Quotes and news

Irish Catholics have a mind of their own, independent of Church teachings, particularly on questions of sexuality. This was shown in the results of an extensive survey carried by Amarach Consulting.

The polled Irish Catholics believe that priests should be allowed to marry (87 per cent); the Church should ordain women (77 per cent); said that homosexual acts are not immoral (60 per cent) and that the Church’s teachings on sexuality are irrelevant to their lives (75 per cent).

Only about a third of those surveyed attended Mass regularly each week or more frequently.

The poll was commissioned by the Association of Catholic Priests, a group calling for chan­ges in Church teaching and discipline.

US bishops fight for religious liberty

In a statement entitled ‘Our first, most cherished freedom’ the US bishops explained that “religious liberty is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the rosary at home.

“It is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans. Without religious liberty properly understood, all Americans suffer.

“It is the first freedom because if we are not free in our conscience and our practice of religion, all other freedoms are fragile.”

The bishops’ statement is another in a series of measures taken to protest against policies of the Obama administration particularly over the mandate to include contraceptive coverage in healthcare plans.

The bishops’ new committee on religious liberty said that an unjust law does not command obedience, thereby raising the implicit threat that the Catholic hierarchy might support civil disobedience.

The bishops asked Catholics to join in a “fortnight for freedom” before July 4, praying for the nation and rallying support for religious liberty.

The bishops also argue that religious freedom is currently jeopardised by state immigration laws, by drives to change the corporate structures of Catholic dioceses and parishes, by restrictions on campus religious groups, and by threats to close down Catholic social service agencies that do not abide by new government regulations.

Faith, yes; faith, no

“Strong believers run from 60 per cent in the Philippines down to 2.5 per cent in east Germany, while strong atheists rise from nearly zero in the Philippines to 46 per cent in east Germany”, according to a study of religious belief in 30 nations conducted by University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Centre.

The study also found “countries with low atheism and high strong belief tend to be Catholic societies, especially in the developing world, plus the US, Israel and Orthodox Cyprus.

“From 1991 to 2008, Israel, Russia and Slovenia showed consistent movement towards greater belief,” the study continued, while “10 countries showed consistent decline in belief (Australia, Austria, east Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway and Poland).”

‘Political sessions’ for Chinese bishops

Two Chinese bishops of the ‘underground’ Church had to attend ‘political sessions’ before being released. During the sessions, pressure was put on them to cooperate with the Catholic Patriotic Association.

Recently there has been a rise in the number of bishops and priests subjected to these sessions.

Commentators said the move was meant to encourage loyalty to the Patriotic Association in advance of the Communist Party Congress in October.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)