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Month: November 2022

Irish priest reprimanded by bishop for homilies about sin

Posted by | Nov 2, 2022 | , |


Father Sean Sheehy / St. Mary’s Listowel/Radio Kerry/YouTube screen shot

Denver, Colo., Nov 2, 2022 / 14:30 pm (CNA).

An Irish bishop apologized for a priest’s homily that described abortion and homosexual acts as examples of sinful behavior. 

Bishop Ray Browne of Kerry published an apology on Nov. 1 for “the deep upset and hurt caused by the contents of the homilies“ given over the weekend by Father Seán Sheehy.

Video of the sermon was shared widely on social media and sparked both strong criticism and support from commentators.

Sheehy, who is retired, had been filling in for a parish priest at St. Mary’s Church in Listowel, a County Kerry town of fewer than 5,000 people. The reprimanded cleric on Wednesday told Irish media the bishop was “muzzling the truth in order to appease people.” 

In his recent sermon, the Irish priest reflected on sin, penitence, sainthood, and God’s forgiveness. 

“You rarely hear about sin, but it’s rampant,” he said. “We see it in the promotion of abortion. We see it for example in this lunatic approach of transgenderism.”

Another example, Sheehy said, was “the promotion of sex between two men and two women. That is sinful. That is a mortal sin and people don’t seem to realize it. It’s a fact, a reality, and we need to listen to God about it because if we don’t, then there is no hope for those people.”

Several of the congregation heckled the priest and some walked out.

“And so God is also telling you and me today, look, you have a responsibility to seek out those who are lost. You have a responsibility to call people to an awareness of the fact that sin is destructive, sin is detrimental, and sin will lead us to hell,” the priest said. 

Then Sheehy reflected that the saints honored in November are former sinners.

“When we honor the saints on the first of this coming month, we honor people who are saints. Why are there saints? Because they’re repented and because they sought forgiveness. As somebody said one time, heaven is full of converted sinners,” he said.

“And so today, God says to us, ‘I have come to call sinners, but if you don’t admit you’re a sinner, then you’re not listening to my call and I can’t do anything for you because it’s a two-way street.’ Now, there are people you see who won’t like to hear what I’m saying, but the day you die, you will find out. 

“What I’m saying is not what I invented, it is not what I came up with, [it] is what God is saying. And the day you die, you will find out that is the truth. Our prayer for people is that you, it won’t be too late for people. But how will people know that God wants to forgive them if we don’t tell them? How will people who are lost be found if we as God’s people don’t call them and say look, God loves you, he has come to call sinners, but he wants you to have life and have it to the full,” he continued.

“That’s what he wants. He wants you to live life to the fullest … we can only live it through, with, and in his grace,” the priest said.

Bishop Browne’s statement regarding “the offending homilies” said that “the views expressed do not represent the Christian position.” 

“The homily at a regular weekend parish Mass is not appropriate for such issues to be spoken of in such terms,” the bishop continued.

“The Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a Gospel of love and ever proclaims the dignity of every human person. It calls on us all to ever have total respect for one another,” Browne added, saying: “This fundamental Christian teaching was beautifully proclaimed” in recent readings at Mass.

Speaking to Radio Kerry, Father Sheehy said the bishop had stopped him from saying Mass. 

“I know myself what I said cannot be disproven by any honest-to-God Christian or Catholic teaching, and that’s the bottom line,” the priest said.

Irish newspapers were quick to report the priest’s controversial past support for a convicted sex offender.

Sheehy was a character witness for Daniel Foley, a former bouncer convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in the parking lot of a nightclub in 2008. He joined dozens of the accused’s supporters in court when the conviction was announced in December 2009 and shook the hand of the then 35-year-old Foley, and made disparaging comments concerning the woman’s status as a single mother, The Irish Examiner reported in 2013.

Then-bishop of Kerry Bill Murphy censured Sheehy, who resigned from his parish in Castlegregory soon after the verdict but continued to support Foley. 

There are about 140,000 people living in the territory of the Diocese of Kerry, the vast majority of whom are Catholic.

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Bahrain’s Shiites hope pope raises human rights during visit

Posted by | Nov 2, 2022 | , , , , , , , , |

Pope Francis is making the first-ever papal trip to Bahrain this week, sparking calls from the country’s majority Shiite opposition and human rights activists for the pontiff to raise human rights concerns in the small island nation.

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The Hallowed Ground of a Cemetery

Posted by | Nov 2, 2022 | , |

For the last twenty years, I have lived within walking distance of a cemetery. With headstones dating back to the 18th century, this cemetery is one of the most beautiful—and hallowed—places I have ever been. As I walk the cemetery’s paths several times a week, I often pass by other people who are regulars there, […]

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Pope Francis on All Souls’ Day: Do you desire heaven above everything else?

Posted by | Nov 2, 2022 | , |


Pope Francis praying in St. Peter’s Basilica on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2, 2022. / Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Nov 2, 2022 / 06:53 am (CNA).

On All Souls’ Day, Pope Francis urged Christians not to “compromise with the Gospel” but to take Jesus’ words seriously when he says we will be judged by how we treat the poor.

“Often, out of convenience or comfort, we tend to tone down Jesus’ message, to water down his words. Let’s face it, we have gotten pretty good at compromising with the Gospel,” the pope said in St. Peter’s Basilica on Nov. 2.

“From simple disciples of the Master we become masters of complexity, who argue a lot and do little, who seek answers more in front of the computer than in front of the Crucifix, on the internet rather than in the eyes of our brothers and sisters; Christians who comment, debate, and expound theories but do not know even a poor person by name, have not visited a sick person for months, have never fed or dressed someone, have never made friends with someone in need,’” he said.

On All Souls’ Day, Nov. 3, 2022, Pope Francis urged Christians not to “compromise with the Gospel,” but to take Jesus’ words seriously when he says we will be judged by how we treat the poor. Daniel Ibáñez / CNA
On All Souls’ Day, Nov. 3, 2022, Pope Francis urged Christians not to “compromise with the Gospel,” but to take Jesus’ words seriously when he says we will be judged by how we treat the poor. Daniel Ibáñez / CNA

Pope Francis offered Mass on All Souls’ Day for the repose of the souls of more than 150 deceased bishops and cardinals who died in the past year.

In his homily, the pope reflected on Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”

The pope said that these words in the Gospel help prepare for death and the final judgment. He said God is “waiting for us among the poor and wounded of the world.” Pope Francis warned that there is a continual risk to “put the expectations of the world before the expectation of God” and to end up “losing sight of what matters.”

“The best careers, the greatest achievements, the most prestigious titles and awards, the accumulated wealth and earthly gains, all will vanish in an instant, everything,” he said.

The pope said that All Souls’ Day is a good occasion to ask “if our desires have anything to do with heaven.”

Pope Francis offered Mass on All Souls’ Day for the repose of the souls of more than 150 deceased bishops and cardinals who died in the past year. Daniel Ibáñez / CNA
Pope Francis offered Mass on All Souls’ Day for the repose of the souls of more than 150 deceased bishops and cardinals who died in the past year. Daniel Ibáñez / CNA

The Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica was offered for the 9 cardinals and 148 bishops and archbishops who died between Oct. 30, 2021, and Oct. 17, 2022.

Among the deceased cardinals listed in a booklet accompanying the Mass were Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the former Vatican secretary of state; Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the former archbishop of São Paulo, Brazil, who had a significant role in the 2019 Amazon Synod; and Cardinal Antonios Naguib, the former patriarch of Alexandria and head of the Coptic Catholic Church.

Bishops who died in the past year included Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Anthony Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston, Texas; Archbishop Emeritus Stanislaw Nowak of Czestochowa, Poland; Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Cheng Tsai-Fa of Taipei, Taiwan; and Bishop Emeritus Lawrence Donald Soens of Sioux City, Iowa.

Pope Francis blessing graves at the Vatican's Teutonic Cemetery on All Souls' Day, Nov. 2, 2022. Vatican Media
Pope Francis blessing graves at the Vatican’s Teutonic Cemetery on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2, 2022. Vatican Media

After the Mass, Pope Francis made a private visit to a cemetery inside Vatican City. The Teutonic Cemetery, located next to St. Peter’s Basilica, is the burial place of people of German, Austrian, and Swiss descent, as well as for people from other German-speaking nations, particularly members of the Archconfraternity of Our Lady.

The cemetery is built on the historic site of Nero’s Circus, where early Christians in Rome were martyred, including St. Peter.

On All Souls’ Day and throughout the month of November, the Church makes a special effort to remember, honor, and pray for the dead. There are many different cultural traditions around this period, but one of the most consistently honored is the practice of visiting cemeteries.

Last year, Pope Francis visited a military cemetery in Rome on All Souls’ Day. In 2018, Pope Francis offered Mass in a cemetery for deceased children and unborn babies called the Garden of Angels, located in the Laurentino Cemetery on the outskirts of Rome.

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