"Nothing half-hearted about anything I do" - Corbyn

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gave a speech this morning in favour of the UK staying in the EU.

When a reporter suggested his intervention in the referendum debate had been half-hearted, coming after the prime minister has spent weeks criss-crossing the country and speaking to rallies, Corbyn said, to loud applause from the audience: “There’s nothing half-hearted about anything I do.”

Internet abuse

Guardian commissioned research into the 70m comments left on its site since 2006 and discovered that of the 10 most abused writers eight are women, and the two men are black.

Although the majority of its regular opinion writers are white men, it was found that those who experienced the highest levels of abuse and dismissive trolling were not. The 10 regular writers who got the most abuse were eight women (four white and four non-white) and two black men. Two of the women and one of the men were gay. And of the eight women in the “top 10”, one was Muslim and one Jewish.

And the 10 regular writers who got the least abuse? All men.

Kerry Group supports Concern's work in Zambia

The Kerry Group 2015 Annual Report, just published, mentions its support for the Concern RAIN (Realigning Agriculture to Improve Nutrition) project in Zambia.

Since 2011, Kerry Group has been supporting Concern's pioneering work in the Mumbwa District of Zambia.

The Annual Report writes: "Given the fit between the aims of this project and Kerry's objectives on nutrition, we are proud to support their work."

Kerry sponsors a range of activities across the areas of education, arts and sport.

Page 51 of  Kerry Group Annual Report 2015.

All that West Berlin rubbish is back in the new capital

This week's INM Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

Greetings from Berlin.

Some weeks ago I was invited to attend Josi and Andreas' 25th wedding anniversary.

I had officiated at their wedding in Berlin. The three of us got to know one another while I was a Catholic chaplain at the universities in Berlin.  During one summer break approximately 15 of us set off on our bicycles from Berlin and cycled from Dún Laoghaire to Dingle.

Tempus fugit. There is no ferry service now at Dún Laoghaire and probably of more historical importance there is no high concrete wall surrounding the western section of Berlin.

That former enclave for the 'alternative scene', 'drop-outs', those who refused to do military service, the city to which no Aer Lingus plane ever flew, is now the new German capital, changing its face every day with a bigger, brighter and better infrastructure.

Indeed, before the unification and while it was still under the control of the four powers, theoretically a person could have been shot on sight on the streets of Berlin.

Have you ever found yourself meeting a group of people you have not seen in 25 years? It really is extraordinary.

When I arrived in the hall a man and woman were on the stage introducing people. I immediately recognised Josi but did not know the man standing beside her until I was told it was her husband, Andreas.

And then within the next 10 to 15 minutes his face became clearer. The face, the voice of 25/30 years ago. And so it was with others in the hall: some I recognised at once, others took some time for me to put shapes and names on them.

They are all now in their mid-50s with families and children.

We sat down and recalled events of 25/30 years ago. Some remembered certain events and others had no recollection. Strangely, I had no recollection of being at the wedding 25 years ago but I distinctly remember Andreas fixing a puncture on our arrival in Tallaght from Dún Laoghaire. With promptings, events sprang back to memory, things I had long forgotten.

After the initial introduction, we all moved to the church, where we had a religious service. Andreas is a member of a choir in Berlin and they sang at the service.

It was a lovely, inspiring church service with prayers and music. I have never seen such a religious service in Ireland. Or more accurately said, I have never been at such a service in Ireland.

So much has changed in the city since the Wall came down. But there are those who might say Berlin has lost much of its quirkiness. Before it was tucked away, had few enough visitors and there were always rumours of intrigues and conspiracies.

Before the Wall came down West Berlin paid East Berlin to take its waste. The Eastern communist authorities simply dumped it in the ground and now with no Wall the rubbish the West paid to get rid of is back. In fact, close to Schönefeld Airport there is a hill to be seen - thereunder lies much of the old West Berlin rubbish.

I have been struck by the number of cyclists who do not wear helmets or high visibility jackets.Lllll

Guess what, there is no WiFi on Berlin buses or tubes.

We are toying with doing that cycle again. Yes, we are all older but this time it would be from Dingle to Dún Laoghaire - we'd have the prevailing wind on our backs.

And no doubt the rain and wind would still be a talking point. It was 30 years ago.

RTE hosts the two D'Arcys

Fr Brian D'Arcy appeared on RTE's Ray D'Arcy Show on Saturday.

During the interview Fr D'Arcy clearly stated he is not abiding by the rules that were applied to him concerning what he writes for publication. He was among a group of Irish priests who had been sancitoned by the Vatican.

So what do the 'back channel' men  do now? Fr D'Arcy clearly dismissed their shenanigans and disregards their 'edicts'.

What must be going on in the Catholic Church in its nunciatures around the world?

Is it all laughable and if so, who has made it a laughing matter?

If someone, priest or non-priest, is treated in an unjust way are the courts not open to them to right the wrong, national and European?

And is it appropriate for an ambassador to interfere in any way in the wellbeing of a citizen to the country in which she or he is accredited?

Fr John Heuston OP features on 'Sunday: Bowman'

An interview with the late Dominican priest, John Heuston featured this morning on RTE Radio's Bowman: Sunday.

The interview, which took place in Rome, was an excerpt from a 'Highways and Byways' piece by former RTE journalist Donncha Ó Dúlaing.

The interview was at approximately 08.53 and lasts four minutes 20 seconds. Well worth a listen.

Why has the Irish Dominican province not done more in featuring aspects of the life of Fr John Heuston this year? It would have been an ideal opportunity, this the year of the centenary of the 1916 Rising and also the 800th anniversary of the founding of the Dominican Order.

It could have made a great story, linking the life of the Order with an important historical event in the life of Ireland.

Another missed opportunity.

Church burdened by excess of patriarchal culture

History is burdened by the excesses of patriarchal cultures that considered women inferior.

Pope Francis in Amoris Laetitia.

The Catholic Church, the Irish church, religious orders are burdened by the excesses of patriarchal cultures.

How can it be changed?

The sycophancy of church leaders will help change nothing. But what will help is the appointment of open and honest people to jobs of responsibility and leadership.

And that's not happening in the Irish church.

Priests wasting pastoral energy denouncing the world

An excerpt from the National Catholic Reporter on Pope Francis' document, published today.

The pope says the church needs to be "humble and realistic, acknowledging that at times the way we present our Christian beliefs and treat other people has helped contribute to today’s problematic situation."

"We need a healthy dose of self-criticism," states the pontiff. "At times we have also proposed a far too abstract and almost artificial theological ideal of marriage, far removed from the concrete situations and practical possibilities of real families.

"This excessive idealisation, especially when we have failed to inspire trust in God’s grace, has not helped to make marriage more desirable and attractive, but quite the opposite," he continues.

"We have often been on the defensive, wasting pastoral energy on denouncing a decadent world without being proactive in proposing ways of finding true happiness," Francis states later.

"Many people feel that the Church’s message on marriage and the family does not clearly reflect the preaching and attitudes of Jesus, who set forth a demanding ideal yet never failed to show compassion and closeness to the frailty of individuals," he continues.

Amoris Laetitia, hotly anticipated for months, was written by Francis as a response to two back-to-back meetings of Catholic bishops he hosted at the Vatican in 2014 and 2015 on issues of family life.

Funeral service of Guido Westerwelle takes place in Catholic church in Cologne

Last week in the German city of Cologne the funeral service of Guido Westerwelle, a former German Foreign Minister, took place.

The service was conducted in a Catholic church in the city by a senior Catholic priest and a Protestant minister.

Chancellor Angela Merkel gave the eulogy.

Guido Westerwelle was a married homosexual man.

He was a man cut down in his prime and greatly respected by politicians across the political spectrum. 

Frau Merkel spoke in glowing terms of her former colleague, who was in his 50s when he died. She also alluded to the sound advice he gave her and of his great sense of humour.

In many a church in Ireland it can happen that the local priest might refuse Communion to someone who is living in a second relationship and it is usually a woman.

Thank God for a broader/wider church, which opened its doors to Guido Westerwelle.

An era of entitlement

Anecdotal evidence suggests that 70 per cent of people travelling on Travel Passes are not old age pensioners.

Regularlly IrishRail/Bus Éireann/Dublin Bus staff will comment that the current system cannot continue.

They also make the observation of how many people come with their pass, are rude and demand a ticket.

Are we living in an era ofentitlement ?

Dramatic increase in number of people executed n 2015

According to Amnesty International more people were executed in 2015 than in any year in the last 25 years.

With a minimum of 1,634 people executed last year a new record has been made and it is more than 50 per cent up on 2015.

These figures are an estimate as there are no figures from some countries and the figures from China are not a final number.

The majority of executions took place in: USA, 25; Egypt, 22; Chad, 20; Somalia, 25; Saudi Arabia, 158; Iran 977; Irak, 26; Pakistan, 326; China over 1,000; Indonesia, 14.

Panama Papers

Don't the Panama Papers give us a tiny glimpse into the mindset of the 'managing class'?

Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who had called earlier in the day for an independent investigation, told the Guardian: “Three times Downing Street has been asked to provide a full and comprehensive answer. The public has a right to know the truth.

“We need to know the full extent of the links between Britain and the web of tax avoidance and evasion revealed by the Panama Papers at all levels.”

It seems there is something honest anout Jeremy Corbyn.

Music on Turm Straße

 A Berliner finds an alternative way to make music on Berlin's Turm Straße. It prompted a Berliner to quip: "and they tell us there is no one unemployed here".

We are being bombarded with non-stop information

This week's INM Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane
Trains travelling from provincial centres to Dublin on Bank Holiday Monday afternoons are usually crowded.

On Easter Monday I happened to be on one such train.

There was the usual noise and clamour as people got on and off. But once it left Mallow it went non-stop to Dublin Heuston. Within minutes of leaving Mallow it dawned on me how silent the space was.

Why the silence? I looked about. Most of them had their headphones on and were watching and listening to their smart phones and tablets.

It certainly is a great way to while-away travelling time. I noticed the young man in the seat in front of me was watching a film.

But it was the deadly silence on the train that caught my imagination.

I have mentioned it here before in this column how people out and about wearing headphones can so easily be oblivious to the world about them. A passing salutation gets no response as they are closed off from their surroundings.

Is that a good idea?

We are allowing ourselves to be bombarded with non-stop information. Not that long ago we turned on our televisions or radios for the six and nine o'clock news. It's now a matter of 'rolling news'. We always manage to create new slick words to give meaning to new phenomena. There's nothing wrong with that.

But might there be too much 'sound' in our lives? Is there now a minute in the day when we are not being bombarded by sound and visuals coming at us from every angle?

It's worth recalling George Eliot's sentiment: "Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact."

These days we sure do need good filters.

What time have we left to be with our own thoughts? Or what chances have we to work things out for ourselves?

And then how tempting it is to believe without questioning what we see and read on social media. We see or hear someone on social media and are so easily captivated by them. I once heard a colleague laugh at the idea how we all rushed to the television to watch another colleague appear on the news one evening. He quipped: "Why the fuss to see him on the screen when we never bother listening to him when he is sitting in our midst?"

There is some sort of allurement about screens and speakers that seem to fascinate us. And in the meantime it is so easy for us to miss what is right in front of us.

It would be an unwise person who would dismiss all that has happened in technology in the last 20/30 years but there is a place and a time for everything.

We are now in the early days of nature springing into life. So much is unfolding in front of our eyes and ears. To see it happening in real life surely makes more sense than watching and listening to it on the screen.

On Easter Tuesday Brendan O'Connor, who was substituting on RTE's Ryan Turbidy Show, interviewed a young mother, who was stressing how important it is to monitor young children's use of electronic media. Maybe before we monitor what our children are doing we might take stock of how we are using social media. Young children copy their peers and parents too.

It is often baffling to see people drive through beautiful countryside, briefly stopping to take a picture or video and then jump back into the car and drive off.

The real thing is always better.

Apostrophe on a Berlin street

How foreigners can learn all the wrong things. Even the most sophisticated ones. And what's even more bizarre about it is that German does not use an apostophe in the genitive case.

Berlin water prices

An average Berlin family pays more or less the same price for their monthly consumption of water and electricity.

The fun of 'religious life'

There is a custom in 'religious life' whereby members when signing off in letters use the expression 'Fraternally'.

But it seems to 'hide' a reality.

In that 'big bad secular' world it is taken as a given that a registered letter sent to a person's address and signed for will be redirected if the person no longer happens to be living at that address. On the other hand, it will not be accepted and signed for. But not so at many 'religious communities'.

Registered letters, arrive, signed for and thrown in a box and forgotten about. Why does the community not do the honest thing and not sign for the letter and so not accept it? That would be an honest thing to do.

It is awful. And the 'fraternal' sign off is so often a lie and humbug.

And accepting a letter with no intention of delivering it is probably a civil offence. It's certainly not nice, nothing friendly about it. God-like, Christian? But all part of the package. The tip of the iceberg.

Fear can terrorise us and make monsters of us too

Below is the 'Thinking Anew' column in today's Irish Times.

Michael Commane
It’s more or less a cliché at this stage, nevertheless, the sentence from the inaugural presidential address of Franklin D Roosevelt in 1933 is loaded with a wisdom that stands the test of time:

"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is ... fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyses needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

Fear plays a useful role in all our lives. It gives us a sense of protecting ourselves against imminent harm. It would be an unwise person who would place his or her hand in a roaring fire and reasonable parents will always keep a close eye on their young children. Fear prompts us all to protect ourselves and those close to us from danger.

But there is also a fear that terrorises us, as Roosevelt alluded to in his famous speech. And that sort of fear can so easily paralyse us.The people who caused the mayhem in Brussels in Holy Week have created a terrible sense of fear across Europe. And that's part of the purpose in their actions. They want to frighten us and they have frightened us.

It's more or less the same with demagogues. They make great efforts to cause fear in their listeners. Donald Trump in a speech he gave to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee assured his listeners that he would have no hesitation in destroying the enemies of Israel if they put one foot wrong.

It was a carefully crafted speech, in which he stoked up fear. He read it from a teleprompter and all the time pandering to the fear of the Jewish community who worry about their security.

None of us wants to be placed in danger. If we live comfortable lives, then we want to remain secure in our comfort. And once that comfort is threatened we are susceptible in a way that is most unpleasant. We can turn nasty. The goodness in us can so easily be paralysed.

Fear can make monsters of us. It can make us the pawns of powerful demagogues. And it can also make us far too slow to accept any sort of positive or worthwhile development in our lives. 

In the years after the Second Vatican Council there was a tangible atmosphere evident that the Catholic Church was about to experience a new sense of the presence of God in the world.

Of course that particular generation, like all generations has no exclusive rights to anything, including wisdom.

In many ways that sense of new horizons beckoning 'failed' and a younger and newer generation has cast scorn on that earlier vision. 

Especially in priesthood. Many younger priests today consider Vatican Two priests to have failed the church and so there is the temptation on their part to revert to pre-Vatican Two ways in an effort to make the Christian message more plausible. But surely such a retrenchment is the child of fear?

These days ministers of religion are too easily inclined to cast scorn on the secular world. Was the world not always a secular place? And is that criticism of the secular world not also created and driven by fear?

People who are truly Christian will work away and live out their Christianity in the now, all the time believing that irrational and unfounded fear or anything close to fear is simply a waste of time.

In tomorrow's Gospel John tells the reader that the disciples were so afraid they cowered behind closed doors. But the mood changes when Jesus appears in their midst. He talks about enhancing their lives with the power of the Holy Spirit and that life is to be found by believing in his name.

Should our belief in God not be powerful enough to rid us of any whiff of fear? Surely it's a matter of getting on with it and living in the now. All the time relaxing in wonder at God's creation.

More Trump talk

“There has to be some form of punishment” for a woman who chooses to end a pregnancy, Trump said, though he didn’t specify what that might entail. What about consequences for the man who got her pregnant? That’s different, said Trump.

Laois viewed at speed

County Laois from the window of a train travelling at 155km/h.

Since its introduction, the railway has posts every quarter mile. They are known as mileposts. Although Ireland has changed from imperial to metric measure, the railway continues to use the imperial system.

Faith profiles of 1916 leaders

A customer enquired at a well-known bookshop in Limerick requesting a copy of The End of All Things Earthly. He was told the shop had ordered three copies but that they had not yet arrived.

The book, with the sub title, Faith Profiles of the 1916 Leaders is a 95-page read about 16 of the men who were executed for their part in the 1916 Rising.

It is most informative and gives the reader a sense of the times that were in it.

It includes a biography of Seán Heuston.

David Bracken is editor, published by Veritas and sells for €9.99. Well worth a read.

Birthday for a woman born before the 1916 Rising

On Easter Monday Mrs Lally Lawlor celebrated her 101st birthday.

To honour the event her extended family celebrated with her at Ocean View Nursing Home in Camp, West Kerry.

The woman is hale and hearty. But she is a lot more than that. Her smile is infectious. A woman of great grace. She reads the newspaper without glasses and knits.

Lally received her second birthday medal and letter from the President of Ireland.

A woman, who was a year-old baby in Wicklow, when the men of the Rising were executed in Kilmainham Gaol. 

Congrats Lally and a privilege to know you.

Presidential letter and medal.

Lally with her son Tom and daughter-in-law, Marianne, who is John's wife.

Better 'wishy-washy' liberal than principled fanatic

This week's INM Irish regional newspapers' column.

Michael Commane

Anyone who calls someone a 'wishy-washy' liberal does so with every intention of insulting the person.

It's an attempt at saying that the person stands for nothing, has no definite beliefs or principals. It is always said with derogatory intent.

Last Tuesday I spotted a reference to a speech that US Republican front-runner presidential candidate Donald Trump gave to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

What I have seen and heard of Trump up to now has been scary. The world and its mother is talking about the man and how preposterous it would be to elect this man president of the most powerful country in the world. It appears that his chances of ending up in the White House have been ratcheted up.

His speech to AIPAC was a moment in time. He read it from a teleprompter, so it was not a matter of he talking off the top of his head. It was a well-planned speech.

He spoke for 23 minutes, pandering to the crowd, who were roaring and screaming in praise of what he was saying.

Every word of his speech was hate-filled. Trump was looking for the Jewish vote and in doing so, was spitting out words of hate for everyone whom he sees as opposed to Israel. He also spoke most disparagingly about President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Listening to the speech I felt my bias towards the man was influencing how I was reacting. I could not believe my ears to what I was hearing. I strongly recommend you listen to it and watch the man.

He reminded me of another man. The 'other man' expressed great hatred for the Jewish community.

We are living in scary times. Last week we had Brussels. Every day misery and suffering is being inflicted on Syrians. Trouble in Ukraine continues to simmer.

And all the perpetrators of hatred and violence, all those who scream from the rooftops are certain in their views and opinions. The last thing any of these people is is a 'wishy-washy' liberal.When did a 'wishy-washy' liberal cause mayhem and savagery?

All sorts of doctrinaire thinking is dangerous. And the same applies within religions. Once people stand up on their high horses, claiming they are going to save the world and correct all the wrong that has been allowed to creep in, then it's time to batten down the hatches.

It's easy to think that 'fundamentalism' is some sort of disease that afflicts other peoples and religions.

It would seem that there is some sort of 'thing' imprinted deep down in our DNA that can be triggered into action when we find ourselves in particular situations.

And it occurs right across the spectrum of all reality. No religion, no race, no culture, no people, no time in history is exempt.

We have been silly enough to look back at Nazi Germany and that 'other man' and wonder how such a thing could happen. Or we look at the evil of the Inquisition and wonder why.

What are we doing to stop it happening right now?I for one, would much prefer to be a 'wish-washy' liberal than some sort of principled fanatic, who is willing to go to any lengths to reach the 'promised land'.

Unfortunately a 'wishy-washy' liberal is no match for a Bible-thumping fundamentalist.

I've seen too much hurt and savagery.

AIPAC President Lillian Pinkus has apologised for Trump's speech. Chemi Shalev, correspondent for Israel's Haaretz, left the Trump speech in shock and asked how fellow Jews could have applauded his speech.

Brussels politician stresses importance of integration

On BBC Radio 4's Today a politician from Brussels spoke about the importance of integrated accommodation in the city.

He went on to stress the importance of telling the story to women. He said that women have a far greater chance of spending more time with their children, whereas the men may be out and about.

The old adage educate a man and you educate a man, educate a woman and you educate a family.

The Catholic Church and the role of women. 

Colm Toíbín recalls a church of brutality in Wexford

A blessed Easter.

Writer Colm Toíbín was guest on the Miriam O'Callaghan Show this morning.

He recalled his memories of growing up in Wexford and how the Catholic Church behaved. He gave examples of some of the nonsensical and bizarre behaviour. Would they be still doing it today if they got away with it>

It was an awful and terrible behaviour, according to Toíbín.

Shocking terror and nothing at all to do with God surely.

These days the church is simply reaping what it sowed.

Ministers of religion talk about living in secular times and criticising the 'secular world'. Wasn't it always a secular world? It's good to live in a secular world.

What is happening is that the church is losing its temporal power and to that the church should be crying from the rooftops on this Easter Day, Alleluia.

Xi Jinping, Putin and the squabbling US candidates

On March 26, 2000 Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia. He had been acting president before this date.

In the United States Republican presidential candidates Trump and Cruz are engaged in a row concerning the behaviour of their families.

While in China 20 people have been detained for calling for the resignation of President Xi Jinping as general secretary of the Communist Party and head of state.

Russia, China  or the US?

Management classes in different guises.

Olivia O'Leary writes in 'The Guardian' about Irish women

Olivia O'Leary's article in today's Guardian online makes for an interesting read.

http://gu.com/p/4hpea/sbl

LUAS dispute

President of Siptu, Jack O'Connor on radio this morning explained in clear and precise terms the details of the dispute at Transdev.

The spin the public have been spun concerning the LUAS strike is simply shocking.

Yet another example of the behaviour of the management class. An examle too of lazy journalism from media outlets.

A cocktail of drink, military parades, water and trams

The annual 'row' as to whether pubs should be open today, Good Friday, is something of a pathetic game.

It's akin to the rumpus that is being waged as to whether we should pay for the water we use.

Today, Good Friday, from Aachen in the west to Dresden in the east and from Flensburg in the north to Rosenheim in the south, doors are closed in Germany, where it is a public holiday.

And then on Easter Sunday we are to have the biggest military parade ever in Dublin, where trams will not roll, due to industrial action.

North Korea showcased its biggest ever military parade some months ago.

According to Central Statistics Office figures 35,300  Irish people emigrated in the 12 months prior to April 2015. And that was a decrease from the previous year. 

A funny little country.

Brussels and Belfast bombs

Northern Ireland journalist Robert McLiam Wilson, now living in France, said on the Sean O'Rourke RTE programme this morning that the perpetrators of the bombings in Brussels and Paris give the likes of Gerry Kelly a Mahatma Gandhi-like status.

It's more rounding up than rounding down for the shops

It seems most likely that retailers are winning the 'war' when it comes to the new rounding down/rounding up dispensation.

Keep your receipts for one week and you will see that the advantage lies with the shop.

With the footfall that stores such as Aldi, Lidl, SuperValu and Dunnes have, a cent or two here and there adds up. Its numbers, stupid.

Universal prinicpal: the little person never wins.