IrishCentral Catholic - b5cc3275d518416eacb61d676e8d84d1

Minnesota man sues diocese over sexual abuse by Irish Catholic priest in 1982 (IrishCentral)

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 04:43:38 PDT

By: IrishCentral Staff Writers

A man, now in his 30s, is suing the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota, claiming he was sexually abused by a Catholic Irish priest, Francis Markey, in 1982.

Dating website for ‘homosensible’ Catholic priests being run out of the Vatican (IrishCentral)

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:47:27 PDT

By: IrishCentral Staff Writers

A dating website for closeted gay priests has been operating out of the Vatican for a number of months now. Described as a service for 'homosensible Roman Catholic priests' it's a development that seems designed to enrage conservative members of the church.

Need to confess your sins? Wisconsin Catholic Priest develops App to help schedule confession (IrishCentral)

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:07:44 PDT

By: IrishCentral Staff Writers

A priest in Madison, Wisc. had developed an app that will let his parishioners know when and where he is available to listen to their sins.

Irish politician receives death threat after criticising Catholic Church stance on abortion (IrishCentral)

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 06:20:50 PDT

By: PATRICK COUNIHAN

A member of the Irish parliament has claimed he has received a death threat over his support for the proposed change to Ireland’s abortion laws.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny says he is a Catholic but not a Catholic leader during abortion debate (IrishCentral)

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:14:47 PDT

By: KERRY O'SHEA

Prime Minister Enda Kenny said that while he is a Catholic, he is not a Catholic leader.

Cat Deeley tells Jimmy Fallon about her Irish Catholic wedding in Rome (IrishCentral)

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 05:34:28 PDT

Patrick Kielty & Cat DeelyThe 'So You Think You Can Dance' host tied the knot with TV presenter Patrick Kielty in Rome last year and admitted she has an unusual nickname for himSpeaking on 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon', she said: "I kind of call him 'Stu' And he was really excited about it actually And he thought it was because of like an Irish stew, but it's actually because it's ‘Stupid READ MORE

Anti-Catholic rant against Notre Dame is nothing new for the Fighting Irish to face - Ohio State president slammed for “those damn Catholics” comments is latest in long line (IrishCentral)

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 04:34:04 PDT

OSU President Gordon GeeGordon Gee, the president of Ohio State University and a Mormon has come under fire from heads of other universities and in the media after he made made offensive comments about Notre Dame and Catholics during a meeting this past DecemberGee is beating an old gong, one that was often produced in the bad old daysAs the pre-eminent American Catholic University Notre Dame has often suffered such slurs Their original team name was the Notre Dame Catholics, a proud statement at a time when anti-Catholicism was rife in the Midwest READ MORE

An open letter to the Catholic League on rant against David Bowie video “The Next Day” - VIDEO (IrishCentral)

Sat, 18 May 2013 04:33:47 PDT

David Bowie's 'The Next Day'Hi Bill:Well, looks like you got yourself noticed yet again with a whacked-out rant against the new David Bowie video Bowie is back after a decade-long hiatus with a killer album The Next Day, which you made clear on the Catholic League website and in the press that you’re not thrilled about The video for the song “The Next Day" frosted your cupcake, and you called it the work of a "switch-hitting, bisexual senior citizen from London" that "is strewn with characteristic excess," according to Rolling Stone The clip stars Gary Oldham and shows priests frolicking with scantily clad women in a nightclub where a Christ-like singer, played by Bowie, is performing READ MORE

'The Great Gatsby' author F Scott Fitzgerald’s death and burial another Catholic lesson (IrishCentral)

Fri, 17 May 2013 05:03:57 PDT

F Scott Fitzgerald (The Atlantic)It is true that F Scott Fitzgerald wasn’t much of a Catholic Yes, he had strong Irish roots on both his mother and father’s side READ MORE

Striking scenes as Pope Francis washes the feet of young female and Muslim offenders in prison - Actions signify it is not business as usual at the Vatican - message to all Catholics for Easter (IrishCentral)

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 04:32:51 PDT

Pope Francis I kisses the feet of a young offender at the Casal del Marmo youth prison outside Rome Humble Pope snubs traditional celebration at city center Basilica Credit: APThis Pope Francis I is for realHe is refocusing the church message away from disputes over doctrine to pastoral needs, looking after the poor and the needy READ MORE

Always and 'Forever Dusty' Springfield - New York show tells tale of Irish Catholic schoolgirl turned legendary singer (IrishCentral)

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 05:17:18 PDT

Kirsten Holly Smith as Dusty Springfield in Forever DustyMary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien was one of the greatest soul singers of the 1960s and ‘70s You’ve probably heard of her legendary stage name, Dusty Springfield, but did you know she was born a shy Irish Catholic schoolgirl?Making your way through the heady atmosphere of Swinging Sixties London required talent (she had enough for several lifetimes), but it also required nerves of steel (and she found that the way many Irish people have, via the end of a vodka shot glass)Being a woman in the male dominated music business was challenging enough, but her own inner struggles, which included a complex and competitive relationship with her talented brother and a series of discreet gay affairs at a time when they could have ended her career, all took their toll READ MORE

Why not a nun for a Pope? Demoralized Catholic Church needs serious change from the Vatican down (IrishCentral)

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 05:17:17 PDT

Irish American Sister Pat FarrellWhy stop at female priests? Has it occurred to anyone that maybe, just maybe, it would be a good thing for the next pope to be a woman?And while it appears that New York’s own Timothy Cardinal Dolan might actually have a small chance to sneak into the Vatican, perhaps there is another Irish American who might be an even more inspired choice?This week, the cardinals are congregating in Rome to elect a new pope and there is much muttering about serious changes Will the next pope be a conservative looking to shore up a dwindling but committed flock? Or a reformer, hoping to send a message that the church is willing to change in order to attract those who have left the church as well as new followers?One of the issues that must be dealt with -- especially in countries like America -- is the dwindling number of priests Just in time for this contentious topic, Catholic intellectual Gary Wills has just released a new book entitled Why Priests? A Failed Tradition Wills argues that there is no historical or even theological basis for maintaining the priesthood in the Catholic Church READ MORE

Suspicious reaction to Pope Benedict’s retirement among betrayed and disappointed Irish Catholics (IrishCentral)

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 05:16:46 PST

Illustration by Caty BartholomewOur aunt Marytee went to Rome to see the Pope the year that I was about 10 and she brought me back a special gift, then unique in Ireland It was a one-inch thick flickerbook with a photo of then Pope Pius XII giving his papal blessing on every page of hundredsWhen you riffled the pages there was the optical illusion of his hands moving as he delivered a very personal blessing to the viewer That was a very special gift to bring home to a Catholic boy in the fifties READ MORE

It’s time for the Catholic Church to forgive disgraced Bishop Eamon Casey (IrishCentral)

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 05:16:20 PST

Illustration by Caty BartholomewI'm very angry about something and I have to get it off my chest I think many of you with Irish blood in your veins will be angry too by the time I've finished because most of you will be aware of the existence of the controversial Bishop Eamon Casey of Galway and Ireland and, in his considerable prime, of the international Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church The church of forgiveness and loveWhat I'm angry about is that even after all these long years of suffering and shame following his 1992 disgrace after his affair with American divorcee Annie Murphy, his church, the Catholic church of forgiveness and love, is still severely punishing Bishop Casey READ MORE

Priest under Vatican ban has shocking position on child abuse -- Father Flannery no liberal when it comes to sex abuse issue (IrishCentral)

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 04:45:59 PST

Father Tony Flannery (Photo: Limerick Leader)Father Tony Flannery of the Redemptorist Order in Ireland has earned a deserved reputation as a liberal maverick on issues such as female ordination and a role for gays in the churchThis weekend he refused a Vatican edict to apologize for some of his positions in order to remain a priest in good standingFlannery wrote an impassioned essay in the Irish Times explaining why he feared excommunication but he could not live with his conscience and sign the Vatican documentBut it turns out that there is one issue Father Flannery is far from liberal on READ MORE

What now for the Catholic Church? Obama’s reelection and schools among questions that need to be answered (IrishCentral)

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 05:30:47 PST

Cardinal Timothy DolanWhen the Academy Award nominations are announced on January 10, Mea Maxima Culpa may or may not be one of the five films up for Best Documentary The film, about the sexual abuse horrors Wisconsin’s Reverend Lawrence Murphy is accused of, was on a shortlist of 15 top documentaries back in December Either way, the film directed by Alex Gibney has already made a troubling case not only against Murphy, but the Vatican as wellWith the New Year upon us, and a grueling election which grappled with tough religious questions behind us, it is probably time to ask -- what is the future of the Catholic Church in America?Given the revelations in Mea Maxima Culpa, given the election results and the ongoing restructuring of Catholic schools across the U READ MORE

Prediction for the New Year - what the world can expect from the Republicans, Catholic Church and more in 2013 (IrishCentral)

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 05:15:17 PST

Rick SantorumIt's that time of year again Assuming all those folks were actually wrong about that Mayan end-of-the-world thing, a new year is upon us Let’s gaze into our crystal ball and see what 2013 might have in store for the Irish in AmericaFirst off, we can expect the Republican Party to make some changes READ MORE

No Blessings for St. Patrick's Old Cathedral School (IrishCentral)

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:10:09 PST

Students of Old St Pat's School before it closedAmid all the hoopla about St Patrick's Old Cathedral being made into a basilica, I didn't see mention that St Patrick's Old Cathedral School closed this year, after 188 years READ MORE

Let's avoid 'Mass' lunacy on Christmas (IrishCentral)

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 07:30:17 PST

If a "friend" had betrayed you, lied to you, committed heinous crimes against you, your relatives or your friends, or covered up those crimes -- would you happily march into his home for Christmas dinner with gifts for him in hand?Yes? Then you'd be an idiot, of courseBut that is exactly what Catholics in Ireland will likely do when they go to their churches for Christmas MassKiss their solid-gold rings? Kiss my arse!The child abuse and sex abuse and its cover-up by higher-ups, whose horrid details are fast emerging, is now known to be an atrocity that went on for DECADES, and which was hardly the work of a "handful" of sick clerics or well-intentioned bishops It was hateful, criminal, systematic, and long-standing READ MORE

Catholic League Pope Bill Donohue is truly "Angela's Arse" (IrishCentral)

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:15:03 PST

Posted by wolfhound at 7/20/2009 3:57 PM EDTEven among jaded New Yorkers, there are few people low enough to speak ill of the dead, much less shyte on their still-warm bodiesBut when you're quite ill yourself, like stark-raving mad Catholic League (Membership: 1) President Bill Donohue, speaking ill comes very easilyThis happily solitary voice from a century best forgotten chirps up every now and then to condemn this and decry that, as this is the only kind of language he is familiar with If it's not in Donohue's version of the Bible, which he authored himself to ensure accuracy, it's evil and off to hell with you READ MORE