Read more: Andy Bebb RIP - One Year On
Advent Group (UK) - Support Group for Priests & Religious since 1969
BBC Radio 4 - Hidden Children of the Church
- Created: 31 March 2020 31 March 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000gtnw
For decades, the Catholic Church rarely acknowledged the fact that supposedly ‘celibate’ priests were fathering children. The scale and impact of these secretive births is only now coming to light. The Vatican has admitted for the first time that there could be as many as 10 thousand children of Catholic priests living around the world. Many of them – now adults – describe childhoods separated from their fathers; shrouded in secrecy and shame. Three of them – Vincent Doyle, Michael McGuirk and Sarah Thomas – tell their stories.
Producer: Dan Tierney.
37 mins.
Andy Bebb RIP - One Year On
- Created: 02 March 2020 02 March 2020
This is a memory Andy Bebb, long time member of Advent wrote this back in 2013 on his blog site and I reproduce it here:
Memories
I offer some personal reflections so I must apologise in advance for the seemingly egocentric nature of this contribution. It is simply offered as a possible source of comfort to those who may be undergoing the bereavement of loss as they move out of the active ministry.
BBC Radio Berkshire Interview 16th Feb 2020
- Created: 18 February 2020 18 February 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/
Pope Francis decides against allowing married men to become priests
- Created: 13 February 2020 13 February 2020
Celibacy issue dividing church as it seeks to address shortage of clerics in remote areas
Pope Francis has decided against opening up the Roman Catholic priesthood to married men – a move that will please traditionalists but dismay those who argue that easing the celibacy rule would tackle a shortage of clerics.
Instead, an “apostolic exhortation” from the pontiff has focused on environmental damage after bishops from the Amazon highlighted the destruction of the region’s rainforests and exploitation of Indigenous people at a Vatican summit last year.
Read more: Pope Francis decides against allowing married men to become priests
Pope Francis rules against ordaining married men in Amazon
- Created: 12 February 2020 12 February 2020
Bishops backed the measure last year, but the decision needed the Pope's approval to be implemented.
Catholic priests are required to abide by the rule of celibacy upon ordination except in cases where married Anglican ministers have converted.
Celibacy is seen as the devotion of one's life to God.
A statement from the Vatican said: "The Amazon challenges us, the Pope writes, to overcome limited perspectives and not to content ourselves with solutions that address only part of the situation."
The Pope said there was a need for ministers who can understand Amazonian sensibilities and cultures from within. He urged bishops to "promote prayer for priestly vocations" and to encourage those who want to become missionaries to "opt for the Amazon region".
In October last year, a synod of 184 bishops met at the Vatican to discuss the future of the Church in the Amazon. It was argued that older, married men should be allowed to become priests.
However, they would need to be men who are particularly well-respected and would preferably come from the indigenous communities where they intend to work.
It is estimated that at least 85% of villages in the Amazon are unable to celebrate Mass every week as a result of a shortage of priests. Some are said to only see a priest once a year.
But the conservative wing of the Catholic Church - particularly in Europe and North America - has spoken out against the idea, arguing that this could lead to the global abolition of celibacy.
Pope Francis had previously said he would consider the possibility of viri probati (men of proven faith) carrying out some duties.
"We have to give a thought to whether viri probati are a possibility," he told German newspaper Der Zeit.
Also on Wednesday, the Pope announced he had decided not to allow women to serve as deacons, a lower rank than priest.