Aims of Advent

+ To be a support group for men and women and their partners who have left the active ministry, or religious life.

+ To offer a safe haven for men and women who are considering change.

+ To be a support for others closely involved with the priest's or religious' decision.

+ To work for change in the Church and its ministry

Letter to the Irish Times on Compulsory Celibacy

: Written by: Alex Walker; Created: 28 December 2025

Letter to the Editor

The Irish Times

28 December 2025

Celibacy and Catholic Church

Sir, – I fully support William Reville’s letter (December 23rd) calling for the abolition of compulsory celibacy as a condition for priestly ministry in the Catholic Church.

It wouldn’t solve all the problems facing this beleaguered institution, but it would inject some badly needed new life and energy into it.

In the absence of any hope of a move towards women’s equality, this step would, albeit indirectly, introduce some female presence and influence into ministry.

There is little sign of the Vatican making a move on this, or indeed on anything else to do with ministry. They seem to be incapable of moving on anything that does not get support from the whole Church, and that means that all decisions are made by the most traditional and reactionary units in the Church.

The only way forward that I can see is for individual units to begin to take independent action.

It would be wonderful if the leadership of the Irish Church began to move on this, by first inviting those men who left the priesthood due to the celibacy rule, and who are willing, to come back into ministry.

There is no doubt that would be widely welcomed in the Irish Church as a whole. Then it would need to be followed by the ordination of married men.

It would be important for the Irish Church not to ask permission from the Vatican for this action, but to politely inform them.

What exactly could they do to us? And it would set a great headline for other units within the Church. – Yours, etc,

TONY FLANNERY,

Newport,

Co Tipperary.

Catholics have married priests now!

: Written by: Alex Walker; Created: 06 December 2025

✨𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒? ✨

(A Truth Many Protestants Don’t Expect to Hear)

When some Protestants argue that the Catholic Church “forbids priests to marry” and therefore fulfills the prophecy of 1 Timothy 4:1–3 (“forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats”), they usually don’t realize one important reality:

👉 The Catholic Church actually HAS married priests — right now.

Not historically… but today.

Let’s break this open. 👇

1. 𝘾𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙄𝙨 𝙖 𝘿𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 (𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝘿𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚) — 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣 𝙍𝙞𝙩𝙚

The Catholic Church is made up of 24 rites.

Only ONE of them — the Latin (Roman) Rite — requires priestly celibacy as a discipline.

A discipline:

✔ is changeable

✔ is practical, not doctrinal

✔ is chosen, not forced

New report on Anglican Ordinations

: Written by: Ruth Gledhill; Created: 21 November 2025

https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/more-than-one-in-three-catholic-ordinations-are-former-anglican-clergy-says-new-report/

More than one in three Catholic ordinations are former Anglican clergy, says new report

Ruth Gledhill

20 November 2025, The Tablet

More than one third of priestly ordinations in the Catholic Church in England and Wales from 1992 to 2024 were former Anglican clergy, according to a report published today.

Around 700 former clergy and religious of the Church of England, Church in Wales or Scottish Episcopal Church have been received into the Catholic Church since 1992, including 16 former Anglican bishops and two “continuing” Anglican bishops. From 1992 to 2025, five Anglican permanent deacons and 486 Anglican priests were ordained in the Catholic Church.

Former Workington priest jailed for sex offences dies in HMP Swaleside

: Written by: Alex Walker; Created: 06 November 2025

https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/25583930.former-workington-priest-jailed-sex-offences-dies-hmp-swaleside/?ref=ial

Peter Turner, 85, died of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) on February 6 at HMP Swaleside, according to an investigation report from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

The former priest, known as Father Gregory Carroll, was jailed in February 2020, with a sentence of 20 years 10 months, after he admitted a string of sexual offences more than 30 years earlier against three boys aged between nine and 12.