Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, O.F.M.Cap., of Boston reportedly will tell Pope Benedict XVI that the Catholic Church in Ireland is “on the edge” of collapse because of the fallout from clerical abuse scandals. Cardinal O’Malley is one of several senior prelates charged by Pope Benedict with carrying out an apostolic visitation of the Catholic Church in Ireland following a series of highly critical judicial reports that revealed abuse by priests and a widespread culture of cover-up for decades among church leaders. The Rev. Tony Flannery, a leading member of the Association of Catholic Priests, revealed at a conference of laypeople on Feb. 12 in Dublin that “Cardinal O’Malley told the association the Irish Church had a decade, at most, to avoid falling over the edge and becoming like other European countries where religion is marginal to society.” Admitting to being previously skeptical about the apostolic visitation, Father Flannery said that in light of Cardinal O’Malley’s undertaking, “there may be some gleam of hope.”
Irish Church Collapse?
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
During his general audience, Pope Francis reminded his listeners of the importance of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. Engaging the crowd by having them recite the virtues aloud, Francis said that theological virtues animate our everyday actions toward the good.
‘The Sound of Silence’ version of the ‘Our Father’ has been widespread throughout Latin America and U.S. Latino communities for the last few decades.
You always hope that your favorite artist’s best work is still ahead of them. But what goes up must come down.
Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” which turns 75 this year, was a huge hit by any commercial or critical standard. In 1949, it pulled off an unprecedented trifecta, winning the New York Drama Circle Critics’ Award, the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. So attention must be paid!