An Irish bishop has said his country’s political and media classes are trying to “eliminate” the Church from public life.
In a homily at the ordination of nine seminarians to the diaconate at the national seminary in Maynooth last week, Bishop William Crean of Cloyne said: “Ireland through its political and media establishments seems determined to eliminate the engagement of the Catholic Church in the public sphere.
“There are many in these systems who have developed a gratuitous cynicism towards the Catholic Church and desire its destruction, believing that it stands between the people and Ireland becoming a progressive society. Our response ought always to be positive.”
Elsewhere, at a Corpus Christi Mass in Co Galway, Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam said Ireland’s greatest challenge was not atheism but the idolatrous worship of false gods. “The Church is no longer the dominant intellectual influence in society, can no longer count on cultural or political support and is frequently dismissed and disregarded,” he said. “Not surprisingly, in this situation greed overcomes gratitude while selfishness frequently displaces compassion.” The archbishop said there was a “huge temptation to assimilate, to accept the dominant values which are at variance so often with our faith.”
Meanwhile, several thousand people attended a pro-life rally in Dublin on Sunday called “Celebrate the Eighth” – the constitutional amendment outlawing abortion. Organiser Cora Sherlock said they wanted “to reclaim the Eighth Amendment as something positive, humane and life-saving.”
Bradford church to become a centre for the Old Mass
A new centre for the celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form will open later this year in the north of England.
Bishop Marcus Stock of Leeds has announced that St Joseph’s Church, Bradford will become a centre for the traditional Latin Mass in the diocese.
Bishop Stock said: “I am making St Joseph’s Church in Bradford a principal church for the celebration of the Extraordinary Form Rite of Mass within the Diocese of Leeds. This is a pastoral response to the request from a number of the faithful for a central church that is easily accessible with a celebration at a time on a Sunday that will facilitate a larger congregation of the faithful to attend.”
Joseph Shaw, chairman of the Latin Mass Society, said: “I am delighted that Bishop Stock has responded in this generous way to the needs of the faithful, not only making the Extraordinary Form available every Sunday in Bradford, but ensuring its long-term stability in St Joseph’s, which is essential to the proper provision of pastoral care to those attending it.”
There are now nearly 50 parishes in England and Wales which celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass every Sunday.
Bishop visits mosque’s soup run
Auxiliary Bishop Paul Hendricks of Southwark helped at Finsbury Park mosque’s Meal for All, a project for the homeless, last week. He was accompanied by Canon John O’Toole and Katharina Smith-Müller, inter-religious adviser to the bishops’ conference. Meal for All works with Catholic charities The Passage, Westminster Caritas and the SVP and is run by Christian
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