Great Fr Ted story on front of 'The Irish Carholic' this week

Headline on the main story on the front page of The Irish Catholic this week runs:

'Confusion on the cards as parishes to be left in different time zones'

The subheading: 'Priests warn of 'horrendous' problems from EU clock change'

In the body of the story a monsignor Richard Mohan tells The Irish Catholic that "it would be very,very difficult for people to know exactly what time Mass is at in any particular place.

This is deemed front page news.

Great Fr Ted material.

Eyelashes, make-up and phones on the railway

Life on a busy rail service from Dublin Heuston to Cork.

Friday afternoon trains are the busiest of the week and this train was full to capacity. No empty seats with a small number of passengers standing.

Train kept to meticulous time-keeping.

At one four seater, two passengers divided by a table, one ‘older’ gentleman is on the phone explaining that he was under a bridge and the signal was poor. But he kept asking could he be heard. Certainly the rest of the passengers heard him.

Another of the four passengers was facetiming, obvioiusly talking to a child as she was speaking in a baby-voice.

Somwhere south of Sallins she removed make-up material from her bag and placed it across the table.

From Sallins to north of Limerick Junction she organised her false eyelashes before putting them in place.

And after all that time, work and skill there was no obvious difference in appearance.

The third passenger insisted on hogging the aramrest, which turned into a silent battle between the two passengers sitting side-by-side.

Irish Rail prefers to call its travellers customers and not passengers. Why is that?

All four passegers in the ‘four-seater’ were holders of Travel Passes.

Wilton Gregory new archbishop in Washington

Wilton Gregory has been appointed the new archbishop of Washington.

The piece below is an extract from The National Catholic Reporter.

In the weeks leading up to today's announcement, Rocco Palmo published an NCAA-style bracketwith the different candidates for the vacancy in Washington listed. The list had some errors. 

For example, two names that figured prominently in the discussions, Bishop Edward Burns of Dallas and Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, were not on Rocco's list. But, what caught my eye was something different. All 15 bishops on Rocco's list are identified by their surname except one: Wilton. In fact, as I started to write this column and found myself writing the words "Archbishop Gregory" it seemed odd. I do not know the archbishop well, but in those times when we have been at a conference or a meeting together, everyone calls him as "Wilton." That tells us something about the man.

The new archbishop also has been a leader on Laudato Si', publishing an "action plan" that is the single best resource I have seen published by any diocese in the country. I came across it when the Archdiocese of Boston was using it as the content for a new interactive platform they were launching. 

The guide lists a variety of things people can do, each one denoted "easy" or "moderate" or "advanced." One of the easy items is "Create or expand your library" and the guide recommends books by Passionist Fr Thomas Berry or Franciscan Sr Ilia Delio, or the late Jesuit theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. I am not sure those authors would have been included on a list of recommended books in, say, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Archbishop Wilton Gregory will be the first black archbishop of Washington. In 2009, when controversy erupted over the decision by the University of Notre Dame to award an honorary degree to President Barack Obama, unspeakably disrespectful things were said about our nation's first black president. 

Black Catholics, many of them quite conservative, experienced that disrespect in ways it is difficult for white people to grasp. It was deeply painful. 

The appointment of a black archbishop will be a shot in the arm to the black Catholic community in the nation's capital, a city that is historically black and in which black Catholics have long played a vital part. 

And, at a time when our nation is dealing with white nationalism in ways we had thought consigned to the past, Gregory's intelligence, charm and moral rectitude are a standing rebuke to the bigotry that too often drips from the president's lips.

The fact that the new archbishop is already 71 indicates that the new archbishop will have, at most, nine years to accomplish any particular objectives. I do not know if that is enough time to tackle the enormous problems at the Catholic University of America, of which he is now chancellor. 

But, he can make a start. The school's embrace of libertarian economics in its business school and celebration of anti-Francis ideology in its theology department is an embarrassment to the bishops who own the school. Archbishop Wilton does not strike me as the kind of person who warms to confrontation, but I hope that is a side of personality I have simply not witnessed. He will not be able to cajole the school back into sound Catholic teaching, he will have to lay down the law.

UK's economic suicide but can't agree on how to kill itself

A powerful article in The New York Times on Brexit

'The United Kingdom Has Gone Mad' is the title of the article.

The problem with holding out for a perfect Brexit plan is that you can’t fix stupid.

Here are the last two paragraphs of the article. They could easily be written about the current state of the Irish Dominicans.

"Sorry to be so despondent, but I went to graduate school here on a Marshall scholarship from the British government, was married here and started as a journalist on Fleet Street in London. I like the place. But this is not the reasonably competent British government I grew up with. 

"It’s being led by a ship of fools — a Conservative Party bloc that is now radical in its obsession with leaving Europe and a Labour Party that has gone Marxist. If the people here can’t force their politicians to compromise with one another and with reality (there’s still a glimmer of hope that this might happen), there is going to be a crackup of the British political system and some serious economic pain. This is scary."

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/02/opinion/brexit-news.html

Daimler, Wilde and Stalin

Three dates in history.

On April 3, 1885 Gottlieb Daimler was granted a German patent for his engine design.

April 3, 1895 across the English Channel the trial in the libel case brought by Oscar Wilde begins, which resulted in his imprisonment on charge of homosexuality.

And on April 3, 1922 , this time in Mother Russia, Joseph Stalin becomes the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Irish driving licence has an interesting history

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

Michael Commane

Last week I received in the post my all-new electronic driving licence, issued by the National Driving Licence Service.

The new licence is a plastic card, which first saw the light of day in January 2014. A similar style card is now the norm across all member states of the European Union.

My grandfather bought a car sometime at the beginning of the 20th century, stepped into it in Thurles and drove straight to Donegal without ever having been in a car before. My Dad never had to do a driving test in order to drive. 

The driving test was introduced in March 1964. When it was first set up there was only one place in the whole country from where you could do the test and that was in Parkgate Street in Dublin’s north side.

There are many twists and turns to the history of the Irish driving licence. In 1979 there was such a backlog to testing the then government in its wisdom offered an amnesty to anyone who was on their second provisional driving licence. 

Between 25,000 and 50,000 people, who had failed the test, were granted a full licence. Many of them are still driving about on our roads. It could only happen in Ireland.

The NDLS began its life in October 2013. Before that date driving licences were issued by local authorities throughout the country.

Because of the Brexit conundrum the NDLS is busy at present as many holders of UK licences are exchanging their licences for the Irish equivalent.

During all of 2018 the NDLS exchanged 6,000 UK licences for Irish licences. So far this year they have exchanged 12,000 UK licences.

The day I called to the Leopardstown NDLS centre I met a young woman who told me she would be queueing for four hours. That’s not good enough.

Like its antecedents there seems to be a number of anomalies and intricacies about the NDLS licence.

I had always understood that in order to obtain the new licence one had to be in possession of a Public Services Card. Not true. You can obtain the licence without a PSC.

If you have a driving licence from a member state of the European Union are you obliged to transfer it for an Irish driving licence if you are driving a vehicle in Ireland?

It’s generally held that a person can drive in Ireland on a licence from another EU country for one year before exchanging it for the new Irish licence.

But if one reads the small print of the EU regulation it would seem that the EU licence in whatever country it is issued is valid in all other EU countries without a time limit restriction.

A word of advice: if you require a doctor’s certificate to obtain a licence, remember that you must apply for the licence within one month of your doctor signing off on your medical report.

Licences for people over 70 are now free of charge. Some time ago I heard economist Colm McCarthy on the Marian Finucane Show ridiculing the idea that it was free for over 70s. He had a point. Oops, that sort of thinking does not go down well in the times we are living.

And the super new NDLS form is already out of date. When asking for gender it only gives two options.

With all its peccadillos I’m the proud possessor of the new NDLS plastic card, which allows me drive a car, a bus and a motorbike.  

A headline that tells a terrible story

This is the front page of the current issue of The Kerryman.

The leadership in the Irish Catholic Church screams all over this headline, this story.

The secrecy, the inability to speak ordinary words, the arrogance, the ineptitude of the management of the chuch is as bad today as it was in the days of Casey, Smith, Cleary et al.

Maybe worse.

This blog could fill pages of examples of clerical nonsense, inefficiency, arrogance, codology, gobbledegook.

And why not? It is getting to breaking point.

The importance bishops and provincials attempt to give themselves.

Has there been any serious debate or critique of the influence papal nuncio Charles Brown had on the Irish church?

It is unacceptable that many church leaders do not make themselves available to the media in an open and agenda-free manner.

Dip in salary for new Kerry Group supremo

Kerry Group chief executive officer Edmond Scanlon received close to €2.6 million salary for his first year in the job.

His predecessor Stan McCarthy earned €5.285 from the group in 2017.

Kerry shares edge towards €100. They were quoted on Friday's Iseq at €99.5 a share.

In the late 1980s Kerry Group shares were approximately IR£1.

Many stories and aspects to the Prodigal Son

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

Michael Commane

Tomorrow’s Gospel, the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 1 - 3, 11 - 32) has an extraordinary amount of wisdom and good advice packed into it. Indeed, the more you read the Bible, both Old and New Testament, the more you realise how relevant its words are for contemporary times.

When we first read the story of the Prodigal Son we are charmed by how the wayward young man, after his years of wine, women and song, is welcomed back into his father’s arms. The story is so well told you can actually see his father’s jubilant excitement greeting his son as he makes his way home.

Instinctively we admire his dad. Our hearts go out to him for his spontaneous generosity in forgiving his errant son. If only more of us could find the heart and the courage to behave in such a manner.

In many ways it’s the perfect fairy tale to read to children.

But then you realise that the parable has deeper layers of meaning. 

Did the prodigal son only return home because he had nowhere else to go? Did he cynically decide it was time to go home and enjoy his father’s wealth once more?  Perhaps he had no alternative but to come home, that is, if he wanted to save his own skin. Now the viewpoint changes and we see a clever opportunist and manipulative young man. Maybe not a nice person, after all.

And then there’s the dutiful stick-in-the-mud older son, who has spent his life doing all that has been asked of him. Doesn’t he have a right to be annoyed when he sees his father giving all his attention to his younger brother and forgetting about his years of loyal service.

Worse still, the fatted calf, which the older brother had reared, is now to be hijacked and used for the feast to celebrate the homecoming of his wayward brother.

Do we react like this in the 21st century? For example, we say we “allow” foreigners into our country, and no sooner have they landed at the airport, they are off to the nearest social welfare office to draw the dole. We have been working hard all our lives, paying our taxes and these foreigners arrive and the fatted calf is wheeled out for them.

And on and on it goes. Tomorrow’s Gospel provides a multi-layered insight into the lives we live in the developed world today.

Of course, we can get sentimental and talk about how wonderful the father is to forgive his son. But shouldn’t we also ask ourselves how can we go on living in a world that allows one seventh of the population to starve, where the few have vast resources.

The parable of the Prodigal Son is a clarion call to all of us to realise that we have cliched the message of Jesus out of existence, that we run a real risk of turning it into a cosy fireside tale, keeping us all content and smug in our ways.

It suits us all, church and state, me too, to praise the wonderful and forgiving father. But there is so much more to it, indeed, so much that it hurts.

Reading tomorrow’s Gospel it's difficult to understand how some adherents to the Christian faith can be so smug. How can Christianity appeal in any way to people with far-right leanings? And yet the church attracts many such adherents, some of whom have yet to accept the true meaning of love, respect and humility. 

When critics presume to ‘correct’ Pope Francis and accuse him of contradicting himself and preaching ‘heresy’, are they really trying to make our faith, our religion into a “comfort blanket” of simple pious answers?

It's always dangerous to hijack one specific element of God’s message at the expense of the overall picture. God's love, kindness and mercy is infinite. Once we try to find comfort in any one aspect of God’s message at the expense of another, we risk losing the very meaning of God's perfect goodness.

This parable puts paid to the mushy sentimental ideas we have about forgiveness. Forgiveness makes demands of us which we – the faithful – may not ignore.

Yes, the parable of the Prodigal Son is a delightful story but it is also a challenging reminder to us of the importance of embracing all the many aspects of our relationship with God.

Referendums

On this day, March 29, 1936 Germany held a referendum on militarisation and return of the Rhineland.

Ninety nine per cent voted in favour of the proposals. 

Today Germany avoids referendums like the plague.

Referendums can do great damage.

.

Chasing rainbows

Chasing what can't be done is a madness. But the base person is unable to do anything else.

- Marcus Aurelius 

A community and not a corridor

This poster is appearing on properties all along Rathgar Road.

It's a clever headline.

There is growing opposition to the building of a bus corridor along the road that links Rathgar to Rathmines.

The far-right whip up a nasty style of nationalism

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

Michael Commane

It was good for our souls to hear the kind and empathetic words from New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern after the brutal murder of 50 people praying in two mosques in Christchurch.

She is a beacon in the midst of so much darkness and evil. It’s worth comparing her gentle and kind words with the bombast we hear and see every day on radio and television.

Last week I tuned into the Nigel Farage Show on LBC, which is a London-based national phone-in and talk radio station.

His modus operandi is anything but mannerly and respectful. He sneers at those who think differently than he. It’s non-stop denigration of everything to do with the European Union. 

He manages to whip up a nasty style of nationalism that is very worrying. He harps on on every occasion he gets to tell his listeners that Angela Merkel is the ruler of Europe. 

All the time the innuendo is that mighty Britain twice defeated the Germans and under no circumstances are they now going to surrender to Germany.

It is all shocking and nasty, worrying too.

He also has a trick of calling his opponents by their family names. It’s always Juncker and Tusk. 

Although he is no friend of the prime minister of the UK, nevertheless he refers to her as Mrs Theresa May.

In the United States Patriot Radio, based in Phoenix Arizona, blares out nastiness on a daily basis. 

Presenter Mark Levin has a listenership running into the millions. Every day he hurls abuse at those with whom he disagrees. He is an avid Trump supporter.

He calls people by the nastiest names and comments on the physical appearance of those who have different political views than he.

In mid-March after Democrat Beto O’Rourke announced his candidacy for the Democrat ticket for the 2020 US presidential race, Levin called him Beto O’Dork.

Over St Patrick’s weekend I watched ‘Get me Roger Stone’ on Netflix. The documentary tells the story of Roger Stone and his role in the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.

Roger Stone is a household name in the US. As a young man he worked on Richard Nixon’s presidential campaign.

In January this year he was arrested at his home in Florida by the FBI in connection with the Robert Mueller investigation and charged in an indictment with witness tampering.

The film footage includes clips of Stone speaking foul language and using obscene gestures.

Stone’s mantra is: ‘Attack, attack, attack, never defend’, and: ‘Admit nothing, deny everything, launch counterattack’.

Maybe it is because I am opposed to the right-wing philosophy of the Nigel Farages and Roger Stones of this world that I find their tone and manner most unbecoming. But surely it is abundantly clear that they and their followers are becoming exceedingly vulgar and nasty.

Last week a Conservative Brexiter, who came across to me as arrogant and so full of his own imperial importance, was talking to the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg. He referred to what Conservative Remainers were doing as ‘political idiocy’. When Kuenssberg challenged him and asked him if he was saying that his fellow Conservatives were idiots he immediately toned down his imperial manner, realising his mask had slipped.

Jacinda Ardern’s decision never to utter the name of the alleged Christchurch murderer is a fine and noble way to treat such barbarity.

It is regularly bandied about that politics is a dirty game but can or should it really be as ‘dirty’ as it has become?

The first day of the European Economic Council

On this day, March 25, 1957 the European Economic Council was formed, now called the European Union (EU).

The then EEC was brought about to heal the wounds of war and foster a relationship of friendship and cooperation between the participating countries.

The founding countries were Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands.

Britain, Denmark and Ireland joined on January 1, 1973.

And now the United Kingdom is in the throes of confusion as it prepares to leave the EU.

Has imperial England ever left a country without leaving it impoverished and badly damaged?

Another Pell letter

A reader, who wishes to remain anonymous, asked that this letter be published. It appeaerd in The Tablet in the same issue as the previous letter on the Pell case.

Anniversary of murder of Óscar Romero

Today is the anniversary of the murder of Archbishop Óscar Romero.

The Archbishop of San Salvador was shot dead while celebrating Mass in the cathedral in San Salvador on March 24, 1980.

'What abusers are like'

Interesting letter in The Tablet of last week.

Ken Clarke blames the far-right and far-left for the mess

Tory MP Ken Clarke in a BBC interview on Thursday evening said that his country is in the mess it is in because of both the far-right and the far-left.

Ken Clarke served as a government minister during all 18 years of the Thatcher anf Major governments.

He is currently the Father of the House of Commons.

His comment about the damage caused by both far-right and far-left is interesting.

There is little or no far-left influence within the churches. But there is a strong far-right cohort, which is causing great damage and harm across the Christian churches. 

It would seem that a US-style hard conservatism is currently influencing the Irish Catholic Church.

The story in The Irish Times yesterday of New York priest Fr George Rutler makes for interesting reading.

And then the RTE documentary on Thursday claiming that Fr Patrick Peyton was in the pay of the CIA.

Best retreat is in here not out there

An intersting quote from Marcus Aurelius.

What does it say about all our modern jumping on and off planes, visiting this and looking at that?

“People seek retreats for themselves in the country, by the sea, or in the mountains. You are very much in the habit of yearning for those same things. But this is entirely the trait of a base person, when you can at any moment find such a retreat in yourself. For nowhere can you find a more peaceful and less busy place than in your own soul - especially if on close inspection it is filled with ease, which I say is nothing more than being well-ordered. Treat yourself often to this retreat and be renewed."

Where the State's children go to school

There are almost 560,000 pupils enrolled in primary schools in the State.

Some 90 per cent or approximately 505,00 pupils are enrolled in Catholic schools and enrollment in these schools is continuing to grow.

Church of Ireland schools had enrollments of 16,514, representing three per cent of all pupils.

Enrollment in multidenomintional schools was 32,000, accounting for six per cent of the pupil population.

What's heard and seen in public places

Overheard - an elderly man saying this. He first heard it from a teacher in school fadó fadó.

Fools' names and fools' faces are always found in public places.

Today is International Day of Happiness.

Happy day to all readers.

Dublin City Council's bad manners

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

Michael Commane

Social commentators argue that people who feel alienated or forgotten are the voters who support Trump, Brexit, Orban of Hungary, et al.

When individuals believe they are surplus to requirement, when they are considered unimportant, it is inevitable they will lash out and vote for those who promise to ‘drain the swamp’.

Hillary Clinton scored an own-goal when she called half of Donald Trump’s supporters ‘a basket of deplorables’ in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential election.

If you’re unemployed, never feel listened to, you will be delighted to hear the Orbans and Brexiters of this world tell you they are going to keep the migrants out, so that you can get back to work.

But it is not that simple.

We live in a time when communication can be instantaneous and yet people feel so aggrieved due to a lack of information, whether it be political or in the place we work. In the churches too there is a chronic information deficit. Far too often the ‘foot soldiers’ are kept in the dark or drip-fed information that is unbecoming to their human dignity.

Last summer Herzog Bring Centre in Dublin’s Rathgar closed for renovations. The facility is called after Chaim Herzog, who grew up in Dublin. He was President of Israel between 1983 and 1993.

A notice appeared at the site telling customers that it was closing on Monday August 13 and reopening in October 2018. It was interesting that while the English version said it was reopening in October 2018, the Irish translation was more specific and said the Bring Centre would reopen on Monday, October 2, 2018. But believe it or not, October 2 was a Tuesday in 2018.

October has come and gone and the Bring Centre has not reopened.

Before it closed in August, I innocently said to staff, who work at the centre, that I’d miss the facility and was looking forward to its reopening in October. They looked at me and laughed, assuring me that it would not be opening in October.

They were correct. In late October I contacted the City Council and was assured it would be reopening but they were unable to tell me when.

On March 11, I phoned the relevant Dublin City Council department, hoping to learn when it would be reopening. I left a voice message but so far I have not received a reply.

Since its closure there have been media reports about illegal dumping, which is a scourge and a crime. I read somewhere that council staff would be calling on households to check how they dispose of their waste. 

Modern data information means that waste disposal companies can supply councils with information as to who uses their services.

I don’t have any problem with that. But I certainly do have issues with such behaviour when a public body keeps its citizens in the dark, as has Dublin City Council done regards the opening of Herzog Bring Centre.

Can you imagine how I would respond if someone from the council called to my hall door, asking me to show evidence as to how I dispose of my recyclable waste?

On the one hand we live in times of instant communication and information and on the other we are left in the dark far too often by those who are entrusted to serve us.

It’s that high-handed behaviour that has given so much oxygen to an environment that allows the Trumps, the Brexiters and Orbans of this world to flourish.

.  

Rosa Luxemburg on freedom

A quote on freedom from Polish born German socialist Rosa Luxemburg:

Freedom only for the supporters of the government, only for the members of a party – however numerous they may be – is no freedom at all. 

Freedom is always the freedom of the one who thinks differently. Not because of the fanaticism of "justice", but rather because all that is instructive, wholesome, and purifying in political freedom depends on this essential characteristic, and its effects cease to work when "freedom" becomes a privilege.

Rosa Luxemburg was murderd in Berlin in January 1919 and her body thrown into the Landwehr Canal.

She wrote these words on the evening before her death:

"Order prevails in Berlin!" You foolish lackeys! Your "order" is built on sand. Tomorrow the revolution will "rise up again, clashing its weapons," and to your horror it will proclaim with trumpets blazing: I was, I am, I shall be!

St Patrick's Breastplate

I bind to myself to-day,

The strong power of an invocation of the Trinity,
The faith of the Trinity in Unity,
The Creator of the Elements.

I bind to myself to-day
the power of the Incarnation of Christ, with that of His Baptism,
The power of the Crucifixion, with that of His Burial,
The power of the Resurrection, with the Ascension,
The power of the coming to the Sentence of Judgment.

I bind to myself to-day,
The power of the love of Seraphim,
In the obedience of Angels,
In the hope of Resurrection unto reward,
In the prayers of the noble Fathers,
In the predictions of the Prophets,
In the preaching of Apostles,
In the faith of Confessors,
In the purity of Holy Virgins,
In the acts of Righteous Men.

I bind to myself to-day,
The power of Heaven,
The light of the Sun,
The whiteness of Snow,
The force of Fire,
The flashing of Lightning,
The velocity of Wind,
The depth of the Sea,
The stability of the Earth,
The hardness of Rocks.

I bind to myself to-day,
The Power of God to guide me,

The Might of God to uphold me,
The Wisdom of God to teach me,
The Eye of God to watch over me,
The Ear of God to hear me,
The Word of God to give me speech,
The Hand of God to protect me,
The Way of God to prevent me,
The Shield of God to shelter me,
The Host of God to defend me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the temptations of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against every man who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
With few or with many.

I have set around me all these powers,
Against every hostile savage power,
Directed against my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women and smiths and Druids,
Against all knowledge which blinds the soul of man.

Christ protect me to-day,
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot-seat,
Christ in the poop.

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I bind to myself to-day,
The strong power of an invocation of the Trinity,

The faith of the Trinity in Unity,
The Creator of the Elements.
Salvation is of the Lord,
Salvation is of the Lord,
Salvation is of Christ,
May Thy salvation, O Lord, be with as evermore.

Clerical closet homosexuality

There is no link between homosexuality and paedophilia. That is a medical/scientific fact. For anyone to say otherwise is simply a nonsense.

It is also generally accepted that homosexual men have a normal relationship with women in their day-to-day dealings.

In the past, maybe it is still the case, British Airways were delighted to employ gay men as cabin crew as they were considered to be especially kind and gracious to women passengers.

But it seems that many closet homosexual clerics are misogynostic.

Some right wing clerics try to make a link between homosexuality and paedophilia. Among those who have done so is the former papal nuncio to the United States and critic of Pope Francis, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vignano. 

They are wrong.

But it would seem that closet gay clerics don't fit the category of gay men who are not in the clerical state.

There is a dishonesty, a secrecy, a right-wing ideology that seems to be prevalent among closet gay clerics, that leads to an uneasy environment.

It would seem that Pope Francis knows the reality and is attempting to study the phenomenon.

Is he the first pope in many years who is competent and eligible to delve into the depths of an issue that has many and complicated layers to it?

It is a tragedy that there is so little open and honest discussion/study of this issue within clerical circles. 

There is no conversation whatsoever on the topic.

Bye bye to the ruling class

On this date, March 15, 1917 Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated, ending 304 years of Romanov power.

For people who are downtrodden, distressed and weary of those in charge, it must be a significant moment when their leaders go or have to go.

Especially so, when they are crass and inefficient.

The terrible Pell story

"Pell earned his stripes in the war on sex", so wrote Australian journalist David Marr in late February.

Irish priest Brendan Purcell, now working in Australia, appeared on Irish radio criticising the Australian justice system.

The Dominican archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher was quoted in ‘The Tablet’ as saying that Gerorge Pell is now offering his time in prison for innocent people who are incarcerated.

Was it wise for Purcell and Fisher to condemn the Australian justice system?

Below is David Marr's article on George Pell.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/feb/26/brutal-and-dogmatic-george-pell-waged-war-on-sex-even-as-he-abused-children?CMP=share_btn_link