Keeping clergy in business

Interesting piece from Richard Rohr.

A prophet is one who keeps God free for people and who keeps people free for God. Both of these are much needed and vital tasks.

God has been imprisoned and made inaccessible, and far too many people have been shamed and taught guilt to keep us clergy in business.

Our job became “sin management.” Sadly the laity bought into this negative story line.

That is what happens when priests are not informed by prophets.

Masha Ayokhyna

Masha Alyokhina, a member of the Russia anti-Putin group Pussy Riots was interviewed on BBC's Newsnight last evening.

She spent two years in prison in Siberia, which she said had all the horror and cruelty of a Russia prison of 100 years ago.

An impressive woman. 

She put Putin and Trump on the one team and sees the Russian President as the face behind an oppresive Russia 'conglomerate'

Living in the now

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

Michael Commane
On this Tuesday, 50 years ago, September 15, 1967 a group of young men began their novitiate year in the Dominican Priory in Pope’s Quay, Cork. There were nine of us. One left at the end of the novitiate, five during the following six years. Three of us were ordained priests. One resigned from priestly ministry shortly after ordination. There are still two of us Dominican priests.

There’s little point in living in the past or giving it more importance than it deserves. But experience is a great teacher and surely we can learn from the past.

What’s the point in being concerned about the future? A wise man once said to me that the things we  worry about seldom if ever happen.

All we have is the now.

I don't remember much, if anything, from the philosophy classes, but I clearly recall hearing a lecturer say one day that all we have is the ‘nunc’. It always sounds learned to say something in Latin. Then again, I’m wondering would I have remembered it had he simply said that all we have is the now?

The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy says about the now: ‘It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power’.

A fellow Dominican writes a daily Gospel commentary called goodnews.ie. On one occasion earlier this month he recalled how as a child his local priest was always talking about life after death. Now as an adult he wonders why the priest did not talk about the now.

It might be easy to talk about the past, hope for or worry about the future but the now is the time in which we live our lives. But that does not mean we live lives of resignation.

Of course when people live in shocking surroundings and conditions it makes sense to do everything possible to change things and improve their lot.

In early  September, cycling in Dublin between 08.15 and 09.00, I saw children heading for school. School had reopened after the long summer holidays and on every footpath, at every street corner children were heading for school. All dressed in new school uniforms. Some were walking, more on bicycles, others on scooters. And then the toddlers heading to school for the first time. They were with their parents, a special day in the life of parents and children.

But just to observe it all, fleetingly from my bicycle, there was something simply delightful about it. All one could do was to wish them well. So important that they enjoy the day that was in it and make the best of it.

Some days later, this time earlier in the morning, 07.10 to be exact,  I saw someone on the footpath, waiting to cross the road. She was checking her mobile phone. 

Looking at her reminded me of the news report about how Irish Rail had recorded an increase in the number of accidents of people getting on and off trains. It seems they miss their step because they are on their mobile phones.

Mobile phones distract us from what we are doing and in that sense they take us away from the now, they take our attention off the present moment.

Mindfulness is about living in the now, being actively conscious of what we are doing and appreciating it.

There's so much to see and appreciate in front of our eyes. Fantasy world never lives up to the real thing.

The gems that stare us in the face. It's great when we spot them and cease the moment, carpe diem.

Football history in Germany

Football history was made in Germany yesterday.

For the first time a woman refereed a Bundesliga game.

Bibiana Steinhaus was the referee in the 1 - 1 game between Hertha BSC and Werder Bremen.

Steinhaus became the first woman to referee a top-tier match in the German, English, French, Italian or Spanish leagues when she refereed the Bundesliga game in Berlin.

Pope Francis makes significant liturgical changes

From the National Catholic Reporter of September 9.

To think of the money that has been wasted on the current Missal that is used in Ireland.

What will and can the Irish bishops now say?

Why did the Irish bishops allow happen what happened? It's worth noting that the German bishops did not change the Missal.

There are 32 words in the Opening Prayer of today's Mass, 44 in last Sunday's. Who sanctioned such nonsense?

And we might even be allowed call it the 'Opening Prayer' again. 'They' and their 'Collects'.

It has all been a preposterous exercise that has done far more harm than good.

Pope Francis has decentralized authority over how the texts used in the Catholic Church's liturgies are translated from Latin into local languages, moving most responsibility for the matter from the Vatican to national bishops' conferences.

In a motu proprio issued Sept. 9, the pontiff says he is making a change to the church's Code of Canon Law so that the Second Vatican Council's call to make the liturgy more understandable to people is "more clearly reaffirmed and put into practice."

The motu proprio, given the title Magnum Principium, modifies two clauses of Canon 838. The rewritten clauses say simply that the Vatican is to "recognize" adaptations of Latin liturgical texts approved by national bishops' conferences.

A comparison of the Italian text of the prior and new versions of the canon makes the change clear. Where the Italian says the Vatican was tasked before with "authorizing" all liturgical translations, it is now asked simply to "review" translations made by the bishops' conferences.

That review will partly come through a process of confirming that the translations appropriately reflect the intent of the original Latin, known as a confirmatio.

The Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said in a note accompanying the release of the motu proprio that the confirmatio process "leaves responsibility for the translation, presumed to be faithful, to the pastoral and doctrinal munus of the bishops' conference."

The congregation adds that the confirmatio "presupposes a positive evaluation of the faithfulness and congruence of the produced texts with respect to the Latin text."

The process of crafting translations of Latin texts into local languages has been one of the most controversial and acrimonious in the Catholic church since the end of the Council, held from 1962-65.

Debate has centered over whether such translations should take a word-to-word literal approach in conveying the meaning of the Latin texts, or focus on adapting those texts to read more fluently in modern languages.

A 2001 instruction from the Vatican's worship congregation, Liturgiam authenticam, specified that translations from Latin were to be made "in the most exact manner, without omissions or additions in terms of their content."

The instruction was a major reversal of the worship congregation’s original postconciliar translation rules, spelled out in 1969 in its document Comme le Prevois, which encouraged translators to adapt the original Latin to contemporary linguistic and cultural conditions in their countries.

To put in place the new approach to translations in the English-speaking world, the Vatican congregation established a new committee in 2001, known as Vox Clara, to evaluate specifically English-language liturgical translations. The committee assumed much of the authority that had been given to the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, which had followed the rules as put forth in Comme le Prevois.

Using the norms put forth in Liturgiam authenticam, the U.S. church adopted a new English translation of the Roman Missal in late 2011. That translation has faced criticism from those who find its use of English archaic and far from poetic.

Francis acknowledges the acrimony that has surrounded liturgical translations in his September 9 motu proprio, saying "it is no surprise that difficulties have arisen between the Episcopal Conferences and the Apostolic See."

"In order that the decisions of the Council about the use of vernacular languages in the liturgy can also be of value in the future a vigilant and creative collaboration full of reciprocal trust between the Episcopal Conferences and ... the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is absolutely necessary," he continues.

The changes to the Code of Canon Law were approved by Francis September 3 and will go into effect on October 1.

The Vatican released notice of the changes as the pope is on a four-city visit to Colombia. 

When the news was first announced, Francis was preparing to travel to Medellin, the site of a landmark 1968 meeting of the regional Latin American Episcopal Conference that stressed the role regional and national bishops' conferences play in the life of church.

Cockburn's standing cycling

A piece from The Irish Times yesterday on words spoken at the funeral Mass of Don Cockburn.

Alleluia for 'forbidden' eulogies at funeral Masses. Otherwise most likely we would never have heard such wonderful tales.

After tha heavy rain in Dublin yesterday the good Don would have been cycling standing up.  Saddles were soaked wet.

His son John said his father, who died this week aged 87, was a devout Catholic who was “kind, constant, generous, beautiful, eccentric, enigmatic, infuriating, deep and unknowable”.

To laughter, he recalled his father pushing his car a short distance from their home at 5am as he left for RTÉ so as not to wake the neighbours, and to save the battery.

Mr Cockburn was a cyclist described on Twitter as the man who probably invented the cycle to work scheme. He was also green and recycling long before it came into vogue, including holding onto a  Supervalu bag, with a hole in it, for about 15 years, his funeral heard. He sometimes cycled standing up to save the seat of his “good trousers” and his gardening was chaotic and based on the “Edenprinciple – let God do most of the work”, his son said.

Rowan on Cormac

This week's issue of 'The Tablet' concentrates on the life and times of Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, who died in a London hospital on Friday, September 1.

The piece below is from the tribute paid by Rowan Williams to the late Cormac Murphy-O'Connor.

Not-so-skinny Aeroflot

In the Moscow Court yesterday Aeroflot cabin crew won their case against the airline.

See blogpost of Monday, September 4.

Piano playing at Pearse

Great initiative at Pearse Station Dublin.

As and from today rail passengers arriving and departing at Pearse Station Westland Row, Dublin will be greeted by live piano playing music.

Well done to Iarnród Éireann and the piano tuner whose idea it is and who is playing the piano.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

On this day, September 7 in 1986 Desmond Tutu became the first black man to be head of the Anglican Communion in South Africa.

In 2002  Archbishop Tutu was named an honorary patron of the University Philosophical Society at Trinity College Dublin.

He received the award for his contribution to world peace and discourse.

Trump and evangelicals

A piece in yesterday's Guardian on why US evangelicals support President Trump.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/05/donald-trump-why-do-evangelicals-support-him?CMP=share_btn_link

Jean Vanier offers hope

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

Michael Commane
Religions seem to have the ability to attract the oddest and weirdest of people, or so it seems.

Last week Gurmeet Ram Rahim, a self-styled 'God Man', was jailed for 10 years having been found guilty of raping two woman in his ashram.

The Indian claims to have 60 million devotees and surrounds himself with 400 castrated bodyguards. Rahim claims castration brings his followers 'closer to God'.

The guilty verdict and subsequent prison sentence has caused a furore in India.

Elsewhere I read a report about a Catholic priest in the US who was found guilty of having images of child pornography on his computer. He argued that he was angry with God. Why? He lost money playing poker.

On Monday, August 28 the Joe Duffy Show aired the story of Marty Morrissey talking at Knock and the Paddy Power ad/image on the gable end of the basilica which featured the images of Sam Maguire and Our Lady.

A great story for the Joe Duffy Show. All possible angles were discussed. The Paddy Power representative admitted he would not dare try such a stunt at a mosque.

Christianity, including Catholicism is a broad church, made up of so many different parts, customs and rituals. It’s a great mix but there is always the temptation or inclination to take refuge in ‘border-line’ activity, placing it centre stage, when that is not its place.

Might it be that because of the fall-off in religious practice some sort of vacuum is being created and that that is being filled by a worrying zealotry? Observing the modus operandi of ‘pious groups’ one gets the impression that when they speak they are certain God agrees. They believe they are infallible. Or maybe it is that I am listening to and reading all the wrong material.

Just the other day a wise young woman told me to stay away from all the right-wing religious magazines that appear at the back of churches. I should take her advice.

But my faith was restored. I came across an interview with Jean Vanier. Vanier, who is 88, has given his life to helping people with special needs. He founded L'Arche. Today there are 143 of these communities around the world and he has spent his life living in L'Arche communities among people with special needs.

He sees prayer as being twinned with action. The interviewer, Maggie Ferguson, points out how after a day's activity Vanier slips into the small candlelit chapel next to his house to end his day in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Coincidentally, after reading the piece I discovered that a Dominican colleague and friend has spent many years associated with Jean Vanier and assures me he is an impressive man.

In the interview there are nuggets of inspiration. He tells Ms Ferguson that to 'love people is to reveal to them that they are more beautiful than they dare believe'.

Elsewhere, he suggests that when you let people who are 'no good' into your life, you are transformed.

I needed that read because I'm at my wit's end trying to have patience with so many sides of religion that I find difficult to take.

Vanier even has something to say on hell: 'I can't speak about hell, but wasn't it John Paul II who said that, even if hell exists, it may be empty.'

There are many Jean Vaniers in the world. Thank God.

Skinny Aeroflot

An interesting story in today's Guardian.

A similar style behaviour goes on everywhere. Some places do it with more subtlety. 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/04/aeroflot-gender-discrimination-case-reaches-court-in-moscow?CMP=share_btn_link

Fifty years ago today

On this day 50 years ago, September 4, 1967 nine young men knocked at the door of the Dominican Priory, Pope's Quay Cork to begin their noviciate.

They were:

John Brennan, Cork; Martin Ennis, Dublin; Billy Lee, Cork; Michael Commane, Dublin; Dan Murphy, Macroom; Kenrick Ali, Trinidad; Francis Monaghan, Straffan; John Conaghy, Drogheda, and Martin Boyle, Galway.

Francis Monaghan left at the end of the noviciate. John Brennan, Billy Lee, Kenrick Ali and Dan Murphy departed some years later. John Conaghy left close to ordination.

Martin Ennis, Michael Commane and Martin Boyle were ordained priests.

Shortly after ordination Martin Ennis resigned from ministry.

Merkel versus Schulz

In the great debate between Angela Merkel and Martin Schulz this evening across a number of German television stations it seems there is no big change.

Merkel won on competency and trust. Martin Schulz proved closer to the people.

The Chancellor proved the more convincing. Merkel 55 per cent, 35 per cent for Schulz.

Fifty four per cent said Schulz performed better than expected.

But there was no knock-out punch.

One seasoned commentator said that it was no real debate, too much harmony and Germany is set for another 'Grand Coalition'.

Der Spiegel's Christaine Hoffmann believes that the situation is far more 'fragile' than the polls are saying. She also thinks that there is a large proportion of voters who are keeping their cards close to their chest.

After the debate many said it was certainly not a duel, instead a duet.

Priests and communicating

On Friday the Guardian carried a story about a new book on Pope Francis, which will be published this week.

Pope Francis says he attended a psychoanalyst when he was Jesuit provinical during the military dictatorship in Argentina.

It should be compulsory for every provinical to receive psychotherapy/psychoanalysis.

Francis also admits to being in a cage in the Vatican, 'but not spiritually'.

In the interviews in the book he has a few words to say about priests who are 'rigid and afraid to communicate'.

A wise man, who knows a thing or two, is our Pope Franics.

Too much fake in China except corruption - Ze-kiun

Retried archbishop of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, who grew up in Shanghai, is nervous of the current negotiations between China and the Vatican.

He says he is not opposed to any deal, rather he is opposed to a bad deal.

Economically China is going to have trouble. There is too much that is fake, except for corruption.

Zen goes on to say that everything is unpredictable in China and refuses to predict whether or when Communism will fall.

We may have to wait 50 years, or it may be five weeks. Anything is possible because we have this continuous power struggle.

President Xi Jinping is becoming so powerful that China watchers are talking of a second coming of Mao Zedong.

With satchel to school

The magic that's right in front of our eyes.

On every footpath, at every corner there were children heading to school this morning. Some walking, others cycling, more being carried on a bicycle by a parent and just one to be seen on a foot-scooter.

That's how it looked across Dublin City this morning between 08.15 and 08.50. And that was probably the advance guard.

Of course there were those in cars too but they made no stir on the city this morning. They could not be seen inside the metal.

And even a 'Lolly-Pop-Man  guiding children across the road could be seen at a school near Donore Avenue.

All the infrastructure we simply take for granted.

When the school starters among those youngsters heading to school today become parents it's most likely I'll be dead. Maybe not. Who knows? Not even the theologians.

Anniversary of the darkest of days in European history

Today 78 years ago, September 1, 1939 German troops invaded Poland and so began World War II. A war that cost between 50 and 80 million lives.

So, it is sad and poignant that on such an anniversary Britain is conducting discussions to leave the European Union.

Also on September 1, 1939 Hitler signed an order to begin the systematic euthanasia of mentally ill and disabled people.

But because of strong opposition from the Catholic Church Hitler's euthanasia plans were stymied.

Sebastian Gorka obscenities

Sebastian Gorka, former adviser to US President Donald Trump was interviewed on Channel 4 News last evening. It is believed he was fired from his job at the weekend.

Below are direct quotes from the interview.

This man [Trump] is unstoppable. This is going to be an eight year presidency.

You're not listening. 

You're clearly not listening. [To the interviewer]

A low level flunkey in the comms room. [A reference to why people are saying he was fired]

It's the left who have normalisd violence. The KKK are a joke.

Just keep spinning your left-wing wet dreams. You're clearly not listening.

A glmpse into the leadership team of the United States administration.

But his comments obviously suit the style and behaviour of the US President.

The language, style and behaviour of the man was obnoxious, nasty too. And add to that his arrogance.

It was shocking, worrying too.

Dressed for the occasion?

A picture tells how many stories?

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arriving in Texas yesterday to examine the damage from Hurricane Harvey.

Can Pope Francis bring about aggiornamento?

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

Michael Commane

I was ordained a priest in 1974. Paul VI was pope and the new wind of Vatican II was in the air.

There was a noticeable enthusiasm about. Paul VI was quietly but surely seeing to it that the windows and doors of the Catholic Church would stay open, windows and doors that Pope John XXIII had begun to open.

I lived in Rome between 1974 and 1976 and it was exhilarating to see signs of a new open church appearing.

Youth brings with it enthusiasm and excitement, also that feeling or belief that the old order can be changed and new horizons are within sight.

The mix of youthful vigour and a hope that a staid church was disappearing made it exciting times.

But there were the backwoodsmen, scared of any change.

However, the wind seemed to be in favour of change. It was as if a head of steam had built up and that it would now be difficult to close shut the doors and windows. It had taken time, patience and resolve to loosen some of those rusty hinges, but the hinges were falling off and the windows and doors were blowing in the wind. It was a time of aggiornamento or renewal.

Sacristies can be strange places and a lot of clerical gossip goes on in them. As a young priest visiting an unfamiliar sacristy it was intriguing to meet priests whom I had never met before. One could quickly enough sense the mood and know whether or not the changes happening were being appreciated and accepted.

Albino Luciani was elected pope on August 26, 1978. This smiling Italian, who had been loved and appreciated as patriarch in Venice was going to take the reforms to their next step.

It came to an abrupt end 33 days later when the world learned of the death of the 'Smiling Pope'.

Within a short time of Karol Wojtyla, archbishop in Cracow, being elected pope, I noticed a change when visiting sacristies. I'd often hear a certain style of priest say that this new pope would return the church to its ‘correct’ course. It made me nervous.

A centralised bureaucratic church was being 'restored'. The old guard were quietly smiling. And on it went, ever so slowly. But people, full of enthusiasm and hope, believed there could be no going back.

Alas, they were wrong. And for 35 years the church has been in a process of retrenchment.

As a German teacher I was interested in the idea of a pope from Bavaria. Benedict seemed a kindly man but there was too much of a German about him to open doors and windows.

Have we now come full circle? Is Pope Francis in the process of dismantling those hinges again?

On the day following the election of Donald Trump as US president Cardinal Raymond Burke said he believed that Trump could 'heal' America. Burke's comment was as ludicrous as the liturgical vestments he wears. Fortunately, Francis has told Burke to take a hike.

A Trump-like phenomenon has been germinating in the church over the last 35 years.

Francis is proving himself strong and wily, but he will need all the blessings God will give him to help make our church truly the Body of Christ, a friendly home for the ordinary 'Joe Soap', people like me, who are desperately looking for a kind place, somewhere where love and gentleness play a far bigger role than orthodoxy and procedure.

The church is the people of God, a place of mercy, where there is a warm and genuine welcome for the broken and fragile.

Policing personal data

The Irish Times on Saturday carried an interesting report on the need for a debate over the Public Services Card (PSC).

It's the card familiar to people who receive monies from the State in the form of unemployment benefit, pay related benefits, dole, the free travel card, etc.

It is not required by law to have the card and the Garda is specifically precluded from requesting an individual to produce a PSC as proof of identity.

But a spokesperson for the Data Protection Commissioner has admitted that the means of communicating what data was being collected, for what purpose and with whom it may be shared needed to be addressed adequately.

If there is a concern about how the State compiles and stores data on its citizens what is the situation with organisations, churches, instutions in how they manage information on their members?

What legal rights has any organisation to store data on another person?

What's the law concerning dioceses and religious congregations keeping files on their members?

Who has access to these files? What rights have the members to know how the files are being managed? Are there any sanctions on the mismanagement of these files? What happens if an individual is refused access to her/his file or there be an inordinate length of time between request and delivery?

Are the files properly maintained and what levels of security surround files on individual members?

Are there State rules and regulations concerning these issues? Is there a regulatory body policing the custodians of such files?

It is a worrying and grave issue that requires immediate State regulation and policing. 

Religions' weird followers

A self-styled Indian 'God Man' is creating something of a stir in India.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been found guilty of raping two women at his ashram,the sect's headquarters.

As a result of the verdict there have been clashes in Punjab and Himachal.

It is said Singh has 60 million devotees and surrounds himself with 400 castrated bodyguards.

He claims castration brings his followers 'closer to God'.

In the US a priest was found guilty of having images of child pornography on his computer. He said that he was annoyed with God, he having lost money playing poker.

In Ireland in a right-wing religious magazine a young woman, who is raped, is admired for not talking about it in public.

Religions seem easily to attract unusual people, ideas and customs.

Anniversary of the election of Pope John Paul I

Today is the anniversary of the election of Albino Luciani as pope.

Sixty five-year-old Cardinal Luciani was patriarch in Venice when he was elected pope on August 26, 1978.

He took the name John Paul I.

Thirty three days later the world learned of his death. He was succeeded by Karol Wojtyla, archbishop of Cracow.

Luciani was first appointed a bishop at age 45 when Pope John XXIII ordained him bishop of Vittorio Veneto in 1958.

Albino Luciani is the last Italian pontiff and was known as the 'Smiling Pope'.

Trump among the 'fools'

Overheard in a cafe in Dublin's Abbey Street:

Customer to attendant: Do you think Trump is a fool?

Attendant with a smile: Of coure, they're all fools

Disappearing daylight

Observing the days closing in is horrible and that's exactly what's happening in Ireland at present.

This morning street lighting was still on at 06.15, at least in parts of Dublin. The sensors spotted that at 06.21 there was enough daylight so off went the lights.

It is now galloping towards darkness, early and late in the day.

And not a chance of changing it by one second.

Not nice.

Clearly Bus Éireann has multiple accounting systems

This story in today's Irish Independent makes for an interesting read.

Earlier this year Bus Éireann drivers shut down the company in an extended industrial dispute.

The public was given every detail of the exact sums of monies drivers earned, down to the last cent. We were told the company was insolvent.

And then this. Obviously because of the largesse the pubic is not being told how much they are giving to the former ceo. All tax money, from every tax payer, ironically, including Bus Éireann drivers.

But that's how it always works, everywhere.

Anne-Marie Walsh

 
 

The Department of Transport queried the severance package that was given to the former chief executive of Bus Éireann Martin Nolan, who quit ahead of a major cost-cutting plan earlier this year.

Documents released following a Freedom of Information request reveal that senior department officials had asked the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to help them with questions that they had in relation to the calculation of the "proposed settlement". 

However, they were told that it was up to them to satisfy themselves that the details were "consistent with good governance" and any contractual obligations.

"We are not aware of the negotiations/agreement between the individual concerned and the company giving rise to below [the settlement]," said an official from the Department of Public Expenditure.

The two departments have refused to give details of the amount that was paid, on the basis that it was "personal information".

Mr Nolan stepped down a year before he was due to depart following the recruitment of senior executive Ray Hernan to implement some €7m in cuts to the payroll for the workforce of 2,600.

This led to a bitter dispute with unions, and strikes.

Bus Éireann was warned against giving senior executives "excessive" voluntary redundancy deals.

Wall art

Appearing on walls in Dublin postal districts  6 and 14.

Nice.

John Snow on Grenfell

Channel 4's News' anchorman Jon Snow talks in Edinburgh n the Grenfell fire.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/aug/23/jon-snow-grenfell-mactaggart-media-diversity?CMP=share_btn_link

RTE pays out large salaries for poor English

Congrats to the new Rose of Tralee, Jennifer Byrne, the Offaly Rose.

Interviewing Ms Byrne, at one stage RTE's Dáithí Ó Sé was joking about her father travelling to Trinidad to watch her compete in a sporting competition and said: ".... he wouldn't have went there.........."

Is it that the past participle is simply changing or is it that grammar at RTE leaves much to be desired.

At least it's annoying to hear.

Yesterday Ryan Tubridy referred to something as being 'sh..e'.

And then the salaries.