Fr Sean Hall

“Pope confuses faithful with mixed messages on family life”.

“Conservatives will tut. Liberals will be equally disappointed. The rest of us will wonder why we are still worrying about such nonsense. “Individual conscience”? Yes, mine is telling right now that we don’t need to be listening to old men in fancy robes pontificating any longer.”

These are two quotes from the “I” newspaper. The first was the title given to a brief description of Amoris laetitia the day after its publication (10^th April). The second is the closing section of an op-ed piece on the following Monday (12^th April) by Stefano Hatfield who identifies himself as an atheist, having been brought up a catholic. The “I” prides itself on being a quality newspaper which gives brief, balanced accounts of news items. So much for the coverage of a “balanced”, “quality” newspaper! The fact that the papal letter was published in the same week as the “Panama Papers” almost certainly meant that it received less coverage than might have been the case in the secular press, but it is also an indication of the lack of wider interest of a church document in this age. Continue reading →