Eusebius Crawford and Edward Conway

Today is the anniversary of the death of two Irish Dominicans. Eusebius Crawford, who was bishop of Gizo in the Solomon Islands, died in 2002, and Edward Conway died in Dublin last year.

Eddie, as he was known, was prior at the Dominican community St Saviour's, Dublin when he died.

In the early 1990s Eusebius Crawford came on summer holidays to Ireland spending some days in St Saviour's, Dublin.

He was a friendly, kind man too but easily gave way to moments of pomposity.

On his visit to St Saviour's he arrived one morning while a number of Dominicans were having a coffee break.

He went to each man and asked him his name. He came to the late John O'Gorman, asked him who he was and moved on.

As he moved to the next person, John, in his easily recognisable Cork accent called the bishop back and asked him who he was.

Brilliant and as brilliant as the man was.

Calling on letter writer to make contact

In April a reader wrote a private letter to this blog.

In the letter she/he wrote: "I intend contacting you to arrange a chat."

It would be appreciated if the letter writer would make contact as soon as possible.

Little room inside the door for US low-income students

Less than 15 per cent of low-income students in the US get a four-year degree, a much lower percentage than those from middle-class homes.

The average graduate with an undergraduate degree leaves college with a $30,000 debt.

Americans have approximately $1.57 trillion in college debt outstanding, and the rate of default is rising.

The Bailey interview akin to the famous P Flynn roadcrash

Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey's interview with Sean O Rourke on Monday was a P Flynn moment on Irish radio. Remember that gentleman the night Gay Byrne allowed him talk on and on?

Ms Bailey's arrogance - was that political arrogance, Fine Gael arrogance, Bailey arrogance? But it certainly was arrogance.

In the 'Sunday Independent' Ms Bailey is quoted as saying: "Nobody was drunk... I was seriously hurt and I was mortified".

If a person were seriously hurt would they have the time or inclination to feel 'mortified'?

A new form of slavery

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

Two weeks ago a friend of mine related to me the hoops that she had to go through to make a small simple change on her phone account. She is a wise calm and articulate person who seldom gets annoyed or frustrated. But her ongoing problem with her phone provider had certainly frustrated her. 

What was annoying her most was that she found it impossible to get them to listen to her and then take action. ‘It was impossible to get speaking to a human voice at the other end of the phone. And I still have not heard from them,’ she said.

It seems we are all subjected to a new form of slavery. These global corporations are holding us to ransom and we are allowing them get away with it. In the meantime, they are making millions on us. 

They seem to have the power, money and ability to wear us down. And the sheer brass-neck too.

Only last week Conor Pope told a story in his column in ‘The Irish Times’ of the appalling treatment a passenger received at the hands of Ryanair.

My friend’s saga with her phone provider and Conor Pope’s story remind me of my own personal saga with Eir.

Indeed, I wrote about it in this column in mid-March and the problem has not yet been resolved.

I am not going to bore the reader with a detailed account of my running row with Eir. But it is a frustrating and seemingly never-ending saga.

I was a customer with Eir for 30 years and my parents before me for another 30 years. One thing is certain these corporations place no importance or value in loyalty. ‘Back in the day’ we placed great importance on loyalty.

My current skirmish with Eir has clearly demonstrated that loyalty counts for nothing.

And then the PR speak they use in an attempt to fob off the customer.

On one occasion Eir emailed me informing me that I had written to the wrong department and gave me a phone number which would deal with my problem. On phoning the number, I was asked for my account or phone number. When I told them that I had closed my account I was told via a recorded message they could not deal with my problem.

On March 1 I wrote a hard copy letter to Eir and so far they have not had the good manners to reply. I have a file of silly PR-speak, meaningless emails from Eir.

Since late February I have been asking Eir to give me a breakdown on the account that I have closed. Not a word from them and it seems they have no intentions.

Is this the company to whom our government is going to pay millions to use their infrastructure in the rolling out of broadband to rural Ireland?

After my experience with Eir I’d be slow to ‘phone home’ ever again with them.

I may well over the years in this column have criticised State-owned companies but these days I am beginning to think when it comes to customer service, efficiency and simple good manners they are light years ahead of many of the large private corporations who are making millions on us.

On a train from Dublin to Galway on Friday I observed a member of Irish Rail staff organise a ramp for a wheelchair passenger. All done with friendliness and at no extra cost. And the train arrived on time at Galway Ceannt Station.

An appreciation of Gabriel Harty in 'The Irish Times'

There is an appreciation of the late Fr Gabriel Harty on the editorial page of The Irish Times today.

The digital version of the paper includes a picture of Gabriel supplied by Pat Lucey.

Jews in Germany warned of risks of wearing kippah cap

That this should happen in Germany is so disturbing.

The German people and the world must stop the advance of the AfD.

Strongly recommended reading is Hans Fallada's 'Alone in Berlin'. It is a great insight into everything that is nasty, ugly and depraved about far right-wing political parties.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/26/jews-in-germany-warned-of-risks-of-wearing-kippah-cap-in-public?CMP=share_btn_link

German Greens get great gains

In Germany The Green Party have had a spectacular Euro Election.

It has been a catastrophic day for the coalition parties.

CDU/CSU have lost over seven per cent of their vote and the SPD close to 11 per cent. 

The Greens have gained 10 per cent and the far-right gained almost four per cent.

Imperialistic exploitation

A quote from Ulrike Meinhof.

She gives her name to the Baader Meinhof group and co-founded the Red Army Faction.

Ulrike Meinhof was born in Oldenburg, Germany in 1934 and died in prison in Stuttgart in May 1976. It was said that she died by suicide but in recent years there have been suspicions as to how she died.

Her parents moved to Jena in 1936, where her father was the director of the city museum. He died of cancer in 1940 and Ulrike and her mother retured to Oldenburg in West Germany in 1946 so as to avoid living in Soviet-controlled Jena in the GDR.

Over 4,000 people attened her funeral in West Berlin in May 1976. She was 41 when she died.

Does this have something to say to us and our predicament today?

“But that is who we are, that is where we come from. We are the offspring of metropolitan annihilation and destruction, of the war of all against all, of the conflict of each individual with every other individual, of a system governed by fear, of the compulsion to produce, of the profit of one to the detriment of others, of the division of people into men and women, young and old, sick and healthy, foreigners and Germans, and of the struggle for prestige. 

"Where do we come from? From isolation in individual row-houses, from the suburban concrete cities, from prison cells, from the asylums and special units, from media brainwashing, from consumerism, from corporal punishment, from the ideology of nonviolence, from depression, from illness, from degradation, from humiliation, from the debasement of human beings, from all the people exploited by imperialism.” 

'What's love got to do with it?'

The 'Thinking Anew' column in The Irish Times today.

Michael Commane

Reading tomorrow’s Gospel (John 14: 23 - 29) one has to ask what have we done with the story of Jesus? Stop any young person on our streets and ask what does religion, faith, God mean to them. 

You won’t need a sophisticated polling company to tell you the results.

At best today young people are indifferent to so much of what they perceive the churches are saying and doing.

Even the vocabulary that Christian churches use appears to have little or no meaning to the children and grandchildren of people who were once ‘believers’.

There is indifference, there is anger and there is also hurt. The clerical child sex abuse revelations have been devastating for victims and their families, for the faithful, for the public at large, and indeed for the churches. And I feel the institutional church still doesn't get it, hasn’t fully understood the enormity of the breach of tust.

And yet if one can step back from all that terrible mess, stand back and listen to tomorrow’s Gospel with an open heart and mind you are immediately transported into a story of love, care, protection and peace.

Yes, it is an extraordinary leap to say Jesus is God, it is extraordinary to say that word God. But because aspects of reality or concepts are beyond our grasp, beyond our comprehension, does not mean that it can’t or does not exist. St John tells us that the heavenly father will love us, and we are also promised peace, a peace that the world can never give us.

“I give you a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.” (Jn 14: 27)

Imagine if we had peace in our world. How well known is the church for campaigning for peace? Look again at that word love. Yes, there are some strong Christian advocates for peace, but I don’t think any poll, any measure of public opinion would show that the churches are at the vanguard when it comes to peace campaigners. Or at least the churches' message does not sound vibrant or interesting enough to be reported by the media.

Last year the world spent €1.7 trillion on armaments. The US president has requested a €750 billion military budget for 2020. And have we any idea what Russia and China are spending on weaponry? Weapons are designed to kill and maim. 

Yet we shrug our shoulders when we hear such vast sums. Talking about billions and trillions, a friend pointed out to me recently that counting in a normal fashion it would take two weeks to count to a million, 38 years to count to a billion and 38,000 years to count a trillion. That certainly puts some perspective on the money we are spending on hardware, whose purpose is to kill and maim, not to comfort, feed, shelter and educate. 

But as the Tina Turner song put it: “What’s love got to do with it?”

Surely a far cry from the sentiments in the Gospel – “I give you a peace” – that will be read around the world in Christian churches tomorrow. How many homilists will be prompted to proclaim the message of Jesus concerning peace, and what Jesus means when he tells us to love one another?

Also, in tomorrow’s Gospel there are clues about the Trinity, the mystery wherein the three persons in God exist in harmony, unity and at peace with each other. We are invited to make our home with him.That notion or idea of being at home in a person’s company is powerful. We all need a haven, a place which we can call home. 

Imagine what that message has to say to a world that is so broken. The peace, unity and love that the Christian message offers our world is anything but out-of-of-date and staid. It is a message of hope and love, filled with excitement and challenge.

How have we managed to make it such a dull and boring story? And even managed to annoy good people about it?

As individuals, you and I may not be in a position to rid the world of the shocking arsenal that we have built but we all can play our own role in shouting from the rooftops that the life of Jesus Christ tells a very different story.

Isn't it odd that there is seldom a word spoken in churches against weapons of mass destruction? Ask your local priest or minister when was the last time she/he spoke at a liturgical celebration against the money the world is spending on weaponry.

That might just be another hint as to why so many people have walked away from church. Has it something to do with the perceived relevance of churches today? Jesus lived and preached love and peace, not indifference. 

Eurovision Song Contest

On May 24, 1956 the first Eurovision Song Contest was staged in Lugano, Switzerland.

Ireland did not qualify for the final  this year and the UK's entry finished last. The UK's  singer, Michael Rice's  grandparents are Irish.

Ireland has won the contest seven times, winning it three years in a row in the 1990s.

This year an estimated 200 million people watched the show, which was staged in Israel.

Back in 1956 satellite communication was in its infancy and there was not yet transatlantic satellite   communication.

‘The Tablet’ thinks Budapest is in Poland

It seems people at ‘The Tablet’ think Budapest is in Poland. 

It might give a hint as to why the international Catholic weekly has such a poor distribution service.

It has been a long battle to get them recognise the official name of Ireland in the English language.

'Extremist attitudes on abortion get us nowhere'

An excellent article in the current issue of the National Catholc Reporter

Editorial: Extremist attitudes on abortion get us nowhere

by NCR Editorial Staff

We say: State legislatures have busied themselves enacting laws to either restrict abortion rights or expand them, with extreme results in New York and Alabama. There is a reasonable compromise. 

Church closure shrouded in secrecy

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

I’d imagine there are many people who would say that I am critical of the institutional Catholic Church.

Some years ago a priest, now a bishop, wrote a critical letter to a newspaper about me and what I had written. He also sent the letter to my then provincial. I thought it might have been more productive and proper had he contacted me directly and we could have discussed his concerns.

But that is not how my dear institutional church works. And I know what I am talking about. I have a book-full of experiences to explain and detail chapter and verse what I’m saying.

It seems the hierarchical church refuses to learn. Maybe it thinks it has nothing to learn, but I can’t help but feel in my bones that far too often it behaves in too secretive a manner and certainly is a dab hand at patronising people.

A former work colleague recently approached me.

She grew up in the UK, is a Catholic, as are her parents and siblings. Her parents are of Irish background and their faith plays an important role in their lives.

Indeed, my colleague, who is in her 30s, is a regular church-goer.

She is upset as are her parents. The reason is that their local parish church in England is about to be sold and they feel they have had little or no communication with their diocese. 

She and her family are exasperated by the church’s behaviour. ‘Michael, getting answers is like getting blood from a stone’, she explained.

They certainly have had no say whatsoever in the decision the diocese has made. My friend wanted to pick my ‘clerical brain’ as to the protocol when it comes to church-selling.

We both agreed that the local people, the people who have prayed in that church for generations play no role whatsoever in the ownership of the church. That led to a discussion on what actually it means when we talk about ‘the people of God’. 

That’s all fine and dandy but when it comes to hard economics that sort of thinking is side-lined and decisions are calculated on spreadsheets and made by the clerical staff in a diocese or a religious congregation.

In our hour-long conversation I got the impression my friend and her family have been told little or nothing about the decisions that were being made at diocesan headquarters.

I found it so sad when she told me that her parents were life-long supporters of the church, attended Mass every Sunday and many weekdays and now they felt they were ‘nobodys’ when it came to the future of their church, the church that they, their families and friends had financially supported for decades.

That’s no way to treat ‘the people of God’.

The institutional church is in freefall. There are indeed small groups of ‘culture warriors’ who think they can get the church to return to its ‘former glory’.

It’s not going to happen.

The future of the church, the people of God, is with and through the people of God. The church is not the property of the clerical class. 

Unfortunately that clerical mind-set seems close to impossible to change.

But it has to change. There is an old Latin expression, ‘Ecclesia semper reformanda est’, meaning that the church is always in need of reform.

Was there ever a truer word spoken?

Poor Pope Francis is trying his best but reforming the church must be like attempting to turn an aircraft carrier at sea.

The gentle giant who 'kicked some ball'

The funeral Mass of Anton O'Toole takes place this afternon in Mount Argus Church.

I first met Anton approximately a year ago. We were chatting a few minutes before I asked him where he had been at school. 

When he told me he had been at Synge Street I asked him if he was the famous Dublin footballer he replied: " Ah, I kicked some ball when I was a young fella."

Amelia Earhart flies Newfoundland Derry

On May 20, 1932 Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland and landed the next day north of Derry.

It was the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic by a woman pilot.

Parliamentary prayers

"You could be forgiven for thinking that MPs and Lords need all the help they can get."

Bishop of Kensington, Graham Tomlin, on calls to end parliamentary prayers.

Heresies, letters, rumours and madness

English Dominican priest Aidan Nichols is among a number of priests who have written an open letter accusing Pope Francis of heresy.

Former Master of the Dominican Order Timothy Radcliffe has denied that remarks he allegedly made about gay relationships constitute heresy.

In a letter to the Council of Bishops co-signed by a number of English ‘religious’ and ‘scholars’ accused Pope Francis of heresy because he promoted Fr Radcliffe to a position in the vatican.

All hilarious or pathetic?

The deck chairs on the Titanic.

Anton O'Toole RIP

Former Dublin footballer Anton O'Toole died this morning.

He won several All-Ireland medals playing in the blue shirt.

Anton was known as the Blue Panther but also as a Gentle Giant.

He  was a past pupil of Synge Street and played club football for the Synge Street Club.

Anton also had a great interest in horses and was a regular visitor to Cheltenham.

I know nothing about football but in the last 12 months I have had the great good fortune to get to know Anton.

Occasionally in our lives we meet people who impress and inspire us, people in whose company it is a joy to be.

Anton O'Toole was one such person. He had that great gift of being interested in you. And that smile of his that could light up a room.

This morning on the radio when his death was announced RTE's Des Cahill referred to Anton as being a lovely man. I know exactly what he meant. Anton O'Toole was a lovely person, who genuinely cared for people. He enjoyed people, he was funny and also, he spoke the truth about himself and others but always in a gentle and kind manner.

My enocunter with Anton was brief but I know I shall never forget him. For me, he has been a shining light.

The late Jean Vanier said: "We must help each other to live more and more clearly and deeply from an inner confidence of being loved by God just as they are."

Anton O'Toole lived and practised just that all his life.

He was a gentle giant on and off the field.

A leap too far in faith and fashion accessories

Earlier this week national daily newspapers published photographs of a young woman making her first profession as a nun.

New Zealander Sister Anne Marie (Hannah Loeman) was pictured dressed in her 'traditional' habit. The Mass and profession ceremony was conducted by Tridentine priest Fr Thomas Le Gal.

Hannah Loeman has joined the Carmelites of the Holy Face of Jesus.

The convent is in Leap West Cork. There are at present two woman in the convent or hermitage, the newcomer and Mother Irene Gibson.

Later in the week the nuns were back in the news. This time Mother Irene was being brought to court by Cork  County Council over an alleged breach of planning laws.

The profession of Hannah Loeman was her first gentle step to becoming a full member of the Carmelite Nuns of the Holy Face of Jesus.

The officiating priest Fr Thomas Le Gal celebrates the Tridentine Mass, also called the Traditional Latin Mass. It was the version of the Mass that was celebrated from 1570 to 1962.

According to information available on Fr Le Gal he is contactable in Dublin, Kilkenny, Derry and Clogher under a French telephone number.

It's always worth noting the media's interest in publishing stories about members of religious congregations who dress in their traditional garb.

Only this week RTE showed footage of religious sisters dressed in their habits voting in the last divorce referendum.

Occasionally we see newspaper photographs of women and men cycling bicycles or playing football in their religious habits. It's considered a news story, something different, something out of the ordinary, a touch of sensationalism.

It is of course a nonsense to cycle wearing any sort of religious habit. A publicity stunt?

What is it about habits that catch the eye of journalists?

The founder of the Dominicans, St Dominic wore clothing that was in tone with the poor people of his time.

Today the habit could easily be interpreted as a fashion accessory. It allows people to stand out, to look 'different'.

Shakespeare's wise words in Hamlet come to mind when Polonius talks of the 'apparel oft proclaims the man [woman]'.

Mao's Cultural Revolution

On May 16, 1966 the Communist Party of China issued  the 'May 16 Notice', marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

The Pentagon's long con

This article appears in The Nation.

If true, which it probably is, then what is happening is shocking.

Reading the article one is reminded of the 1988 Channel 4 'A Very British Coup' where a Labour prime minister attempts to remove nuclear warheads from the UK. A real and prophetic drama.

As the article points out, we all know Trump is a con-man but the Pentagon is far more experienced and efficient in the dark art.

https://www.thenation.com/article/tom-dispatch-military-industrial-complex-pentagon-long-con/?utm_medium=socialflow

The very first McDonald's taste

On May 15, 1940 McDonald's opened its first restaurant in San Bernadino, California.

Train chasing

This week's Independent News & Media Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

In these hectic times most people easily admit to rushing through the day with little or no downtime.

Don’t we use the expression to chase one’s tail but that has a slightly different meaning as it implies that all one’s rushing about leads to nothing.

We all chase different things, we even chase the rainbow, again it’s a bit of a waste of time as that implies we are pursuing things that are unrealistic or unlikely to happen.

The story of our lives? Where does our chasing get us?

So what chasing do you do in your life?

Personally, many is the chase I have done.

But the one that I took part in recently was a first for me. I’m alternating between laughter and exhaustion thinking about it.

I’m now five months into a ‘carless’ existence. It’s public transport, a bicycle and a motorbike. That’s not the full story as I often depend on lifts from friends.

I was travelling from West Kerry to Dublin on Sunday. The plan was to cycle the first 10 kilometres, then bus to Tralee and onwards with Iarnród Éireann to Dublin.

A friend intervened and kindly offered to drive me to Tralee. I was hesitant but he persuaded me to accept his offer. I easily succumbed.

The plan was to leave Castlegregory at 11.20 for the 11.50 rail service. At approximately 11.10 my friend got a call telling him his cattle had broken out of the field and off he went to rescue same. 

He arrives back close to 11.30, too late to make the 11.50 train so we drive to Farranfore. As we arrive at the station we can see the red lights of the train slowly and gently leave the station. It’s on to Killarney. 

Traffic is slow and far too many cyclists annoying me. Approaching Killarney we decide that we would not make it so it’s off to Rathmore. Far too much traffic dawdling about on the roads on Sunday when they should all be either at home, playing football or at Mass. 

Why are they delaying me? Do they not know I am chasing a train?

On some occasions on the road we are driving parallel to the railway and it seems we are now ahead of the train.

Make it on time at Rathmore. A few people waiting for the up train. It turns out the train arrives 11 minutes late in Rathmore. 

Because of a large number of people boarding in Killarney the train is now running late, which means of course that I could have caught it in Killarney and saved my friend the return Killarney Rathmore drive.

In normal circumstances, if anything is ever normal, I would easily have waited for the next train but I had to be in Dublin for 5.30pm, which meant the next train would have been too late.

It was seriously kind of my chauffeur to spend an hour chasing a train for me. And then he had the drive back to Castlegregory.

We both agreed it was funny and that should we be alive in 10 or 20 years’ time we will still be talking and laughing about our Sunday morning train chase.

I am always wondering what life is about. A friend tells me it’s moving from one distraction to the next.

Don’t we all take ourselves far too seriously?

I bet in the years to come I’ll forget about many so-called important events but I’ll be still laughing at the train chase.

.  

Gabriel Harty OP, RIP

Dominican priest Gabriel Harty died on Thursday, May 9.

Gabriel was a charismatic man who gave his life to preaching, praying and spreading the Rosary.

He was born in Dublin in 1921 and joined the Dominicans in 1949. 

He was a past pupil of Coláiste Mhuire. There was a statue over the main door of the entrance to the school and on one occasion giving a retreat to students of the school he said that every day he entered the school he felt he was walking into the arms of Mary.

After school he studied for priesthood at Clonliffe College and was ordained a priest for the Dublin archdiocese in 1945, where he worked for three years, serving as a curate in Cabra. He  subsequently joined the Irish Dominican Province.

He had the honour of being the oldest member of the province.

Gabriel was a kindly person with an extraordinary work ethic. He was a prolific writer and managed and edited the Rosary Letter for many years. It is fair to say the publication was at its most vibrant under his editorship.

His Rosary apostolate started on the buses.

CIE, as Dublin Bus was called 'back in the day', had a custom of running ghost buses. They were buses to bring drivers and conductors home after driving the last buses of the day. Gabriel travelled on these buses preaching and saying the Rosary. 

Today CIE is name of the holding company for the three State owned transport companies.

On one occasion he flew by sea plane from Foynes to Lisbon, where he preached on the Rosary.

In 1968 he was elected prior of the Dominican community in Pope's Quay Cork but quickly realised it was not his forte and had the wisdom and courage to resign his priorship so as to give all of his energy to the preaching and spreading the Rosary, which dominated his life's work.

Gabriel was a man who thought 'outside the box' long before it became fashionable. He was also a rogue - in the nicest understanding of that word.

In his mid-90s it was his practice to travel by rail from Newry to Dublin and then take the Luas to the Dominican priory in Tallaght, pushing and pulling his case.

Gabriel was assigned to the Dominican priory in Dundalk and died in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

His funeral Mass takes place today at midday at St Malachy's Priory, Dundalk, followed by burial at St Patrick's cemetery.

He would be delighted to know that his funeral Mass is taking place on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. That roguish smile of his would radiate a room.

Jean Vanier's take on atheists and how we use God's name

A quote from the late Jean Vanier.

It was a reply to an atheist who asked him if he could live in L'Arche

I would rather have a person who believes in people with disabilities and not in God than the other way around.

The openness of Jean Vanier

L’Arche founder Jean Vanier, who died on May 7, aged 90, was a towering figure, who spent his life at the service of people with learning disabilities.

He was once asked how L’Arche communities had managed to avoid scandal.

“We are not a closed group, people go out into villages and the villages come to us,” he said.

Inspiring words.