Feminist group hurls water, insults at archbishop

Four semi-nude feminist protestors attacked Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard of Malinas-Brussels during a recent conference on freedom of expression.
 
The April 18 conference took place at the Free University of Brussels and was entitled, “Blasphemy – crime or freedom of expression.”

The four women, who belong to the radical group Femen, removed their shirts and used plastic bottles similar those used by pilgrims at Lourdes to throw water at the archbishop while shouting insults and making violent gestures.

The women painted their bodies with the phrases, “My body, my rules” and “God loves lesbians.” They also carried a sign which read, “Stop homophobia.”

Archbishop Leonard remained silently in prayer until security officials were able to intervene and remove the protestors.

After the incident, the archbishop picked up one of the bottles, which was shaped in the image of the Virgin Mary, and kissed it as a sign of reparation.

In 2010 and 2011, Archbishop Leonard was the target of attacks for his statements against homosexual acts and abortion.

Franciscan University to host Dietrich von Hildebrand project

Franciscan University of Steubenville has partnered with the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project to help secure the devout Catholic philosopher's place in efforts to advance cultural renewal.

“Our partnership with Franciscan University will provide us the opportunity to build upon our current programming and to develop many new and exciting programs, which only the resources of a university could allow,” said John Henry Crosby, the founder and director of the legacy project.

Dietrich von Hildebrand, a Catholic convert and anti-Nazi activist, fled Nazi expansion in Europe and eventually settled in the U.S. in 1940. He taught at Fordham University in New York City.

He was a student of the influential philosopher Edmund Husserl and a close friend to the German philosopher Max Scheler. He wrote many works about ethics, philosophy and the Catholic faith before his death in 1977, and his admirers include Benedict XVI.

Crosby founded the legacy project in 2004 to promote von Hildebrand’s thought and work through spreading his writings, especially in the English-speaking world.

Dr. Jonathan Sanford, a Franciscan University philosophy professor, said the university is “excited” the project’s work with its own.

“The legacy project has already made an outstanding cultural contribution by drawing our attention to and nurturing conversation about timeless questions of truth, goodness, and beauty while at the same time promoting interest in the tremendously rich body of work left to us by von Hildebrand,” he said.

Dr. Daniel Kempton, vice president for academic affairs at Franciscan University, said giving the project a greater presence on campus will enrich the university’s intellectual environment and provide greater opportunities for students and faculty.

The legacy project will start its new partnership with special attention to programs “uniquely suited” to a university. The project will hold its annual summer seminar on the university campus for the first time this July, in an expanded week-long format.

In fall 2013, the legacy project will offer a graduate student fellowship at Franciscan University allowing graduate students to study von Hildebrand’s work and help prepare manuscripts for publication. The project will also explore collaboration with the university in areas like academic conferences and co-sponsored lecture series.

Crosby said April 24 the university is “a natural partner” for the project because it is a leading institution in the study of personalist philosophy and early phenomenology. Crosby praised the university’s commitment to exploring reality “both as given in reason and in faith.” He said the faculty is “deeply versed” in Christian philosophy.

The university library houses one of the three complete copies of von Hildebrand’s papers.

Crosby’s father, Franciscan University professor John F. Crosby, was a close personal friend of von Hildebrand. Von Hildebrand’s widow, Alice von Hildebrand, served on the university’s board of trustees from 1987-1999.

Colombian Senate rejects gay marriage

By a vote of 51-17, the Colombian Senate has rejected a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the country.
 
The bill was proposed by Senator Armando Benedetti in August 2011. 

It received only a fraction of the 50 ‘yes’ votes that would have been needed from the nation’s 98 senators in order to pass. 

Both supporters and opponents of the bill demonstrated outside the Senate building as lawmakers voted down the measure after several hours of debate on April 23.

The president of the Bishops’ Conference of Colombia, Cardinal Ruben Salazar, had issued a plea to lawmakers to consider the Church’s arguments on the question and to protect marriage as being a union of one man and one woman.

“As the Church we have clearly outlined the meaning of marriage and how equating it to homosexual unions affects the very foundation of society,” he told CNA.

Cardinal Salazar said the Church supports “the family as the permanent union sanctified by the sacrament of Marriage between one man and one woman, which offers the chance for children to grow up in an emotionally secure environment and to acquire all those elements that allow them to slowly mature and integrate themselves fully into life as adults.”

Kidnapped bishops spur call for religious freedom promotion

The recent kidnapping of two Orthodox bishops in Syria has a former diplomat urging the U.S. government to make religious liberty a greater priority in its foreign policy.
 
“U.S. foreign policy with respect to religious freedom consists almost entirely, when it consists of anything, of rhetorical condemnations of acts such as this,” said Dr. Thomas Farr, director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University's Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.

However, it is not always clear that these condemnations “have any effect whatsoever,” Farr told CNA April 24.

Archbishop John Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Church and Archbishop Paul Yagizi of the Greek Orthodox Church were kidnapped April 22 near Aleppo, Syria by armed men who appear to have killed their driver.

It remains unclear who carried out the kidnapping. The Syrian government and rebel groups have both traded accusations over who is to blame.

On April 23, both Al Jazeera and l'Oeuvre d'Orient, a French agency serving Christians in the Orient, reported that the bishops had been returned. But a joint statement of the Greek and Syriac Orthodox patriarchs contradicted this.

Al Jazeera has not reported on the matter since, but l'Oeuvre d'Orient said April 24 that “the situation is extremely complex and information is difficult to obtain. The Greek Orthodox patriarch of Damascus confirmed by telephone this morning that there was no release.”

“L'Oeuvre d'Orient calls again on the Syrian opposition forces, the Syrian government and international authorities to make every effort to obtain the release of these two bishops, and two priests, who are foreign to the conflict which tears Syria.”

On April 24, Archbishop Antonio Chedraui of the Orthodox Church of Antioch in Mexico, Central America, Venezuela and the Caribbean, confirmed to CNA that the two Syrian bishops “remain kidnapped. The reports published yesterday are not correct.”

At a press briefing on April 23, the State Department believed the bishops to have been released and indicated relief. The topic of the kidnapped bishops was not raised in the April 24 briefing.

“In the past we've seen the American government hesitate to speak too assertively about the persecution of Christians, lest they be seen as a vanguard of a kind of Christian imperialism,” said Farr, who directed the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom from 1999-2003.

“Hopefully that will not be the case here and we'll see a vigorous condemnation, whether they've been released or not.”

He said the kind of “rhetorical condemnation” of religious persecution typically issued by the U.S. government is “pretty easy to issue.”

The Syrian civil war entered its second year a month ago, and the country's Christian minority has been caught in its midst.

Many Syrian Christians live in Damascus, Aleppo and Homs, all of which are cities strongly contested by the government and the rebels. Many have fled to nearby Lebanon.

Only about a week before his kidnapping, Archbishop Ibrahim had told BBC Arabic that Syrian Christians are in the same situation as their Muslim neighbors.

“There is no persecution of Christians and there is no single plan to kill Christians. Everyone respects Christians. Bullets are random and not targeting the Christians because they are Christians,” he said.

United Nations estimates indicate that about 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict. More than 1 million refugees have flooded into Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq, while another estimated 2.5 million are internally displaced inside Syria.

The Greek and Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs of Antioch stated together April 23 that “the Christians living here are an essential part of their lands. They suffer the pain every person suffers, and work as messengers of peace to lift the injustice off every oppressed person.”

“We call the kidnappers to respect the life of the two kidnapped brothers as well as everyone to put an end to all the acts that create confessional and sectarian schisms among the sons of the one country.”

“We can but call the whole world to try putting an end to the Syrian crisis so that Syria becomes again a garden of love, security and coexistence. Settling accounts should not happen at the expense of the human beings who live here,” they pleaded.

Farr stated that “what the State department should be doing – not yet in Syria, because it's still a war zone – but in all the countries where such a thing happens with some regularity … we should be working not simply to react after they happen, but to engage with these governments and societies to develop structures of religious freedom.”

In addition to citing Muslim-majority countries, Farr mentioned China, India and other non-Muslim nations which need to be actively encouraged in religious freedom by the U.S. 

These countries should be urged to develop religious liberty as an important component for a peaceful, flourishing society, he said.

“I think U.S. foreign policy, when it comes to issues like religious persecution...is primarily reactive, and that's not enough. We need to be working to convince societies that they have to prevent this from happening in the first place, because it harms their interests.”

As an example, he pointed to the April 7 attack of an Islamic mob on the Coptic Orthodox cathedral in Cairo, slaughtering Christians there.

“We shouldn't just be reacting to that,” Farr emphasized. “We should be getting in front of the problem and convincing the Egyptians that it's in their interest to develop religious freedom.”

Religious persecution, he concluded, “is going on all the time, so to condemn it is something we ought to do, but we should be getting in front of the problem.”

Sanctity is central to Church outreach, Pope stresses

Church leadership and outreach must be rooted in the pursuit of holiness and always attentive to the dignity of each human being, teaches Pope Francis in his newly translated book.
 
“It's impossible to understand anything this Pope is doing without understanding personal conversion, and specifically in the very profound Jesuit tradition of the change of heart,” the book’s translator, Alejandro Bermudez, told CNA April 23.

“Only the changing of the heart will create a change in the Church, and a change in the Church is what will create a change in society and culture. For Pope Francis there is no way around that reality – that arises only from a converted heart.”

The new book, “On Heaven and Earth,” is a conversation between Pope Francis and Abraham Skorka, a rabbi and scholar from Buenos Aires. It was originally published in Spanish in 2010, when Francis was still Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Among the wide variety of topics covered in the book is the centrality of holiness to the Church's mission to evangelize.

Pope Francis explained in “On Heaven and Earth” that holiness is essential to leadership in religious organizations, saying it is “a springboard to the transcendent.”

“With regards to religion, holiness is unavoidable for a leader,” he said.

Discussing various periods of difficulty and corruption in the Church’s history, the future Pontiff observed that “religion bounced back” when figures such as Mother Theresa of Calcutta appeared to “rejuvenate religious fervor.”

“In the history of the Catholic Church the true reformers are the saints,” he said.

Bermudez, who is also the executive director of Catholic News Agency, said that holiness will be “absolutely central” to Pope Francis' reform of the Roman curia.

He also commented on the Roman Pontiff's view that while women hold a key place in the Church, their role is complimentary but not identical to that of men.

“Pope Francis has constantly, in several documents and also in the book, explained the importance of the particular role that women have in society, in culture, and in the Church,” Bermudez said.

“He strongly believes that this crucial role has nothing to do with trying to accomplish what men are doing, or imitate what they are doing in the Church, because that will be defeating the key concept of women providing something that men cannot.”

In the book, Pope Francis explained that women have a special “function in Christianity, reflected in the figure of Mary … the woman has the gift of maternity, of tenderness; if all these riches are not integrated, a religious community not only transforms into a chauvinist society, but also into one that is austere, hard and hardly sacred.”

This recognition of each person as bearing dignity in God’s image is also important in engaging non-believers, Pope Francis said, explaining that his approach in dialogue with atheists is not primarily one of direct preaching, but rather one of love and respect.

The future Pontiff characterized his attitude toward such conversations by saying that “I do not approach the relationship in order to proselytize, or convert the atheist; I respect him and I show myself as I am.”

“On Heaven and Earth” is now available in English from Image Books, an imprint of Random House, in print, digital and audio formats.

Until recently, the works of Pope Francis have been available only in his native tongue. 

Two works on Jesuit spirituality, entitled “Humility, the road towards God” and “Corruption and sin,” are being published this month in Italian.

Nuns celebrate one year of blocking Illinois strip club

Residents and religious of a small Chicago suburb rallied to celebrate their so far successful campaign against the opening of a multi-million dollar strip club across from a convent.
“We came together as a community, as people of faith and stood together fighting for family values against what some thought was an unbreakable giant,” Sr. Noemia Silva of the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo, Scalabrinian said at an April 22 press conference.
“It’s not only for the sisters, but for the community itself,” she told CNA in a later interview.
Outrage has erupted locally over the building of the strip club, particularly because of its location next to the missionary sisters' convent and retirement home. Proprietors of the club have been accused of breaking state law, which requires a 1,000-foot “buffer zone” between places of worship and such businesses.
“They haven’t respected state law and so we’re going to tell them, ‘You need to respect that,” Sr. Silva said. “This should not have even happened so close to a worship area.”
Although the $3 million “adult entertainment” club, “Get It,” was slated to open during Holy Week of 2012, it has yet to open its doors to the public largely due to community protest and a legal battle between the landowner and building owner.
Sr. Silva said the sisters, who are spread throughout 18 countries, have been praying for the intercession of St. Michael. “All of our communities are praying for this; it’s just constant, constant prayer.”
She likened their fight against the club’s opening to that of David and Goliath. “David won the battle because he trusted in the Good Lord,” she explained. “He’ll fight this battle for us.”
Many locals are worried about what kind of community such an establishment would foster, especially in an area where many young families as well as long-time residents live.
“I raised my children in this community,” Pat Zito, who has lived in the area for 45 years, said. “My children were concerned for my safety if this place opened, for what it would bring.”
Opposition to the club has been steadily growing since last year as other community leaders have joined the sisters in their fight against the club.
Recently with the help of West Suburban Action Project the community gathered in its largest-ever public demonstration as some 500 people assembled for a prayer vigil. Additionally, over 3,000 people have signed petitions against the club.
The community has called on Mayor Beniamino Mazzulla of neighboring Stone Park – which boarders Melrose Park and is home to the massive strip club – to enforce the “buffer-zone” law or to support the case when they take it to court.
If it opens, this would be the sixth strip club in the community.
The Thomas More Society has offered free legal support to the sisters should they choose to take legal action, which they most likely will.
“If the Village of Stone Park does not heed the call of the Sisters to enforce the buffer law,” executive director, Peter Breen, said, “we are ready with a diverse coalition of individuals and organizations to seek relief from the courts.”

Prayer to The Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit, be with me today.
Be my teacher, my guide, my counselor, my friend.

Fill me with your gifts, especially the gifts of
wisdom, discernment, knowledge, understanding, compassion,
love, and awe in God's presence.

In all that I think, say, and do, let it be in accordance
with your most holy and perfect will.

I ask this in Jesus' name.

AMEN.

Irish abuse priest lifted by Brit cops

A DEFROCKED priest accused of abusing at least 32 children has been arrested.

Vile Bill Carney, 63, was described by the Murphy Report into clerical abuse as one of the worst offenders.

He has been living in the UK for over 20 years after the Catholic Church booted him out in 1992 and was arrested by British cops in London in the past few days on foot of a European Arrest Warrant.

He is due to appear in court this week where he will fight to avoid being returned here.

A source said: “He will appear in court in the coming days. He still denies any wrongdoing and is fighting his extradition.”

Carney, ordained as a priest in 1974, was based in Ayrfield, north Dublin, where he abused both boys and girls over a number of years.

One of his alleged victims, Paul Dwyer, committed suicide.

In her report, Judge Yvonne Murphy said: “Bill Carney is a serial abuser of children. The Commission is aware of complaints or suspicions of abuse against him in respect of 32 individuals. There is evidence that he abused many more children.”
 
Carney’s only convictions came in 1983, for two counts of indecent assault. He got probation and the Dublin Archdiocese paid compensation to six victims.

He was kicked out of the priesthood when he fled to the UK, where he married and set up a B&B in St Andrew’s, Scotland.

But his wife divorced him when one of her son’s told her about his sordid past as revealed in the Murphy Report.

He had been living in a home she owned in Gloucester. 

Newspaper reports last year claimed they had reconciled.

Priest collapses, dies at altar during service

Hundreds of parishioners watched in shock as a Catholic priest died at the altar during mass, moments after baptising a baby.

Napier's longest-serving priest, Monsignor Timothy Francis Hannigan, 81, collapsed at the altar during communion at St Patrick's Catholic Church on Sunday.

A doctor and nurses in the packed church rushed to help the popular priest when he slumped to the ground about 9.30am, but he died by the altar of the church where he had served for more than 30 years.

"It's one thing for a priest to die in a church, but it's a whole other thing for him to die during communion," a parishioner who did not wish to be named said yesterday.

The congregation continued to pray as his body was taken away. Some also recited a rosary.

Former St Patrick's parish priest Father Paul Kerridge said Monsignor Hannigan had taken mass as usual, and had just finished baptising a baby and blessing the parents when he fell to the floor.

It was believed he died after a cardiac arrest.

The energetic priest had not shown any previous signs of illness, and was fine during the sermon, Father Kerridge said.

His loss would be keenly felt.

"I would say everyone in the parish would consider him their next of kin. He was like a brother."

Parishioner Ross Allan said those who were there were shocked by what they saw unfolding.

"One moment he had baptised a child ... then the next moment there was all this commotion up the front of the church. It was a very unusual situation."

Monsignor Hannigan was a pillar of the community who did everything he could to help those in need, including the homeless who showed up on his doorstep, Mr Allan said.

One of the highlights of Monsignor Hannigan's services was his blessing of children, he said.

In a now-famous incident, a visiting bishop had once been completely ignored when all the kids flocked to Monsignor Hannigan.

"There he was waiting for children to rush up to him, and they all rocketed straight past. He was left quite nonplussed."

Monsignor Hannigan had officiated at thousands of wedding ceremonies, funerals and christenings.

Originally from Ireland, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1956. He worked as a priest in Wellington, Levin, Palmerston North and Ohura before moving to Napier to become parish priest at St Patrick's in 1979.

He was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2000 for services to the community, including his work with the sick and elderly. 

At the time, he attributed the award to his parish and joked that he "thought they'd got the wrong person".

Catholic Church to appear before Victorian inquiry this week

Representatives from the Catholic Church in Victoria will appear this week before the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and Other Organisations. 

The Church welcomes the opportunity to present to the Inquiry, the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne said in a media statement announcing the schedule of appearances.

Today there will be three groups appearing before the inquiry: at 10:00am St John of God, at 1:00pm the Salesians of Don Bosco and at 2:15pm the Diocese of Ballarat.

Tomorrow the Melbourne Response Independent Commissioners will appear, and on Friday there are four groups scheduled to appear: the Christian Brothers, Towards Healing, Catholic Education and the Melbourne Response Compensation Panel Chair.

FACING THE TRUTH

Church representatives have faced the truth that the Church failed children in its care and expressed their determination to ensure that this can never happen again.

Statements will be available for download at the Facing the Truth website www.facingthetruth.org.au following each appearance before the Inquiry.

Death of Bishop Joseph O'Connell, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Melbourne

Bishop Joseph O’Connell, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Melbourne, died at Caritas Christi Hospice, Kew on Saturday, aged 81, according to a statemment from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

In 1949 Bishop O’Connell commenced studies for teaching, but at the beginning of 1950 he entered Corpus Christi College Werribee to study for the priesthood and was ordained by Archbishop Justin Simonds in St Patrick’s Cathedral on 28th July 1957.

Bishop O’Connell obtained a doctorate in Canon Law in July 1961 from the Gregorian University, and lived at St Peter’s College in Rome while studying.

He worked in the parishes of West Melbourne and Yarraville, combining this with work in the Archdiocesan Tribunal, becoming Vice Officialis on 13 November 1968.

Archbishop Denis Hart, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said that Bishop O’Connell’s contribution to Canon Law and a care for migrants will be among the things he will be remembered for.

Asian edition of Pope Francis’ biography released

The first Asian edition of Pope Francis’ biography was released by Cardinal Oswald Gracias in Bangalore.
The biography titled "Francis, Pope of a New World,” published by the leading Bangalore-based publishing house of Asian Trading Corporation (ATC), was released Thursday.

The low-cost Asian edition of the biography in English provides the keys to understanding the man who was a surprise choice, even a revolutionary choice for Pope.

It explains why the cardinal electors of the Catholic Church set aside political and diplomatic calculations to elect a pope to lead the renewal and purification of the worldwide Church.

In addition, there is also a background on Benedict's resignation and the process of electing Pope Francis.

The biography is authored by Vatican insider, Andrea Tornielli, who is acclaimed as the best-sourced, most accurate and one of the most knowledgeable reporters among the unique band of 'Vaticanisti,' who travel with the Pope.

Cardinal Gracias released the biography on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Holy Ghost Church at the Redemptorists Seminary Grounds in Bangalore.

The Cardinal was among the participants in the Conclave that elected Pope Francis. He is also one of the 8 Cardinals recently chosen to advise the Pope.

Cardinal George Alencherry and Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore released "The Holy Bible (Revised Standard Version - Second Catholic Edition)," a recent revision of an acclaimed Bible translation in English on the occasion.

Msgr. Jin Luxian’s funeral without Bishop Ma Daqin

The religious funeral of Msgr. Aloysius Jin Luxian were held this morning at 8 (local time).  

The official bishop of Shanghai died on April 27 after a long illness. The ceremony was held in the Cathedral of St. Ignatius, in the district of Xujiahui and was presided over by Fr. Wu Jianlin.

The funeral mass was attended by over 1,000 faithful - despite it being a working day - and more than 60 priests. At the end of the ceremony all the faithful lined up to bless the body of the deceased bishop one by one. Bishop Jin was much loved by the faithful. "While never being in direct opposition with the government - said one of them - he did much to help the Church grow in Shanghai and in China."

In fact, thanks to him in the community of the metropolis built with churches, spiritual centers, publishing houses, international relations. Bishop Jin, ordained a "patriotic" bishop without papal mandate in 1985, reconciled with the pope after 20 years, re-establishing full communion with the Holy See.

The problem now is that of his successor, which was also evident at his funeral. In fact, the ceremony should have been presided by Msgr. Thaddeus Ma Daqin, ordained successor Jin on July 7. Immediately after his ordination, the young 44 year old bishop decided to quit the Patriotic Association - the Part organism that controls the Church - and as a result was put under house arrest and isolation in Sheshan Seminary. 

The council of Chinese bishops - a body not recognized by the Holy See - also stripped him of the title of Bishop of Shanghai. To keep him away from the funeral and the faithful, Msgr. Ma was recently removed. According to some rumors he is in Beijing, forced to participate in "courses of study." 

Other rumors say that Msgr. Ma was removed from Sheshan with the approach of the month of May, and the feast of Our Lady of Sheshan (the 24th of the month), a period in which tens of thousands of faithful come on pilgrimage to the shrine, near the place where the bishop is held in solitary confinement.

On the subject of succession in Shanghai, Msgr. Savio Hon, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, a friend of Msgr. Jin Luxian, said Msgr. Ma Daqin had been ordered as auxiliary bishop, accepted by the government as' coadjutor bishop of Shanghai '. 

"Subsequently, the so-called' conference of the bishops' stripped him of his title, but the Holy See has stated that no bishops' conference, anywhere in the world, has the power to override a pontifical mandate. Especially in this case, in which the 'conference' is not recognized. Thus for us the fact remains that Msgr. Ma Daqin is the bishop of Shanghai. "

Today's funeral is the religious ceremony. Another civil funeral will be held on May 2, with the participation of government authorities and the general public.

Weighing up a life in the priesthood

There was a sense of deja vu for Michael Byrne when he attended the seminary open day in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, yesterday. 

In 2009 the then 19 year old from Donaghmede, Dublin, attended the event. 

Like some at yesterday’s open day, he didn’t tell his family. “I didn’t want them to know. It was a very nervous time.”

More than 50 people attended yesterday’s open day to look at a day in the life of seminarians, listen to testimonials from priests and ask questions. 

Many of the men, aged from early 20s to late 40s, came alone but a few were accompanied by parents.

Michael says he loved everything about the open day. “It helped me to decide to say, yes, I’m going to apply,” he recalls. “I could see myself studying here and being a part of the community. It just blew me away.” 

He is now in his second year in St Patrick’s College.

“I’m very happy here. It can have its tough days but the better days come more often than the others,” he says.

Happy

“I don’t take anything for granted. I don’t say I’m definitely going to be ordained in a couple of years. But it’s wonderful, waking up every day as a part of the community. It sets a real sense of where God is in your life.”

Celibacy is often cited as a major deterrent to becoming a priest but he says he doesn’t worry about that.

“I worry more about being perfect because we are all called to be perfect and that’s all I try to do.”

Some 61 men are studying in the seminary, nine of whom are first-year students.

Twelve started out last year, compared with 13 in 2011 and 10 in 2010.

The trend is up and down but national vocations co-ordinator Fr Willie Purcell believes change is on the way.

Social media

“There is a turnaround happening and I think that people now are beginning to not just question but also to discern more, in relation to whether they have a vocation or not. There has been a lot of interest shown in social media – particularly Facebook and our own national website [vocations.ie].”

Fr Purcell is also getting inquiries from people who, many years ago, would have thought about a vocation but put it to one side to follow other paths. “But that vocation will always come back and hit you.”

He believes the election of a new pope will encourage more people to think about their vocations. 

After a difficult decade for the Catholic Church, he is very hopeful for the future.

“In fact I have never been more optimistic in my life in relation to vocations to the priesthood,” he says. “I’m really excited about it.”

€45m hole in Church of Ireland pension fund

In the eyes of their members, defined-benefit pension schemes are usually divine. 

But for the clergy of the Church of Ireland, faith in their retirement fund to provide is being tested by a €45 million deficit.
 

A report to members of the Church of Ireland General Synod, to be held in Armagh in May, recommends that the synod votes to close the clergy pensions fund and replace it with a defined-contribution scheme.
Estimate

Actuaries have estimated that the assets of the fund are sufficient to cover only three-quarters of the liabilities, after the interest rates paid on the bond investments by the fund were less than glorious.

The report gives its blessing to the establishment of a defined-contribution scheme, which would mean each clergy member would see their retirement plan exposed to the whims of the omnipotent stock market. 

It implies this would not be as financially perilous as “the risks inherent in a defined-benefit fund, where such a fund could become actually insolvent, or technically insolvent”.

Contribution to the new scheme will be by both the clergy member and the parish or diocese.

“It is not possible to guarantee the level of pension which can be secured from the funds that will be accumulated in each individual’s defined-contribution account,” the Representative Church Body’s report warns, though it adds that the level of contributions suggested “could be expected to generate an equitable pension in retirement”.

The body has proposed “a series of initiatives” to secure and protect the benefits accrued by members of the clergy pensions fund to date.

The church’s scheme is not alone in its travails. 

Eight out of 10 defined-benefit pension schemes are now insolvent.