Happenings in Poland

What is the Catholic Church saying about what is going on in Poland?

What are the views of the Polish Dominicans to what is happening?

Below is an extract from Timothy Garton Ash in the Guardian.  

Poland, the pivotal power in post-communist central Europe, is in danger of being reduced by its recently elected ruling party to an illiberal democracy. 

Basic pillars of its still youthful liberal democracy, such as the constitutional court, public service broadcasters and a professional civil service, are suddenly under threat. 

The voices of all allied democracies, in Europe and across the Atlantic, must be raised to express their concern about a turn with grave implications for the whole democratic west.

Catholic Church devoid of communication skills

What is it about the Catholic Church and communications?

Last week literature was distributed dealing with Catholic Schools Week 2016.

It is an expensive package. Pages and pages on the subjct.

Guess what? It appears there is no mention telling the reader when the week takes place. And if there is it must be written in tiny font in some obscure place.

But it is so typical.

A religious congegration runs a website that writes 1970's and abbreviates the plural of brothers to Br's. Its general design and look is simply shocking. And the information it gives is generally a long time out of date. It's embarrassing.

Everything about it is unattractive. And to add to the nonsense of it all, there seems to be no shortage of money behind the website.

Has it something to do with the church thinking it knows best?

It's often joked that you can tell the status of a country from its banknotes: if the president's face is on the note then it's sure to be a dictatorship. In that context it's well worth checking out some Irish diocesan websites.

Below is what appears to be the welcome note to Catholic Schools Week 2016. Any mention of when it is taking place?

Baptism - an introduction to the Christian community

'Thinking Anew' column in today's Irish Times

Michael Commane
Tomorrow is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Jesus being baptised. It sounds a strange one. Why should Jesus  need to be baptised?   

Baptism in Ireland has become something of a political/social football. It's a subject for the commentariat to opine about. It evokes comments from bishops and the usual “talking heads” are discussing it with great passion.

Of course I am referring to how baptism is being linked to education. A child baptised in the Christian faith is on the inside track when it comes to obtaining a place in a local national school

Is this what baptism has become?

I have often stood at the back of a church before a baptism, observed those attending the sacrament and wondered what exactly was it all about. But then I also think of an older dispensation when children were baptised immediately after birth. 

The reason behind such a practice was that if the child died without baptism then it well might happen that their soul would not go straight to heaven.

Were those times, was that style of 'theology' any less absurd than what is being practised at present? For an answer maybe one should toss a coin.

A week ago I was at a funeral Mass in Tralee of a former newspaper colleague. 

The parish priest celebrated the Mass and everything about the sacrament on that day had an air of faith, a sense of the Divine about it. The Mass was – of course – in English and was said according to post Vatican II liturgy.

For the sacraments to convey a glimpse of what they signify and what they bring about, all that is required is a genuine Christian faith shared by those who are present. It was as clear that day  in Tralee  that the priest was a man of faith, a man of kindness too.

The seven sacraments might well be called the mission statement of the church. That will not stop latterdaypharisees and scribes who will give you chapter and verse on how they are to be celebrated and explain who is and who is not “worthy” to receive them.

At the baptism of Jesus, John explains he is not worthy to untie his sandal, and yet Jesus presents himself for baptism.

Baptism is above all, the sacrament that makes us members of the Christian community. You might say if gives us the fob to open the gate and allow us join with others in 'sharing' a common belief.

As to who should get baptised? Children are baptised in the name of their parents, more or less in the same way nationality is bestowed on someone at birth. Maybe the sacrament, all the sacraments, need to be divested of all the tricks of power and control that surround them.

If people come to church requiring baptism and give the impression that they know nothing whatsoever about the sacrament, whose fault is that? Why does that happen? 

Might it be that there is something dysfunctional right at the heart of the Christian community? Might it be that the men in 'blazers' have created a 'system' that is simply no longer fit for purpose?

Tomorrow's feast is at the heart of what it means to be a member of the Christian communion. If we are having problems with it and its administration, maybe it's time we sat down and had an open and honest conversation about what it means to be a Christian in the society in which we live.

Maybe much of the talk about this first sacrament is about power and control and nothing at all to do with Christian values. Baptism is all about becoming a member of the Christian community. Once baptised we become a participant in the life of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The nasty games an army plays on poor soldiers

The story below appears in today's Guardian.

Doesn't it say something about an army and about the management class. And then the polite words of apology, the sophistication, all so articulate and 'kind'. All preposterous. And this is the barbarity meted out to 'their own'.

How must they treat their enemy? The British army has apologised to the family of a young soldier who died of heat illness after being subjected to an unlawful punishment known as “beasting” at a Wiltshire barracks.

Gavin Williams, a member of 2nd Battalion the Royal Welsh Regiment, collapsed in 2006 after being forced to take part in vigorous marches and then work out in a gym on a searingly hot summer’s day.

After a six-week inquest, the coroner ruled on Friday that the “beasting” was unlawful and concluded that the “chain of command” knew – or at least should have known – the practice was taking place.

Alan Large also said he believed Williams, 22, who was punished for setting off a fire extinguisher during an officers’ ball, could have been saved had his fellow soldiers recognised he was suffering from heat illness.

Outside Salisbury coroner’s court an army spokesman said it accepted there was a “culture of unofficial punishments” at the time of Williams’ death. Army let all of us down, says mother of soldier who died after 'beasting'. Brigadier John Donnelly, the army’s head of personal services, said: “I apologise for the failings that led to Gavin’s death and accept responsibility for them.

“Our thoughts are with Gavin’s family and friends, particularly his mother, Debra, her partner, Adrian, and Gavin’s sister, Zeta. This inquest has been a difficult time for them and I pay tribute to the dignity that they have shown.

“We acknowledge that there was a culture of unofficial punishments within 2 R Welsh at the time of Gavin’s death. This is unacceptable, and was unacceptable. We have already conducted our own inquiry into the incident and made a number of improvements to try to ensure that it does not happen again, which the coroner has recognised.

“We will now study the coroner’s conclusion carefully to ensure we continue to do all that we can to prevent such a tragedy occurring in the future, for which we are truly sorry.”

Williams’ mother, who has campaigned for almost a decade to find out what happened to her son, said he had been the victim of “inhuman and degrading” treatment.

“What happened to Gavin was wrong, plain and simple. He was killed by the way in which his fellow soldiers chose to punish him unlawfully – to beast him – for nothing more than a silly prank. The nature of that beasting was so inhuman and degrading that it cannot be tolerated in any civilised world.  

“The coroner’s conclusions and findings demand urgent and. careful attention of the highest ranks within the army and I look. to them to act on those findings without delay. Described as a “gentle giant”, Williams found himself in trouble after setting off the extinguisher during a drunken night at Lucknow barracks in July 2006.

The battalion adjutant, Capt Mark Davis, ordered that Williams be brought before him “hot and sweaty”. On one of the hottest days of the year, Williams was “yakked” – forced to take part in vigorous exercise that involved him marching at quick pace and on the spot.

He was then taken to Davis, who stripped him of his regimental cap badge. Next he was marched to a gym where he was forced to do yet more exercise and taken back to a guardroom carrying a weighted bag.

He later died in hospital where tests showed that his temperature had soared to 41.7C, well above the norm of 37C. The coroner said Williams died from a combination of exertion, hyperthermia, restraint and use of ecstasy, traces of which were found in his body.

Large made it clear he had concluded “beasting” was an unlawful punishment. He said it involved no paperwork, no risk assessment and no chance for the subject to make representations.

During the inquest, officers including Capt Davis, who is now a lieutenant colonel, said they did not know “beasting” was taking place. But the coroner said there had been no attempt to hide the practice from superiors.

He said he was satisfied Davis did know informal punishments were happening, and it was “most unlikely” that other officers did not also know. He said he believed “beastings” took place around once a week.

Delivering a narrative conclusion, Large said: “Gavin died as the result of the imposition of unofficial physical punishment in the form of a marching drill and physical exercise conducted on a very hot day.

“This punishment was part of a system of such unofficial punishments operating in the battalion which the chain of command failed to identify or prevent.”

Large told the inquest that after Williams’ death there had been clarification over the sort of drills and gym sessions that soldiers could be ordered to take part in, and risk assessments must now be carried out. Changes had also been made to how soldiers were taught about heat illness.

The Williams inquest has re-focused attention on the British army’s understanding of the condition. The topic hit the headlines last year when an inquest heard how three highly fit SAS recruits had collapsed and died during a test on the Brecon Beacons on a hot day.

The issue of army culture will come to the fore again next month when a new inquest is held into the death of Pte Cheryl James, 18, who was one of four recruits who died of gunshot wounds at Deepcut barracks in Surrey between 1995 and 2002 amid claims of bullying and abuse.