Below is an excerpt of an article in Christian Today about an initiative encouraging churches to pray and also take part in a prayer relay during the 70 day Olympic torch relay which begins at Land’s End this Saturday 19^th May.

“Churches are being encouraged to pray during the 70-day Olympic torch relay when it gets underway this Saturday.

The Olympic torch begins its journey at Land’s End in Cornwall and will tour the length and breadth of the country before arriving at the Olympic Stadium in London on 27 July.

The torch will travel through 1,000 towns, cities and villages during its tour.

Open air prayer meetings are being organised at the 70 official stops on the route by 7:14 and Kingdom Come 2012 by Alpha and 24-7 Prayer.

There will also be a praise bus carrying worshipping singers and musicians that will travel along the route ahead of the torch’s arrival.

More than Gold, the umbrella group for church outreach during the Olympics, is encouraging as many Christians as possible to join the prayer events or simply be a ‘prayer presence’ in their communities during the torch relay.

Jane Holloway, chair of the More than Gold prayer team said: “The Olympic torch journey will pass through over a thousand communities.

“We would like it to inspire a cascade of prayer and praise – with individuals and churches taking time to pray, alone and together, as it travels through their area.”

By Christian Today

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Below is an excerpt of an article in CiNews about the journey of the Eucharistic Congress Bell around the North West of England, ahead of next month’s 50^th International Eucharistic Congress 2012.

“The Eucharistic Congress Bell has begun to ring out through the north west of England, calling pilgrims to the 50th International Eucharistic Congress 2012 (IEC2012), which will be hosted in Dublin from June 10 – 17.

The bell is the key symbol of this year’s Congress and is the Catholic Church’s version of the Olympic torch.  The Eucharistic Congress has been likened to a Spiritual Olympics and on the journey, it calls upon the Church’s athletes, viz, the pilgrims, to respond to its call.

On its pilgrimage, the bell has already travelled to Lourdes, and in Rome where it was received by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter’s Square.  It has been through the twenty-six dioceses of Ireland, over 1,000 parishes, more than 100 schools, and a dozen hospitals and nursing homes, calling people to ‘Come to the Congress’.

The schedule for the journey is as follows:

Sunday May 20 at 4:00pm, Our Lady of Grace, Fairfax Rd, Prestwich;

Monday May 21 at 6:30pm, St John’s ,The Crescent, Bromley Cross, Bolton;

Tuesday May 22 at 7:00pm, St Albans, Larkhill, Blackburn;

Wednesday May 23 at 7:00pm, St Mary’s 3 Todmorden Road, Burnley;

Thursday May 24 at 7:00pm, St Aiden & Oswald Vaughan St, Royton, Oldham;

Friday May 25 at 7:30pm, Salford Cathedral, 250 Chapel St Salford;

Saturday May 26 at 2:00pm, St Dunstan’s Moston Lane, Moston and;

Sunday May 27 at 4:00pm, St Kentigern’s 36 Wilbraham Road, Fallowfield.”

By Gerard Bennett

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Below is an excerpt of an article on Zenit.org reporting on a recent press conference given by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin and Archbishop Piero Marini, the President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses at the Holy See

“The forthcoming Eucharistic Congress, to be held in Ireland next month, will look to inspire within the Church in Ireland and the world a spirit of healing, renewal, and reconciliation that is founded upon the Body of Christ.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin spoke in a press conference at the Holy See recently about the significance of this Congress taking place at this point in the history of the Church, both in Ireland and in the world. “The 50thInternational Congress in Dublin,” the archbishop said, “will be a moment once again of renewal and reconciliation. It will be an event which recalls all Catholics to the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the Church, truly as the summit towards which all the activity of the Church is directed and the font from which all her life flows.”

The focal point of each day of the congress will be the celebration of the Eucharist in the Holy Mass, which will serve as context for talks and discussions about the “bonds between the Eucharist and other dimensions of human life.”

All together there will be more than 100 exhibition stands at the Congress showcasing different aspects of the life of the Church in Ireland, with 150 workshops and discussion groups. “Over one hundred choirs from all over Ireland will provide the music for the liturgies,” he announced. “Parish Churches in Dublin will host groups from a wide number of countries who will be represented at the Congress… In the coming weeks, the Archdiocese of Dublin will prepare for the Congress with a Call to Mission, reaching out to young people, to the sick, and to parish renewal through prayer, Eucharistic adoration, and the celebration of the Sacrament of reconciliation.”

In response to questions, Archbishop Martin spoke about a day of reconciliation which will be held during the congress. “On that day,” he explained, “the text of the liturgy will touch on the question of victims of child sexual abuse. Those texts are always written in collaboration with victims.”

In answer to a question of how can the Eucharistic Congress bring people back to the Sacramental life of the Church, he suggested, “We have to really look at the way we involve people in the preparation for the Sacraments, and understand that the Sacraments aren’t social events, but ecclesial realities.”

From Zenit.org

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Below is an excerpt of an article on CiNews about upcoming clerical staff changes in the Irish College in Rome, which currently has about 60 students studying for the priesthood.

“A number of changes in the clerical staff involved in formation in the Irish College in Rome are due to take place in the coming weeks.

Three of the four priests who deal with the formation of seminarians are due to return to their dioceses in Ireland.

According to a statement from the Catholic Communications office, the rector of the Irish College in Rome, Fr Ciarna O’Carroll, has announced that vice Rector Albert McDonnell, director of formation Fr Billy Swan and college spiritual director Fr Chris Hayden are to return to their dioceses at the conclusion of the current academic year.

Fr McDonnell returns to the Killaloe diocese, Fr Swan and Fr Hayden return to the Ferns Diocese.  The four Archbishops, who are trustees of the Irish College, are expected to announce new appointments to each post after they meet later this month.

As well as personal factors, is widely thought that the changes are been made following the apostolic visitation to the Irish College by the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan.

In a report published last March, he praised Irish seminary staff for being, “dedicated formators” who were committed to their work of, “priestly training,”  but called for a, “more systematic preparation,” for priestly life in the seminaries and greater concern, “for the intellectual formation of seminarians,” to ensure that their education was in, “full conformity with the Church’s Magisterium.”

By Sean Ryan

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Photo fro CNA

Below is an excerpt of an article in CNA about a new blessing for unborn children that has been published by the U.S. bishops conference today.

“Ahead of Mother’s Day (in the U.S.), the U.S. bishops’ conference has published a prayer to bless an unborn child, the child’s pregnant mother, the child’s father and the child’s family.

“God, author of all life, bless, we pray, this unborn child,” the prayer begins. “Give constant protection and grant a healthy birth.”

The blessing, titled “Rite of Blessing for a Child in the Womb,” is posted online at the U.S. bishops’ conference website. It is also published as a booklet addendum to the “Book of Blessings,” in which it will be included in future editions.

The prayer says that God has brought to the pregnant woman “the wondrous joy of motherhood.”

“Grant her comfort in all anxiety and make her determined to lead her child along the ways of salvation,” it adds.

The portion of the prayer for the child’s father says that God has “singled out this man to know the grace and pride of fatherhood.” It asks God to grant him courage and to make him “an example of justice and truth” for the child.

Archbishop Gregory M. Aymond, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, explained the intentions behind the prayer.

“We hope the use of this blessing will provide not only support and God’s blessing for expectant parents and their child in the womb, but also another effective witness to the sanctity of human life from the first moment of conception,” he said May 8.”

The blessing can be downloaded at http://www.usccb.org/about/pro-life-activities/prayers/pro-life-blessings.cfm.

From CNA

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Below is an excerpt of an article in the Irish Catholic which exclusively reveals that a successor bishop to Cardinal Seán Brady as Primate of All-Ireland is very likely to be appointed sooner rather than later.

“High level Vatican sources have indicated this week that while Cardinal Brady has not come under pressure from the Vatican to resign, the Holy See is acutely aware that the Church in Ireland needs fresh leadership to bring healing and renewal.

The Vatican source indicated that the papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown has been taking soundings since his arrival in January about a successor in Armagh. This process has intensified as a result of the current controversy and there is a growing realisation that the cardinal may not be able to stay on until he is 75 in late 2014, even though he has indicated he would like to.

“The Holy See knows that despite his mistakes and failings Cardinal Brady is fundamentally a good man,” the Vatican source said.

“There is no desire to see him forced from office. But there is a growing sense that for the good of the Church and for the process of healing, a timetable for his departure as primate will have to emerge sooner rather than later,” he said.

It is understood Archbishop Brown has been in direct communication with the head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet.”

By Michael Kelly

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Below is an excerpt of an article from CNS about a parish wide initiative in the UK to involve communities in the Olympic games and use sport to build cohesive communities and strong parishes.

“A “family triathlon” was a novel idea; as far as Colm Hickey was aware, it hadn’t been tried before.

It would involve teams of three people from the same family, each of whom would compete in one of the three categories of the event — either cycling, running or swimming — against other families.

The idea posed a few problems, such as how children could compete with adults. And weren’t there child-protection issues in the use of changing areas and other facilities?

But Hickey was not going to be deterred in his role as the London 2012 Olympics Catholic “gold champion” of Our Lady and St Joseph Parish in London.

Children will be sharing facilities with their own parents, he insisted, and it was easy enough to stream the three events into age categories.

His arguments prevailed and the family triathlon will proceed in London May 13 with the blessing of the British Triathlon Federation.

A week later, there will be a huge soccer tournament, also organized by Hickey and, closer to the July 27-Aug. 12 Olympics, there will be other parish-based, though not exclusively Catholic, sporting activities such as track-and-field events for children in the area.

The parish-based gold champions represent just one of many initiatives of More Than Gold, an umbrella group of 16 Christian denominations set up with the aim of helping the churches to engage more closely with the Olympics.”

By Simon Caldwell

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Below is an excerpt of an article from CiNews about the recent official launch of the Mount Argus Work4All initiative, a new community initiative to tackle unemployment in the local area.

“Mount Argus parish in Dublin, a parish run by the Passionist Congregation since the early 1970s and home to the shrine of St Charles of Mount Argus, a Passionist priest who died in 1893 and was beatified by Pope Benedict on June 3 2007 was the centre of another momentous occasion last Tuesday evening with the formal launch of their new parish initiative, Work4All.

Work4All had very small beginnings when the two priests of the Parish, Fr Frank Keevins, c.p. and Fr Ignatious Waters, c.p. both found themselves reflecting on the same topic, one that is not far from many households in Ireland today, unemployment.

The response from the parish quickly confirmed that this was something that they could not just put aside.  Feedback via the website and through one-to-one conversations led to a meeting being held in Mount Argus in November last year with an open invitation to people to attend whether employed, unemployed, retired, working or just wish to come and listen. By the early part of this year, a committee began to come together, the Mount Argus Parish Community Centre offered some office space, a small amount of funding was found and thus, Work4All has taken root.

Seán Gallagher, former Presidential candidate, former dragon on the well-known Dragon’s Den programme and a man with a huge amount of experience in starting business as well as a history of working with people, come along last Tuesday with his wife Trish and enthusiastically launched the initiative.

During his speech, Gallagher spoke of the consequences of unemployment including the loss of confidence, and of self esteem, the loss of financial independence and of dignity.  He also said how many who speak of it don’t actually understand it, saying “Economists and commentators don’t fully understand the issue of unemployment.  Unless you have been unemployed, you have no real understanding, other than an academic, intellectual view of unemployment.”

Concluding his speech, Gallagher spoke of his admiration for the initiative and the difference that it can make to the lives of so many people, saying, “Ireland is full of heroes and tonight, my friends, as I stand here with you, you are those heroes “

He finished by telling the packed hall, “This project here will be seen as a leading example of what we can do as a community and you will lead the way.”

For more information about the Mount Argus Parish Work4All initiative, go to www.mountargusparish.ie , www.mawork4all.ie, or email mawork4all@mountargusparish.ie ”

By Gerard Bennett

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Below is an article from Irish Catholic about a new web app launched by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice (VPS) to allow household calculate the cost of their minimum essential standard of living.

“The Vincentian Partnership for Social justice (VPS) in conjunction with Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) has launched a web app to allow households to calculate the cost of their minimum essential standard of living.

The tool also enables the household to calculate the gross salary needed in order to afford the minimum standard.

Called the minimum income standard calculator (MISc), the new app included information based on urban and rural focus groups from across the country which are drawn from a mixture of socio-economic backgrounds.  It applies to families with one or two children in two parent and one parent households; (households with three and four children will be added to the app shortly) adults of working age living alone; pensioner couple households and pensioners living alone. “

The calculator is available at www.MISc.ie

Cardinal Seán Brady has said he will not resign, despite mounting criticism of his role in a 1975 canonical inquiry into the notorious paedophile Fr Brendan Smyth.

In a statement issued in Armagh on Wednesday, the Cardinal robustly defended his involvement in the inquiry and accused the BBC documentary The World: The Shame of the Catholic Church of making a number of claims which overstated and misrepresented his role.  He also highlighted that no State or Church guidelines existed at the time of the inquiry in Ireland to assist those responding to an allegation of abuse against a minor.

According to Cardinal Brady, when the inquiry was completed, he passed all the information he had obtained to his Bishop, Dr Francis Mc Kiernan.

The Cardinal said even his bishop, Dr McKiernan, had limited authority over Smyth, and that those culpable for the inadequate response were Smyth’s Abbot and religious superiors in the Norbertine Order.

Describing himself as, “shocked, appalled and outraged,” when he, “first discovered in the mid-1990s that Brendan Smyth had gone on to abuse others,” he explained that he believed that Bishop McKiernan had brought the evidence to the Abbot of Kilnacrott and that the Abbot would then have dealt decisively with Brendan Smyth and prevented him from abusing others.

Meanwhile, Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Promoter of Justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has defended Cardinal Brady’s handling of the case.  In an interview with RTÉ Radio on Wednesday, the CDF official said the Cardinal has no case to answer in relation to his handling of the inquiry.

“He was doing his duty to investigate something that had come to the knowledge of the church and I think he fulfilled his duty well,” he commented and said that the 36-year-old priest acted as a notary and not an investigator.

However, there are now a growing number of calls for Cardinal Brady to resign in the light of these latest revelations.

Barnardo’s chief executive Fergus Finlay, who spoke of his own sexual and physical abuse as a child on the George Hook show on Newstalk, yesterday, said Cardinal Brady should resign and while speaking on Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One today, he said that the Church needed a fresh start with people who had no association with the abuse of the past.

Abuse survivor Marie Collins also criticised Ireland’s bishops for failing speak out and called on Cardinal Brady to resign.

“What I saw in that documentary was just appalling.  He has to go and if he doesn’t, how can a man like that lead the Church in Ireland?” she asked.

Even Fr. Brian D’Arcy, censored by the Church in his work as a journalist, said today that Cardinal Brady should “reflect” on his position in light of recent claims

Sources:

www.cinews.ie

www.independent.ie

www.irishexaminer.com

www.bbc.co.uk