The new fare deal with Irish Rail has to be the bargain of the year.
€16 single to Cork/Tralee is a great deal and obviously Irish Rail are closely watching Ryanair on both routes.
To avail of the fare you have to log on to www.irishrail.ie. There are some glitches with the system.
I travelled yesterday from Tralee to Dublin on one of those fares. When you book your ticket you have to nominate a station where you wish to collect your ticket.
At the big stations there are machines where you can collect your ticket. But for example in Tralee there is no such machine and when I was due to arrive for the 19.15 train the ticket office was closed. So, make sure your station has a machine and if not, telephone the station in advance to leave the ticket with a member of staff.
And the seat that was designated to me on my booking form was not booked for me on the train.
But as the train was almost empty there was no difficulty.
With the current price of fuel, Irish Rail must be giving serious thought to reducing some of its services. in its new timetable, which is due in mid December.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Banning cigarettes
As mentioned earlier on this blog, The Irish Times is now available for free on the web. www.irishtimes.com.
It has introduced a blog on its page where its journalists contribute.
The following blog was written yesterday by Deaglan de Breadun, a friend and ex schoolmate of this blogger.
But if it came to pass, would it not mean a new area of business for the criminal class?
Talking with some friends last night about the political outlook, we agreed one of Fine Gael’s problems is that it hasn’t got the same firepower at the front line as in the party’s glory days of Garret FitzGerald, Alan Dukes, John Kelly, et al. Avril Doyle was another who came to mind. A member of the Belton clan, which has had a prominent role in Irish affairs over the years, she is an able politician and formidable in debate.
Nowadays, Ms Doyle is a Member of the European Parliament for the “Ireland East” constituency, along with party colleague Mairead McGuinness and Liam Aylward of Fianna Fail.
In terms of political profile on the domestic scene and despite the excellent work of the Parliament office in Dublin, ”going to Europe” is the equivalent of entering a convent or a monastery.
But even without ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament is an increasingly-important body which deals with a growing range of issues that impinge on our daily lives. As Neil Kinnock once pointed out to me, it is the largest democratically-elected assembly in the world (his wife Glenys is a Labour MEP).
But sadly, the Parliament is not taken seriously by the media in English-speaking countries (The Irish Times is of course one of the honourable exceptions). It just doesn’t catch people’s imagination and its workings as part of the EU system can be extremely complex. However my eye was caught by a report (see link below) that Ms Doyle had called for a total ban on cigarettes and cigars throughout the EU within 15 years, with the clock to start ticking in 2010.
Ireland and then-Health Minister Micheál Martin of Fianna Fáil led the way internationally with the ban on smoking in pubs and the workplace. Here’s a chance to build on that, on a cross-party basis, and show what good Europeans we are at the same time.
When I was being treated (successfully, according to test results) for prostate cancer last year I became friendly with an elderly lady whose appointments generally coincided with mine. Her condition, I gathered, was lung-related, but every opportunity she got, she escaped from the waiting-room to go outside and puff frantically on a cigarette. I can still see her in my mind’s eye, dragging desperately on a butt as though her life depended on it, when the opposite was probably the case.
Meanwhile, a very dear friend of mine who had lung cancer was told by his specialist that, unless he gave up the “smokes”, the treatment would be discontinued. He did, but it was too late and he has since sadly passed away.
The 15-year time-frame makes sense. Let’s hope talk is translated into action. I assume a simple point-of-sale prohibition is intended but the penalties would need to be judicious and “commonsensical”. What we don’t want is for ciggies to join the dreary list with marijuana, cocaine and heroin as part of the repertoire of the illegal drugs trade.
This is an idea whose time has come. Why didn’t we think of it before?
It has introduced a blog on its page where its journalists contribute.
The following blog was written yesterday by Deaglan de Breadun, a friend and ex schoolmate of this blogger.
But if it came to pass, would it not mean a new area of business for the criminal class?
Talking with some friends last night about the political outlook, we agreed one of Fine Gael’s problems is that it hasn’t got the same firepower at the front line as in the party’s glory days of Garret FitzGerald, Alan Dukes, John Kelly, et al. Avril Doyle was another who came to mind. A member of the Belton clan, which has had a prominent role in Irish affairs over the years, she is an able politician and formidable in debate.
Nowadays, Ms Doyle is a Member of the European Parliament for the “Ireland East” constituency, along with party colleague Mairead McGuinness and Liam Aylward of Fianna Fail.
In terms of political profile on the domestic scene and despite the excellent work of the Parliament office in Dublin, ”going to Europe” is the equivalent of entering a convent or a monastery.
But even without ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Parliament is an increasingly-important body which deals with a growing range of issues that impinge on our daily lives. As Neil Kinnock once pointed out to me, it is the largest democratically-elected assembly in the world (his wife Glenys is a Labour MEP).
But sadly, the Parliament is not taken seriously by the media in English-speaking countries (The Irish Times is of course one of the honourable exceptions). It just doesn’t catch people’s imagination and its workings as part of the EU system can be extremely complex. However my eye was caught by a report (see link below) that Ms Doyle had called for a total ban on cigarettes and cigars throughout the EU within 15 years, with the clock to start ticking in 2010.
Ireland and then-Health Minister Micheál Martin of Fianna Fáil led the way internationally with the ban on smoking in pubs and the workplace. Here’s a chance to build on that, on a cross-party basis, and show what good Europeans we are at the same time.
When I was being treated (successfully, according to test results) for prostate cancer last year I became friendly with an elderly lady whose appointments generally coincided with mine. Her condition, I gathered, was lung-related, but every opportunity she got, she escaped from the waiting-room to go outside and puff frantically on a cigarette. I can still see her in my mind’s eye, dragging desperately on a butt as though her life depended on it, when the opposite was probably the case.
Meanwhile, a very dear friend of mine who had lung cancer was told by his specialist that, unless he gave up the “smokes”, the treatment would be discontinued. He did, but it was too late and he has since sadly passed away.
The 15-year time-frame makes sense. Let’s hope talk is translated into action. I assume a simple point-of-sale prohibition is intended but the penalties would need to be judicious and “commonsensical”. What we don’t want is for ciggies to join the dreary list with marijuana, cocaine and heroin as part of the repertoire of the illegal drugs trade.
This is an idea whose time has come. Why didn’t we think of it before?
Stephen Doyle OP
Fr Stephen Doyle, who was buried in St Mary's Priory Tallaght today, spent most of his Dominican life working in Trinidad.
Back in the late 1960s, early 1970s Stephen was teaching religion in the Vocational School in Tallaght. He had a full day of religion class Monday to Friday and he worked terribly hard at it.
Anyone who has taught in an Irish school knows the difficult job it is and teaching religion makes it more difficult.
But Stephen did it in his stride with no fuss or drama. He was also an eloquent preacher. The late Fr Paul Hynes considered him back then one of the best preachers in the province.
He was a gentle person, who gave the impression that he was attentive and interested to those with whom he engaged.
I taught two of his nephews in Newbridge College and I can still remember how polite and gentle they were.
May he rest in peace.
MC
Back in the late 1960s, early 1970s Stephen was teaching religion in the Vocational School in Tallaght. He had a full day of religion class Monday to Friday and he worked terribly hard at it.
Anyone who has taught in an Irish school knows the difficult job it is and teaching religion makes it more difficult.
But Stephen did it in his stride with no fuss or drama. He was also an eloquent preacher. The late Fr Paul Hynes considered him back then one of the best preachers in the province.
He was a gentle person, who gave the impression that he was attentive and interested to those with whom he engaged.
I taught two of his nephews in Newbridge College and I can still remember how polite and gentle they were.
May he rest in peace.
MC
Stephen Doyle RIP
For the information of former Dominicans, who are not living in Ireland or may not have heard the news, Stephen Doyle has died and his funeral Mass is in Tallaght today at 11.30. Burial takes place after Mass in the priory cemetery.
May he rest in peace.
May he rest in peace.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Wise words
An indirect quote from a wise Irish Dominican.
"You can do what you like in the Irish Dominicans once you don't criticise the establishment/system."
There is indeed an aspect of anonymity to this quote but it would be most unfair to mention the source as it was said in a private personal conversation.
"You can do what you like in the Irish Dominicans once you don't criticise the establishment/system."
There is indeed an aspect of anonymity to this quote but it would be most unfair to mention the source as it was said in a private personal conversation.
Great value on the railway
Irish Rail are offering great reduced fares on their website. The tickets have to be bought on the web.
Just look at the prices.
These fares are only available on certain trains. Check list below.
At last and well done Irish Rail.
What is it about Irish Rail PR that they seem to stay so quiet about their business. This new fare deal just gets a small mention on their website. It's a big deal and deserves a fanfare of bugles. Just like what Ryanair does when planes arrive on time!
Dublin Heuston - Cork €16 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Tralee €16 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Ennis €13 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Limerick €13 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Galway €12 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Westport €12 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Kilkenny €8 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Waterford €8 each way*
Only on Irishrail.ie*These fares are available Monday to Thursday on the following trains only on irishrail.ie (these fares are not available from booking office or telesales):
Dublin to Cork 09.00/ 10.00/ 11.00/ 12.00/ 13.00/ 19.00/ 20.00/ 21.00
Cork to Dublin 10.30/ 11.30/ 12.30/ 13.30/ 14.30/ 15.30/ 18.30/ 19.30/ 20.30
Dublin to Waterford 07.30/ 09.30/ 10.00/ 11.30
Waterford to Dublin 10.45/ 13.15/ 15.00/ 18.25
Limerick to Dublin 05.35/ 06.35/ 11.55/ 12.35/ 14.15/ 15.55/ 19.50
Dublin to Limerick 09.25/ 10.00/ 11.25/ 12.00/ 20.00/ 21.00
Dublin to Tralee 09.00/ 11.00/ 13.00/ 20.00
Tralee to Dublin 09.15/ 11.15/ 13.15/ 17.15/ 19.15
Dublin to Galway 07.10/ 09.10/ 11.10/ 19.15
Galway to Dublin 10.50/ 13.10/ 15.05
Dublin to Westport 08.20/ 12.40
Westport to Dublin 13.10/ 18.05
*These fares are standard class fares only. Exclusion dates will apply. These fares are subject to availability on selected services Monday to Thursday and are only available on irishrail.ie. Terms and conditions apply.
Just look at the prices.
These fares are only available on certain trains. Check list below.
At last and well done Irish Rail.
What is it about Irish Rail PR that they seem to stay so quiet about their business. This new fare deal just gets a small mention on their website. It's a big deal and deserves a fanfare of bugles. Just like what Ryanair does when planes arrive on time!
Dublin Heuston - Cork €16 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Tralee €16 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Ennis €13 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Limerick €13 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Galway €12 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Westport €12 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Kilkenny €8 each way*
Dublin Heuston - Waterford €8 each way*
Only on Irishrail.ie*These fares are available Monday to Thursday on the following trains only on irishrail.ie (these fares are not available from booking office or telesales):
Dublin to Cork 09.00/ 10.00/ 11.00/ 12.00/ 13.00/ 19.00/ 20.00/ 21.00
Cork to Dublin 10.30/ 11.30/ 12.30/ 13.30/ 14.30/ 15.30/ 18.30/ 19.30/ 20.30
Dublin to Waterford 07.30/ 09.30/ 10.00/ 11.30
Waterford to Dublin 10.45/ 13.15/ 15.00/ 18.25
Limerick to Dublin 05.35/ 06.35/ 11.55/ 12.35/ 14.15/ 15.55/ 19.50
Dublin to Limerick 09.25/ 10.00/ 11.25/ 12.00/ 20.00/ 21.00
Dublin to Tralee 09.00/ 11.00/ 13.00/ 20.00
Tralee to Dublin 09.15/ 11.15/ 13.15/ 17.15/ 19.15
Dublin to Galway 07.10/ 09.10/ 11.10/ 19.15
Galway to Dublin 10.50/ 13.10/ 15.05
Dublin to Westport 08.20/ 12.40
Westport to Dublin 13.10/ 18.05
*These fares are standard class fares only. Exclusion dates will apply. These fares are subject to availability on selected services Monday to Thursday and are only available on irishrail.ie. Terms and conditions apply.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Funeral Masses
The current controversy re what happens in the church during a funeral Mass makes for some interesting observations.
Of course it is important that the funeral is carried out in a dignified fashion and in accord with the liturgical rites of the Catholic Church.
The current discussion centres around the music used and the eulogy spoken at the end of the Mass.
And not a word about the sometimes nonsense preached by priests at funeral Masses. Before the Irish Catholic Church 'preaches' and 'orders' people how funerals should be conducted they should see to it that all its officiating priests celebrate liturgies and preach sermons that are fully in accord with the liturgical rites of the Catholic Church.
Of course it is important that the funeral is carried out in a dignified fashion and in accord with the liturgical rites of the Catholic Church.
The current discussion centres around the music used and the eulogy spoken at the end of the Mass.
And not a word about the sometimes nonsense preached by priests at funeral Masses. Before the Irish Catholic Church 'preaches' and 'orders' people how funerals should be conducted they should see to it that all its officiating priests celebrate liturgies and preach sermons that are fully in accord with the liturgical rites of the Catholic Church.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Today's Guardian
The Guardian newspaper carries a two-page profile of Archbishop Rowan Williams today. G2 gives over four pages to the controversy of gay bishop, Gene Robinson. And on page 29 of the paper Giles Fraser writes a comment on Bishop Gene Robinson.
It is sad to see such open dispute within the Anglican Communion. But is that worse than the silence, subterfuge and dishonesty that prevails within the Catholic Church on the issue?
Would it make sense to say there are more people with a homosexual orientation ordained priests within the Anglican Communion than in the Catholic Church? Of course that is a nonsense. It is just that the Catholic Church has developed an amazing 'method' of hiding the reality.
It is sad to see such open dispute within the Anglican Communion. But is that worse than the silence, subterfuge and dishonesty that prevails within the Catholic Church on the issue?
Would it make sense to say there are more people with a homosexual orientation ordained priests within the Anglican Communion than in the Catholic Church? Of course that is a nonsense. It is just that the Catholic Church has developed an amazing 'method' of hiding the reality.
Speaking the truth
The article below appears in today's Irish Times.
It is an interesting piece and deserves the attention of the reader.
It is reprinted on this blog to highlight how 'silent' the Catholic Church is on the issue. The author writes, 'the general Church of Ireland policy seems to be "don't ask, don't tell".' Rev. Kingston might well and accurately say exactly a similar sentiment for the Catholic Church in Ireland and probably worldwide.
For many years the writer of this blog has been 'accused' of being homophobic.
Nothing is further from the truth. But the author has attempted to initiate a discussion on the topic within the Irish Dominicans. Indeed, 20 years ago at a chapter of the province he suggested the subject be debated. Silence reigned then and continues to reign. From time to time when a 'scandal' breaks the immediate reaction is to 'silence' the problem and continue as if nothing happened.
This policy is of course unwise, dishonest and short-sighted and has nothing to do with 'truth', the motto of the Dominican Order.
With more and more men with a homosexual orientation joining the priesthood, the church is finding itself with a disproportionate number of homosexual priests in its ranks. And because of the silence, dishonesty and subterfuge, it is walking blinfoldedly towards a terrible disaster.
The Anglican Communion seems to have an honesty and openness that the Catholic Church refuses even to think about.
But regularly the media seems to get confused when debating the issue. It is not at all a conservative versus liberal issue as the media explains it. At least within the Catholic Church men with a homosexual orientation are those who are most conservative and attracted to traditional forms of ritual.
"Listening process vital to bring gay, lesbian clergy in from margins
RITE & REASON: The Church of Ireland has long held within its ranks gay and lesbian clergy. It is time to welcome them, and gay and lesbian laity as well, writes Mervyn Kingston .
AWARENESS OF the existence of gay and lesbian clergy is high among our Anglican neighbours in the Church of England and the North American Anglican provinces. By contrast, gay clergy in the Church of Ireland are relatively invisible. Where homosexuality is concerned, the general Church of Ireland policy seems to be "don't ask, don't tell".
While this allows some space for gay and lesbian clergy, it falls far short of the acceptance of gay and lesbian clergy achieved in other provinces of the Anglican Communion. It also perpetuates invisibility and does not facilitate the listening process. In a recent interview the Archbishop of Armagh admitted: "We haven't adequately listened to the stories of gay people, or adequately lived up to our obligations to pastoral care."
If gay and lesbian clergy are too afraid to come forward because of homophobia or a concern about being disciplined, how are they to be listened to? If the bishops and senior officers of the Church of Ireland are inhibited or lack the knowledge or willingness to engage with gay and lesbian clergy, how can a full listening process take place?
Dioceses of the Episcopal Church in North America and of the Church of England have for decades accepted openly gay clergy, including partnered gay clergy. This is making it increasingly difficult for the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland not to address the issue.
Furthermore, under the UK Civil Partnership Act 2005, clergy of the Church of Ireland are legally entitled to enter into same-sex civil partnerships. This can be expected to occur in the Republic too when it too introduces civil partnership. Already the Church of Ireland Pensions Board has confirmed that it will treat civil partners the same as spouses.
In a study published in the current issue of the Church of Ireland theological journal Search I write about gay clergy in Church of Ireland parishes. At least 65 gay clergy can be counted as having served in the Church of Ireland since the second World War. They each served in four parishes, on average. By drawing attention to the not insignificant number of gay clergy in the Church of Ireland, and by showing how they have served and are serving in all parts of the church, it becomes clear the issue of gay and lesbian clergy is not an abstract one but is part of the reality of parish life in Ireland.
Most gay clergy are highly respected, and their ministry is acceptable in each place, but of course their sexuality is not known. Gay and lesbian clergy or lay people have not been adequately involved to date in the listening process. What is needed is a listening exercise at rural deanery and diocesan level, where clergy and lay church members get to meet in person some of the gay and lesbian Christians in our churches.
To assist the listening process in the Church of Ireland a new group, Changing Attitude Ireland, was formed last year. It is a network of clergy and lay people, gay and straight, committed to working for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered affirmation in the church.
This includes working for change in the official teaching and attitude of the church and for the provision of services of blessing for same-sex couples in church using an authorised liturgy.
Gay clergy are and have been part of the Church of Ireland. If we are to be a truly open and inclusive church, then we need to find ways to welcome gay and lesbian lay people and clergy, who often feel marginalised and isolated.
The challenge is how to release them from invisibility, to value them and draw on their particular experience as part of a meaningful listening process.
• Rev Mervyn Kingston is a retired Church of Ireland clergyman, and co-founder and secretary of Changing Attitude Ireland. www.changingattitudeireland.org"
It is an interesting piece and deserves the attention of the reader.
It is reprinted on this blog to highlight how 'silent' the Catholic Church is on the issue. The author writes, 'the general Church of Ireland policy seems to be "don't ask, don't tell".' Rev. Kingston might well and accurately say exactly a similar sentiment for the Catholic Church in Ireland and probably worldwide.
For many years the writer of this blog has been 'accused' of being homophobic.
Nothing is further from the truth. But the author has attempted to initiate a discussion on the topic within the Irish Dominicans. Indeed, 20 years ago at a chapter of the province he suggested the subject be debated. Silence reigned then and continues to reign. From time to time when a 'scandal' breaks the immediate reaction is to 'silence' the problem and continue as if nothing happened.
This policy is of course unwise, dishonest and short-sighted and has nothing to do with 'truth', the motto of the Dominican Order.
With more and more men with a homosexual orientation joining the priesthood, the church is finding itself with a disproportionate number of homosexual priests in its ranks. And because of the silence, dishonesty and subterfuge, it is walking blinfoldedly towards a terrible disaster.
The Anglican Communion seems to have an honesty and openness that the Catholic Church refuses even to think about.
But regularly the media seems to get confused when debating the issue. It is not at all a conservative versus liberal issue as the media explains it. At least within the Catholic Church men with a homosexual orientation are those who are most conservative and attracted to traditional forms of ritual.
"Listening process vital to bring gay, lesbian clergy in from margins
RITE & REASON: The Church of Ireland has long held within its ranks gay and lesbian clergy. It is time to welcome them, and gay and lesbian laity as well, writes Mervyn Kingston .
AWARENESS OF the existence of gay and lesbian clergy is high among our Anglican neighbours in the Church of England and the North American Anglican provinces. By contrast, gay clergy in the Church of Ireland are relatively invisible. Where homosexuality is concerned, the general Church of Ireland policy seems to be "don't ask, don't tell".
While this allows some space for gay and lesbian clergy, it falls far short of the acceptance of gay and lesbian clergy achieved in other provinces of the Anglican Communion. It also perpetuates invisibility and does not facilitate the listening process. In a recent interview the Archbishop of Armagh admitted: "We haven't adequately listened to the stories of gay people, or adequately lived up to our obligations to pastoral care."
If gay and lesbian clergy are too afraid to come forward because of homophobia or a concern about being disciplined, how are they to be listened to? If the bishops and senior officers of the Church of Ireland are inhibited or lack the knowledge or willingness to engage with gay and lesbian clergy, how can a full listening process take place?
Dioceses of the Episcopal Church in North America and of the Church of England have for decades accepted openly gay clergy, including partnered gay clergy. This is making it increasingly difficult for the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland not to address the issue.
Furthermore, under the UK Civil Partnership Act 2005, clergy of the Church of Ireland are legally entitled to enter into same-sex civil partnerships. This can be expected to occur in the Republic too when it too introduces civil partnership. Already the Church of Ireland Pensions Board has confirmed that it will treat civil partners the same as spouses.
In a study published in the current issue of the Church of Ireland theological journal Search I write about gay clergy in Church of Ireland parishes. At least 65 gay clergy can be counted as having served in the Church of Ireland since the second World War. They each served in four parishes, on average. By drawing attention to the not insignificant number of gay clergy in the Church of Ireland, and by showing how they have served and are serving in all parts of the church, it becomes clear the issue of gay and lesbian clergy is not an abstract one but is part of the reality of parish life in Ireland.
Most gay clergy are highly respected, and their ministry is acceptable in each place, but of course their sexuality is not known. Gay and lesbian clergy or lay people have not been adequately involved to date in the listening process. What is needed is a listening exercise at rural deanery and diocesan level, where clergy and lay church members get to meet in person some of the gay and lesbian Christians in our churches.
To assist the listening process in the Church of Ireland a new group, Changing Attitude Ireland, was formed last year. It is a network of clergy and lay people, gay and straight, committed to working for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered affirmation in the church.
This includes working for change in the official teaching and attitude of the church and for the provision of services of blessing for same-sex couples in church using an authorised liturgy.
Gay clergy are and have been part of the Church of Ireland. If we are to be a truly open and inclusive church, then we need to find ways to welcome gay and lesbian lay people and clergy, who often feel marginalised and isolated.
The challenge is how to release them from invisibility, to value them and draw on their particular experience as part of a meaningful listening process.
• Rev Mervyn Kingston is a retired Church of Ireland clergyman, and co-founder and secretary of Changing Attitude Ireland. www.changingattitudeireland.org"
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
David Rice writes in The Irish Times
David Rice, a former memebr of the Irish Dominican Province, writes about a new-style church being born in France.
The article appeard in yesterday's Irish Times.
People living outside Ireland might like to know that the Irish Times is now available free online at www.irishtimes.com.
RITE AND REASON: Perhaps what is already happening in the French Catholic Church is an indication of where Irish Catholicism is headed, writes David Rice .
IT HAS often been said that France has her crises before the rest of Europe - whether it be the French Revolution itself, or the student revolt of 1968, or the alienation of people from the churches.
There is one such crisis where France is ahead of Ireland, and that is in its shortage of Roman Catholic priests. France is also ahead in its response to that shortage. In essence the lay people have taken over the local church and run it for themselves.
In one diocese in northern France there is only one priest to serve 27 parishes. It means the priest has been reduced to the role of circuit rider who drops by on rare occasions to offer a Mass and consecrate some hosts. For the rest of the time the people run their church themselves. In 2001 the diocese of Nice had to reduce its 265 parishes down to 47.
One of these, the recently created parish of Nôtre Dame de l'Espérance, runs along a celebrated strip of the Mediterranean coast, with five churches. There were five priests; now there is just one, who cannot cope on his own. Yet all five village churches are flourishing.
The secret is that each church has an appointed lay person, called a relais local , whose duty is to run both church and parish, and perform almost all functions save uttering the words of consecration and administering those sacraments only a priest is allowed to do.
A principal function of the relais is to conduct a Sunday Communion service in the absence of the priest - for all practical purposes a Mass without the consecration. There is frequently no priest at a funeral any more.
At the Église Sacré Coeur in Beaulieu, I attended one such funeral, conducted by the relais locale for the church. She received the coffin. There were words of welcome, the singing of hymns, a short eulogy of the deceased, readings from scripture, a brief reflection by the relais , the lighting of candles beside the coffin, a blessing of the coffin with holy water, and prayers for the deceased. It lasted about half-an-hour. There was no Mass, as there was no priest. But there wasn't a Communion service either.
This new de facto structure in the parish is not confined to relais locales . Marie-Anne Hosley, an energetic Frenchwoman whose mother hails from Co Down, has lately been appointed general manager of the parish with its five churches. While her official title is économe , she assures me it is more about admin than money.
Although unpaid herself, she manages a payroll of nine people, including cleaners, organists and two parish secretaries.
Other lay people - men and women - are equally active in many of the former roles of the priest - parish visitation, counselling, pre-marriage instruction, attending the sick, bringing communion, chaplaincies to hospitals and retirement homes and in some areas to scout and youth groups.
Also it is lay people who, almost exclusively, perform the crucial role of imparting their faith.In the neighbouring diocese of Monaco, Bernadette Keraudren gives many hours guiding catechumens - those who want to become Christian or Catholic.
The catechumens go through about two years of guidance, all done by lay people. None of this is stop-gap until better times come. This is for keeps, because better times are not coming. Soon there won't be any priests at all. Or so few that it simply won't count. So people here see a totally new church ministry evolving, which will inevitably become more formalised.
But the dearth of priests means that the people will ultimately be left without the sacraments and without the Eucharist, the centre of their faith. That is why the relais , and all these other layfolk who are de facto running the church, are asking, when will the Vatican wake up to the facts of life and allow or recognise new ministries?
"Vatican Two talked about us all being priests," Hosley says. "The priesthood of the laity. So maybe the church will soon have a new form of priest." That could mean that, in one fell swoop, there would be women priests and married priests. Many here believe that time is not far off.
The article appeard in yesterday's Irish Times.
People living outside Ireland might like to know that the Irish Times is now available free online at www.irishtimes.com.
RITE AND REASON: Perhaps what is already happening in the French Catholic Church is an indication of where Irish Catholicism is headed, writes David Rice .
IT HAS often been said that France has her crises before the rest of Europe - whether it be the French Revolution itself, or the student revolt of 1968, or the alienation of people from the churches.
There is one such crisis where France is ahead of Ireland, and that is in its shortage of Roman Catholic priests. France is also ahead in its response to that shortage. In essence the lay people have taken over the local church and run it for themselves.
In one diocese in northern France there is only one priest to serve 27 parishes. It means the priest has been reduced to the role of circuit rider who drops by on rare occasions to offer a Mass and consecrate some hosts. For the rest of the time the people run their church themselves. In 2001 the diocese of Nice had to reduce its 265 parishes down to 47.
One of these, the recently created parish of Nôtre Dame de l'Espérance, runs along a celebrated strip of the Mediterranean coast, with five churches. There were five priests; now there is just one, who cannot cope on his own. Yet all five village churches are flourishing.
The secret is that each church has an appointed lay person, called a relais local , whose duty is to run both church and parish, and perform almost all functions save uttering the words of consecration and administering those sacraments only a priest is allowed to do.
A principal function of the relais is to conduct a Sunday Communion service in the absence of the priest - for all practical purposes a Mass without the consecration. There is frequently no priest at a funeral any more.
At the Église Sacré Coeur in Beaulieu, I attended one such funeral, conducted by the relais locale for the church. She received the coffin. There were words of welcome, the singing of hymns, a short eulogy of the deceased, readings from scripture, a brief reflection by the relais , the lighting of candles beside the coffin, a blessing of the coffin with holy water, and prayers for the deceased. It lasted about half-an-hour. There was no Mass, as there was no priest. But there wasn't a Communion service either.
This new de facto structure in the parish is not confined to relais locales . Marie-Anne Hosley, an energetic Frenchwoman whose mother hails from Co Down, has lately been appointed general manager of the parish with its five churches. While her official title is économe , she assures me it is more about admin than money.
Although unpaid herself, she manages a payroll of nine people, including cleaners, organists and two parish secretaries.
Other lay people - men and women - are equally active in many of the former roles of the priest - parish visitation, counselling, pre-marriage instruction, attending the sick, bringing communion, chaplaincies to hospitals and retirement homes and in some areas to scout and youth groups.
Also it is lay people who, almost exclusively, perform the crucial role of imparting their faith.In the neighbouring diocese of Monaco, Bernadette Keraudren gives many hours guiding catechumens - those who want to become Christian or Catholic.
The catechumens go through about two years of guidance, all done by lay people. None of this is stop-gap until better times come. This is for keeps, because better times are not coming. Soon there won't be any priests at all. Or so few that it simply won't count. So people here see a totally new church ministry evolving, which will inevitably become more formalised.
But the dearth of priests means that the people will ultimately be left without the sacraments and without the Eucharist, the centre of their faith. That is why the relais , and all these other layfolk who are de facto running the church, are asking, when will the Vatican wake up to the facts of life and allow or recognise new ministries?
"Vatican Two talked about us all being priests," Hosley says. "The priesthood of the laity. So maybe the church will soon have a new form of priest." That could mean that, in one fell swoop, there would be women priests and married priests. Many here believe that time is not far off.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The Mass
This week two people in different parts of Ireland have made comments on attending Mass in Dominican churches.
One person said that they were very tempted to get up and walk out. They could not hear what was being said and they found it difficult to take the antics of the celebrant.
The other person said that they went to Sunday Mass in a Dominican church - a different church from the one above - and they were made feel very depressed.
And there will not be the slightest hint of a suggestion that we Irish Dominicans need to sit down and start talking about important and relevant issues.
And not in a Dominican church. The priest forgot to consecrate the hosts in the ciborium which was on the side table. So when it came to communion someone in the church told the altar server to bring the ciborium to the priest so he could distribute the breads.
It is a great example of how many priests have failed in giving any sort of understanding or explanation of the celebration of the Eucharist.
One person said that they were very tempted to get up and walk out. They could not hear what was being said and they found it difficult to take the antics of the celebrant.
The other person said that they went to Sunday Mass in a Dominican church - a different church from the one above - and they were made feel very depressed.
And there will not be the slightest hint of a suggestion that we Irish Dominicans need to sit down and start talking about important and relevant issues.
And not in a Dominican church. The priest forgot to consecrate the hosts in the ciborium which was on the side table. So when it came to communion someone in the church told the altar server to bring the ciborium to the priest so he could distribute the breads.
It is a great example of how many priests have failed in giving any sort of understanding or explanation of the celebration of the Eucharist.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Hans Küng at 80
Speaking to members of the UK parliament and assorted Anglican bishops Hans Küng made some interesting comments. Fr Küng earlier this year celebrated his 80th birthday.
Here is some of what he said to Paul Vallely, associated editor of The Independent.
Some quotes.
"The terrible scandals in banking and the global credit crunch are based in dishonesty."
"The whole Iraq war was based on lies."
"There is a danger that now in the Roman Curia there are only 'yes men'. Cardinal Daneels is correct: Where are the thinkers? It would be nice if, for the new Archbishop of Westminster, you had a candidate who is really capable and not just obedient to the Roman Curia."
"Our parishes are crumbling. In my home parish in Switzerland we rely on a visiting priest aged 90 to say Mass. It's a catastrophe. But the bishops just don't see the reality. Whenever they go to a parish everyone turns up to see the bishop and get the false impression."
"The irony is that because of the celibacy law homosexuals are attracted to seminaries in disproportionate numbers. All this creates a very unhealthy atmosphere which must be changed. So you have a disproportionate number of homosexuals in the priesthood."
And about Pope Benedict he said, "I have not given up hope that he will finally do something really courageous".
"Benedict XVI would tell you he talks to the bishops all the time. He is very attentive."
Here is some of what he said to Paul Vallely, associated editor of The Independent.
Some quotes.
"The terrible scandals in banking and the global credit crunch are based in dishonesty."
"The whole Iraq war was based on lies."
"There is a danger that now in the Roman Curia there are only 'yes men'. Cardinal Daneels is correct: Where are the thinkers? It would be nice if, for the new Archbishop of Westminster, you had a candidate who is really capable and not just obedient to the Roman Curia."
"Our parishes are crumbling. In my home parish in Switzerland we rely on a visiting priest aged 90 to say Mass. It's a catastrophe. But the bishops just don't see the reality. Whenever they go to a parish everyone turns up to see the bishop and get the false impression."
"The irony is that because of the celibacy law homosexuals are attracted to seminaries in disproportionate numbers. All this creates a very unhealthy atmosphere which must be changed. So you have a disproportionate number of homosexuals in the priesthood."
And about Pope Benedict he said, "I have not given up hope that he will finally do something really courageous".
"Benedict XVI would tell you he talks to the bishops all the time. He is very attentive."
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
VFs
Wit can be most disarming. It also has the wonderful ability of laughing at people, especially people who try to make themselves important.
On a windy wet day in Kerry someone asked what the title VF stood for. They thought it might mean Vicar For Rain.
On a windy wet day in Kerry someone asked what the title VF stood for. They thought it might mean Vicar For Rain.
Letters from Stalingrad
Anthony Beevor's Stalingrad is considered one of the great works of the German advance on the city on the Volga, the subsequent fighting in the city and then the brilliant encirclement of Paulus' Sixth Army by the Soviet Army, which was planned and executed by Zhukov.
In the book Beevor captures the atmosphere of the German and Soviet troops. How both armies vacillate between euphoria and desolation. It is best of all recalled in the letters the troops sent back to their loved ones, especially their wives.
The letters that manage to get through the censor express the feelings of men, telling their wives what life is like, in the case of the German troops, 4,000 kms away from Germany. The depth of feeling, warmth and love is palpable.
Human love is a great gift from God. The rule of celibacy allows many priests to discover a love that is supernatural. But surely it is a rare gift and is it possible that it can be developed and nurtured by all priests, especially when there seems to be so little care and real inter-communicative dialogue which is truly life supporting and positive.
Both within dioceses and religious orders there seems to be a great need for support and honest dialogue between superiors/bishops and priests and among priests themselves.
Of course there are people who get on fine, men who are truly holy. But how many men are left to languish? Yes, that happens all through society, but priesthood is meant to be at the cutting edge of love and excitement. Is it?
It is better to see the glass half full than half empty and priesthood is a great calling.
A question; how often does a bishop/superior sit down with his individual priests and talk and listen openly and truthfully, away from the games and cliches?
Instead, the common advice on the ground is to keep quiet, tell your bishop/superior nothing, play the game, get some sort of silly promotion. And keep the system going, even when anyone with a head on his of her shoulders knows it is all imploding around them.
In the book Beevor captures the atmosphere of the German and Soviet troops. How both armies vacillate between euphoria and desolation. It is best of all recalled in the letters the troops sent back to their loved ones, especially their wives.
The letters that manage to get through the censor express the feelings of men, telling their wives what life is like, in the case of the German troops, 4,000 kms away from Germany. The depth of feeling, warmth and love is palpable.
Human love is a great gift from God. The rule of celibacy allows many priests to discover a love that is supernatural. But surely it is a rare gift and is it possible that it can be developed and nurtured by all priests, especially when there seems to be so little care and real inter-communicative dialogue which is truly life supporting and positive.
Both within dioceses and religious orders there seems to be a great need for support and honest dialogue between superiors/bishops and priests and among priests themselves.
Of course there are people who get on fine, men who are truly holy. But how many men are left to languish? Yes, that happens all through society, but priesthood is meant to be at the cutting edge of love and excitement. Is it?
It is better to see the glass half full than half empty and priesthood is a great calling.
A question; how often does a bishop/superior sit down with his individual priests and talk and listen openly and truthfully, away from the games and cliches?
Instead, the common advice on the ground is to keep quiet, tell your bishop/superior nothing, play the game, get some sort of silly promotion. And keep the system going, even when anyone with a head on his of her shoulders knows it is all imploding around them.
Good people do kind deeds
A reader of this blog sent in the following story. She and her sister live in central Dublin.
It is a lovely tale of the kindness of people and how such kindness is appreciated. It is also a comment on our police service.
"I was helping my sister get out of her wheelchair before lifting the wheelchair up a flight of stairs where we live.
Just as I was about to lift the wheelchair, a car pulls up and a man asks me if he can help.
I hesitated for a moment and then he said he and his colleague were gardaí, so I agreed to their offer of help.
He parked his car and one of them carried the chair up the stairs and the other man linked my sister up the stairs.
I was flabbergasted with their kindness"
It is a lovely tale of the kindness of people and how such kindness is appreciated. It is also a comment on our police service.
"I was helping my sister get out of her wheelchair before lifting the wheelchair up a flight of stairs where we live.
Just as I was about to lift the wheelchair, a car pulls up and a man asks me if he can help.
I hesitated for a moment and then he said he and his colleague were gardaí, so I agreed to their offer of help.
He parked his car and one of them carried the chair up the stairs and the other man linked my sister up the stairs.
I was flabbergasted with their kindness"
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
O'Toole's Plan C
Journalists like priests regularly become fascinated with their own words, which usually ends in boredom for listeners and readers.
It is a phenomenon that applies to most columnists and preachers. It is difficult for columnists to keep up a high standard of writing week-in week-out. But then every now and again they hit the jackpot. It is something that Fintan O'Toole does today in his column in The Irish Times. It is a brilliant column.
It gives the perfect definition of the 'trickster' and it paints an accurate picture of Ireland and the Irish. Writing it, O'Toole had no idea how it is the perfect description of the document produced by the provincial council of the Irish Dominicans on manpower issues.
Plan C, the fudge. Great article, highly recommended. And an essential read for all members of the provincial council of the Irish Dominicans.
It is a phenomenon that applies to most columnists and preachers. It is difficult for columnists to keep up a high standard of writing week-in week-out. But then every now and again they hit the jackpot. It is something that Fintan O'Toole does today in his column in The Irish Times. It is a brilliant column.
It gives the perfect definition of the 'trickster' and it paints an accurate picture of Ireland and the Irish. Writing it, O'Toole had no idea how it is the perfect description of the document produced by the provincial council of the Irish Dominicans on manpower issues.
Plan C, the fudge. Great article, highly recommended. And an essential read for all members of the provincial council of the Irish Dominicans.
Passing Berlusconi
The Berlusconi saga as reported in today's Irish Times is a good example at how silly things can get.
If the Italian prime minister were paying some of his staff an unjust wage would something similar happen. Or indeed, if he is proved to be involved in corrupt practice would this happen?
And remember he was received by Pope Benedict just some weeks ago and it is generally accepted that he received the support of the church in the recent general election where he defeated Romano Prodi.
If the Italian prime minister were paying some of his staff an unjust wage would something similar happen. Or indeed, if he is proved to be involved in corrupt practice would this happen?
And remember he was received by Pope Benedict just some weeks ago and it is generally accepted that he received the support of the church in the recent general election where he defeated Romano Prodi.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Basel
On Thursday evening in Basel the Germans beat the Portuguese and made it to the semi-finals of the European cup. And they won their game with the help of three Polish players! Podolski was born in the now Polish city of Gleiwitz!
On Wednesday they play Turkey in the semi-final, again in Basel.
It was a wonderful spectacle to see two European countries vie for superiority on the playing pitch. It was all done in good fun.
Sixty five years earlier they were killing one another. The Germans had been routed from Stalingrad and the tank battle at Kursk sent them on their final run back home.
Many historians will argue that it was the downfall of the Weimar Republic that allowed Hitler come to power. The Nazis used all the tricks to fool people: fear, national identity, job loss and of course they created their scapegoats. The Nazis did all their work in the dark and in secret - the result was slaughter and ultimate defeat, fortunately, at Stalingrad.
All paid for with the blood of ordinary people.
The European Union has offered us a way out of the cycle of war and slaughter.
Much better to cheer and roar on the park in Basel than scream and die on the Volga.
Europe has experienced an extended period of peace since the end of that dreadful war.
Hopefully the politicians can continue to bring the citizens of Europe closer and make the continent a safer and better place.
On Wednesday they play Turkey in the semi-final, again in Basel.
It was a wonderful spectacle to see two European countries vie for superiority on the playing pitch. It was all done in good fun.
Sixty five years earlier they were killing one another. The Germans had been routed from Stalingrad and the tank battle at Kursk sent them on their final run back home.
Many historians will argue that it was the downfall of the Weimar Republic that allowed Hitler come to power. The Nazis used all the tricks to fool people: fear, national identity, job loss and of course they created their scapegoats. The Nazis did all their work in the dark and in secret - the result was slaughter and ultimate defeat, fortunately, at Stalingrad.
All paid for with the blood of ordinary people.
The European Union has offered us a way out of the cycle of war and slaughter.
Much better to cheer and roar on the park in Basel than scream and die on the Volga.
Europe has experienced an extended period of peace since the end of that dreadful war.
Hopefully the politicians can continue to bring the citizens of Europe closer and make the continent a safer and better place.
Actor Gabriel Byrne
Actor Gabriel Byrne was guest on the Dunphy Show on RTE Radio 1 this morning. He is an engaging person. Born in Dublin. Left school early and later went back and won a university scholarship. Today he is one of the world's finest actors.
At 11 he joined a junior seminary in England where he experienced a mild form of abuse. I doubt if abuse can ever be mild, but it's what he said.
Years later he went back to talk to the perpetrator not knowing exactly what to say to him.
The man said he did not know him and the only Gabriel Byrne he knew was the world famous actor!
Gabriel made the point that this man, who gave him a great love for Latin, was still the same man in tone and manner. He created some sort of fear and there was still a condescension about him.
The terror and abuse had all been done in secrecy and fear.
One of the reasons for the creation of this blog was an attempt to kick to death an atmosphere and tone of secrecy and anonymity that very often raises its ugly head, especially in church organisations.
And along with this tone goes an atmosphere of fear, where people are 'afraid' to speak their minds. In that context can flow 'pious platitudes' that have no meaning whatsoever.
Strangely, there are few leaders who are willing to grab the nettle and speak any sort of prophetic words. Instead we continue to get the same old 'stuff', now doctored by the lawyers and spin people.
Gabriel Byrne's interview can be heard on RTE podcast.
At 11 he joined a junior seminary in England where he experienced a mild form of abuse. I doubt if abuse can ever be mild, but it's what he said.
Years later he went back to talk to the perpetrator not knowing exactly what to say to him.
The man said he did not know him and the only Gabriel Byrne he knew was the world famous actor!
Gabriel made the point that this man, who gave him a great love for Latin, was still the same man in tone and manner. He created some sort of fear and there was still a condescension about him.
The terror and abuse had all been done in secrecy and fear.
One of the reasons for the creation of this blog was an attempt to kick to death an atmosphere and tone of secrecy and anonymity that very often raises its ugly head, especially in church organisations.
And along with this tone goes an atmosphere of fear, where people are 'afraid' to speak their minds. In that context can flow 'pious platitudes' that have no meaning whatsoever.
Strangely, there are few leaders who are willing to grab the nettle and speak any sort of prophetic words. Instead we continue to get the same old 'stuff', now doctored by the lawyers and spin people.
Gabriel Byrne's interview can be heard on RTE podcast.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Marriage solemnisers
Do the new rules in Ireland re marriage solemnisers mean that ministers of religion can also solemnise civil marriages?
Can a Catholic priest solemnise the marriage of a couple who do not wish for a sacramental marriage but do wish to undergo a civil marriage?
If not, why not? The new regulations seem to allow for such an anomaly.
Can a Catholic priest solemnise the marriage of a couple who do not wish for a sacramental marriage but do wish to undergo a civil marriage?
If not, why not? The new regulations seem to allow for such an anomaly.
Using the electronic medium
Again, the Jesuits must be complimented on their excellent websites.
Among their electronic information is, AMDG Express Jesuit Newsletter, which is a weekly newsletter produced in Dublin.
It is available on request. It arrives on time with up-to-the-minute interesting articles and reports.
Why can they produce such attractive, informative and challenging electronic material while the Dominicans offer poor, pedestrian, unattractive hit and miss cliched pious waffle?
Any chance that at the upcoming provincial chapter of the Irish Dominicans there will be some serious study/discussion about improving the province's electronic profile?
At present it is poor quality.
Among their electronic information is, AMDG Express Jesuit Newsletter, which is a weekly newsletter produced in Dublin.
It is available on request. It arrives on time with up-to-the-minute interesting articles and reports.
Why can they produce such attractive, informative and challenging electronic material while the Dominicans offer poor, pedestrian, unattractive hit and miss cliched pious waffle?
Any chance that at the upcoming provincial chapter of the Irish Dominicans there will be some serious study/discussion about improving the province's electronic profile?
At present it is poor quality.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
June happenings
Yesterday, June 16 was Bloomsday. On June 17, 1953 there was a workers' uprising in East Berlin. Hence the naming of Straße der 17en Juni in West Berlin. On June 18, 1541 the Irish parliament selected Henry VIII as king of Ireland. On June 19, 1965 Muhammad Ali was convicted for refusing induction to the US Army. This coming Friday, June 20 is the first anniversary of this blog. Saturday, June 21 is the longest day of the year.
In terms of readership this blog is growing from strength to strength. It is read on all five continents. It is read right across the United States of America, in over 20 countries in Europe, in Australia, in Canada. And the Holy See dips in and out. It is read in 19 cities and towns in Ireland.
In terms of readership this blog is growing from strength to strength. It is read on all five continents. It is read right across the United States of America, in over 20 countries in Europe, in Australia, in Canada. And the Holy See dips in and out. It is read in 19 cities and towns in Ireland.
Change and basic assumptions
The article below appears in today's Irish Times.
It is an excellent article and well worth a read, especially for anyone involved in trying to say something about the Gospel.
Living with change when basic assumptions are breaking down
RITE & REASON: Our political and religious leaders are not to be envied, writes Don Cupitt .
AMIDST A blizzard of change, we require our leaders to be reassuringly cheerful and stable. They are not going to be blown off course, and they are not going to abandon any of their basic principles. They will simply apply the old principles in new ways to changing circumstances.
It seems that human beings have a deep fear and dislike of change. Preliterate, traditional societies deny historical change altogether - even in cases where we happen to know for sure that in fact they, like us, have lived in continuous adaptation to change.
In modern society, we praise some of our leaders for not changing at all. Pope John Paul II was praised for being so conservative, even though neither he nor any other modern pope is ever again going to be anything like Pope Pius XII. What counts as being conservative changes as quickly as anything else.
As for practical politicians, if they have great skill in making change painless and almost invisible, as Tony Blair did, they please us in the short run but then find themselves being attacked for "spin" and "deception".
"Spin" just means the normal skills of a democratic politician; but when a politician has those skills, people soon come to mistrust and reject him, and when like Gordon Brown he lacks those skills, they dislike and reject him too.
"Every political career ends in failure", as Enoch Powell said, meaning that all politicians eventually succumb to the pressure of our contradictory demands upon them. They cannot govern without using their verbal skills to build consensus.
They have to be flexible and accommodating - but we despise them for it, because we affect to believe in objective, timeless truth, objective, timeless standards of right and wrong.
We must know that these beliefs are mythical: but we pay the politicians to sustain our myths, and we don't want to see the machinery. (Just as we want both to have all the benefits of modern medicine, and to denounce the scientific research that alone has given us those benefits.)
The position of religious leaders is even more difficult. In normal times they, like the politicians, may be able to get away with pretending that they are doing no more than adapting and adjusting in response to surface change.
But we now live in times of very deep change, when assumptions that people have lived by for millennia are breaking down. It's traumatic. It's terrifying. "Nihilism stands at the door", as Nietzsche says. For religious leaders it is impossibly difficult, because the deep assumptions now breaking down are built into the very way their own faith has always been formulated.
Why? One of the most pervasive of all our deep assumptions is the distinction between appearance and reality, surface and depth. Out of it grows the belief that the visible world is a world of mere appearance. Beyond it is a greater, more real and timeless world, from which this world of ours is controlled. The higher world embodies all our norms of objective reality, truth and value.
When people thought this old vision was straightforwardly just true, they saw historical change as being merely superficial. Deep down, everything was timeless and nothing really changed. That was fine, in the agricultural civilisations of the past. But today the growth of knowledge has led us to see everything from the human and the historical point of view.
Everything changes. It floats unanchored on the market, with no more than the measure of truth, reality or value that the market currently assigns to it. Nothing's eternal, and nothing's absolutely fixed. Everything is humanly-posited and under continuous renegotiation.
That's post modernity, where we are now. Inevitably, our religious leaders cannot cope with it. Immersed as we are now in a constant flux of communication, our media and our artists at least show us what our new situation is. But how we are to cope with it spiritually is less clear.
Here is a beginning. We should not be so fearful about change, because the Bible itself is a record of profound historical change. It moves in time from hunter-gatherers to tribal society, from the earliest versions of the state to the great world empires, and from ethnic to universal, "catholic", religion.
The Bible even shows us the first emergence of modern selfhood, in (for example) the Epistle to the Romans. Indeed, one could say that our whole religious tradition springs from and is a meditation upon the hinge between two profoundly different orders, one old and one new. We shouldn't be so fearful about facing a similar transition in our own time.
Don Cupitt is former Dean of Emmanuel College Cambridge. Though a priest of the Church of England, he is the author of over 40 books which challenge Christian orthodoxy
It is an excellent article and well worth a read, especially for anyone involved in trying to say something about the Gospel.
Living with change when basic assumptions are breaking down
RITE & REASON: Our political and religious leaders are not to be envied, writes Don Cupitt .
AMIDST A blizzard of change, we require our leaders to be reassuringly cheerful and stable. They are not going to be blown off course, and they are not going to abandon any of their basic principles. They will simply apply the old principles in new ways to changing circumstances.
It seems that human beings have a deep fear and dislike of change. Preliterate, traditional societies deny historical change altogether - even in cases where we happen to know for sure that in fact they, like us, have lived in continuous adaptation to change.
In modern society, we praise some of our leaders for not changing at all. Pope John Paul II was praised for being so conservative, even though neither he nor any other modern pope is ever again going to be anything like Pope Pius XII. What counts as being conservative changes as quickly as anything else.
As for practical politicians, if they have great skill in making change painless and almost invisible, as Tony Blair did, they please us in the short run but then find themselves being attacked for "spin" and "deception".
"Spin" just means the normal skills of a democratic politician; but when a politician has those skills, people soon come to mistrust and reject him, and when like Gordon Brown he lacks those skills, they dislike and reject him too.
"Every political career ends in failure", as Enoch Powell said, meaning that all politicians eventually succumb to the pressure of our contradictory demands upon them. They cannot govern without using their verbal skills to build consensus.
They have to be flexible and accommodating - but we despise them for it, because we affect to believe in objective, timeless truth, objective, timeless standards of right and wrong.
We must know that these beliefs are mythical: but we pay the politicians to sustain our myths, and we don't want to see the machinery. (Just as we want both to have all the benefits of modern medicine, and to denounce the scientific research that alone has given us those benefits.)
The position of religious leaders is even more difficult. In normal times they, like the politicians, may be able to get away with pretending that they are doing no more than adapting and adjusting in response to surface change.
But we now live in times of very deep change, when assumptions that people have lived by for millennia are breaking down. It's traumatic. It's terrifying. "Nihilism stands at the door", as Nietzsche says. For religious leaders it is impossibly difficult, because the deep assumptions now breaking down are built into the very way their own faith has always been formulated.
Why? One of the most pervasive of all our deep assumptions is the distinction between appearance and reality, surface and depth. Out of it grows the belief that the visible world is a world of mere appearance. Beyond it is a greater, more real and timeless world, from which this world of ours is controlled. The higher world embodies all our norms of objective reality, truth and value.
When people thought this old vision was straightforwardly just true, they saw historical change as being merely superficial. Deep down, everything was timeless and nothing really changed. That was fine, in the agricultural civilisations of the past. But today the growth of knowledge has led us to see everything from the human and the historical point of view.
Everything changes. It floats unanchored on the market, with no more than the measure of truth, reality or value that the market currently assigns to it. Nothing's eternal, and nothing's absolutely fixed. Everything is humanly-posited and under continuous renegotiation.
That's post modernity, where we are now. Inevitably, our religious leaders cannot cope with it. Immersed as we are now in a constant flux of communication, our media and our artists at least show us what our new situation is. But how we are to cope with it spiritually is less clear.
Here is a beginning. We should not be so fearful about change, because the Bible itself is a record of profound historical change. It moves in time from hunter-gatherers to tribal society, from the earliest versions of the state to the great world empires, and from ethnic to universal, "catholic", religion.
The Bible even shows us the first emergence of modern selfhood, in (for example) the Epistle to the Romans. Indeed, one could say that our whole religious tradition springs from and is a meditation upon the hinge between two profoundly different orders, one old and one new. We shouldn't be so fearful about facing a similar transition in our own time.
Don Cupitt is former Dean of Emmanuel College Cambridge. Though a priest of the Church of England, he is the author of over 40 books which challenge Christian orthodoxy
Friday, June 13, 2008
German exams
German Leaving Cert and Junior Cert exams today.
For many students today is the last day of exams.
It's been a great year teaching in Castlegregory Secondary School. A word of grateful thanks to the principal and staff. And good luck and God's blessing to all those in the school who have sat their Leaving Cert and are about to set out into a new world. Great times ahead to you.
For many students today is the last day of exams.
It's been a great year teaching in Castlegregory Secondary School. A word of grateful thanks to the principal and staff. And good luck and God's blessing to all those in the school who have sat their Leaving Cert and are about to set out into a new world. Great times ahead to you.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
World Day against Child Labour
While the adults are voting on the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland today, young children are voting with their feet in the fight against Child Labour.
At Dublin’s Spire, primary school pupils from 60 schools, mainly from Griffeen Valley Educate Together School in Lucan, are flying kites and releasing 218 balloons. Every balloon represents one million children, who are working instead of being at school. Well over an estimated 218 million children are working in the world today.
The young people at the Spire today-as well as schools and youth clubs throughout the country-are showing their solidarity for their less privileged counterparts around the world, who are forced to work when they should be at school.
Concern’s Stop Child Labour campaign organised the event to mark the World Day Against Child Labour.
Concern is asking people to take note of what the youngsters at the Spire are doing today. They are asking people to support the children at the Spire by buying ethical products, looking behind the label and never being afraid or shy to ask where something is made.
Oyin Lawal from Lucan and in sixth class at Griffeen Valley Educate Together School says, “Each kite had a sign saying ‘Stop Child Labour’. Children should just work in school,” she says.
Alex Kiernan, a classmate of Oyin’s, thinks it is scary that small children should be made work.
“My little five-year old sister is at school while children just her age are made work,” he says.
Ten-year-old Bhawana Chandel discovered that in Nicaragua children have to spray chemicals on crops and often get chemicals in their eyes.
“That’s not fair,” she says.
Nadia Khan, also 10, explains, “We are using our voices for the children in Child Labour because they cannot use theirs”.
And Cían McGlynn, in fourth class, says that they wrote a poem, a song and a play about the issue.
One of their teachers, Denise Ahern, points out that the idea of 218 million child labourers was a figure above the children’s imagination, so they made up a fictional child and called him ‘Makako’ and then used him to represent the plight of child labourers.
At Dublin’s Spire, primary school pupils from 60 schools, mainly from Griffeen Valley Educate Together School in Lucan, are flying kites and releasing 218 balloons. Every balloon represents one million children, who are working instead of being at school. Well over an estimated 218 million children are working in the world today.
The young people at the Spire today-as well as schools and youth clubs throughout the country-are showing their solidarity for their less privileged counterparts around the world, who are forced to work when they should be at school.
Concern’s Stop Child Labour campaign organised the event to mark the World Day Against Child Labour.
Concern is asking people to take note of what the youngsters at the Spire are doing today. They are asking people to support the children at the Spire by buying ethical products, looking behind the label and never being afraid or shy to ask where something is made.
Oyin Lawal from Lucan and in sixth class at Griffeen Valley Educate Together School says, “Each kite had a sign saying ‘Stop Child Labour’. Children should just work in school,” she says.
Alex Kiernan, a classmate of Oyin’s, thinks it is scary that small children should be made work.
“My little five-year old sister is at school while children just her age are made work,” he says.
Ten-year-old Bhawana Chandel discovered that in Nicaragua children have to spray chemicals on crops and often get chemicals in their eyes.
“That’s not fair,” she says.
Nadia Khan, also 10, explains, “We are using our voices for the children in Child Labour because they cannot use theirs”.
And Cían McGlynn, in fourth class, says that they wrote a poem, a song and a play about the issue.
One of their teachers, Denise Ahern, points out that the idea of 218 million child labourers was a figure above the children’s imagination, so they made up a fictional child and called him ‘Makako’ and then used him to represent the plight of child labourers.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Goldsmith Summer School
Below is the outline of a talk given by Michael Commane at the Goldsmith Summer School in Ballymahon on Saturday, May 31.
The theme of this year's International Literary Festival was, 'Are the Media above the Law'.
In the seven years I worked at the Kerryman we had a legal person at our beck and call 24 hours a day.
The newspaper industry is always scared about the laws of libel.
But even with a legal person at our beck and call we made mistakes.
Those of you who are familiar with Cork will be aware of that special area of Cork called the Barony of Duhallow.
The area is covered by The Corkman newspaper – which is owned by The Kerryman.
On one occasion a woman in the area got married and the headline in the paper ran ‘The Bride of Duhallow’. Alas the letter ‘B’ in Bride was left out.
And just some two weeks later there was a story about a lady in Scartaglen – the home village of the famous Fr Horan – this time the letter ‘d’ in ‘Lady’ was missing. But this time an observant sub editor spotted it just as the paper was about to go on the machine.
One of my jobs at the newspaper was editor of the letters page – a scary job indeed.
A page that needs particularly close vetting. People can say strange things about their friends and enemies.
But once it appears in print and is libellous then the newspaper is held to account.
Newspapers are ever on their guard when it comes to libel. And libel is quite clearly damaging the reputation of a person. They have to be alive. You can say what you like about the dead!
I’m sure that can hurt family big time.
Liam Lawlor’s family know all about that as do so many others.
So what is the function of a free press in a democracy? To tell the news. Important to separate news from comment and opinion.
I often find that the media takes from one news pot and it’s the same old stories that do the rounds.
For instance in the recent unofficial dispute at Irish Rail no-one was interested in doing a proper analysis of what it was about. Pat Kenny was appalling in his coverage of it. A little work and people would have seen how complicated the issue is.
The setting up by the newspapers of the Press Ombudsman and Press council is an important innovation and good for the body politic.
The recent resignation of John Horgan (not Professor John Horgan) is somewhat upsetting. He retired over the controversy over a non-unanimous verdict.
So can we look at three examples within the media, Catholic media, tabloid media and quality media?
The relationship between the hierarchical church and the media is eclectic – the best word I can think of.
You may have seen the coverage of the controversy over the Alive! newspaper.
Joe Costello’s letter and the reply of the Dominican provincial and then the subsequent provincial council – so lacking in transparency.
I heard a young Dominican complain that The Irish Times printed part of the provincial’s letter.
But generally within the catholic press there is very little on the market that is attractive and in touch and critical. Who reads Catholic media products?
But the secular media is not spotless. Take the recent issue of the Waterford bus driver who was found innocent by a court and is now being badgered by the tabloid media. Is that right? What do you think?
But it’s not as bad as the Austrians. A security guard at the hospital where the Fitzl woman is staying had his collarbone broken by a photographer.
There is no doubt that the tabloid press picks up on the slightest sexual infringement of people yet it sails so close to the wind when it comes to standards.
And I have noticed in the quality media a new tendency to copy what the tabloids are saying but in a more sophisticated manner.
Not too much heard about poverty or prisoners. Need for more thorough investigations of the underlying reasons for poverty and deprivation in our society.
But don’t ever forget newspapers have one purpose and that is to make more for their shareholders. Although Jim Farrelly who was MD of Kerryman and Sunday Tribune always stressed that the owners of The Kerryman were the people of Kerry!
The furore concerning the Taoiseach using the F word said something about the newspaper trade. I imagine anyone who has worked inside a newsroom is well aware of the incredible ‘bad language’ that flies around.
There is no perfect newspaper. Nor is there the perfect template for a perfect newspaper.
But that’s the way of the world and the media is the messenger of that world and that way.
The theme of this year's International Literary Festival was, 'Are the Media above the Law'.
In the seven years I worked at the Kerryman we had a legal person at our beck and call 24 hours a day.
The newspaper industry is always scared about the laws of libel.
But even with a legal person at our beck and call we made mistakes.
Those of you who are familiar with Cork will be aware of that special area of Cork called the Barony of Duhallow.
The area is covered by The Corkman newspaper – which is owned by The Kerryman.
On one occasion a woman in the area got married and the headline in the paper ran ‘The Bride of Duhallow’. Alas the letter ‘B’ in Bride was left out.
And just some two weeks later there was a story about a lady in Scartaglen – the home village of the famous Fr Horan – this time the letter ‘d’ in ‘Lady’ was missing. But this time an observant sub editor spotted it just as the paper was about to go on the machine.
One of my jobs at the newspaper was editor of the letters page – a scary job indeed.
A page that needs particularly close vetting. People can say strange things about their friends and enemies.
But once it appears in print and is libellous then the newspaper is held to account.
Newspapers are ever on their guard when it comes to libel. And libel is quite clearly damaging the reputation of a person. They have to be alive. You can say what you like about the dead!
I’m sure that can hurt family big time.
Liam Lawlor’s family know all about that as do so many others.
So what is the function of a free press in a democracy? To tell the news. Important to separate news from comment and opinion.
I often find that the media takes from one news pot and it’s the same old stories that do the rounds.
For instance in the recent unofficial dispute at Irish Rail no-one was interested in doing a proper analysis of what it was about. Pat Kenny was appalling in his coverage of it. A little work and people would have seen how complicated the issue is.
The setting up by the newspapers of the Press Ombudsman and Press council is an important innovation and good for the body politic.
The recent resignation of John Horgan (not Professor John Horgan) is somewhat upsetting. He retired over the controversy over a non-unanimous verdict.
So can we look at three examples within the media, Catholic media, tabloid media and quality media?
The relationship between the hierarchical church and the media is eclectic – the best word I can think of.
You may have seen the coverage of the controversy over the Alive! newspaper.
Joe Costello’s letter and the reply of the Dominican provincial and then the subsequent provincial council – so lacking in transparency.
I heard a young Dominican complain that The Irish Times printed part of the provincial’s letter.
But generally within the catholic press there is very little on the market that is attractive and in touch and critical. Who reads Catholic media products?
But the secular media is not spotless. Take the recent issue of the Waterford bus driver who was found innocent by a court and is now being badgered by the tabloid media. Is that right? What do you think?
But it’s not as bad as the Austrians. A security guard at the hospital where the Fitzl woman is staying had his collarbone broken by a photographer.
There is no doubt that the tabloid press picks up on the slightest sexual infringement of people yet it sails so close to the wind when it comes to standards.
And I have noticed in the quality media a new tendency to copy what the tabloids are saying but in a more sophisticated manner.
Not too much heard about poverty or prisoners. Need for more thorough investigations of the underlying reasons for poverty and deprivation in our society.
But don’t ever forget newspapers have one purpose and that is to make more for their shareholders. Although Jim Farrelly who was MD of Kerryman and Sunday Tribune always stressed that the owners of The Kerryman were the people of Kerry!
The furore concerning the Taoiseach using the F word said something about the newspaper trade. I imagine anyone who has worked inside a newsroom is well aware of the incredible ‘bad language’ that flies around.
There is no perfect newspaper. Nor is there the perfect template for a perfect newspaper.
But that’s the way of the world and the media is the messenger of that world and that way.
Anonymity and invective
There is a thoughtful and interesting comment made on this blog today. It appears under the Lisbon Treaty of May 6.
It is signed. The author can be traced and he has no problem with that.
It is interesting to note the link there is between anonymous comments and invective. There seems also a nexus between a worrying right-wing agenda and anonymity.
Anonymity and secrecy provide the oxygen for so much sadness and wrong-doing, especially in the church.
One of the reasons for the genesis of this blog was to highlight the wrong that anonymity and secrecy create.
It is signed. The author can be traced and he has no problem with that.
It is interesting to note the link there is between anonymous comments and invective. There seems also a nexus between a worrying right-wing agenda and anonymity.
Anonymity and secrecy provide the oxygen for so much sadness and wrong-doing, especially in the church.
One of the reasons for the genesis of this blog was to highlight the wrong that anonymity and secrecy create.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
What's going on?
The article below appears in Saturday's Irish Times.
One word of comment. Appalling. As are the reported comments of the unnamed archbishop.
Where backing Obama is enough to be refused communion
AMERICA: A LIFELONG anti-abortion activist and opponent of gay rights who worked for Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush, law professor Douglas Kmiec is one of the most prominent lay figures in the American Catholic Church.
A former dean of the law school at the Catholic University of America, he received a shock earlier this year at a Mass for Catholic businessmen when the priest denounced him angrily from the pulpit and refused to serve him when he came forward for Communion.
Kmiec's wife fled the church in tears and others at the Mass were embarrassed by the priest's attack on the professor, who was due to address the businessmen later that day.
Kmiec's offence was that he is supporting Barack Obama in November's presidential election, although he has made clear that he is backing him despite the Democrat's position in favour of abortion rights.
The incident, which has alarmed liberal Catholics, is the latest twist in a long-running controversy about the place of the altar rail as a political battleground.
In 2004, some Catholic bishops said Democratic candidate John Kerry, a Catholic, should not receive Communion because of his position on abortion.
More recently, Kansas archbishop Joseph Naumann told the state's governor, Kathleen Sebelius, who has been mentioned as a possible Obama running mate, to stop taking Communion because of her "actions in support of legalised abortion".
When Pope Benedict XVI visited Washington this year, some conservatives suggested that Catholic politicians who oppose banning abortion should be refused Communion, but the pontiff gave the sacrament to everyone who came forward, including liberal Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy.
The Kmiec case represents a ratcheting upwards of the controversy because he was targeted not as a politician but as a voter, raising questions about whether any Catholic who votes for Obama in November can receive Communion.
In a statement called Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship last November, US bishops offered some guidance to Catholic voters.
"A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favour of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position," they said.
Kmiec should have been in the clear because he has stated publicly that he is backing Obama despite their disagreement on abortion and because he believes the Democrat is in tune with Catholic social teaching in other respects.
"I believe him to be a person of integrity, intelligence and genuine good will. I take him on his word that he wants to move the nation beyond its religious and racial divides, and that he wants to return the United States to that company of nations committed to human rights," Kmiec wrote earlier this year, adding that he was drawn to Obama's "love thy neighbour" style of campaigning and his "appreciation for faith".
Obama has sought to reach out to faith groups more energetically than most Democrats, encouraging supporters to form discussion groups on faith and politics and speaking frequently about his personal spiritual journey.
Catholic leaders have been unimpressed, however, and when I mentioned Obama's name over lunch with an archbishop last year, the prelate's eyes narrowed. "He has great charism [ sic]," he said. "But he is not with us. He's not with us on life; he's not with us on marriage; and he's not with us on schools."
When I asked about Hillary Clinton, whose name had once been a byword for liberal secularism, the archbishop softened. "Mrs Clinton is a very thoughtful person," he said.
Kmiec believes that Obama is neutral on the question of government's role in abortion, leaving it to a woman's conscience and the medical situation, and he believes Catholics should look at the bigger picture.
"Catholic voters are asked to consider what other social goods Obama represents and whether they can honestly and openly say that they are supporting him for that reason and not his stand on abortion," he wrote last week.
"It is important to both reaffirm civility and the related principles of religious freedom that refute gleeful crusades, at home or abroad, to single out supposed apostasy where none exists.""
One word of comment. Appalling. As are the reported comments of the unnamed archbishop.
Where backing Obama is enough to be refused communion
AMERICA: A LIFELONG anti-abortion activist and opponent of gay rights who worked for Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush, law professor Douglas Kmiec is one of the most prominent lay figures in the American Catholic Church.
A former dean of the law school at the Catholic University of America, he received a shock earlier this year at a Mass for Catholic businessmen when the priest denounced him angrily from the pulpit and refused to serve him when he came forward for Communion.
Kmiec's wife fled the church in tears and others at the Mass were embarrassed by the priest's attack on the professor, who was due to address the businessmen later that day.
Kmiec's offence was that he is supporting Barack Obama in November's presidential election, although he has made clear that he is backing him despite the Democrat's position in favour of abortion rights.
The incident, which has alarmed liberal Catholics, is the latest twist in a long-running controversy about the place of the altar rail as a political battleground.
In 2004, some Catholic bishops said Democratic candidate John Kerry, a Catholic, should not receive Communion because of his position on abortion.
More recently, Kansas archbishop Joseph Naumann told the state's governor, Kathleen Sebelius, who has been mentioned as a possible Obama running mate, to stop taking Communion because of her "actions in support of legalised abortion".
When Pope Benedict XVI visited Washington this year, some conservatives suggested that Catholic politicians who oppose banning abortion should be refused Communion, but the pontiff gave the sacrament to everyone who came forward, including liberal Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy.
The Kmiec case represents a ratcheting upwards of the controversy because he was targeted not as a politician but as a voter, raising questions about whether any Catholic who votes for Obama in November can receive Communion.
In a statement called Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship last November, US bishops offered some guidance to Catholic voters.
"A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favour of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position," they said.
Kmiec should have been in the clear because he has stated publicly that he is backing Obama despite their disagreement on abortion and because he believes the Democrat is in tune with Catholic social teaching in other respects.
"I believe him to be a person of integrity, intelligence and genuine good will. I take him on his word that he wants to move the nation beyond its religious and racial divides, and that he wants to return the United States to that company of nations committed to human rights," Kmiec wrote earlier this year, adding that he was drawn to Obama's "love thy neighbour" style of campaigning and his "appreciation for faith".
Obama has sought to reach out to faith groups more energetically than most Democrats, encouraging supporters to form discussion groups on faith and politics and speaking frequently about his personal spiritual journey.
Catholic leaders have been unimpressed, however, and when I mentioned Obama's name over lunch with an archbishop last year, the prelate's eyes narrowed. "He has great charism [ sic]," he said. "But he is not with us. He's not with us on life; he's not with us on marriage; and he's not with us on schools."
When I asked about Hillary Clinton, whose name had once been a byword for liberal secularism, the archbishop softened. "Mrs Clinton is a very thoughtful person," he said.
Kmiec believes that Obama is neutral on the question of government's role in abortion, leaving it to a woman's conscience and the medical situation, and he believes Catholics should look at the bigger picture.
"Catholic voters are asked to consider what other social goods Obama represents and whether they can honestly and openly say that they are supporting him for that reason and not his stand on abortion," he wrote last week.
"It is important to both reaffirm civility and the related principles of religious freedom that refute gleeful crusades, at home or abroad, to single out supposed apostasy where none exists.""
Damaging one's health
A dilemma today.
There is a comment made on the blog today re the referendum on Thursday. This blog is of a different opinion than the author of the comment and is indeed strongly opposed to the argument and style of the comment. But not to have published it would have been censorship, which meant there was no alternative but to publish.
The comment appears under the Lisbon Treaty of May 6.
Again, why the anonymity?
Two reasons that point to how irrelevant the Irish Dominicans are becoming.
Walking in a town in Ireland yesterday I met a man I know for many years. He 'grew up' with the Dominicans and has been a long-time worshipper in one of our churches.
Yesterday he said, "I can't go there (the Dominican church) any longer. They are doing my head in".
The demonstrations re the stopping of funding for the redevelopment of Dominick Street has meant that people are upset and are also demonstrating. Not a public word, not a whisper from the Dominicans, who are their neighbours and indeed those who administer the parish.
There is a comment made on the blog today re the referendum on Thursday. This blog is of a different opinion than the author of the comment and is indeed strongly opposed to the argument and style of the comment. But not to have published it would have been censorship, which meant there was no alternative but to publish.
The comment appears under the Lisbon Treaty of May 6.
Again, why the anonymity?
Two reasons that point to how irrelevant the Irish Dominicans are becoming.
Walking in a town in Ireland yesterday I met a man I know for many years. He 'grew up' with the Dominicans and has been a long-time worshipper in one of our churches.
Yesterday he said, "I can't go there (the Dominican church) any longer. They are doing my head in".
The demonstrations re the stopping of funding for the redevelopment of Dominick Street has meant that people are upset and are also demonstrating. Not a public word, not a whisper from the Dominicans, who are their neighbours and indeed those who administer the parish.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Cyclists seldom kill and maim
It is close to four years since I made the decision to stop driving the car on any sort of long journey.
I have developed a great way of travelling on a weekly basis from West Kerry to my office in Dublin's Camden Street.
I drive the car to Tralee rail station, rail it to Hesuton and cycle from there to work.
In almost four years only on two occasions have I been significantly late. Thank you Irish Rail.
During the June bank holiday I attended the Goldsmith Summer School in Ballymahon, Co Longford and because of our sub-standard public transport infrastructure there was little choice but to drive there from West Kerry.
I am still in shock after the experience. The roads, the rage, the signage, everything about the journey, was hell on earth.
Kilometres of poor quality roads with turns and bends on them that are simply fit for nothing more than horse-drawn carts.
Much of the signposting if it were not so serious would be tremendously funny. But in the signage stakes Athlone must take top prize. Driving from Ballymahon to Kerry I did not see one single sign in or near Athlone directing me towards the south. Then again, with summer here many of our road signs have been covered over with trees and bushes. Wonderful.
But it was the road rage that really drew my attention. Cars tailgating, cars and trucks consistently break the speed limit and then on many occasions, that wonderful Irish greeting, 'the fingers'.
The journey to and from Ballymahon was of nightmare proportions.
During the entire journey I noticed just one Garda speed control in operation.
It was on the Limerick side of Castleisland. I was so relieved to see someone trying to protect us on the roads that I stopped and had a chat with the garda. Indeed, we had a most pleasant conversation. He was in agreement with me on the state of our driving. He was most charming and an oasis in the midst of bedlam. Thank you garda.
After that journey I am amazed how more people are not killed and maimed on our roads.
And then on Bank Holiday Monday I read Ann Marie Hourihane criticise Dublin cyclists who use the footpath to get from place to place. She refers to these cyclists as 'Dublin's menacing fleet of arrogant cyclists'.
Of course it is wrong to break the law and it can be extremely dangerous to cycle on the footpath. But.
May I invite Ms Hourihane to join me cycling from Parnell Square to Camden Street.
I cycle down O'Connell Street but because of a near miss on one occasion and the incredibly badly designed street I have taken to cycling down the central pedestrian area. I cycle slowly and carefully.
You would think there would be a through cycle lane on Dublin's main street. But nothing of the sort. It is a most eclectic arrangement. There are two different types of cycle lanes on the street and there is a section with no cycle lane. The only place for a safe cycle lane in O’Connell Street is down the middle of the thoroughfare.
I am waiting for a garda to stop me. I will be polite and do what I am told. But should I be summoned I intend taking the case to Europe.
The majority of the cycle lanes that are in place are extremely dangerous. They give the cyclist a false security. Most of them are enclosed with broken white lanes, which allow vehicles to straddle them. In many cases the car lanes are so narrow that they have to drive in them.
Ms Hourihane is making a valid observation. But why is it always the underdog, the small person who is picked out and blamed for our woes, whatever they are.
How many people have been killed by drivers of motorised vehicles this year and how many have been killed by cyclists?
Ms Hourihane also writes, “Dublin cyclists travel on the pavement as a matter of simple routine”. That is simply not true.
Statistics are not always lies.
I have developed a great way of travelling on a weekly basis from West Kerry to my office in Dublin's Camden Street.
I drive the car to Tralee rail station, rail it to Hesuton and cycle from there to work.
In almost four years only on two occasions have I been significantly late. Thank you Irish Rail.
During the June bank holiday I attended the Goldsmith Summer School in Ballymahon, Co Longford and because of our sub-standard public transport infrastructure there was little choice but to drive there from West Kerry.
I am still in shock after the experience. The roads, the rage, the signage, everything about the journey, was hell on earth.
Kilometres of poor quality roads with turns and bends on them that are simply fit for nothing more than horse-drawn carts.
Much of the signposting if it were not so serious would be tremendously funny. But in the signage stakes Athlone must take top prize. Driving from Ballymahon to Kerry I did not see one single sign in or near Athlone directing me towards the south. Then again, with summer here many of our road signs have been covered over with trees and bushes. Wonderful.
But it was the road rage that really drew my attention. Cars tailgating, cars and trucks consistently break the speed limit and then on many occasions, that wonderful Irish greeting, 'the fingers'.
The journey to and from Ballymahon was of nightmare proportions.
During the entire journey I noticed just one Garda speed control in operation.
It was on the Limerick side of Castleisland. I was so relieved to see someone trying to protect us on the roads that I stopped and had a chat with the garda. Indeed, we had a most pleasant conversation. He was in agreement with me on the state of our driving. He was most charming and an oasis in the midst of bedlam. Thank you garda.
After that journey I am amazed how more people are not killed and maimed on our roads.
And then on Bank Holiday Monday I read Ann Marie Hourihane criticise Dublin cyclists who use the footpath to get from place to place. She refers to these cyclists as 'Dublin's menacing fleet of arrogant cyclists'.
Of course it is wrong to break the law and it can be extremely dangerous to cycle on the footpath. But.
May I invite Ms Hourihane to join me cycling from Parnell Square to Camden Street.
I cycle down O'Connell Street but because of a near miss on one occasion and the incredibly badly designed street I have taken to cycling down the central pedestrian area. I cycle slowly and carefully.
You would think there would be a through cycle lane on Dublin's main street. But nothing of the sort. It is a most eclectic arrangement. There are two different types of cycle lanes on the street and there is a section with no cycle lane. The only place for a safe cycle lane in O’Connell Street is down the middle of the thoroughfare.
I am waiting for a garda to stop me. I will be polite and do what I am told. But should I be summoned I intend taking the case to Europe.
The majority of the cycle lanes that are in place are extremely dangerous. They give the cyclist a false security. Most of them are enclosed with broken white lanes, which allow vehicles to straddle them. In many cases the car lanes are so narrow that they have to drive in them.
Ms Hourihane is making a valid observation. But why is it always the underdog, the small person who is picked out and blamed for our woes, whatever they are.
How many people have been killed by drivers of motorised vehicles this year and how many have been killed by cyclists?
Ms Hourihane also writes, “Dublin cyclists travel on the pavement as a matter of simple routine”. That is simply not true.
Statistics are not always lies.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Goldsmith Summer School
At the Goldsmith Summer School in Ballymahon at the weekend keynote speaker Kevin Myers spoke about the media and how nasty and intrusive it has become.
He pointed out how he finds an increasing nastiness in all forms of media and was scathing in his attack of the Joe Duffy Show. He reminded his listeners of the hype that was created around his famous/infamous column on 'Mothers of Bastards'.
RTE crime correspondent Paul Reynolds spoke of the increasing intrusion by journalists in the private lives of people.
Kevin Myers' analysis of the new world of nastiness has many interesting aspects to it.
Could it not be said that the 'world of nastiness' was always part of the world and the only difference now is that it is no longer private but out in the public forum for public perusal?
The theme of the weekend was 'Journalism is above the media'.
Abbeyshrule, which is circa eight kilometres from Ballymahon is an idyllic spot with the RoyalCanal running through it.
He pointed out how he finds an increasing nastiness in all forms of media and was scathing in his attack of the Joe Duffy Show. He reminded his listeners of the hype that was created around his famous/infamous column on 'Mothers of Bastards'.
RTE crime correspondent Paul Reynolds spoke of the increasing intrusion by journalists in the private lives of people.
Kevin Myers' analysis of the new world of nastiness has many interesting aspects to it.
Could it not be said that the 'world of nastiness' was always part of the world and the only difference now is that it is no longer private but out in the public forum for public perusal?
The theme of the weekend was 'Journalism is above the media'.
Abbeyshrule, which is circa eight kilometres from Ballymahon is an idyllic spot with the RoyalCanal running through it.
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