It would seem there is little if any attempt to 'improve the lot' of priesthood, in spite of all the spin and PR.
There are serious issues with priesthood about which there is not a whisper. Priesthood thinks it is special and that it is 'different' to the rest of the world.
Priesthood is riven with jealousy about which there is never ever an overt word spoken.
And then the lies, dishonesty, subterfuge, nonsense that follows. And don't even dare to begin to talk about the world of sexuality and priesthood.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Chicago cardinal not to dine with Taoiseach
Hopefully any suggestion that Cardinal Francis George has turned down a reception to the Irish meal in Chicago on March 16 has nothing to do with Irish policy not to have a residence ambassador in Rome to the Holy See.
Over the last 20 years the Catholic Church has stressed that there is no one corporate church that is universally responsible for what its priests do and don't do.
That's a dodge and if the absence of George is because of the Irish position, then the church seems to be contradicting its own position.
It seems there is appearing worldwide within elements of the church a rabid conservatism that is as worrying as any of the fundamentalist forms that show their ugly heads in other religions.
Over the last 20 years the Catholic Church has stressed that there is no one corporate church that is universally responsible for what its priests do and don't do.
That's a dodge and if the absence of George is because of the Irish position, then the church seems to be contradicting its own position.
It seems there is appearing worldwide within elements of the church a rabid conservatism that is as worrying as any of the fundamentalist forms that show their ugly heads in other religions.
Friday, February 24, 2012
No name for the man with the rosary beads
It's usually the small things that tell the story.
In the current issue of 'The Irish Catholic on page eight there is a picture of the new papl nuncio blessing a man's rosary beads.
The caption gives the full name of the nuncio plus his middle initial and not a mention of the name of the man whose rosary beads are being blessed.
Terrible journalism. But far more than that, telling the world in a loud and clear fashion that clericalism is alive and well in Ireland.
On page seven David Quinn attacks the editorial in last Saturday's Irish Times. The editorial dealt with religion and secularism.
What exactly is 'secularism'? Surely it is a good thing to live in a secular state.
People who seem to attack the march of secularism remind one of para militarists - an Armalite in one hand and a ballot paper in the other.
The word 'faith' seems to be touted about by the 'holy classes' as some sort of 'superior reality' to the world most of us inhabit.
And then one sees church 'dignitaries' living lives that match up to the best life-styles that could be possibly matched to anything in the secular world.
It takes secular money to fit out these bishops and cardinals in the finest of clothes and the best of gold.
In the current issue of 'The Irish Catholic on page eight there is a picture of the new papl nuncio blessing a man's rosary beads.
The caption gives the full name of the nuncio plus his middle initial and not a mention of the name of the man whose rosary beads are being blessed.
Terrible journalism. But far more than that, telling the world in a loud and clear fashion that clericalism is alive and well in Ireland.
On page seven David Quinn attacks the editorial in last Saturday's Irish Times. The editorial dealt with religion and secularism.
What exactly is 'secularism'? Surely it is a good thing to live in a secular state.
People who seem to attack the march of secularism remind one of para militarists - an Armalite in one hand and a ballot paper in the other.
The word 'faith' seems to be touted about by the 'holy classes' as some sort of 'superior reality' to the world most of us inhabit.
And then one sees church 'dignitaries' living lives that match up to the best life-styles that could be possibly matched to anything in the secular world.
It takes secular money to fit out these bishops and cardinals in the finest of clothes and the best of gold.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Listening post that hands out wise words
Interesting letter in today's Irish Time re Irish embassy in Villa Spada.
A chara, – There has been some mention in your coverage of the embassy to the Vatican controversy of the value of the Holy See as a “listening post”.
In 1988 I was appointed the representative of the UN Human Rights Commission Western Group to visit Cuba on a six-person mission to report on the human rights situation in that country. The Western Group comprised Western Europe, US, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. I was grateful to our own foreign minister Gerry Collins TD for confirming that my status for this mission would be independent of the Irish government’s direction. The others, representing the other regions of the world, were in varying degrees disposed to taking direction from the government in Havana.
I took it as my mission to measure the situation on the ground against the standards set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and various UN Commission declarations.
Before embarking I visited the foreign ministries in Madrid, Bonn, London, Paris and Washington DC to try to learn from the respective experts as much as I could of the findings of their own embassies or third party representatives (eg Switzerland for the US) in Havana. I also visited the two “foreign ministries” in Rome, those of the Quirinale and the Vatican. I spoke also to the representatives in Geneva of the capitals I could not visit and to many others.
With one exception these sessions were a waste of time. In effect my interlocutors either officiously avoided committing their governments in any way and were uninformative or, as in the case of Madrid, were heavily propagandist in favour of the Cuban regime (reflecting the tendency of the then socialist government of Spain) or, as in the case of Washington DC, were propagandist on the other side.
The best sessions by far took place with Cardinals Casaroli and Silvestrini the two senior Vatican officials at that time. They had both perfectly understood the potential of and the limits on the role of the United Nations in its mission.
They were extraordinarily well-informed. They neither demonised nor in any sense minimised the grave problems that the regime in Havana presented to the church and its community in Cuba and the thrust of their briefing was positive in suggesting ways to explore practical and graduated improvements which might be made. They did not confine themselves to the direct interests of the Catholic Church but ranged over the whole field of human rights in its UN dimension. They did not direct me in my duty as an Irish Catholic (as curiously Fidel Castro, a theologian manque, tried strenuously to do in two private sessions I had with him during the mission). The depth of their knowledge of how the Cuban regime functioned and how the UN might be useful left all other foreign ministries looking either completely politicised or inadequate or frankly ignorant.
Before visiting the Vatican, where I also had the honour of a brief meeting with Pope John Paul II, I had the benefit of an outstanding pre-briefing at the eponymous Villa Spada from our very wise Ambassador Dillon and from a then senior official of the Holy See, one Diarmuid Martin. They both told me I would get a uniquely valuable briefing in the Vatican. They were right.
All of this was in the days before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The visiting mission produced a bland 100-page report, and a minority report (of 1,000 pages) which was more critical, from the undersigned.
I am sorry to say that we did not achieve much for the people of Cuba back then, but I believe and hope that there are better days ahead of them. – Is mise,
MICHAEL LILLIS,
Dartmouth Square,
Dublin 6.
A chara, – There has been some mention in your coverage of the embassy to the Vatican controversy of the value of the Holy See as a “listening post”.
In 1988 I was appointed the representative of the UN Human Rights Commission Western Group to visit Cuba on a six-person mission to report on the human rights situation in that country. The Western Group comprised Western Europe, US, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. I was grateful to our own foreign minister Gerry Collins TD for confirming that my status for this mission would be independent of the Irish government’s direction. The others, representing the other regions of the world, were in varying degrees disposed to taking direction from the government in Havana.
I took it as my mission to measure the situation on the ground against the standards set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and various UN Commission declarations.
Before embarking I visited the foreign ministries in Madrid, Bonn, London, Paris and Washington DC to try to learn from the respective experts as much as I could of the findings of their own embassies or third party representatives (eg Switzerland for the US) in Havana. I also visited the two “foreign ministries” in Rome, those of the Quirinale and the Vatican. I spoke also to the representatives in Geneva of the capitals I could not visit and to many others.
With one exception these sessions were a waste of time. In effect my interlocutors either officiously avoided committing their governments in any way and were uninformative or, as in the case of Madrid, were heavily propagandist in favour of the Cuban regime (reflecting the tendency of the then socialist government of Spain) or, as in the case of Washington DC, were propagandist on the other side.
The best sessions by far took place with Cardinals Casaroli and Silvestrini the two senior Vatican officials at that time. They had both perfectly understood the potential of and the limits on the role of the United Nations in its mission.
They were extraordinarily well-informed. They neither demonised nor in any sense minimised the grave problems that the regime in Havana presented to the church and its community in Cuba and the thrust of their briefing was positive in suggesting ways to explore practical and graduated improvements which might be made. They did not confine themselves to the direct interests of the Catholic Church but ranged over the whole field of human rights in its UN dimension. They did not direct me in my duty as an Irish Catholic (as curiously Fidel Castro, a theologian manque, tried strenuously to do in two private sessions I had with him during the mission). The depth of their knowledge of how the Cuban regime functioned and how the UN might be useful left all other foreign ministries looking either completely politicised or inadequate or frankly ignorant.
Before visiting the Vatican, where I also had the honour of a brief meeting with Pope John Paul II, I had the benefit of an outstanding pre-briefing at the eponymous Villa Spada from our very wise Ambassador Dillon and from a then senior official of the Holy See, one Diarmuid Martin. They both told me I would get a uniquely valuable briefing in the Vatican. They were right.
All of this was in the days before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The visiting mission produced a bland 100-page report, and a minority report (of 1,000 pages) which was more critical, from the undersigned.
I am sorry to say that we did not achieve much for the people of Cuba back then, but I believe and hope that there are better days ahead of them. – Is mise,
MICHAEL LILLIS,
Dartmouth Square,
Dublin 6.
Two Colombian priests hire their own assassin
Of course it takes all types and sizes to make up the world and all its varying groups but the story of the two young Colombian priests who arranged their own killing is particularly and profoundly sad.
The two men hired criminals to kill them after they lost their nerve when attempting to throw themselves off a cliff.
The two men were gay and one of them had Aids.
Again, that sort of sad event happens across the world across all groups and professions.
Had their bishop or provincial ever sat down and spoken to them about their lives?
The church uses the title 'Father' for their ministers of religion. Bishops talk about their 'brother' priests. Sometimes it really is a great game of tomfoolery.
An old priests who retired in recent years, after a long and powerful ministry, told this writer just this summer that his bishop would never dream pick up the phone to say hello to him.
There is a real dysfunction in priesthood and signs are that the difficulty is not exclusively an Irish phenomenon.
The two men hired criminals to kill them after they lost their nerve when attempting to throw themselves off a cliff.
The two men were gay and one of them had Aids.
Again, that sort of sad event happens across the world across all groups and professions.
Had their bishop or provincial ever sat down and spoken to them about their lives?
The church uses the title 'Father' for their ministers of religion. Bishops talk about their 'brother' priests. Sometimes it really is a great game of tomfoolery.
An old priests who retired in recent years, after a long and powerful ministry, told this writer just this summer that his bishop would never dream pick up the phone to say hello to him.
There is a real dysfunction in priesthood and signs are that the difficulty is not exclusively an Irish phenomenon.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Catholic Church is far from being a victim
It is reported that the Association of Catholic Priests has objected to comments made by Miriam O'Callaghan that 'Prime Time Investigates' be awarded a prize for the work it has done.
The ACP is objecting because of the Prime Time libel case, which RTE lost in the courts.
Why should Ms O'Callaghan not say what she said? If the programme series has done good work over a period of time, why should it not be awarded a prize?
Why does the Catholic Church feel that it is a permanent victim of hurt and attack? It really is a preposterous type of thinking.
The Catholic Church, better said, some people in the church, think that it deserves a special place in society.
The institutional Catholic Church in Ireland has been in trouble because of the cover-up, its arrogance, its attempt at being 'above the law'.
With the new property tax will a single presbytery, a single church residence pay the tax? Obviously not as the church is registered as a charity.
There are so many ambiguitites right across every aspect of church life. It's for those reasons that so many people are understandably angry with the church.
The church should stop pretending it's a vicitm. It is anything but.
I
The ACP is objecting because of the Prime Time libel case, which RTE lost in the courts.
Why should Ms O'Callaghan not say what she said? If the programme series has done good work over a period of time, why should it not be awarded a prize?
Why does the Catholic Church feel that it is a permanent victim of hurt and attack? It really is a preposterous type of thinking.
The Catholic Church, better said, some people in the church, think that it deserves a special place in society.
The institutional Catholic Church in Ireland has been in trouble because of the cover-up, its arrogance, its attempt at being 'above the law'.
With the new property tax will a single presbytery, a single church residence pay the tax? Obviously not as the church is registered as a charity.
There are so many ambiguitites right across every aspect of church life. It's for those reasons that so many people are understandably angry with the church.
The church should stop pretending it's a vicitm. It is anything but.
I
Friday, February 17, 2012
Germany is in a better place this evening
Seven hours after the resignation of German federal President Christian Wulff most commentators are referring to the moral imperative for the action Wulff has taken.
It certainly puts into relief Irish bishops and provincials who dodged every arrow to remain in their jobs.
This evening Germany is in a better place.
The same cannot be said about the Irish Catholic Church. And that there is no active and real opposition within the church must mean that the apparatchiks have free rein to do as they wish. And that's more or less what is happening.
There is a photograph in the current issue of The Irish Catholic of the new nuncio to Ireland with religious sisters. The picture and the caption tells a great story of where our church is.
It certainly puts into relief Irish bishops and provincials who dodged every arrow to remain in their jobs.
This evening Germany is in a better place.
The same cannot be said about the Irish Catholic Church. And that there is no active and real opposition within the church must mean that the apparatchiks have free rein to do as they wish. And that's more or less what is happening.
There is a photograph in the current issue of The Irish Catholic of the new nuncio to Ireland with religious sisters. The picture and the caption tells a great story of where our church is.
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