IRELAND
Association of Catholic Priests

Brendan Hoban, in his weekly Western People column, asks is there any silence like the silence of the Irish bishops in response to Francis’ reforming agenda?

The difficult truth is that, while technically Pope Francis is all-powerful and can introduce any changes he wants the reality is, change will be blocked and is being blocked by those who see their power and influence placed at risk.

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Pope (now Saint) John XXIII was once asked how many people worked in the Vatican. He smiled his usual smile before replying, ‘I’d say, about half of them’.

The response was explained partly by his self-deprecating approach to the Vatican, and all things Roman; but partly too because, cute man that he was, he probably didn’t want to answer the question directly.

In fact, there are at present over 3,000 people working in the Vatican. What, I…