Below is an excerpt from an article in the Irish Catholic about new proposals that will put the onus on ‘opting-in’ to the sacraments.

“Parents will be asked to take a pro-active role in their child’s faith under radical new proposals that will put the onus on ‘opting-in’ to the sacraments rather than the traditional approach where virtually every child makes First Holy Communion and Confirmation.

The Church this week announced a major shift that will see parents asked to choose whether they want their children to receive the sacraments or not rather than just following the lead of other children.

It will signal a radical shake-up of sacramental preparation for decades and it is likely to lead to a situation where fewer Irish children are making their First Holy Communion and Confirmation with parents asked to reflect on whether or not they want to freely choose for their children to participate in the life of the Church.

Concern

It comes amid increasing concern among priests, teachers and catechists that some parents who are not involved in the Church are simply choosing for their children to receive the sacraments because it is seen as ‘the done thing’.

Findings

Announcing the findings of major new research on faith-based education this week, Fr Michael Drumm, chairman of the Catholic Schools Partnership, said that ”since some parents wish to have their children initiated into the Catholic Church while they themselves are not active participants in the parish community, there is a need to develop an opt-in process for sacramental preparation.”

By Michael Kelly

To read more visit the Irish Catholic

Below is an excerpt from an article in CiNews in which the local parish priest  of Holycross Abbey in Thurles, appeals for the return of a true relic of the cross of Jesus Christ that was stolen from the church earlier this week.

“The parish priest of an ancient Cistercian abbey has appealed for the return of a true relic of the cross of Jesus Christ, which was stolen on Tuesday last.

“Please bring back the relic.  Leave it somewhere safe and please do not damage it,” Fr Tom Breen, parish priest of Holycross Abbey in Thurles pleaded in a telephone call with ciNews.

Thieves came into the historic abbey on Tuesday at 5:00pm and used an angle grinder to cut through a steel cabinet containing the relic, which has been at Holycross Abbey for 900 years.  The cross containing the relic was around 300mm  tall, hanging from a chain and contained two crosses and two dark stones.

The second item stolen (pictured) was also a cross around 300mm tall, standing on its own base and made from gold and bronze.  It has been at Holycross since 1977.

Fr Tom Breen, parish priest of Holy Cross told ciNews that the thieves, two men, were spotted by a parishioner as they left the church brushing past her.  She got the smell of burning and knew something was wrong.

The parish priest said he was baffled by the theft.

“Perhaps they were under the mistaken impression that the relic was very valuable.  But it has no commercial value.  However, from a devotional point of view, its value is immeasurable.”

He said both he and the people of the parish were devastated over its loss. “

By Susan Gately

To read more visit CiNews

Below is an excerpt from an article in CiNews about the launch of the Show Racism the Red Card campaign which was addressed by one of the survivors of the Uteoya island attack.

“Elin L’Estrange (pictured) from Norway, one of the survivors of the Uteoya island atrocity when 69 young people were murdered, warned against the dangers of ignoring racism.

L’Estrange was in her father’s native city of Dublin to launch the programme of activities for the Show Racism the Red Card campaign.

She told an audience of young people and special guests in Tallaght on Monday that on that terrible day, July 22, she heard the shots being fired and had to swim 700 metres to escape to the mainland.

“This is a story about the very worst thing racism can lead to; violence and murder,” she is reported as saying by the Irish Independent.

Ms L’Estrange (24) said Anders Behring Breviks was motivated by his racist beliefs and wanted to destroy multiculturalism in Norway.  “This guy, he hated Muslims.  He thought Muslims had a twisted plan to take over Europe,” she said.

Explaining how everyone has prejudices that could develop into racist beliefs and actions, such as not sitting beside someone on the bus because of their skin colour, she said:  “You’re not going to see a lot of people shot and killed by racism, but you are going to see people hurt.  Everyone has a role to play.”

by Ann Marie Foley

To read more visit CiNews

Below is an excerpt from CiNews about the findings of a new report recently commissioned by the Catholic Schools Partnership (CSP).

“The right of parents to send their children to Catholic schools must be recognised, and Catholic schools need to become more identifiably Catholic, according to a major new report commissioned by the Catholic Schools Partnership (CSP), the umbrella body for all the partners in Catholic schools.

The report comes in the wake of Government suggestions that many primary schools need to be transferred to alternative patronage.  In March, the Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn, suggested that “at least half” of primary schools currently under the patronage of the Church ought to be transferred to alternative patrons.

However, this latest report, Catholic Primary Schools in the Republic of Ireland: A Qualitative Study, found that there is still considerable demand for Catholic schools.

The report is a result of wide consultation with parents, patrons, teachers, priests, pastoral council members, pupils, assessors, trustees and managers involved in Catholic schools.  It found that many parents still value Catholic schools, and that such schools have unique, identifiable characteristics and which are considered valid and valued in modern Ireland.

The study also found that Catholic schools are considered inclusive, welcoming educational establishments that respect difference by those who participated in the study.  One participant said: “I would say that inclusiveness is the big feature of the Catholic primary school.  The other sectors that you mentioned there have a real class distinction attached to them.  I come from a disadvantaged school … so we have a huge amount of multiculturalism and different religions.”

by Tom O’Gorman

To read more visit CiNews

Below is an excerpt from an article in CiNews about a new policy proposal from Social Justice Ireland regarding the need for the introduction of a third level student loan scheme.

“The Director of Social Justice Ireland (SJI), Fr Sean Healy has proposed that the government introduce a student loan scheme to ease the crisis in third level funding in Ireland.

According to the policy proposed by SJI, the government should introduce a system in which fees are paid by all participants in third-level education with an income-contingent loan facility.  They would repay this loan when their income rises above a particular level.

In this system SJI says that all students would be treated on the same basis in so far as tuition and living cost loans would be available on a deferred payment basis.  Therefore, they say, all students would be treated on the same basis as repayment is based on their own future income rather than on current parental income, adding that inclusion of all current part-time students would reduce the present disparity that exists between full and part-time students.”

by Sean Ryan

To read more visit CiNews

Below is a short excerpt from an article in the Irish Catholic regarding the likely cuts to family and child support services after this years budget.

“Ferns Report author slams Government hypocrisy on children

A leading child protection expert has said that the Government’s claims to be serious about child protection are ”a load of rubbish” as it emerged that the HSE intends to slash funding for family and child support services by up to 20 per cent.

The Irish Catholic can reveal that the HSE is warning child and family support charities to expect funding cuts of between 10 and 20 per cent in HSE funding after December’s budget.

Sources in the voluntary sector have revealed that they are aware of at least 40 family and child support projects and charities facing severe funding cuts.

Expressing shock at the scale of the proposed cuts, child protection expert Dr Helen Buckley of The Children’s Research Centre in Trinity College Dublin called the cuts ”savage” and said that ”cutbacks in frontline services are very retrograde and are going to exacerbate the problem [of child protection] greatly”.

Dr Buckley expressed annoyance at how ”a few weeks ago, Eamon Gilmore said ‘this Government is committed to child protection’. I remember thinking, ‘that’s a load of rubbish’.

By Garry O’Sullivan and Rory Fitzgerald

To read more visit The Irish Catholic

Below is an excerpt from an article by CiNews regarding the uncovering of a fresco in Letterkenny Cathedral.

“A long-lost fresco has been discovered hidden behind layers of paint in Letterkenny Cathedral.

The gilded fresco of an angel was found by conservationists working on a wall behind the altar in St Eunan’s Cathedral, known traditionally as Our Lady’s Altar.  In the painting, the angel is depicted carrying a banner of Our Lady and the words Ave Maria.

It is painted in tempura bound paint with egg white and is believed to date from the 1920s.  The cathedral administrator Fr Eamonn Kelly said old pictures of the interior of the cathedral had shown the fresco and this prompted him to ask the restorers to strip the paint on the altar.”

by Fintan Deere

To continue reading visit  CiNews

Below is an excerpt from an article by CiNews regarding a visit made by Archbishop Guiseppe Leanza to Áras an Úachtaráin.

“A turbulent time in relations between Ireland and the Vatican’s representative to Ireland came to an end at the weekend when the Papal Nuncio to Ireland bid farewell to President Mary McAleese.

Archbishop Guiseppe Leanza went to Áras an Úachtaráin at the weekend to pay a courtesy call to President McAleese before he takes up a new appointment in Prague in the Czech Republic.  The move brings to an end one of the shortest terms ever served in this country by a Papal Nuncio.  Sixty eight year old Archbishop Leanza was only appointed to the position in February 2008 and presented his credentials to President McAleese on April 28 2008.

He returns to Eastern Europe this week having previously served as Papal Nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Macedonia before serving as Papal Nuncio to Bulgaria from 2003 to 2008 from where he moved to Ireland.”

by Sean Ryan

To read on visit CiNews

Below is an excerpt from CiNews about the recent 5th National Grandparents Pilgrimage to Knock Shrine in County Mayo.

“The Catholic Grandparents Association has held its fifth National Grandparents Pilgrimage at Knock Shrine in County Mayo.

Thousands of people attended this year’s event and heard Fr Benny MacHale deliver a homily, in which he termed the relationship between children and their grandparents as a special bond.  He urged grandparents to be aware of the powerful influence they have on grandchildren and to support them and their parents.

And he told them that many children are more affected by what their grandparents say than what their parents say.  “Be aware also that grandparents should never undermine their own sons and daughters who are rearing their children,” he warned.

Chief Celebrant, Archbishop Michael Neary, who is patron of the Association, welcomed the congregation, and disability rights politician and former Munster MEP Kathy Sinnott, who is the association’s secretary, urged pilgrims to focus on the new evangelisation, that is, passing on the faith to future generations, quoting from Blessed Pope John Paul II.

Founder Catherine Wiley, urged people to join the association and assist grandparents to pass on the faith and keep prayer at the heart of family life.  She told grandparents in attendance, “We’re all in it together; the legacy of the CGA is eternity, leaving a footprint from this world to the next.”

Thousands of prayers, written by children all over the country to honour their grandparents, were placed on the sanctuary of the Basilica, while many of the elderly pilgrims wrote prayers for their own deceased grandparents and placed them on the sanctuary.”

By Fintan Deere

To read more click here

Below is a short excerpt of an article from CiNews describing how Google have digitised and published the texts of five of the Dead Sea Scrolls online.

“Internet giant Google has published the ancient texts of five of the Dead Sea Scrolls online.

Developed in conjunction with the Israel Museum, which houses the scrolls, the project means that the scrolls, stored for decades in climate controlled and locked-down chambers, now become accessible to the world through the web.

On http://dss.collections.imj.org.il users get access to searchable, fast-loading, high-resolution images of the scrolls, as well as short explanatory videos and background information on the texts and their history.  It is possible to zoom in on the images and look at the scrolls in minute detail.

In addition, the Great Isaiah Scroll may be searched by column, chapter, and verse, and is accompanied by an English translation tool, and by an option for users to submit translations of verses in their own languages.

So far Google has digitised five of the scrolls: the Great Isaiah Scroll, the Community Rule Scroll, the Commentary on the Habakkuk Scroll, the Temple Scroll, and the War Scroll.  “They are of paramount importance among the touchstones of monotheistic world heritage,” said James Snyder, the director of the Israel Museum.

Discovered in the mid-20th century in caves along the shore of the Dead Sea, the scrolls contain the oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible, and other documents from the time surrounding the birth of Christianity.”

by Susan Gately

To read more click here

Picture shows a biblical scholar examining the Isaiah scroll using a large magnifying glass, the only way to look at it before now.