“This book is a must for the desk of every pastor, priest and teacher. It ought to be available to every serious student of religion and ethics. … [It is a] manual for those of us who wish to overcome violence and to pray for and work for a lasting peace on this island.” That’s [...]
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An Assembly in the Irish Catholic Church: Any Closer?
Yesterday about 1,000 people attended an event in Dublin organised by the Association of Catholic Priests, ‘Towards an Assembly in the Irish Catholic Church.’ I was unfortunately unable to attend because of my prior commitment to the Belfast City Marathon (to support my fundraising for the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice, this year’s official charity of [...]
I’m ‘In Conversation’ at Fitzroy Presbyterian, Sunday 6 May, 7 pm
This Sunday evening I’ll be ‘In Conversation’ during the 7 pm service at Fitzroy Presbyterian Church in Belfast. I’m not entirely sure what Rev Steve Stockman will be asking me about, but I expect topics to include my latest book (co-authored with Claire Mitchell), Evangelical Journeys: Choice and Change in a Northern Irish Religious Subculture, [...]
Cardinal Sean Brady & the movement for an Assembly in the Irish Catholic Church: Reforming the Un-Reformable?
There’s not really much commentary to add on the increasingly sad-saga about Cardinal Sean Brady’s role in the Catholic Church’s private inquiry into the activities of Fr Brendan Smyth. The by now usual horrific details of abuse and cover-up, followed by the inadequate responses of church leaders with power, all contribute to a picture of [...]
Introducing the ‘Church Without Walls’ Calendar for Events and Initiatives in Ireland
Last week I had the pleasure of a conversation with Rev Steve Stockman of Fitzroy Presbyterian; Ed Peterson, a Reconciliation worker at Clonard Monastery; and Fr Martin Magill of St Oliver Plunkett in Lenadoon. It was suggested that there was a lot going on among the churches, but that often people didn’t know about events [...]
Why am I a Catholic? Guest Post by Jon Hatch
Why am I (still) a Catholic? In the wake of the clerical child sex abuse scandals and the latest investigation of Irish priests by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), that’s a question that is being asked increasingly by people in Ireland. Jon Hatch, a doctoral candidate at my School, became Catholic [...]
Sharing Spirituality – Churches of the Shankill and Falls on ‘A Journey in Understanding’ during May
Pope John Paul II said that ecumenical dialogue can be thought of as ‘an exchange of gifts.’ Nowhere is this more obvious than when Christians from various traditions are able to learn from each other’s spiritualities, partaking in the insights of others to enrich their own spiritual journeys. A series of talks on five Tuesdays [...]
Remembering Corrymeela’s Ray Davey
Ray Davey, one of the principal founders of the Corrymeela Community, passed away 16 April 2012 at the age of 96. One of the elders among Christian peacemakers on this island, Davey was a Presbyterian chaplain at Queen’s University Belfast when he and a group of students formed Corrymeela in 1965. He was its leader [...]
Picking up the Pieces in the Border Counties
The fifth programme in RTE Radio One’s ‘Picking up the Pieces’ series features peacebuilding in the border counties of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, focusing on the work done among republican ex-prisoners and the Protestant minority in the Republic. The border counties are often neglected in analyses of the peace process, which seem [...]
Talking about Reconciliation … New Post on Slugger O’Toole
I have a new post on the Slugger O’Toole blog, titled ‘Talking about Reconciliation,’ which explores some of the implications of recent attempts by republicans to use the R-word in Northern Ireland’s public sphere.
About me
Welcome to Building a Church Without Walls, a website for people who are excited about how Christianity is developing in the 21st Century. I am a Lecturer and Coordinator of the Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation Studies Programme at Trinity College Dublin at Belfast (the Irish School of Ecumenics).
Please note this is my personal site. All views are my own and are not representative of TCD.
