Fifty years on from Vatican II, Catholics are still split on what it actually achieved. Desmond Fisher wonders what next for a Church in crisis

The pope began his eighth year today after spending the waning days of his seventh driving home his view of the Catholic Church, with a divisive crackdown on dissenters and an equally divisive opening to a fringe group of traditionalists.

“AN adult faith does not follow the waves of fashion and the latest novelties,” Joseph Ratzinger told his fellow cardinals, just hours before they elected him pope.

If similar surveys were undertaken in other countries, the results would be pretty much the same, writes Fr Seán McDonagh

TIPPERARY fans reckon they don’t need the power of prayer to defeat the Cats this Sunday, but one sport-mad priest hopes the power of hurling will inspire some fans to become men of the cloth.

YOUR two page special investigation (Keeping the Faith, June 24) continues to roll out the 40-year myth which should never have happened.

The record speed of Pope John Paul II’s beatification has raised questions, even from some supporters, about whether the Vatican should first answer lingering concerns about the flaws of his papacy.

I FEEL humbled by the courage of Jennifer Sleeman in her attempt to break down the irrational barriers to the inclusion of women in the ministry of the Catholic Church other than in roles where they are subservient to men.

I REFER to the article entitled “Three Wise Men” published on July 31 relating to the intention of Irish Catholic priests to set up a forum, the purpose of which is to articulate their particular concerns — and reading between the lines, to improve their public relations.

I WELCOME Pope Benedict’s decision to loosen restrictions on the use of the Latin Mass. Vatican II, in fact, never called for the elimination of Latin. The Pope’s decision, therefore, is meant to foster a more comprehensive and profound understanding of the Church’s liturgy.

YOUR columnist Patrick Kenny (Irish Examiner, September 7) refers on at least two occasions to ‘the right to be wrong’.

AN Bord Pleanála has turned down a controversial proposal to rearrange the interior of St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh, Co Cork.

I SUPPORT those protesting against the proposed alterations to the interior of St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh.

I OBJECT to the proposed changes at St Colman’s Cathedral in Cobh, Co Cork.

POPE BENEDICT XVI recalled the “fright” he felt at being elected Pope, telling cardinals during his year-end speech yesterday that he never imagined he would be chosen and only agreed to it because he had great faith in God.

The Pope met the head of the ultraconservative movement founded by the excommunicated Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre today amid a renewed push to bring the “schismatic” group back into Rome’s fold.

THE Catholic Church is living in a time warp and is being led by a phalanx of right-wing conservatives, according to a leading priest’s new book.

By TP O’Mahony WHEN the cardinals of the Catholic Church gather in conclave to elect the next Pope, what will they use as their papal template?

ALTHOUGH it has been customary for Irish media to equate the Irish Catholic Church with its clerical hierarchy, there is surely now an overwhelming case for abandoning this practice.