A review of church news in the media this weekend – 9 reports at mid-day
Cardinal Brady talks of victims’ suffering
Irish Times
The primate of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Seán Brady, yesterday expressed the hope that this week’s unprecedented symposium in Rome, Towards Healing and Renewal , might prove to be an “important step” on the Catholic Church’s long and difficult road to …
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0210/1224311576215.html
Other coverage on this at:
Two Irish Films Top Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts
D Magazine
Peter McDonald’s “Pentecost” is a pointed rip very much in the spirit of the current discontent with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Set in 1977 (a time when the church was deep in the mire of unchecked sex abuse), Damian is an altar …
http://frontrow.dmagazine.com/2012/02/two-irish-films-top-oscar-nominated-live-action-shorts/
Roman Catholic backdown on 11+ tests
BBC News
The Irish News reports that the Catholic Church has “backed down” on transfer tests and that Catholic grammar schools are to be allowed to continue using the 11-plus test.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-16978965
Roman Catholic Church launches Internet project to help clergy fight pedophiles
Reuters Blogs (blog)
Roman Catholic Church leaders unveiled an Internet teaching project on child protection …
http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2012/02/10/catholic-church-launches-internet-project-to-help-clergy-fight-pedophiles/
8% rise in marriages in Northern Ireland
Belfast Telegraph
By Michael McHugh The number of marriages in Northern Ireland is on the increase, a campaign group said. An 8% rise in weddings since 2009 has been linked to the relatively high number of religious people. The trend is going in the opposite direction …
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/apps/8-rise-in-marriages-in-northern-ireland-16116454.html
With Vatican’s Backing, Catholics Address Sex Abuse
NPR
But there was only one victim to listen to at a symposium that gathered many bishops and religious superiors. Marie Collins, 65, recalled how she was raped as a 13-year-old by a hospital chaplain in her native Ireland. Marie Collins (left), who was …
http://www.npr.org/2012/02/10/146703782/with-vaticans-backing-catholics-address-sex-abuse
Family’s silent decorum a return to a bygone era
Belfast Newsletter
Ministers in the Free Presbyterian Church, even some outside Northern Ireland, were being phoned by the moderator, the Rev Ron Johnstone, with requests to pray for the church’s founder. Those who spoke to the News Letter were unsure about Dr Paisley’s …
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/family_s_silent_decorum_a_return_to_a_bygone_era_1_3512994
All charities in Northern Ireland should demonstrate public benefit, says minister
Third Sector
In February 2011, the Northern Ireland Executive raised the idea of introducing a presumption of public benefit for religious charities. Later in the year, the executive also suggested charities working for the relief of poverty and the provision of …
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/Governance/article/1116636/all-charities-northern-ireland-demonstrate-public-benefit-says-minister/
Engaging Her Public, Seeking Her Peace
New York Times
County Wicklow, Ireland – Outside Sinead O’Connor’s whitewashed home here, on a windswept beachfront overlooking the misty Irish Sea, there are two talismans. One, a knee-high statue of the Virgin Mary stands with her arms beatifically spread, …
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/arts/music/sinead-oconnors-how-about-i-be-me-and-you-be-you.html?_r=1