’Arcy, The Turbulent Priest. A flurry of media coverage leading up to the documentary had honed in on the controversy around D’Arcy’s … Read more...
Year of Faith – Realising the Promise of Vatican II?
Earlier this month, the Catholic Church’s ‘Year of Faith’ got underway. It was instigated as a result of the Pope’s Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei and it marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II and the … Read more...
Emerging versus Ecumenical? More Insights from Doug Gay
As I continue to reflect on and (attempt) to write about the Emerging Church Movement (ECM), I find myself returning to Doug Gay’s 2011 book, Remixing the Church.
I’ve already reviewed Remixing the Church on this blog, and have … Read more...
Rob Bell and a New American Christianity by James Wellman – Book Review
Who is Rob Bell? What does he believe? Does his career tell us anything important about religious change in the United States?
Whether you are a fan of Rob Bell, a wary admirer, a critic, or simply interested in how … Read more...
Ireland’s Troublesome Priests: Promoting ‘Evolution’ in the Irish Catholic Church?
Last month (23 September 2012) BBC Radio 4 aired a documentary titled ‘Ireland’s Troublesome Priests,’ which seemingly set out to focus on the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP)and the members of it who have been censored by the Vatican … Read more...
David Tombs and the Ulster Covenant Part III: A New Covenant in 2012?
Now that the centenary of Ulster Day has passed, it is instructive to reflect back on how the churches have remembered (or have not remembered) the Ulster Covenant this year. In the third and final in his series of posts … Read more...
Johnston McMaster and Cathy Higgins Book Review: Signing the Covenant – But Which One?
There are always alternatives.
While events may look like they were inevitable after the fact, Johnston McMaster and Cathy Higgins’ book, Signing the Covenant – But Which One?, asks us to recognise that not only are other options always … Read more...
German Catholics Must Pay the Price for Sacraments
In what looks like another public relations disaster for the Catholic Church, the Catholic Church in Germany has announced that Catholics who refuse to pay a church tax of 8-10% of their income will be denied the sacraments and forbidden … Read more...
How will the Churches Remember the Ulster Covenant?
I have a new post on the Slugger O’Toole blog: How will the Churches Remember the Ulster Covenant?… Read more...
The Future for Lay People in the Catholic Church Part II – Can we Implement Vatican II?
On Monday I blogged about a talk in Belfast’s Clonard Monastery by Dr Richard Gaillardetz, McCarthy Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology at Boston College. Gaillardetz’s topic was the future for lay people in the Catholic Church. He spent most … Read more...