“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 [...]
Archive | Irish Catholic Church RSS feed for this section
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 [...]
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 [...]
Fr Brian D’Arcy: Vatican Now Monitoring Outspoken Voice for the Faithful in Ireland
If any grace can come out of the Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith’s (CDF) investigation of Fr Brian D’Arcy, it’s that someone in the Vatican has at least read what he has to say. Sadly, the Vatican’s failure to engage with the Vatican II-inspired movement within the Catholic Church – in which [...]
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 [...]
At Easter: Loss and Hope in the Irish Catholic Church? Research Published in Doctrine and Life
The Easter message is fundamentally one of hope – hope for redemption, forgiveness, and reconciliation … Catholics in Ireland may feel hard-pressed to find hope in their church. The fall-out from the clerical sexual abuse scandals continues to impact on how people interact with their church – especially its institutions and the seemingly out-of-touch clerics [...]
Is Reconciliation Making a Tentative Return to Public Debate in Northern Ireland?
My last two weeks have been more unsettled than usual, involving presenting my research at two conferences: The Political Studies Association (PSA) conference at the Europa in Belfast (3-5 April) and the British Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Study Group conference in Chester (28-30 March). This, in part, explains my unusually long absence from blogging. [...]
Irish School of Ecumenics Featured in North Belfast News
My School has been featured in North Belfast’s local weekly, the North Belfast News. The article, written by Kieran Hughes, explains the history of the school and includes an interview with Dr Geraldine Smyth, the Head of the School. The North Belfast News is not available online (except by subscription) but you can read the [...]
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.
