Seamus Ahearne comments on three recent losses. On John Hume he says; "John was outstanding in our history. He spoke a different language.  He never gave up.  He talked and talked. He sang. He persisted. He wasn’t limited by a narrow view of history or confined/reduced by political blinkers. He only saw people.  The Unity of people mattered. The future mattered. Living together mattered.  Religion could not be a divider. ..... John Hume is a hero. He is an inspiration.  So all leadership has to be about communication and not dictat."

To facilitate those taking holidays, the presider's pages for the rest of the summer season have now been published.

Seamus Ahearne is moved by a speech in the U.S. House of Representative by Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York to ask "If we as Church, listened to her words, might we find much of her address applicable to ourselves? How women are treated? How they are excluded for spurious theological reasons.  How even the language of our Liturgy insults them; disrespects them; belittles them."

You are invited by the Association of Catholic Priests to take part in a Zoom meeting on Thursday 30 July at 12 noon with church commentator Paul Collins from Australia.

The Scottish bishops have approved the use of the Catholic Edition of the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible, published in 2018, as the base text for the new translation of the Lectionary for Scotland.
This version is known for its more 'literal' translation and lack of inclusive language.
The Irish bishops have yet to announce a decision about a new lectionary for Ireland. Can we have any hope we will avoid another fiasco like the 2011 Missal?

Press Release - We Are Church

"We have to learn to be missionaries. To find eyes and ears and heart to catch the speaking- God in a new way. "

Tom O’Loughlin discusses his book Eating Together, Becoming One (Liturgical Press Academic, 2019) in this interview.

Seamus Ahearne continues to be inspired by his early morning walks.
"We walk humbly into the future. We are indeed ‘tiptoeing’ with reverence into that new world, where there are hints of mystery everywhere.  ..... Ministry has to change. Parish life has to change. Church has to change. Our understanding of Sacrament has to change. Our concept of Liturgy and worship has to change. We have to change". 

Eating Together, Becoming One by Thomas O'Loughlin has won First Place in the “Ecumenism or Interfaith Relations” category in the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada’s 2020 Book Awards. We extend our congratulations to Tom.

Pope Francis called on theologians to explore whether Catholic practice should be changed to allow Christians, belonging to other churches, to share fully at the table when they take part in a eucharist celebrated by Catholics. Thomas O'Loughlin argues that the various ways of thinking about what we are doing in the liturgy should lead us to see intercommunion as enhancing our participation in the mystery of the church and the mystery we celebrate.