Sing Alleluia at Easter

The 'Thinking Anew' column in The Irish Times on Saturday.

Michael Commane

Channel Four, which is the UK's only public-owned, commercially-funded public service broadcaster, screens an hour-long news every weekday evening, which offers a comprehensive and detailed analysis and commentary on world and UK affairs.The 7pm programme is always well-worth watching.

Last week it aired its “sting” on the data company Cambridge Analytica. This involved an undercover journalist in conversation with Cambridge Analytica staff. He was purporting to seek help in an upcoming election in Sri Lanka. It was sensational television. It certainly stopped me in my step. One had no choice but to watch it.

As a result of Channel Four's brilliant and intrepid investigation, in partnership with the British Sunday newspaper The Observer,  the world has been agog with the shenanigans that's been going on in data companies

Words such as algorithms and data are part of the basic language of mathematicians. For the rest of us we have some superficial and fleeting understanding that they have something to do with the smart phones and computers we use on a daily basis.

IT or  information technology is now an essential ingredient in every aspect of our lives. Our trains, newspapers, car manufacturing, the harvesting of crops, everything has an IT component to it.

We marvel at the technology. Only last week I renewed my car tax online. The thought of going to a county council office, queueing maybe for 30 minutes, to get a tax disk brings back nightmares. It is laughable to look back at what we did. Instead with a few clicks, some money and a bank card we can do in less than five minutes what in the past could well have taken an entire morning. And the frustration and frayed nerves involved are now a distant memory.

It's easy to be tempted to say we are masters of the human race and everything is forced to bow down in front of our supremacy. At the press of a button we can do all things.

And yet right in front of our eyes modern-style highwaymen have committed daylight robbery. They have snatched data on millions of people. We who know so much, who think the world is at our fingertips have been made fools of. Every time we use our IT devices there is the possibility that someone is watching and then harvesting our data and in turn using it or selling it on so that they can in some magical way use it to influence us in how we think and act.

It is astonishing and mesmerising.

Tomorrow is the feast of Easter, the most important day in the Christian calendar. Christians give expression to their belief in the risen Lord.

In tomorrow's Gospel (Jn 20: 1 - 9) John tells us how the disciples run to the tomb, Peter and the one Jesus loved, and they find the tomb empty. It is Mary of Magdala who spots that the tomb is open and brings it to the attention of the disciples.

Astonishing. Hard to believe. But it is the very kernel of our faith. It has been passed down to us over two thousand years. 

While there is no witness to his actual coming forth from the tomb there are many who gave their lives in testimony to the fact that they had seen him alive. There is historical evidence to back it up. St Paul says: "If Christ has not been raised then our preaching is useless and your believing it is useless". (1 Corinthians 15:14)

In the midst of everything I see and experience in this whimsical world around me, the idea of the raising of Jesus and then the possibility of my resurrection, give me great hope in the purpose of my life. Resurrection offers us a profound steadiness, a powerful goal to achieve.

Maybe today more than ever it is unwise to put all our trust in the inventions, works and schemes of human beings. There is more to us that that. Shakespeare prods us to thinking so when we read in Hamlet: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy".

A God-centred world seems far more attractive right now than one which places all reality under the control of women and men.

Surely it is astonishingly arrogant to dismiss the resurrection story as fairytale material at a time when we have been made fools of right in front of our eyes? We are being told fairytales every day of our lives.

Tomorrow is a day to sing Alleluia, the Lord is risen, and we believe we too are destined to share in the glory of the risen Lord.

Hell

In today's Guardian.

 

It's proving a dream story for the right-wing Catholic commentariat.

Check out the far-right blog Rorate Caeli. Dominicans feature on it.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/30/vatican-scrambles-to-clarify-popes-denial-that-hell-exists?CMP=share_btn_link

Wolfgang Schäuble sees exit from Brexit a possibility

President of the German Parliament and former German finance minister Wofgang Schäuble does not rule out  the possibility that Great Britain might yet remain in the EU.

According to Der Spiegel, Schäuble sees the current dispute with Russia over the poisoning of double agent Sripal as an opportunity for Great Britain to pause and see what it means to have support from other  nations.

He said: "It's good when one is not alone in the world." 

Peace not conflict

From Jean Vanier in The Tablet this week.

Imagine if we lived this.

"Jesus on the feast of the Resurrection looks at each one of us with more love than we can dare believe. 

"He forgives us our shortcomings; he frees us from our guilt. He then sends us off to forgive others, so that they can be free from guilt. Each one of us is called to bring peace where there is conflict. We are not all called to sell everything we have. 

"We are all called to be committed to one person who is in pain, who is lonely and lost and who needs a friend."

German justice minister

Katarina Barley has been appointed minister for justice and consumer affairs in the newly formed German government.

She is a member of the SPD party.

The extract below appears on Wikipedia.

With the UK a year away from leaving the EU this piece makes an interesting read.

Barley grew up in Cologne; her father was a British-born journalist who worked with the English-language service of Germany's international broadcaster, the Deutsche Welle, and her mother was a German physician.^[3] From birth she only held British citizenship, and she only acquired German citizenship some years later.^[4] She is fluent in German, English and French.^[5]

Her father (born 1935) was originally from Lincolnshire.^[6][7] 

She has said her father grew up in a working class family on a very small and simple farm that lacked electricity, and that he was awarded a scholarship to attend university after being discovered as a talented pupil by his teacher; however after being turned down by the University of Cambridge for "not having the right accent, the right clothes," he decided as a matter of principle to turn his back on British universities and move to West Germany to attend university instead; he first moved to Hanover and later to West Berlin, where he found society to be more egalitarian and progressive. 

In Germany he met Barley's mother and was employed as a journalist with Deutsche Welle's English service in Cologne after graduating. Her mother (born 1940) belonged to an upper middle class family from eastern Germany and was the daughter of an engineer in the automotive industry; her family fled the Red Army in 1945 and came as refugees from stalinism to western Germany.^[6] 

Barley has said that she had a happy childhood, but that she grew up with a strong sense of social justice, influenced by her parents' experiences. 

Although neither of her parents was born in this part of Europe, she identifies culturally as a Rhinelander.^[4][8]

Ireland expels diplomat

Ireland expels a diplomat of the Russian Federation.

Why?

Was she/he caught in espionage or is it in solidarity with the UK?

If Russia wanted to kill one of its former spies, surely the FSB  would do a 'better' job.

Remember Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction? They even showed us pictures of them.

Why did Ireland not expel Russian diplomats  on the occasion of Russia annexing Crimea?

Upside down

Why would one lock a bicycle in this position?

Then again, it could be the work of a passerby.

Spotted close to Dubln's Grand Canal Dock.

"Little Man what now"

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

Michael Commane

Do you ever ask yourself what your relationship is with society and the place you work? As a citizen do you feel you have a significant role to play in the life of the country? In your workplace do you believe that you are making a meaningful contribution? 

Which is more important, the individual or the State, the worker or the company?

What’s the role of the State? To protect the individual or to promote the common good? Or both?

Most of us get on with our lives. But there are occasions when people feel beaten down by the society. 

There are those who feel mere cogs in the wheel in their workplace.

The story of how Joanne Hayes was mistreated is an example of how State power can be destructive.

States, churches, large corporations, clubs, banks, associations, all have the possibility of mistreating the individual. 

When the individual comes up against a large organisation it is never on a level playing pitch. 

In a democracy, the exercise of political power must respect the law, the constitution, and the will of the people, through the decisions of parliament.

Do you ever experience a total sense of alienation, that you are helpless against the State, the big organisation? That terrible feeling of powerlessness.

My experience pales into insignificance, when compared with what people suffer. But in the light of what we are now hearing about data, I think the story is worth telling.

Two weeks ago I was checking my phone bill. I noticed there were two text messages from two numbers I did not recognise. I checked my phone history, there was no record of my sending two text messages to the stated number.

I phoned my provider.

I was told it was a scam. I or someone else gave my phone number to some web address or some pop-up social media account. I stay well clear of all such scams. 

Once someone had my number they then sent me a text message and they in turn received the money from the phone operator. I asked the phone company if they could protect me from such a scam. 

They told me they were unable to do that and that I would have to download an app in order to protect myself from such a scam. My smart phone is old and at this stage is unable to download apps.

It means that any chancer or scammer can send me text messages and I am going to have to pay for them. That’s outrageous.

The phone company agreed, in a gesture of goodwill, to credit me the two text messages but I was told that they were under no obligation to do so.

I am annoyed about it, angry too. Indeed, so angry that I decided to make a formal complaint to the telephone regulator.

Over a period of a week I have spent at least 60 minutes trying to solve the problem. I’m not there yet. I plan to persevere but am I feeling frustrated and helpless. People should not be treated like this.

Far too often the individual feels helpless, is forced to cower in the face of the State or big corporations.

That’s why regulation is so important and all organisations must be policed. And making complaints should not be obstacle races.

German writer Hans Fallada titled his best-selling novel ‘Little Man, What Now?’, which was published in 1932. Back then little did he realise how pertinent the title would be in 2018.

 

Polish priest prays for death of Pope Francis

A story in the current issue of The Tablet tells of a Polish priest praying for the death of Pope Francis.

Fr Edward Staniek prayed  for "wisdom for the pope, and for his heart to be open to work by the Holy Spirit", but also hoped that "if this doesn't happen, he will quickly depart to the House of the Father", and enjoy "the great grace of a happy death'.

It was Fr Staniek's way of marking the fifth anniversary of the pope's election.

Staniek was ordained a priest in 1965. He was rector of the seminary in Cracow between 1993–2001. Staniek is the author of many books and was also a member of the Committee of Theological Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences.  

A tiny insight into the mindset of many ministers of religion.

It's funny but powerfully sad too.

There is something peculiarly nasty about right-wing religion.

In the American College in Rome there are daily prayers for Pope Benedict XVI.

Dominicans in Northern Ireland during the Troubles

BBC Radio 4's religious programme Sunday today featured a topic on the role religious sisters played during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

A number of Dominican Sisters spoke on the programme, recalling the years of trouble. It made for great radio.

It was noted that there is little or no archival information on the role religious sisters played during the 30 years of havoc.

Perth London non-stop

New non-stop service from Australia to the UK begins today.

Australian airline Qantas begins flying this Saturday from Perth to London.

Flight time is 17 hours.

Religion and drink

Isn't it an amazing juxtaposition.

People pass the back of the Guinness brewery in Dublin every day. All the tour buses pass this spot, indeed, park just beyond it.

It's the church of St James adjacent to the Arthur Guinness brewery.

The story of Ireland in many ways - religion and drink.

Ambassador slams Johnson for his nazi slurs

From yesterday's Guardian.

Russia’s ambassador to the UK has described Boris Johnson’s comparison of this summer’s World Cup to the Nazi Olympics as “unacceptable and totally irresponsible”.

Speaking at a press conference, Alexander Yakovenko complained that Britain had refused to cooperate with Moscow over the investigation into the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. “We have seen no evidence,” he said.

Yakovenko repeated Vladimir Putin’s claim that Russia had “nothing to do with this incident”. He suggested that the UK had its own stores of the lethal novichok nerve agent used in the attack, which was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s in secret state laboratories.

The foreign secretary predicted on Thursday that Putin would revel in the World Cup to be hosted by Moscow in the same way that Adolf Hitler did in the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936. He also suggested that the UK might advise England football fans to avoid travelling to the tournament for their own safety.

Yakovenko offered his own riposte. “Nobody has the right to insult the Russian people who defeated nazism and lost more than 25m people by comparing our country to Nazi Germany,” he said. 

“We are not buying this. First we have to see the evidence and see the conclusions,” he added, complaining that the British authorities had refused consular access to the Skripals and had kept the embassy in the dark. He wished the Skripals a speedy recovery.

The ambassador downplayed the possibility of a boycott of this summer’s football tournament, saying that the “world community” had picked Russia as the host. He conceded the event would be “advertising” for Russia and said it would showcase the country’s improving living standards.

The foreign secretary said on Thursday that about a quarter of the number of fans who travelled to watch England in Brazil in 2014 were currently expected to go to Russia. He said 24,000 people had purchased tickets, as opposed to 94,000 at the same point in the run-up to the tournament in Brazil.

Bungling Boris

Yesterday the  United Kingdom's foreign secretary Boris Johnson said that "Putin will use the World Cup like Hitler's Olympics".

An unfortunate comment, especially when it was said on the eve of the anniversary date of Nazi Germany taking Memel from Lithuania on March 22, 1939.

Does Mr Johnson know that The Soviet Union lost approximately 27 million people at the hands of Hitler?

Britain's number one diplomat scores an own-goal every day he insults the Russian leader.

Words from Pope Francis

Two heartening quotes from Pope Francis:

God's merciful hand is there to pull it out, if humanity would take it

and

Periphery people are different.

Far-right feeds on fear

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

Michael Commane

Micko, not his real name, works at a waste facility for a county council.

He manages to have at least two foreign holidays every year and drives a 161 car. We chat about politics and the general state of ‘chassis’ in the country. He’s adamant in his hatred of the established political parties and refers to them as the ‘political elite’.

That’s the phrase that is being used worldwide to refer to the political establishment. Micko feels that the far-right listen to him, whereas ‘the current crowd’ have no time for him. He objects to foreigners coming here and ‘milking the system’.

Trump in the US, AfD in Germany, Le Pen in France, Orban in Hungary, the Law and Justice Party in Poland, laughing Farage, all offer a dangerous menu.

The so-called anti-establishment parties are on the verge of becoming the ‘establishment’ and the picture they paint is worrying.

A new government has been formed in Germany. It is a coalition made up of three ‘establishment parties’, that all lost heavily in the September elections.

The formation of the new government means that the far right, Alternative for Germany (AfD) becomes the main opposition party. AfD politicians may come across as attractive sensible people. But at the core of their ideology they are nasty xenophobic people, who want to put Germany first.

Occasionally their mask falls and you will hear members say that it’s time the Germans began to forget about their past. AfD personnel have expressed strong objections to the Holocaust memorial in the heart of Berlin. They have also said it’s time for Germany to have pride in the Wehrmacht, which was Hitler’s army.

In Poland a law has been passed, which makes it illegal for citizens to say anything about Polish complicity during the German occupation of Poland in World War II.

In France Marine Le Pen is airbrushing her father and founder of Front National out of the party’s history. He goes easy on what the Nazis did.

In Italy comedians and far-right politicians made great gains in this month’s elections.

In Europe and in the US there is a fear that our identity is being destroyed.

There is something about the human psyche that needs a scapegoat. And the new anti-establishment parties have played this card to perfection.

Russia has re-elected Vladimir Putin. Like Trump, he promises to make Russia ‘great’ again. The Chinese Communist Party has made Xi Jinping leader for life. Russia and China have expressed their fear of outside interference by placing inordinate trust in what they see as strong people.

In Lisdoonvarna there is tension and worry about the arrival of 115 people who are to be housed in the new direct provision centre.

It’s time for the developed world to make a serious effort in working to banish poverty and war in the developing world, instead of making billions on selling them weapons of destruction.

Whose planes, tanks and guns are doing the killing in Syria and Yemen, and everywhere in the developing world?

People would stay at home if they were allowed live in peace and prosperity. Then the far-right would have to find new ways to fool the ‘Mickos’ of this world.

Le Pen, the AfD, Farage, Orban, Trump feed on the fears of people.

Guardian columnist and author George Monbiot recently wrote: ‘Do not let fear rule your life. Fear hems us in, stops us from thinking clearly, and prevents us from either challenging oppression or engaging calmly with the impersonal fates.’

The diary of priesthood

Last Monday former President of Ireland Mary McAleese spoke on radio about how her brother had been violently and sadistically abused by Fr Malachy Finnegan.

On Thursday The Irish Times carried the story of 'Donal', who was savagely beaten by Fr Malachy Finnegan, who also asked the little boy obscene questions.

In the weekend edition of The Irish Times Patsy McGarry gives a detailed account of the life and times of Fr Malachy Finnegan.

These were the men who roared and screamed at young girls and boys about 'holy purity'.

It is all insane.

Has the Catholic Church any shame?

What about the men who were never caught and are now dead?

What about a State audit on it all?

Has there been a diocese or religious congregation that has of its own volition come forward and told the authorities about Fr A, B, C et al, who were never caught?

Is there a bishop or provincial who speaks to the truth in an atractive and humane fashion?

It is all vile and sick.

It's tedious, annoying, shameful too.

Snow on March 18

Okay, not much, but for Irish standards this sort of snow on March 18 is quasi-exceptional.

And it's cold too, zero Celsius with a colder chill factor.

Unusual in Germany

A most unusual occurrence.

In Germany tomorrow the railway stations of Leipzig and Halle will be closed due to poor weather conditions.

Temperature in Dresden is set to drop to minus nine degrees Celsius tonight.

Outrageous comments on Jews made by Polish priest

Mary Fitzgerald in an article in today's Irish Independent writes about new laws in Poland concerning the country's past relationship with its German occupier.

She writes:

IN a recent interview on Polish state TV, a priest who edits a Catholic publication claimed Jewish critics of the law have a 'completley different system of values, a different concept of truth'.

It sounds outrageous. It is a pity that the names of the publication and the priest are not given in the piece.

Below is an extract from The Times of Israel.

Representatives of Polish Jews complained to the state watchdog on media over a public broadcaster’s airing of an interview with a priest who said Jews have their own understanding of the concept of truth.

Henryk Zielinski, editor-in-chief of the Catholic weekly Idziemy, said this on February 24 during an interview with TVP, according to the complaint that the Union of Jewish Communities in Poland filed on Monday with Poland’s National Council of Radio and Television.

The Fr Malachy Finnegans

The Thursday edition of The Irish Times carries Donal's story of how Fr Malachy Finnegan treated him when he was a boy at St Colman's.

It is horrific.

Is there a Catholic-run school in the country that did not have a Fr Malachy Finnegan among its principals/deans/teachers?

Is there any diocese or religious congregation that did not have a Fr Malachy Finnegan?

Reading Donal's story one has no choice but to get angry, angry with the Fr Malachy Finnegans who were feted, respected, treated with deference. But one also is forced to get angry with the bishops/provincials who placed the Fr Malachy Finnegans in positions of 'authority'.

And no doubt the Fr Malachy Finnegans have not gone away.

Do churches attract Fr Malachy Finnegans?

Has there been one word from the Irish Catholic Church in respone to Donal's story in Thursday's newspaper?

'Donal' asked the newspaper that his real name not be used. He made a full statement to th PSNI last week about his abuse by Fr Malachy Finnegan.

The church needs 'holy, healthy and humble priests'

Below is the editorial in The Tablet this week.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, provided Mary McAleese with a great publicity boost by banning her participation in a conference on women’s rights to be held at the Vatican. 

The conference was moved to the Jesuit Curia office nearby, and the former President of Ireland did not disappoint. The Catholic Church, she said, was an “empire of misogyny”. Power lay “among a hermetically sealed cosy male clerical elite …”

There may be worse examples of institutional misogyny in the world, but her latter point hit its target. What she is describing is clericalism, a caste system which elevates the ordained Catholic priesthood onto a pedestal and downgrades those not of this caste to a lower status. 

Especially if they are female. Dr McAleese is a forthright advocate of women’s ordination. The explanation for Cardinal Farrell’s “no-platforming” her may lie in the ruling by Pope John Paul II that the issue of women priests may not even be discussed. That was and is an unacceptable limitation of freedom of speech, and it is more and more disregarded. If the grounds for not ordaining women are sound they should stand up to critical examination.

Clericalism is a related issue, but separate. Why should women want to join an institution that is, in Dr McAleese’s words, “a cosy clerical elite”, whether entry is restricted to men or not? Would adding women to it cure it of clericalism? 

Before the issue of ordaining women can be properly tackled, it surely has to be asked, what is the point of ordaining men? And what sort of men, by what preparation process? And that relates to the current concern of every bishop – with a steady decline in clergy numbers, how to attract candidates to the priesthood? Urging congregations to pray for vocations has not been enough.

A thorough rethink of seminary training is overdue. The new guidelines for priestly formation issued in December 2016, reminding us that the Church needs “holy, healthy and humble priests”, made a start. 

But it would be helpful to replace the old emphasis on “formation” with a more person-centred vocabulary. 

Seminarians should enjoy a much broader syllabus, and be taught in much more open institutions. 

Wherever possible, they should be educated alongside lay men and women. The seminary system dates from the sixteenth century, and aimed to produce experts in the Catholic faith. That’s all well and good; but there are other needs too. 

Modern priests should also be mature human beings who can understand the modern world without being absorbed by it. A lot of their work will be akin to social work, for which they should be prepared. 

Above all they must be “people people” – which of course the best already are. They must not assume they will be leaders; they are to be servants. The ability to work in a team is essential. And need they all be unmarried?

A bold reform of seminary education is needed if clericalism in all its forms is to be dealt a fatal blow.

Russian news

Below is a link to an article in The Irish Times yesterday. It is written by Seamus Martin, a former Moscow correspondence for the paper. He is critical of how the UK is handling the Srkipal affair.

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/unlikely-that-vladimir-putin-behind-skripal-poisoning-1.3425736#.WqmDwZ-OC3o.mailto

On this date, March 15, 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev was elected President of the Soviet Union. He was the last person to hold the position.

Guardian columnist writes on his prostate cancer

Guardian columnist George Monbiot writes about his prostate cancer and his upcoming surgery.

A brave man.

The piece includes a funny quote from Groucho Marx. Well, maybe it's not funny at all.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/13/prostate-cancer-happy-diagnosis-operation?CMP=share_btn_link

Vincent Twomey

Colette Browne writes in the Irish Independent today about the comments made by Mary McAleese over the last few days.

She refers to what Fr Vincent Twomey said on the Marian Finucane show on Sunday.

Everything about Vincent Twomey sounds pompous and arrogant.

Is there anyone anywhere who is willing to tell Vincent Twomey to stay away from radio television and newspapers.

Does the man not see how insanely ridiculous he sounds?

Has the media some sort of malevolent reason for inviting the man to talk and write?

'A kind look is essential'

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

Michael Commane

Tuesday, March 6 was the anniversary of the death of Dominican priest Michael Heuston. He died in Rome in 1984.

Fr Michael was the brother of Sean Heuston of 1916 fame.

Michael was a genius, a fine mathematician and a writer. He carried out an extensive study of the famous mosaic in the Dominican church at San Clemente in Rome and subsequently wrote on the topic.

He was an eccentric person, who had difficulty living in community. He may well have been a man ahead of his time. In the latter part of his life he came to live at the Dominican Priory at San Clemente, where his prior, Fr Luke Dempsey, was extremely kind to him. The goodness and benevolence of Luke towards Michael transformed him into the happiest of people. I know. I saw it with my own eyes. The charity of one man changed Michael Heuston's life for the good.

Every day in my job as a hospital chaplain I experience extraordinary acts of kindness. The people who perform such acts probably are not aware of what they are doing but to see it in action is a life-changing experience.

It must be over a year ago since I spotted three men regularly visit a patient. They knew him through football. They were the only visitors the man had but between the three of them the patient had a visit almost every day of the week. I got to know them. It didn't take long to realise they were good people. 

A year has passed and only last week I learned they are still visiting that man, who has now moved to a hospice. They have left an indelible mark on me.

It's striking how the kindness/goodness of just one or two people can lift the atmosphere of an entire group of people. When a small number of patients and staff are genuinely kind and caring it simply spreads its wings around the place. It lifts the tone.

There is a Latin saying which goes 'bonum est diffusivum sui, which means that goodness of its nature spreads itself about. A smile, a supportive word, a compliment, go along way in making the world a better place.

Papal writings are never easy documents to read. They're certainly not bedtime reading. I recommend you read Pope Francis' 'The Joy of Love', known in Latin as 'Amoris Laetitia'.

It's a gem and written in a language and tone that makes it so readable. Even if you buy it just to read chapter four it's money well spent.

Listen to this from Pope Francis: 'To be open to a genuine encounter with others, 'a kind look' is essential. This is incompatible with a negative attitude that readily points out other people's shortcomings while overlooking one's own. A kind look helps us to see beyond our own limitations, to be patient and to cooperate with others, despite our differences.'

Elsewhere Francis writes: 'Love abhors making others suffer.'

Some weeks ago I got to know a patient. At first I thought he was distant and did not want to engage. We got to know each other. I learned so much from listening to him. Smiling and joking with him.

So often, just on a whim, a superficial glance, we can make judgements on people. For everyone's sake and for our own too it makes far more sense to begin with a smile and a friendly word. That way we might well see far more good than bad.

'Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.' Mark Twain

The church and its secrets

Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese gave an extensive interview on RTE Radio's Sean O'Rourke Show today.

She spoke about how her own brother had been sadistically abused by the late Fr Malachy Finnegan in the 1970s.

She was not expecting to be asked about the subject.

At one stage she said: "All the secrets are supposed to be out."

Her comments on the Legionaries of Christ were informative and interesting.

The previous day Sean Faloon, a victim of Fr Finnegan, spoke on RTE News.

His story was horrific.

Secrecy and the church.

Indeed, the secrets, but the underlying issue was not discussed.

The move to Moscow

One hundred years ago today the Russian capital moved from Saint Petersburg to Moscow.

For the previous 215 years Saint Petersburg had been the Russian capital.

Karl Lehmann dies

German Cardinal Karl Lehmann died today. He was 81 years of age.

His death was the first item on German news bulletins today.

German media spoke warmly of him this evening.

President Steinmeier and Chancellor Merkel paid tributes to the former bishop of Mainz and president of the German Bishops' Conference.

The church and its 'codology'

Had Cardinal Kevin Farrell allowed former President of Ireland Mary McAleese to talk within Vatican walls it is most likely that the conference would never have received the publicity it has received. But good that he did and her message has received such attention.

What is it about the Catholic Church and preaching the Good News?

Kevin Farrell was ordained a priest of the Legionaries of Christ and later left the congregation.

The Legionaries of Christ were founded and managed by Marcial Maciel Degollado.

He sexually abused boys and young men. After his death, it came to light that he fathered six children, two of whom he is alleged to have abused.

He was feted by Pope John Paul II. He had the 'skill' of attracting large numbers of men to the congregation and was an important donor to the Vatican.

Anyone with eyes in their head would have seen that as far back as the 1970s the Legionaries of Christ was an unhealthy organisation.

Its novices and students all dressed in similar clerical clothing. They looked and acted in a silly fashion. Even down to the briefcases they carried - they all had similar ones. It was laughable. Pious pomposity. It was ridiculous in the 1970s, as it is today. A game played.

That they still exist, with their vast financial portfolio, seems strange.

The church and all its 'codology'. Arrogance too.

Vladimir Putin quotes

Quotes from the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

There is no such thing as a former KGB man.

Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart.

I am the wealthiest man not just in Russia but the whole world. I collect emotions.

Traitors always end in a bad way.

If the fight is inevitable, be the first to strike.

Sometimes it is necessary to be lonely to prove you are right.

We have been weak and the weak are beaten.

Nobody listens to us, listen now.

Hoban's stellar performance

Fr Brendan Hoban, a priest of the Diocese of Killala, gave a stellar performance on RTE's News at One yesterday.

He was responding to comments by former President of Ireland Mary McAleese made in Rome about misogyny in the Catholic Church.

He was articulate, intelligent, honest and came across as a man of deep faith.

Why is Fr Hoban not a bishop in the Irish church?

Why was there no spokesperson from the Episcopal Conference of the Catholic Church available to speak on the programme yesterday?

There is so much to be embarrassed about with the Catholic Church.

The paucity of leadership is mind-boggling.

International Woman's Day

Former President Mary McAleese has spoken about the Catholic Church being the last empire of misogyny.

She also referred to how so much of the theology on women in the church is dressed up in codology.

The woman is right on both counts, though there are other empires of misogyny out there.

And there is so much codology in the church. Then again, there is codology everywhere.

Flight MH 370 vanishes

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370 disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on this date in 2014. 239 people were aboard the Boeing 777 aircraft.

Extensive searches for the plane have taken place. To date nothing has been found.

Advice on phantom flooding from Iarnród Éireann

Is there something wrong with this notice, which appears at Heuston Station today?

Is Irish Rail going to tell passengers about flooding or bus transfers in the future?

But when a passenger arrives in Limerick Junction they will discover that the train is running between the Junction and Limerick city.

An Irish Rail Staff employee was asked why the sign at Heuston had not been removed. His reply: "too early for them".

Exorcism

This appears in yesterday's Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/06/exorcists-catholic-evangelical-church-child-abuse-new-inquisition?CMP=share_btn_link

The certainty of death

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

Michael Commane

Have you ever imagined about your own funeral? Who’d be there? What would be said?

A Dominican quipped at his mother’s funeral how she would love to have been present at it to see who was there and what they said about her.

They say we do funerals well in Ireland. Fadó fadó a wake could take place over a number of days. But I think it’s true to say that big funerals, wherever in the world they take place can be spectacular events.

I remember the funeral of John F Kennedy. I was 14 at the time and I can still recall the Irish Army cadets at the graveside in Arlington. Churchill’s funeral was an amazing spectacle. In recent times I was awestruck with the pomp and ceremony that surrounded the funeral of former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt where Angela Merkel gave a eulogy.

The funeral of Princess Diana caught the attention of the world.

Funerals can be great events. And when we are personally involved in them, by that I mean the funerals of our family and close friends, we always find support by the attendance of friends, family and colleagues.

The Irish wake played an important role in our society. We even managed to transfer the word and use it as a way of saying goodbye to those who headed to America and Australia before the advent of the plane. We spoke of the ‘American wake’. 

But there is still a protocol or ritual attached to the Irish funeral.

No doubt it happens around the country but across Kerry there is the custom of walking in procession from the church to the place of burial and usually local gardaí are on hand to help direct the traffic.

All the trappings that surround the Irish funeral can prove a great help and support to the bereaved.

We might often cast a cold and cynical eye on how some politicians have a remarkable talent at turning up to funerals. But whatever the reason for their attendance, be it genuine or some sort of PR stunt it still gives emphasis to the importance of the funeral in the Irish psyche.

There is something horribly final about death. Christians grapple with the idea of resurrection but even with that, death is still a devastating blow.

The manner in which families and friends come together at times of bereavement helps people in their loss and loneliness. It’s also interesting to see how children take part in the funeral ritual, yet another pointer as to how we make death an intrinsic part of our lives.

Maybe modern society tries to sanitise death but when death is close and personal there can never be any sanitising or attempting to lessen the pain and suffering.

It is worth noting how we are replacing the word death with euphemisms. These days we tend to talk about a person ‘passing away’, it seems we are less inclined to talk about death and dying.  

Death is the only absolute certainty, there are no exceptions, no excuses. It is a remarkable leveller, rich, poor, the good, the bad, we all die. 

Shakespeare in Henry VI has wise words when he tells us ‘To weep is to make less the depth of grief’.

The old practice in Ireland of keening, which was a lament said or sung over the corpse emphasised the sorrow experienced by those left behind.

Death surely makes us realise the frailty of our lives and the importance of being kind and supportive to others. Isn’t it ironic how death often brings out the best in us.

 

No answer at Dublin Bus

The snow crisis seems to have been managed well and congrats to all involved but this happened yesterday.

The screenshot below appeared on the Dublin Bus website yesterday.

The company's real time indicator was not working yesterday.

If or when a passenger phoned the number given on the company's Latest News page she/he was told by an automatic answering service that the Dublin Bus information office was closed.

Not good enough.