Today's Irish Star prints the words uttered by Tommy Tiernan at Electric Picnic.
The Archbishop of Dublin has to be complimented for expressing concern about the remarks allegedly made by Tommy Tiernan.
Tiernan's alleged remarks about the Holocaust are appalling. According to today's Irish Times the audience 'endorsed, sustained and enjoyed his comments'.
Did no one stand up and say this is not funny? That reality is worrying for all of us.
Is there any difference between what Tommy Tiernan said and what President Ahmadinejad said at the weekend.
If Tommy Tiernan repeated those words in Germany he would be jailed.
Had Dr Martin not spoken about it many of us would never have been made aware of it.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
No reason to oppose Lisbon - bishop
One of the Ireland's senior bishops on European affairs has said Catholics have no reason to vote No in the Lisbon Treaty referendum on religious or ethical grounds.
For more: RTÉ.ie/Lisbon
Bishop Noel Treanor told an Oireachtas Committee yesterday that he can unequivocally state that a Catholic can vote Yes in good conscience.
Bishop Treanor is the vice president of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community.
Bishop Treanor also said that the Lisbon Treaty does not alter the legal position of abortion in Ireland.
He said there are some organisations that are giving out misleading and inaccurate information on the treaty.
He said none of them speaks on behalf of the Catholic Church.
A group from the No side has called for public debate on the Lisbon Treaty.
For more: RTÉ.ie/Lisbon
Bishop Noel Treanor told an Oireachtas Committee yesterday that he can unequivocally state that a Catholic can vote Yes in good conscience.
Bishop Treanor is the vice president of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community.
Bishop Treanor also said that the Lisbon Treaty does not alter the legal position of abortion in Ireland.
He said there are some organisations that are giving out misleading and inaccurate information on the treaty.
He said none of them speaks on behalf of the Catholic Church.
A group from the No side has called for public debate on the Lisbon Treaty.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Regular sun holidays and 'traditional values'
Welcome to the 13 men who have joined the Dominican noviciate in Pope’s Quay in Cork.
It must be the largest number joining the Irish province in 50 years.
42 years, also on September 14 , I joined the province.
There were eight of us and we spent the first two years in Cork before moving to Tallaght, which was then almost still a village on the outskirts of Dublin.
I spent five years living in the Dominican Priory in Cork, those first two years and then again between 1976 and 1979 while I was attending UCC.
And probably because of those interesting and challenging years I still shout for Cork.
Back in the late ’60s early ’70s the Western world was on fire with new ideas and the church too was a-stirring.
Gradually but surely people were being appointed to jobs who were simply ‘different’ to their predecessors. The safe pair of hands was being replaced by the imaginative, and what we considered, prophetic people.
The church was touching people in a new and vibrant way. Maybe all young people think their time is magic, ours certainly was.
Before the 1960s it was ‘unusual’ for men to leave priesthood but once the ‘changes’ began to fall into place, more and more priests began to look outside their worlds. Many fine and vibrant Dominicans left. Many of them would fall in love and marry.
These days few young men are leaving priesthood. Few men are leaving. Men have had to retire from ministry, men have been in prison. And still there is no serious discussion to ask the most pertinent questions.
At 60 I have taken leave of absence for a myriad reasons. Yes, I have met a woman but I am certain she is not the reason but the catalyst for my break from orders.
I am concerned about a dispensation that is finding a wide and popular currency within the church at present.
The blog below in italics causes me great concern and reinforces my ‘suspicions’ and worries. It prompted me to write the comments below.
The recent publication of the survey for the National Religious Vocations Conference in the USA has attracted much attention in the United States and also in this part of the world. The study and survey has confirmed what many are realising and can verify - namely that those following a religious vocation are becoming more traditional - in the positive sense of the word. The survey suggests that two-thirds of the new religious (male and female) chose orders who have maintained their unique identities, have chosen to wear their religious habit and who follow a traditional communal prayer life. This along with fidelity to the Church and its teaching are cited as very important. In contrast, the survey also finds that those religious orders who have opted not to wear their religious habits, who have abandoned their monasteries, priories and convents and in some cases have diluted their charisms and become akin to social workers are those congregations and orders that are not attracting vocations.
[End of blog]
The text above is a sentiment/idea/thought/reflection that is appearing more an more regularly of late. At a first glance it might make sense but for this writer it really is appalling double think. And nonsense too. Probably humbug. I am inclined to call it a lie or a great sham.
There is an underlying message in the sentiment that young people are being attracted to orders and congregations that are true to the spirit of their founders. And being true to the founder is being linked with wearing 'their religious habits and those who follow a traditional communal prayer life'.
I believe this is an issue that needs to be challenged at its source. Of course it is fine and noble to see people being true to the message of the founder of their institution. But simply because a person does not wear a habit or give lip service to a 'traditional life style' does not mean they are not being authentic.
Can someone who avails of all the best attributes of a modern materialistic capitalist State really say anything about 'traditional values'.
There is no problem with men wearing habits but there is a problem when these same men take off the habits and dine and wine in most expensive restaurants.
There is no problem with men talking about poverty but there is a problem when these same men can swan about not knowing what it means to do a day's work while benefitting from top of the range medical insurance, frequent international travel, top class accommodation in the most sought after areas in the capital cities of the world and when not in the air, travelling in fuel guzzlers.
It really is a lie and unfortunately it seems most of those who shout loudest about 'traditional values' are the ones most likely to live this phoney life of a rosary beads in one hand and a glass of fine wine in the other.
Whereas the men at the coal face, whose work would dirty their habits never seem to speak about 'traditional values'. They live it. They are the women and men who live 'fidelity'.
They have neither the time nor the inclination to swan about in perfectly ironed habits. Surely these words are pure spoof, thought up by men who have more sun holidays in a year than there are beads on a traditional Rosary.
The Rosaries may well be evident but the car park zapper and credit card take pride of place. No doubt the Rosary is in full view while the zapper and credit card are tucked carefully away - even in the pocket of the traditional habit.
Please, stop talking dangerous codology. The people who write this cant, cannot believe it. Or is it that they are delusional? Enough damage has been perpetrated in the name of delusion in the Irish church.
If a comparable nonsense were being spoken by people of a liberal persuasion, it would long ago have been shown for what it is worth. But seemingly when it comes to 'understanding' and sympathy', superiors within the Catholic Church are slow to speak out against madcap ideas when they come from those who talk about 'traditional values'.
Enjoy your novitiate.
Your novice master is a great man and a holy man too, who believes in what he says and does. You could not be in better hands.
It must be the largest number joining the Irish province in 50 years.
42 years, also on September 14 , I joined the province.
There were eight of us and we spent the first two years in Cork before moving to Tallaght, which was then almost still a village on the outskirts of Dublin.
I spent five years living in the Dominican Priory in Cork, those first two years and then again between 1976 and 1979 while I was attending UCC.
And probably because of those interesting and challenging years I still shout for Cork.
Back in the late ’60s early ’70s the Western world was on fire with new ideas and the church too was a-stirring.
Gradually but surely people were being appointed to jobs who were simply ‘different’ to their predecessors. The safe pair of hands was being replaced by the imaginative, and what we considered, prophetic people.
The church was touching people in a new and vibrant way. Maybe all young people think their time is magic, ours certainly was.
Before the 1960s it was ‘unusual’ for men to leave priesthood but once the ‘changes’ began to fall into place, more and more priests began to look outside their worlds. Many fine and vibrant Dominicans left. Many of them would fall in love and marry.
These days few young men are leaving priesthood. Few men are leaving. Men have had to retire from ministry, men have been in prison. And still there is no serious discussion to ask the most pertinent questions.
At 60 I have taken leave of absence for a myriad reasons. Yes, I have met a woman but I am certain she is not the reason but the catalyst for my break from orders.
I am concerned about a dispensation that is finding a wide and popular currency within the church at present.
The blog below in italics causes me great concern and reinforces my ‘suspicions’ and worries. It prompted me to write the comments below.
The recent publication of the survey for the National Religious Vocations Conference in the USA has attracted much attention in the United States and also in this part of the world. The study and survey has confirmed what many are realising and can verify - namely that those following a religious vocation are becoming more traditional - in the positive sense of the word. The survey suggests that two-thirds of the new religious (male and female) chose orders who have maintained their unique identities, have chosen to wear their religious habit and who follow a traditional communal prayer life. This along with fidelity to the Church and its teaching are cited as very important. In contrast, the survey also finds that those religious orders who have opted not to wear their religious habits, who have abandoned their monasteries, priories and convents and in some cases have diluted their charisms and become akin to social workers are those congregations and orders that are not attracting vocations.
[End of blog]
The text above is a sentiment/idea/thought/reflection that is appearing more an more regularly of late. At a first glance it might make sense but for this writer it really is appalling double think. And nonsense too. Probably humbug. I am inclined to call it a lie or a great sham.
There is an underlying message in the sentiment that young people are being attracted to orders and congregations that are true to the spirit of their founders. And being true to the founder is being linked with wearing 'their religious habits and those who follow a traditional communal prayer life'.
I believe this is an issue that needs to be challenged at its source. Of course it is fine and noble to see people being true to the message of the founder of their institution. But simply because a person does not wear a habit or give lip service to a 'traditional life style' does not mean they are not being authentic.
Can someone who avails of all the best attributes of a modern materialistic capitalist State really say anything about 'traditional values'.
There is no problem with men wearing habits but there is a problem when these same men take off the habits and dine and wine in most expensive restaurants.
There is no problem with men talking about poverty but there is a problem when these same men can swan about not knowing what it means to do a day's work while benefitting from top of the range medical insurance, frequent international travel, top class accommodation in the most sought after areas in the capital cities of the world and when not in the air, travelling in fuel guzzlers.
It really is a lie and unfortunately it seems most of those who shout loudest about 'traditional values' are the ones most likely to live this phoney life of a rosary beads in one hand and a glass of fine wine in the other.
Whereas the men at the coal face, whose work would dirty their habits never seem to speak about 'traditional values'. They live it. They are the women and men who live 'fidelity'.
They have neither the time nor the inclination to swan about in perfectly ironed habits. Surely these words are pure spoof, thought up by men who have more sun holidays in a year than there are beads on a traditional Rosary.
The Rosaries may well be evident but the car park zapper and credit card take pride of place. No doubt the Rosary is in full view while the zapper and credit card are tucked carefully away - even in the pocket of the traditional habit.
Please, stop talking dangerous codology. The people who write this cant, cannot believe it. Or is it that they are delusional? Enough damage has been perpetrated in the name of delusion in the Irish church.
If a comparable nonsense were being spoken by people of a liberal persuasion, it would long ago have been shown for what it is worth. But seemingly when it comes to 'understanding' and sympathy', superiors within the Catholic Church are slow to speak out against madcap ideas when they come from those who talk about 'traditional values'.
Enjoy your novitiate.
Your novice master is a great man and a holy man too, who believes in what he says and does. You could not be in better hands.
Wise words from Jesuit general
The General of the Jesuits was in Ireland last week. This is a quote from a sermon he gave in Limerick.
Quoting Zorba, in the film ‘Zorba the Greek’, Fr Adolfo Nicolás told the staff, pupils, Jesuits and colleagues of Crescent College Comprehensive Limerick that “Life is trouble!” He then added: “And the same is true of education - education is trouble, as you know!” Preaching at Mass in the college to mark its 150th anniversary, Fr Adolfo, in a sermon which was both moving and amusing, held the attention of a packed assembly hall as he spoke about the core Christian truth that there is no human growth without suffering, no resurrection without the cross.“In today’s world it can sometimes seem that everything can come easy. Modern communications and technology allows us to predict the weather, cook fast, do school work with a cut-and-paste job - the universal temptation for students! Everything seems to be easier except life. Living, becoming a person, relating to our families, friends, work, study, ourselves is hard. That’s because we’re human, not machines. There is no such thing as a painless education, no hope without doubts, no life without pain.”
Quoting Zorba, in the film ‘Zorba the Greek’, Fr Adolfo Nicolás told the staff, pupils, Jesuits and colleagues of Crescent College Comprehensive Limerick that “Life is trouble!” He then added: “And the same is true of education - education is trouble, as you know!” Preaching at Mass in the college to mark its 150th anniversary, Fr Adolfo, in a sermon which was both moving and amusing, held the attention of a packed assembly hall as he spoke about the core Christian truth that there is no human growth without suffering, no resurrection without the cross.“In today’s world it can sometimes seem that everything can come easy. Modern communications and technology allows us to predict the weather, cook fast, do school work with a cut-and-paste job - the universal temptation for students! Everything seems to be easier except life. Living, becoming a person, relating to our families, friends, work, study, ourselves is hard. That’s because we’re human, not machines. There is no such thing as a painless education, no hope without doubts, no life without pain.”
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Xenophobic free sheet
The report carried in today's Irish Times and carried on the wires re the Alive free newspaper is profoundly sad. It would be hilariously funny if it were not so depressing and serious.
But maybe this is the opportunity for people to speak out and be loyal to the truth.
It would be easy to use adjectives to describe the magazine. Xenophobic and hate come to mind.
But those words seem to give a new 'oxygen' to the free sheet.
What is particularly frightening about it is that it represents a growing tendency within the Catholic Church in Ireland. Yes, it is a one person band, who has extreme views. But unfortunately he has his supporters.
Imagine if it were telling a left wing story? Long ago it would have been closed down by the editor's superiors.
Is this where we are? How terribly sad.
But maybe this is the opportunity for people to speak out and be loyal to the truth.
It would be easy to use adjectives to describe the magazine. Xenophobic and hate come to mind.
But those words seem to give a new 'oxygen' to the free sheet.
What is particularly frightening about it is that it represents a growing tendency within the Catholic Church in Ireland. Yes, it is a one person band, who has extreme views. But unfortunately he has his supporters.
Imagine if it were telling a left wing story? Long ago it would have been closed down by the editor's superiors.
Is this where we are? How terribly sad.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Fr Adolfo Nicolas SJ
The profile of the current head of the Jesuits worlwide appears on AMDG Express Jesuit News.
Two years ago, when Adolfo Nicolás was setting out for the General Congregation in Rome, his friends suggested that he was on the short list for election to General. “No danger of that”, said Adolfo, “My age is against me. And not everyone agrees with my views. ” But when the Congregation, swiftly and by a massive majority, voted him into the job, he accepted: “I cannot argue with that. The verdict was so clear, I could not refuse.” It is tempting to think of Generals as enjoying universal esteem and encountering few hurdles on the way to high office. That phantasy was quickly dispelled by Fr Dermot Brangan, who acted as Adolfo’s secretary and watched him at close quarters. In the piece below he remembers his time with an extraordinary man.
PROFILE OF FATHER GENERAL ADOLFO NICOLÁS
Dermot Brangan SJ
This is a man of quite extraordinary patience. He is unsurprisable and unflappable in the face of difficulties and provocation, never bad-mouthing those who criticise him, calm when things are going badly, showing astonishing forbearance and persistence. As Provincial of Japan, and later super-Provincial of the Far Eastern Assistancy, he was familiar with the tensions that arise from the mix of very diverse cultures, and the personal and administrative problems that result.
His calmness is not the same as softness. As a student of theology he spoke up for fewer lectures and more time for reading. When a group of angry young parishioners demanded to talk to the Provincial about the running of the Jesuit church in Tokyo, Adolfo met them in the church, with many of the parish watching (including Dermot Brangan). He calmly fielded their rapid, searching, angry questions and complaints, and did not flinch. There is steel there. He is not disheartened by complaints or by the shadow side of life. The third degree of humility, that central issue in the Ignatian Exercises, has stood to him.
Appointed Provincial, he chose to live in a working-class district with a Jesuit engaged in social work, the two of them cooking and cleaning for themselves. Adolfo commuted to his office, and enjoyed rubbing shoulders with fellow -workers on the subway or bus. At one stage some socially involved Jesuits were campaigning: We do not pay our workers enough. Adolfo looked at the evidence and said No, what they are getting is reasonable and in line with the city’s norms. He was not woolly about money, or driven by guilt. He could differ from friends without losing their friendship.
Nor is he woolly about theological and legal issues. He was presiding over the 2007 Provincial Congregation, when a question was raised about the legitimacy of a procedural matter of some importance. Adolfo immediately pointed out the passage that legitimised it in the directives for Province Congregations. He was in total control of the intricacies of the congregation. He is a good linguist, with a sound knowledge of the main European languages and also of Korean and Tagelog. He became so competent in Japanese that when he graduated from language school he was at once co-opted onto the staff to teach other Jesuits.
He will start his Irish visit this coming Thursday
Two years ago, when Adolfo Nicolás was setting out for the General Congregation in Rome, his friends suggested that he was on the short list for election to General. “No danger of that”, said Adolfo, “My age is against me. And not everyone agrees with my views. ” But when the Congregation, swiftly and by a massive majority, voted him into the job, he accepted: “I cannot argue with that. The verdict was so clear, I could not refuse.” It is tempting to think of Generals as enjoying universal esteem and encountering few hurdles on the way to high office. That phantasy was quickly dispelled by Fr Dermot Brangan, who acted as Adolfo’s secretary and watched him at close quarters. In the piece below he remembers his time with an extraordinary man.
PROFILE OF FATHER GENERAL ADOLFO NICOLÁS
Dermot Brangan SJ
This is a man of quite extraordinary patience. He is unsurprisable and unflappable in the face of difficulties and provocation, never bad-mouthing those who criticise him, calm when things are going badly, showing astonishing forbearance and persistence. As Provincial of Japan, and later super-Provincial of the Far Eastern Assistancy, he was familiar with the tensions that arise from the mix of very diverse cultures, and the personal and administrative problems that result.
His calmness is not the same as softness. As a student of theology he spoke up for fewer lectures and more time for reading. When a group of angry young parishioners demanded to talk to the Provincial about the running of the Jesuit church in Tokyo, Adolfo met them in the church, with many of the parish watching (including Dermot Brangan). He calmly fielded their rapid, searching, angry questions and complaints, and did not flinch. There is steel there. He is not disheartened by complaints or by the shadow side of life. The third degree of humility, that central issue in the Ignatian Exercises, has stood to him.
Appointed Provincial, he chose to live in a working-class district with a Jesuit engaged in social work, the two of them cooking and cleaning for themselves. Adolfo commuted to his office, and enjoyed rubbing shoulders with fellow -workers on the subway or bus. At one stage some socially involved Jesuits were campaigning: We do not pay our workers enough. Adolfo looked at the evidence and said No, what they are getting is reasonable and in line with the city’s norms. He was not woolly about money, or driven by guilt. He could differ from friends without losing their friendship.
Nor is he woolly about theological and legal issues. He was presiding over the 2007 Provincial Congregation, when a question was raised about the legitimacy of a procedural matter of some importance. Adolfo immediately pointed out the passage that legitimised it in the directives for Province Congregations. He was in total control of the intricacies of the congregation. He is a good linguist, with a sound knowledge of the main European languages and also of Korean and Tagelog. He became so competent in Japanese that when he graduated from language school he was at once co-opted onto the staff to teach other Jesuits.
He will start his Irish visit this coming Thursday
'Palinism' could be the apt word
Lara Marlow on RTE Radio 1 yesterday reported on a story on Sarah Palin. She made the point that it was difficult to pin point exactly what Sarah Palin stood for. The story was in reference to comments made by the father of her daughter's child.
Of course it is never wise to generalise or make across the board statements but what the Irish Times US correspondent was saying did make sense at least to this listener.
Within the Catholic Church at present there seems to be a growing 'right wing' tendency or development.
I often find myself standing back and asking what exactly 'right wing' priests believe in. Very often the answer seems that they actually believe in nothing and that it is all some sort of gag or sham.
Within religious life I have heard men talk about the importance and value of 'conventual living' and liturgical celebration. I have seen great importance placed on clerical dress. Yet, the same people who speak strongly on these issues can be seen dining out in top class restaurants wearing dress that many would find simply embarrassing and light years away from the clerical dress they recommend in day time conversation.
Could 'Palinism' become a word?
Of course it is never wise to generalise or make across the board statements but what the Irish Times US correspondent was saying did make sense at least to this listener.
Within the Catholic Church at present there seems to be a growing 'right wing' tendency or development.
I often find myself standing back and asking what exactly 'right wing' priests believe in. Very often the answer seems that they actually believe in nothing and that it is all some sort of gag or sham.
Within religious life I have heard men talk about the importance and value of 'conventual living' and liturgical celebration. I have seen great importance placed on clerical dress. Yet, the same people who speak strongly on these issues can be seen dining out in top class restaurants wearing dress that many would find simply embarrassing and light years away from the clerical dress they recommend in day time conversation.
Could 'Palinism' become a word?
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A world away from 70 years ago
Today 70 years ago Britain declared war on Germany. The previous day Hitler's Germany had invaded Poland. On the evening of the declaration of war out in the Atlantic U-Boat commander Fritz-Julien Lemp gave the order to fire at the passenger ship Athenia.
The survivors were brought to Galway and Glasgow.
I am 60 and my generation has not had to go to war for either king or kaiser.
We have been amazingly fortunate and for that we have to thank the founding figures of the European Union.
I despair at the fanaticism and the mind-set of many of the groups who are now suggesting a No vote to the Lisbon Treaty.
Treaties are never perfect documents but the treaties that have created and enhanced the EU have certainly helped establish an environment that is peaceful, progressive and safe.
The article below appears in yesterday's Irish Times.
Survivors' trip pays homage to 'Britain's Oskar Schindler'
DAN McLAUGHLIN in Prague
WATCHING A vintage steam train full of waving passengers pull out of Prague station yesterday, the Meisl brothers recalled other journeys that had changed their lives forever.
Peter was evacuated from Czechoslovakia by British stockbroker Nicholas Winton on the eve of the second World War along with another 668 children, 22 whom were on board the commemorative train as it left Prague in a cloud of steam to begin its four-day journey to London.
Czechoslovakia’s Nazi occupiers declared Peter’s brother Jiri too old for evacuation and, as Peter lived out the war quietly in Wales, Jiri and their parents were forced on to a prison train and sent to Auschwitz. Their father, like the relatives of scores of “Winton’s Children”, perished there.
The Meisls’ bitter-sweet story mingled with dozens of extraordinary tales in Prague, as the now elderly men and women who owe their lives to Winton hailed his compassion and determination, celebrated their survival and mourned for those that he could not save.
In December 1938, the 29-year-old Winton was packing for a skiing holiday in Switzerland when his would-be holiday companion told him to come urgently to Czechoslovakia instead. Adolf Hitler’s forces had occupied the country’s Sudetenland region two months earlier, and Winton was appalled to see the conditions in which refugees were living.
Winton immediately started raising money and organising trains to evacuate the children, and on his return to Britain began finding homes and organising visas for them, all while holding down his regular job in the City.
Word of Winton’s audacious plan quickly spread throughout Prague and, when he returned to the city and set up office in his hotel room on Wenceslas Square, long queues soon formed outside of parents who would plead with him to take their children to Britain.
“Those parents were desperate – it was heartbreaking to listen to their stories,” Winton recalled in a 2007 interview. “‘They knew all too well what their fate was likely to be. Their first thought was for the little ones. Never themselves. Practically all those parents perished in the camps.”
Between March and August 1939, eight Winton trains carried 669 children – most of them Jewish – to safety in Britain.
Seventy years on, as the steam train whistled its impending departure, they recalled parents telling them that they were just going on a short holiday, the excitement of the older children and the bewilderment of the younger ones, and strange first impressions of Britain: being sick crossing the English Channel, spitting out a first sip of milky tea, and wondering at white sliced bread.
“Our parents put a brave face on things, and, of course, they didn’t know that they wouldn’t see their children again,” said Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines, who was sent to a family in Lancashire and still lives in Preston.
“It is very unreal and very emotional to be here today. It’s like a film set,” she said, as the train belched steam and Czech government ministers prepared to unveil a statue to Winton.
The evacuees also remembered how a ninth train had been due to leave Prague on September 1st, 1939 and how, after war broke out with Germany’s invasion of Poland, Nazi troops stopped it leaving the city. Most of the 250 children on board were never seen again.
“My brother was supposed to be on that train. He and my parents were all killed,” said Eve Leadbeater, who lives in Nottingham, the city where she was taken in by a teacher at the age of eight.
“Being in Prague on this anniversary brings a whole mix of emotions. Sadness at what happened and joy at being alive. What Nicholas Winton did was a great example of what one man with compassion and determination can do.”
The scale of Winton’s achievements is almost matched by his reticence to discuss them.
Most of “Winton’s Children” had no idea who he was until relatively recently, given that he did not even tell his wife about his exploits until the late 1980s, when she found a scrapbook full of clippings in the attic of their home in Maidenhead.
Before long, Winton’s story was featured on British television and he was being dubbed “Britain’s Oskar Schindler”. He was knighted in 2003 and, four years later, the Czech Republic gave him its highest honour and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Now 100 years old, Winton intends to be at the station on Saturday when the train arrives in London. None of his “children” doubt that he will be there, or that he will be as reluctant as ever to accept praise or linger for long in the public eye.
“What will I say when I see Nicholas?” said Eve Leadbeater as she boarded the train. “I will say ‘thank you’. What else is there to say?”
The survivors were brought to Galway and Glasgow.
I am 60 and my generation has not had to go to war for either king or kaiser.
We have been amazingly fortunate and for that we have to thank the founding figures of the European Union.
I despair at the fanaticism and the mind-set of many of the groups who are now suggesting a No vote to the Lisbon Treaty.
Treaties are never perfect documents but the treaties that have created and enhanced the EU have certainly helped establish an environment that is peaceful, progressive and safe.
The article below appears in yesterday's Irish Times.
Survivors' trip pays homage to 'Britain's Oskar Schindler'
DAN McLAUGHLIN in Prague
WATCHING A vintage steam train full of waving passengers pull out of Prague station yesterday, the Meisl brothers recalled other journeys that had changed their lives forever.
Peter was evacuated from Czechoslovakia by British stockbroker Nicholas Winton on the eve of the second World War along with another 668 children, 22 whom were on board the commemorative train as it left Prague in a cloud of steam to begin its four-day journey to London.
Czechoslovakia’s Nazi occupiers declared Peter’s brother Jiri too old for evacuation and, as Peter lived out the war quietly in Wales, Jiri and their parents were forced on to a prison train and sent to Auschwitz. Their father, like the relatives of scores of “Winton’s Children”, perished there.
The Meisls’ bitter-sweet story mingled with dozens of extraordinary tales in Prague, as the now elderly men and women who owe their lives to Winton hailed his compassion and determination, celebrated their survival and mourned for those that he could not save.
In December 1938, the 29-year-old Winton was packing for a skiing holiday in Switzerland when his would-be holiday companion told him to come urgently to Czechoslovakia instead. Adolf Hitler’s forces had occupied the country’s Sudetenland region two months earlier, and Winton was appalled to see the conditions in which refugees were living.
Winton immediately started raising money and organising trains to evacuate the children, and on his return to Britain began finding homes and organising visas for them, all while holding down his regular job in the City.
Word of Winton’s audacious plan quickly spread throughout Prague and, when he returned to the city and set up office in his hotel room on Wenceslas Square, long queues soon formed outside of parents who would plead with him to take their children to Britain.
“Those parents were desperate – it was heartbreaking to listen to their stories,” Winton recalled in a 2007 interview. “‘They knew all too well what their fate was likely to be. Their first thought was for the little ones. Never themselves. Practically all those parents perished in the camps.”
Between March and August 1939, eight Winton trains carried 669 children – most of them Jewish – to safety in Britain.
Seventy years on, as the steam train whistled its impending departure, they recalled parents telling them that they were just going on a short holiday, the excitement of the older children and the bewilderment of the younger ones, and strange first impressions of Britain: being sick crossing the English Channel, spitting out a first sip of milky tea, and wondering at white sliced bread.
“Our parents put a brave face on things, and, of course, they didn’t know that they wouldn’t see their children again,” said Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines, who was sent to a family in Lancashire and still lives in Preston.
“It is very unreal and very emotional to be here today. It’s like a film set,” she said, as the train belched steam and Czech government ministers prepared to unveil a statue to Winton.
The evacuees also remembered how a ninth train had been due to leave Prague on September 1st, 1939 and how, after war broke out with Germany’s invasion of Poland, Nazi troops stopped it leaving the city. Most of the 250 children on board were never seen again.
“My brother was supposed to be on that train. He and my parents were all killed,” said Eve Leadbeater, who lives in Nottingham, the city where she was taken in by a teacher at the age of eight.
“Being in Prague on this anniversary brings a whole mix of emotions. Sadness at what happened and joy at being alive. What Nicholas Winton did was a great example of what one man with compassion and determination can do.”
The scale of Winton’s achievements is almost matched by his reticence to discuss them.
Most of “Winton’s Children” had no idea who he was until relatively recently, given that he did not even tell his wife about his exploits until the late 1980s, when she found a scrapbook full of clippings in the attic of their home in Maidenhead.
Before long, Winton’s story was featured on British television and he was being dubbed “Britain’s Oskar Schindler”. He was knighted in 2003 and, four years later, the Czech Republic gave him its highest honour and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Now 100 years old, Winton intends to be at the station on Saturday when the train arrives in London. None of his “children” doubt that he will be there, or that he will be as reluctant as ever to accept praise or linger for long in the public eye.
“What will I say when I see Nicholas?” said Eve Leadbeater as she boarded the train. “I will say ‘thank you’. What else is there to say?”
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Excellent job within budget
If anyone in the Dublin area is looking for an excellent builder at a good price I can recommend someone.
I have had a major renovation job done on a house in Dublin. It has been excellently done and within budget.
I have had a major renovation job done on a house in Dublin. It has been excellently done and within budget.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The Ryanair feel on terr firma
I have discovered the on-ground equivalent of Ryanair. All the thrills of using Ryanair and never spending a moment in the sky means I paid a visit to Ikea near Ballymun in Dublin.
Its proximity to the airport means you can almost smell the aviation fuel.
I bought an armchair and a two-seater couch. It could never have been accomplished without the assistance of my cousin, Anne, who did all the donkey work. Not true, I pulled the carts, well one of them.
Anne, her three children and I, arrived in the Ikea car park at 19.00. We find a parking space quickly enough. Nothing too difficult or crazy. And in we go up an escalator or something like that. No steps just a moving way that brings you to the first floor. Land straight into the furniture department. Because I had been looking for a couch and armchair since April I decided this was the moment.
At a glance I knew what I did not want and then saw a few that were acceptable – more or less. It’s always that ‘more or less’ that makes it all so difficult. Place my bum in a number of chairs. Make my decision. Then I have to pick a fabric colour. The patterns are hanging up on a stand nearby. What next? It was here Anne’s expertise comes to the rescue. It is a matter of writing down all the details on a form that is supplied.
Then it’s off over to the storeroom but before you go there you have to pick up a special flat pack trolley. Where to next? And that’s where the information on that paper comes into its own. Anne has written down all the necessary numbers plus the coordinates. My armchair and sofa are in two separate bays in the same aisle and the covers are in another aisle. Lifting a flat pack sofa on to the trolley is no easy operation. Remember, you have to keep the trolley in a stationary position as you shove the couch on to it. Again Anne and her children save the day as I push the couch up on to the trolley.
Off to checkout. It’s all a learning process. At first I am pushing the trolley but can’t see a thing as the couch impedes my view. That means I start pulling the trolley – problem solved. But I almost upended a man in my dash for the checkout.
At the checkout but alas the bar code is on the bottom side of the box so again I have to lift it so the cashier can read code. I hand over my money and the job is done. Or at least I think it is. But of course it’s not over until the fat lady sings.
It’s not possible to carry a two-seater sofa and an armchair across the city nor will the cargo fit in anything but a truck. Ikea delivers but for a price. Well, it’s not really Ikea. It is a company Ikea hires to do the delivering. So it’s off to the delivery department. Another queue. People in front of me seem to be buying the entire kit for a house and someone to my right is trying to skip the queue. And I am getting tetchy. I hate myself when I act the unctuous brat like that.
Like the Ryanair queue, I eventually get to the top. That feeling of elation to be replaced within seconds with that terrible sinking feeling. I ask them if they could deliver next Tuesday or Wednesday. Not possible.. It will be delivered on Friday, the day after I buy it. And if that does not suit there will be storage charges. I have no choice.
Oh, yes, I could bring it all back and look for a refund and then I would have no sofa and armchair. That would be analogous to turning down a ‘free’ Ryanair flight having just paid them to use my paper, my printer, my time and my computer to print off their boarding card.
Back in the car park, we are one of the last cars left.
Home, into bed. What a feeling of relief. It’s all over. Could this really be retail therapy?
Its proximity to the airport means you can almost smell the aviation fuel.
I bought an armchair and a two-seater couch. It could never have been accomplished without the assistance of my cousin, Anne, who did all the donkey work. Not true, I pulled the carts, well one of them.
Anne, her three children and I, arrived in the Ikea car park at 19.00. We find a parking space quickly enough. Nothing too difficult or crazy. And in we go up an escalator or something like that. No steps just a moving way that brings you to the first floor. Land straight into the furniture department. Because I had been looking for a couch and armchair since April I decided this was the moment.
At a glance I knew what I did not want and then saw a few that were acceptable – more or less. It’s always that ‘more or less’ that makes it all so difficult. Place my bum in a number of chairs. Make my decision. Then I have to pick a fabric colour. The patterns are hanging up on a stand nearby. What next? It was here Anne’s expertise comes to the rescue. It is a matter of writing down all the details on a form that is supplied.
Then it’s off over to the storeroom but before you go there you have to pick up a special flat pack trolley. Where to next? And that’s where the information on that paper comes into its own. Anne has written down all the necessary numbers plus the coordinates. My armchair and sofa are in two separate bays in the same aisle and the covers are in another aisle. Lifting a flat pack sofa on to the trolley is no easy operation. Remember, you have to keep the trolley in a stationary position as you shove the couch on to it. Again Anne and her children save the day as I push the couch up on to the trolley.
Off to checkout. It’s all a learning process. At first I am pushing the trolley but can’t see a thing as the couch impedes my view. That means I start pulling the trolley – problem solved. But I almost upended a man in my dash for the checkout.
At the checkout but alas the bar code is on the bottom side of the box so again I have to lift it so the cashier can read code. I hand over my money and the job is done. Or at least I think it is. But of course it’s not over until the fat lady sings.
It’s not possible to carry a two-seater sofa and an armchair across the city nor will the cargo fit in anything but a truck. Ikea delivers but for a price. Well, it’s not really Ikea. It is a company Ikea hires to do the delivering. So it’s off to the delivery department. Another queue. People in front of me seem to be buying the entire kit for a house and someone to my right is trying to skip the queue. And I am getting tetchy. I hate myself when I act the unctuous brat like that.
Like the Ryanair queue, I eventually get to the top. That feeling of elation to be replaced within seconds with that terrible sinking feeling. I ask them if they could deliver next Tuesday or Wednesday. Not possible.. It will be delivered on Friday, the day after I buy it. And if that does not suit there will be storage charges. I have no choice.
Oh, yes, I could bring it all back and look for a refund and then I would have no sofa and armchair. That would be analogous to turning down a ‘free’ Ryanair flight having just paid them to use my paper, my printer, my time and my computer to print off their boarding card.
Back in the car park, we are one of the last cars left.
Home, into bed. What a feeling of relief. It’s all over. Could this really be retail therapy?
Missing the opportune moment
Cardinal Brady 's comments in Limerick at the weekend are receiving much attention, so too is the issue of 'pre-signed Mass cards'.
When the State enacted new rules and regulations re marriage registrars it was the ideal time for the Catholic Church in Ireland to negotiate with the State so as to separate Sate and church weddings. It was the perfect opportunity for the church to say bye bye to State on the issue. But no. It seems incapable of shedding 'power baggage' that has absolutely no pastoral advantage.
And now with the controversy of Mass cards it would be a moment of prophetic thinking for the church to say that the days of Mass cards are over. The link between Mass cards and money needs to be broken and this is the moment when it could and should be done. Will it be done? No.
When the State enacted new rules and regulations re marriage registrars it was the ideal time for the Catholic Church in Ireland to negotiate with the State so as to separate Sate and church weddings. It was the perfect opportunity for the church to say bye bye to State on the issue. But no. It seems incapable of shedding 'power baggage' that has absolutely no pastoral advantage.
And now with the controversy of Mass cards it would be a moment of prophetic thinking for the church to say that the days of Mass cards are over. The link between Mass cards and money needs to be broken and this is the moment when it could and should be done. Will it be done? No.
Different rules for different folk
The letter below 'Guidelines for funeral Masses' appears in today's Irish Times.
Watching the funeral of Edward Kennedy at the weekend it was interesting to see the role that eulogies played within the Mass.
Guidelines for funeral Masses
Madam, – Reading the extract of the eulogy delivered by Nuala Creane at the funeral of her son, Sebastian (August 25th), I am again reminded of the unequal rites in some churches.
I do not wish to be provocative by reopening the debate about inconsistencies in the way guidelines for funeral Masses are applied, with “secular” elements such as popular songs and eulogies being allowed in some cases but not in others, leading to charges that some bereaved are more equal than others. Letters to The Irish Times have previously highlighted the confusion concerning Roman Catholic funerals in Ireland.
Priests have told me they have been instructed not to permit any “secular” elements in the Mass, quoting liturgical correctness as the main reason.
The Catholic primate, Cardinal Seán Brady, has already issued a letter to his priests on the matter. He said the practice of including eulogies in Catholic funerals was to be strongly discouraged. “Requests by members of the family to speak after the prayer after Communion should be firmly but sensitively refused.” It’s clear that church guidelines are interpreted differently from parish to parish as well as from diocese to diocese – and without consistency.
Celebrities seem to be guaranteed more flexibility when it comes to the funeral liturgy. Eulogies seem to be permitted in many cases for this category, highlighting the inconsistency in the implementation of church guidelines.
Yes, a Christian funeral is a sacred occasion and liturgy is important, however the laity, like the ordained, have a role to comfort the bereaved. No one has a monopoly on words of hope, comfort and love.
Nuala Creane delivered a eulogy rich in faith and encouragement “Do we continue in darkness, seeing only fear, anger, bitterness, resentment, blaming, bemoaning our loss, always looking backwards, blaming . . .” These Christian thoughts were lovingly and rightly expressed by Sebastian Creane’s mother and what better place to utter such sentiment than the house of God? – Yours, etc,
VICTOR BOYHAN,
Grange Crescent,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Watching the funeral of Edward Kennedy at the weekend it was interesting to see the role that eulogies played within the Mass.
Guidelines for funeral Masses
Madam, – Reading the extract of the eulogy delivered by Nuala Creane at the funeral of her son, Sebastian (August 25th), I am again reminded of the unequal rites in some churches.
I do not wish to be provocative by reopening the debate about inconsistencies in the way guidelines for funeral Masses are applied, with “secular” elements such as popular songs and eulogies being allowed in some cases but not in others, leading to charges that some bereaved are more equal than others. Letters to The Irish Times have previously highlighted the confusion concerning Roman Catholic funerals in Ireland.
Priests have told me they have been instructed not to permit any “secular” elements in the Mass, quoting liturgical correctness as the main reason.
The Catholic primate, Cardinal Seán Brady, has already issued a letter to his priests on the matter. He said the practice of including eulogies in Catholic funerals was to be strongly discouraged. “Requests by members of the family to speak after the prayer after Communion should be firmly but sensitively refused.” It’s clear that church guidelines are interpreted differently from parish to parish as well as from diocese to diocese – and without consistency.
Celebrities seem to be guaranteed more flexibility when it comes to the funeral liturgy. Eulogies seem to be permitted in many cases for this category, highlighting the inconsistency in the implementation of church guidelines.
Yes, a Christian funeral is a sacred occasion and liturgy is important, however the laity, like the ordained, have a role to comfort the bereaved. No one has a monopoly on words of hope, comfort and love.
Nuala Creane delivered a eulogy rich in faith and encouragement “Do we continue in darkness, seeing only fear, anger, bitterness, resentment, blaming, bemoaning our loss, always looking backwards, blaming . . .” These Christian thoughts were lovingly and rightly expressed by Sebastian Creane’s mother and what better place to utter such sentiment than the house of God? – Yours, etc,
VICTOR BOYHAN,
Grange Crescent,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Taking your seat
It's not fitting to knock someone or an organisation when they are down. Notwithstanding, it does seem in order to make a comment on Irish Rail.
The following line appears on information when you book a seat online with Irish Rail.
"Please take your seat 20 minutes in advance of departure."
Regularly Irish Rail does not allow access to trains 20 minutes within departure.
In Tralee the train spends 12 minutes at the platform! How does one take his or her seat 20 minutes before departure?
Who thinks up the lines for Irish Rail?
And the curtains on the new Spanish trains. Where are they and how much did they cost? They were a nonsense from the outset.
The following line appears on information when you book a seat online with Irish Rail.
"Please take your seat 20 minutes in advance of departure."
Regularly Irish Rail does not allow access to trains 20 minutes within departure.
In Tralee the train spends 12 minutes at the platform! How does one take his or her seat 20 minutes before departure?
Who thinks up the lines for Irish Rail?
And the curtains on the new Spanish trains. Where are they and how much did they cost? They were a nonsense from the outset.
God rules okay
An author of a book published in 2008 quotes Al Queda's reasons for wanting to stop the march of western culture.
He writes, "They maintain that God can't survive in this kind of culture and they have to stop it by force. That is where they are wrong, but notice the insight: God cannot survive in this culture."
The author is obviously concurring with the sentiment in italics. But surely God can and does survive in this culture. To say anything else cannot be Christian. And anyway the only world I know is the world I inhabit and have inhabited since my birth. I hope God survives in my environment, the environment of cycling to work, being at work, cooking my food, walking my dog.
The worrying aspect to the sentiment is that it is written by a Catholic priest. Strange.
Why within the established church is there that tendency to criticise and attack the world we live in, the world of the now? That's the world we use, that's the world within which we fly from LA to Dublin, that's the world in which we invest our money.
It is a nonsense.
He writes, "They maintain that God can't survive in this kind of culture and they have to stop it by force. That is where they are wrong, but notice the insight: God cannot survive in this culture."
The author is obviously concurring with the sentiment in italics. But surely God can and does survive in this culture. To say anything else cannot be Christian. And anyway the only world I know is the world I inhabit and have inhabited since my birth. I hope God survives in my environment, the environment of cycling to work, being at work, cooking my food, walking my dog.
The worrying aspect to the sentiment is that it is written by a Catholic priest. Strange.
Why within the established church is there that tendency to criticise and attack the world we live in, the world of the now? That's the world we use, that's the world within which we fly from LA to Dublin, that's the world in which we invest our money.
It is a nonsense.
Irish Rail warned about viaduct pier
Irish Rail received a call about the viaduct at Broadmeadow on the Monday before the mishap.
A sea scout telephoned them and explained what he noticed. Sea scouts are familiar with the water in the area and are experts at noticing changes in patterns. According to their association, Irish Rail did nothing about it.
"Only when it collapsed did they see the problem. Yet we could see that there was a serious problem developing before it happened, over a period of two months, and it should have been taken more seriously by Iarnrod Eireann," a spokesperson for the Sea Scouts said.
They were so concerned they took photographs of the piers supporting the viaduct and then contacted Irish Rail.
Why did Irish Rail not immediately send out engineers and examine the reported erosion?
Iarnród Éireann spokesman Barry Kenny confirmed that the company had been contacted last Monday week by an individual from the area area.
Why was it not Irish Rail who told this fact to the public? It would be most interesting to be a fly on the wall in the locomotive shed at Connolly Station and see what the loco drivers are saying about the incident.
Is it time for the CEO of Irish Rail to explain what actually was the lead in to the viaduct collapse?
A sea scout telephoned them and explained what he noticed. Sea scouts are familiar with the water in the area and are experts at noticing changes in patterns. According to their association, Irish Rail did nothing about it.
"Only when it collapsed did they see the problem. Yet we could see that there was a serious problem developing before it happened, over a period of two months, and it should have been taken more seriously by Iarnrod Eireann," a spokesperson for the Sea Scouts said.
They were so concerned they took photographs of the piers supporting the viaduct and then contacted Irish Rail.
Why did Irish Rail not immediately send out engineers and examine the reported erosion?
Iarnród Éireann spokesman Barry Kenny confirmed that the company had been contacted last Monday week by an individual from the area area.
Why was it not Irish Rail who told this fact to the public? It would be most interesting to be a fly on the wall in the locomotive shed at Connolly Station and see what the loco drivers are saying about the incident.
Is it time for the CEO of Irish Rail to explain what actually was the lead in to the viaduct collapse?
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Holy Water
Today's Irish Times carries at least three stories related to subjects dealing with the Catholic Church.
It reports on Fr Eamonn Conway heading up the European Society for Catholic Theology. There is a news item on numbers enrolling for priesthood and Patrick Claffey writes the 'Rite and Reason' column. And last evening's RTE main news carried a segment on an increase in young men signing up to enter seminaries.
Yesterday morning an elderly lady stopped and asked me if the Dominican church in the city centre still dispenses St Vincent Ferrer Holy Water? I was stopped in my tracks. Positive and negative thoughts ran through me head. With all the thoughts that arose maybe the predominant one was, what about the men who bless that water. What is their faith, their opinion, their understanding. and then I went on to wonder if the elderly lady, who spoke to me sat down and chatted and listened to the men who bless that water how would the conversation go? Would the priest be open and honest, would he speak his mind to the elderly lady and tell her exactly what he believes?
Does priesthood allow men speak their minds in a totally open and honest manner.
And with all that has come to light in recent years is there still an absence of clarity and honesty when it comes to theology.
What does it mean when we say Christ rises from the dead, when we say that Christ is really present in the Eucharist. What is Holy Water?
That elderly lady who stopped me has a profound belief in Holy Water. Is her faith represented or parallelled in the faith of the man who blesses it? Does that matter?
Does orthodoxy/conservatism 'force' people to 'hide' behind ideas and lifestyles to which they really do not subscribe? Does that end up in being able to compartmentalise a way of living?
There has been much talk, outrage, anger directed towards the Irish Catholic institutional church. But is there any serious analysis at looking at a theology that makes sense across the wide and varied membership of the church?
Before any shouts of Alleluia re the upsurge in priestly vocation, is there not an urgent need for an honest and serious debate about priesthood. If, as it now seems, there is an increase in priestly vocations, is there a real possibility of more fudge, more pious words? Worrying.
This morning on RTE Radio 1 an ex CIA operative spoke about wrong actions that have been performed by CIA people since 9/11. He pointed out that it had been the 'small people' who had been outed for their misbehaviour. He argued that it was important to ask how come such an environment was created in the first instance.
He would make an excellent contributor at a church organised conference.
And please don't misunderstand me. Like my father before me, I too begin my day by blessing myself with Holy Water. Why? Tradition, custom, superstition, faith, respect, being fooled? Who knows?
It reports on Fr Eamonn Conway heading up the European Society for Catholic Theology. There is a news item on numbers enrolling for priesthood and Patrick Claffey writes the 'Rite and Reason' column. And last evening's RTE main news carried a segment on an increase in young men signing up to enter seminaries.
Yesterday morning an elderly lady stopped and asked me if the Dominican church in the city centre still dispenses St Vincent Ferrer Holy Water? I was stopped in my tracks. Positive and negative thoughts ran through me head. With all the thoughts that arose maybe the predominant one was, what about the men who bless that water. What is their faith, their opinion, their understanding. and then I went on to wonder if the elderly lady, who spoke to me sat down and chatted and listened to the men who bless that water how would the conversation go? Would the priest be open and honest, would he speak his mind to the elderly lady and tell her exactly what he believes?
Does priesthood allow men speak their minds in a totally open and honest manner.
And with all that has come to light in recent years is there still an absence of clarity and honesty when it comes to theology.
What does it mean when we say Christ rises from the dead, when we say that Christ is really present in the Eucharist. What is Holy Water?
That elderly lady who stopped me has a profound belief in Holy Water. Is her faith represented or parallelled in the faith of the man who blesses it? Does that matter?
Does orthodoxy/conservatism 'force' people to 'hide' behind ideas and lifestyles to which they really do not subscribe? Does that end up in being able to compartmentalise a way of living?
There has been much talk, outrage, anger directed towards the Irish Catholic institutional church. But is there any serious analysis at looking at a theology that makes sense across the wide and varied membership of the church?
Before any shouts of Alleluia re the upsurge in priestly vocation, is there not an urgent need for an honest and serious debate about priesthood. If, as it now seems, there is an increase in priestly vocations, is there a real possibility of more fudge, more pious words? Worrying.
This morning on RTE Radio 1 an ex CIA operative spoke about wrong actions that have been performed by CIA people since 9/11. He pointed out that it had been the 'small people' who had been outed for their misbehaviour. He argued that it was important to ask how come such an environment was created in the first instance.
He would make an excellent contributor at a church organised conference.
And please don't misunderstand me. Like my father before me, I too begin my day by blessing myself with Holy Water. Why? Tradition, custom, superstition, faith, respect, being fooled? Who knows?
Lisbon Treaty
On Saturday an elderly lady was distributing leaflets outside the Swan Centre in Dublin's Rathmines on the upcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum. She was handing out material from Coir, which is advocating a No vote.
Again before this referendum there is an apparent silence on the ground from the Yes campaign. And has anyone seen a Government representative selling the Yes vote?
What is it about the Government? Is it laziness, incompetence, fear or arrogance that has them locked up behind their bunkers?
We are told the State is borrowing €400 million a week and the people who are telling us that take off and go on holiday. Does that make sense?
How far away are we from civil unrest?
Again before this referendum there is an apparent silence on the ground from the Yes campaign. And has anyone seen a Government representative selling the Yes vote?
What is it about the Government? Is it laziness, incompetence, fear or arrogance that has them locked up behind their bunkers?
We are told the State is borrowing €400 million a week and the people who are telling us that take off and go on holiday. Does that make sense?
How far away are we from civil unrest?
Viaduct collapse
Irish Rail was spectacularly lucky on Friday. What would have been the outcome if a train or two trains had been travelling on the viaduct at Broadmeadow Estuary at the time of collapse?
The locomotive driver deserves great praise for his action in slowing down his train. Not a word from him. No interview with him. Nothing. How that compares with the plane accident in the Hudson River when the pilot was named, interviewed and was recognised as a hero. Nothing of the sort from Irish Rail.
A comment written in a foreign language was left on this blog. As it is not in English or Irish it is not being published.
The locomotive driver deserves great praise for his action in slowing down his train. Not a word from him. No interview with him. Nothing. How that compares with the plane accident in the Hudson River when the pilot was named, interviewed and was recognised as a hero. Nothing of the sort from Irish Rail.
A comment written in a foreign language was left on this blog. As it is not in English or Irish it is not being published.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Fr Columba Ryan OP
Last week I learned of the death of Fr Columba Ryan OP.
When I first heard the news I mistook the man for another Irish Dominican who had lived in London and whom I had briefly met once. And then just today it dawned on me, no that's not the man at all. The dead man is a man, whom I had met on a number of occasions while staying at the Dominican Priory in London.
I know nothing about his spiritual or academic prowess. I know nothing about the books, pamphlets or newsletters he wrote. But I do know the old, gracious and clever man I got to know while visiting the Dominicans in London.
He was always extremely kind to me. He had, at least for me, that rare and cherished gift of making you feel important when you were with him. He always spoke sense to me. This man did not know how to speak clerical mumbo jumbo. Nor was he a conformist and seemed to have the courage to live out his convictions in his ordinary every day life.
He was an old man when he died. I am greatly saddened that I had not seen him in recent years. We had much to discuss, much to agree about and certainly a lot to laugh at together. We could both throw scorn on so much of the nonsense.
It must be a coincidence that he died within days of another prophetic Dominican, Fr Ross McAuley. There would be those who would pronounce them as 'difficult men'. They were never mediocre men.
If I am not mistaken his uncle designed the railway station in Nagpur. Another Dominican with railway connections.
The first meaning the dictionary gives for 'mumbo jumbo' is foolish religious reverence, ritual or incantation. Columba Ryan would indeed smile.
When I first heard the news I mistook the man for another Irish Dominican who had lived in London and whom I had briefly met once. And then just today it dawned on me, no that's not the man at all. The dead man is a man, whom I had met on a number of occasions while staying at the Dominican Priory in London.
I know nothing about his spiritual or academic prowess. I know nothing about the books, pamphlets or newsletters he wrote. But I do know the old, gracious and clever man I got to know while visiting the Dominicans in London.
He was always extremely kind to me. He had, at least for me, that rare and cherished gift of making you feel important when you were with him. He always spoke sense to me. This man did not know how to speak clerical mumbo jumbo. Nor was he a conformist and seemed to have the courage to live out his convictions in his ordinary every day life.
He was an old man when he died. I am greatly saddened that I had not seen him in recent years. We had much to discuss, much to agree about and certainly a lot to laugh at together. We could both throw scorn on so much of the nonsense.
It must be a coincidence that he died within days of another prophetic Dominican, Fr Ross McAuley. There would be those who would pronounce them as 'difficult men'. They were never mediocre men.
If I am not mistaken his uncle designed the railway station in Nagpur. Another Dominican with railway connections.
The first meaning the dictionary gives for 'mumbo jumbo' is foolish religious reverence, ritual or incantation. Columba Ryan would indeed smile.
Defecting on the internet
Is there an official mechanism within the Catholic Church for 'leaving'?
The comment from the director of the Catholic Communications Office, Martin Long, that it was very sad if people felt the need to defect from the church, but there was no impediment to it, appears patronising. What does he mean when he uses the word 'impediment'?
Really extraordinary.
And his comment referring to schooling is difficult to understand. It would make sense if the schools were not almost totally funded by the Exchequer. But since the State is the paymaster, Mr Long's comments seem to suggest nothing at all has changed in Ireland.
If someone lives in an Irish village and the only school is the local Catholic school, funded by the State, surely parents have a right to send their children to that school, irrespective of their faith?
The article below appeared in Thursday's edition of The Irish Times.
More than 2,000 sign up to defect from church
ALISON HEALY
MORE THAN 2,000 people have indicated their intention to formally leave the Catholic Church, through the website www.countmeout.ie, set up last month.
The website provides a three-step online process that simplifies the creation of a “declaration of defection”, the document that declares the intention to defect from the church.
From July 8th to yesterday evening, some 2,080 people had completed the declaration of defection. However, it is not yet known how many applications have been processed.
Paul Dunbar, who founded the website with Cormac Flynn and Gráinne O’Sullivan, said feedback suggested many people had completed the process, but it was difficult to know exactly how many.
On average, 10-20 people download the declaration to defect every day. Mr Dunbar said he expected this number to increase when the Dublin diocesan child abuse report is released later this year.
He said they had set up the website because they had found it very difficult to get information when they wished to defect.
Reactions from web visitors varied from “I’ve wanted to get out for years” to “What are the consequences?” he added.
The website also highlights the consequences of defecting. It points out that formally leaving the Catholic Church excludes you from Catholic ceremonies, but not from attending such ceremonies. It could affect your child’s chances of attending the local Catholic-run school, if he or she has not been baptised.
Catholic schools have the right to refuse the enrolment of children who are not Catholics. Mr Dunbar said the impact on their children’s education was “the number one reason” people gave for not going ahead with a defection.
The director of the Catholic Communications Office, Martin Long, said it was very sad if people felt the need to defect from the church, but there was no impediment to it. There were contradictions in someone wanting to leave the church but still have a child educated in a church-run school, Mr Long said.
Some dioceses received one or two applications for defections per year, while others did not receive any, he added.
“Quite often, there will be an offer to discuss it from the parish. When people have the full information, they may or may not want to go through with it. If you do make that decision, there are consequences that will flow from it.”
The comment from the director of the Catholic Communications Office, Martin Long, that it was very sad if people felt the need to defect from the church, but there was no impediment to it, appears patronising. What does he mean when he uses the word 'impediment'?
Really extraordinary.
And his comment referring to schooling is difficult to understand. It would make sense if the schools were not almost totally funded by the Exchequer. But since the State is the paymaster, Mr Long's comments seem to suggest nothing at all has changed in Ireland.
If someone lives in an Irish village and the only school is the local Catholic school, funded by the State, surely parents have a right to send their children to that school, irrespective of their faith?
The article below appeared in Thursday's edition of The Irish Times.
More than 2,000 sign up to defect from church
ALISON HEALY
MORE THAN 2,000 people have indicated their intention to formally leave the Catholic Church, through the website www.countmeout.ie, set up last month.
The website provides a three-step online process that simplifies the creation of a “declaration of defection”, the document that declares the intention to defect from the church.
From July 8th to yesterday evening, some 2,080 people had completed the declaration of defection. However, it is not yet known how many applications have been processed.
Paul Dunbar, who founded the website with Cormac Flynn and Gráinne O’Sullivan, said feedback suggested many people had completed the process, but it was difficult to know exactly how many.
On average, 10-20 people download the declaration to defect every day. Mr Dunbar said he expected this number to increase when the Dublin diocesan child abuse report is released later this year.
He said they had set up the website because they had found it very difficult to get information when they wished to defect.
Reactions from web visitors varied from “I’ve wanted to get out for years” to “What are the consequences?” he added.
The website also highlights the consequences of defecting. It points out that formally leaving the Catholic Church excludes you from Catholic ceremonies, but not from attending such ceremonies. It could affect your child’s chances of attending the local Catholic-run school, if he or she has not been baptised.
Catholic schools have the right to refuse the enrolment of children who are not Catholics. Mr Dunbar said the impact on their children’s education was “the number one reason” people gave for not going ahead with a defection.
The director of the Catholic Communications Office, Martin Long, said it was very sad if people felt the need to defect from the church, but there was no impediment to it. There were contradictions in someone wanting to leave the church but still have a child educated in a church-run school, Mr Long said.
Some dioceses received one or two applications for defections per year, while others did not receive any, he added.
“Quite often, there will be an offer to discuss it from the parish. When people have the full information, they may or may not want to go through with it. If you do make that decision, there are consequences that will flow from it.”
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Turing enigma
This article appears in yesterday's London Independent.
It is a shocking story and gives an insight into the damage that is done when people are betrayed, when people have to hide and live lives of fear. The cruelty of misguided and ill-informed authority.
It is a parable of great value.
The Turing enigma: Campaigners demand pardon for mathematics genius
He should have been hailed a hero for his wartime codebreaking. Instead he was prosecuted for his homosexuality and took his own life. So why has Britain never said sorry? Jonathan Brown reports
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Alan Turing helped crack German Enigma codes during the Second World War
He may have played a pivotal role in securing victory in the Second World War for his country six years earlier, but few outside the academic community would have recognised Alan Turing as he made his way down Manchester's Oxford Street shortly before Christmas in 1951. Someone who did notice the athletically-built scientist, however, was a young working class gay man called Arnold Murray.
Homosexuality was still illegal under the same repressive laws which had sent Oscar Wilde to jail half a century earlier. But regardless of the risk, the chance encounter was to develop into something more substantial and Murray spent a number of nights at the older man's modest home in suburban Wilmslow.
A month later, after Turing, a veteran of the then still secret Bletchley Park code-cracking team, had been giving a talk to the BBC on his pioneering work on artificial intelligence, he returned home to find his house burgled.
The culprit was an acquaintance of Murray's, who would prey on Murray's lovers, thinking they would be so afraid of being outed that they would not report the thefts to the police.
But Turing defied this convention and went straight to the police, where he admitted his affair – a "crime" for which he was spared the normal two-year jail term in favour of a hormonal treatment designed to beef up his masculine urges and suppress his homosexuality. The resulting publicity was to prove too much to bear and in June 1954, the 41-year-old was found dead in bed by his housekeeper. He had eaten an apple he had laced with poison.
The consequences which unfolded were not only a tragedy for Turing, his friends and family, it also robbed the world of one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. Now campaigners are demanding an official apology from the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, recognising the "consequences of prejudice that ended his career". More than 700 people have signed a petition started by the leading computer scientist John Graham-Cumming on the Downing Street website, including gay rights campaigners, politicians and scientists.
"What really annoyed me about this was here was a man who died in his early 40s because he was a homosexual. He was a war hero but here was a part of our history that we were turning a blind eye to when we should be celebrating it. There were a lot of homosexual people during the war doing incredible work – if it was not for Turing we would most likely be having this conversation in German," Mr Graham-Cumming said.
Turing had already made major contributions to mathematics and the embryonic computing sciences before the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. But it was for his work among the wartime Enigma code crackers at Bletchley Park for which he will be best remembered. "Turing realised that we had to turn what was then a cottage industry of code breaking into a full scale industry. He was probably the most important person there," said Simon Greenish, director of Bletchley Park Trust.
His "bombe" machine was able to rapidly de-code the 158 million, million, million variations used by the Nazis in their commands with the creation of a prototype high speed processor. It saved tens of thousands of lives and variations on the original helped both the British and the US to eventual victory.
But although he was, by any measure, a genius, Turing was an idiosyncratic figure bordering on the strange. A runner and rower of Olympic ability, he used to occasionally run the 40 miles between London and Bletchley to attend meetings. His behaviour and high-pitched voice drew furtive smiles from colleagues who tolerated his eccentricities such as chaining his tea mug to the radiator or riding his bicycle wearing a gas mask to avoid hay fever.
After the war, and having been awarded an OBE, Turing moved to the US to work at the National Physical laboratory where he began work on creating the stored-program computer but returned to Manchester in 1948, where he continued his pioneering work in the field of mathematical biology. But the arrest and conviction in 1952 for gross indecency shattered him. The chemical castration caused his breasts to enlarge and bloated his athletic physique. He was also banned from travelling to America. What followed was described by his biographer David Leavitt as a "slow, sad descent into grief and madness" and Turing began travelling abroad in search of sex safe beyond the reach of the British law.
Professor Richard Gill, Professor of mathematical statistics at Leiden University, is among those to sign the petition. "He was one of the geniuses of the 20th century and I have the feeling he was also a pretty decent guy. How his life ended was incredibly sad. In his last years he was thinking very deeply about some very difficult puzzles which give most people a bit of a headache. He was surely going further with this work and was certainly not finished yet," he said.
But there is another twist in the story of Alan Turing. Some have been moved to question whether he saw himself as a gay martyr. His chosen mode of death echoed his favourite fairytale Snow White, from which he was often moved to quote the phrase "Dip the apple in the brew, let the sleeping death seep through". His family insisted his death was merely a tragic accident while others have even hinted more darkly at murder because the inquest was never to establish that the apple contained cyanide. Recent years have seen his reputation partly restored. A memorial statue has been erected on the fringes of Manchester's Gay Village while the city's inner ring road bears his name. An official apology, however, continues to elude him.
Homosexuality and the law: Why Alan Turing was considered a criminal
*The 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act made any homosexual act illegal, even in private. Among the most famous prosecutions was that of Oscar Wilde in 1895.
*Section 11 stated that "any male person who, in public or private, commits ... any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable at the discretion of the court to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour."
*This part of the Act was inserted at the last minute after being drafted by the MP Henry Labouchere. It did not fit in with the rest of the Act, which dealt with sex crimes relating to young women, but was still passed by the House of Commons.
*The amendment was described as a "blackmailer's charter" as it effectively outlawed any and every form of male homosexuality. It prompted a number of prosecutions.
*The Act was repealed in England and Wales in 1956, but homosexuality was not fully legalised until 1967.
It is a shocking story and gives an insight into the damage that is done when people are betrayed, when people have to hide and live lives of fear. The cruelty of misguided and ill-informed authority.
It is a parable of great value.
The Turing enigma: Campaigners demand pardon for mathematics genius
He should have been hailed a hero for his wartime codebreaking. Instead he was prosecuted for his homosexuality and took his own life. So why has Britain never said sorry? Jonathan Brown reports
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Alan Turing helped crack German Enigma codes during the Second World War
He may have played a pivotal role in securing victory in the Second World War for his country six years earlier, but few outside the academic community would have recognised Alan Turing as he made his way down Manchester's Oxford Street shortly before Christmas in 1951. Someone who did notice the athletically-built scientist, however, was a young working class gay man called Arnold Murray.
Homosexuality was still illegal under the same repressive laws which had sent Oscar Wilde to jail half a century earlier. But regardless of the risk, the chance encounter was to develop into something more substantial and Murray spent a number of nights at the older man's modest home in suburban Wilmslow.
A month later, after Turing, a veteran of the then still secret Bletchley Park code-cracking team, had been giving a talk to the BBC on his pioneering work on artificial intelligence, he returned home to find his house burgled.
The culprit was an acquaintance of Murray's, who would prey on Murray's lovers, thinking they would be so afraid of being outed that they would not report the thefts to the police.
But Turing defied this convention and went straight to the police, where he admitted his affair – a "crime" for which he was spared the normal two-year jail term in favour of a hormonal treatment designed to beef up his masculine urges and suppress his homosexuality. The resulting publicity was to prove too much to bear and in June 1954, the 41-year-old was found dead in bed by his housekeeper. He had eaten an apple he had laced with poison.
The consequences which unfolded were not only a tragedy for Turing, his friends and family, it also robbed the world of one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. Now campaigners are demanding an official apology from the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, recognising the "consequences of prejudice that ended his career". More than 700 people have signed a petition started by the leading computer scientist John Graham-Cumming on the Downing Street website, including gay rights campaigners, politicians and scientists.
"What really annoyed me about this was here was a man who died in his early 40s because he was a homosexual. He was a war hero but here was a part of our history that we were turning a blind eye to when we should be celebrating it. There were a lot of homosexual people during the war doing incredible work – if it was not for Turing we would most likely be having this conversation in German," Mr Graham-Cumming said.
Turing had already made major contributions to mathematics and the embryonic computing sciences before the outbreak of hostilities in 1939. But it was for his work among the wartime Enigma code crackers at Bletchley Park for which he will be best remembered. "Turing realised that we had to turn what was then a cottage industry of code breaking into a full scale industry. He was probably the most important person there," said Simon Greenish, director of Bletchley Park Trust.
His "bombe" machine was able to rapidly de-code the 158 million, million, million variations used by the Nazis in their commands with the creation of a prototype high speed processor. It saved tens of thousands of lives and variations on the original helped both the British and the US to eventual victory.
But although he was, by any measure, a genius, Turing was an idiosyncratic figure bordering on the strange. A runner and rower of Olympic ability, he used to occasionally run the 40 miles between London and Bletchley to attend meetings. His behaviour and high-pitched voice drew furtive smiles from colleagues who tolerated his eccentricities such as chaining his tea mug to the radiator or riding his bicycle wearing a gas mask to avoid hay fever.
After the war, and having been awarded an OBE, Turing moved to the US to work at the National Physical laboratory where he began work on creating the stored-program computer but returned to Manchester in 1948, where he continued his pioneering work in the field of mathematical biology. But the arrest and conviction in 1952 for gross indecency shattered him. The chemical castration caused his breasts to enlarge and bloated his athletic physique. He was also banned from travelling to America. What followed was described by his biographer David Leavitt as a "slow, sad descent into grief and madness" and Turing began travelling abroad in search of sex safe beyond the reach of the British law.
Professor Richard Gill, Professor of mathematical statistics at Leiden University, is among those to sign the petition. "He was one of the geniuses of the 20th century and I have the feeling he was also a pretty decent guy. How his life ended was incredibly sad. In his last years he was thinking very deeply about some very difficult puzzles which give most people a bit of a headache. He was surely going further with this work and was certainly not finished yet," he said.
But there is another twist in the story of Alan Turing. Some have been moved to question whether he saw himself as a gay martyr. His chosen mode of death echoed his favourite fairytale Snow White, from which he was often moved to quote the phrase "Dip the apple in the brew, let the sleeping death seep through". His family insisted his death was merely a tragic accident while others have even hinted more darkly at murder because the inquest was never to establish that the apple contained cyanide. Recent years have seen his reputation partly restored. A memorial statue has been erected on the fringes of Manchester's Gay Village while the city's inner ring road bears his name. An official apology, however, continues to elude him.
Homosexuality and the law: Why Alan Turing was considered a criminal
*The 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act made any homosexual act illegal, even in private. Among the most famous prosecutions was that of Oscar Wilde in 1895.
*Section 11 stated that "any male person who, in public or private, commits ... any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable at the discretion of the court to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years, with or without hard labour."
*This part of the Act was inserted at the last minute after being drafted by the MP Henry Labouchere. It did not fit in with the rest of the Act, which dealt with sex crimes relating to young women, but was still passed by the House of Commons.
*The amendment was described as a "blackmailer's charter" as it effectively outlawed any and every form of male homosexuality. It prompted a number of prosecutions.
*The Act was repealed in England and Wales in 1956, but homosexuality was not fully legalised until 1967.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Bernhard Schlink's 'The Reader'
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink was in the news some years ago. It has also been made into a film.
Schlink portrays Hanna, with whom Michael falls in love at a young age. He later discovered she was a guard at Auschwitz.
It is a powerful description of an illiterate woman, who probably ends up at Auschwitz in an attempt to hide her illiteracy. And then her trial is another 'escape'.
It is a great read.
Michael decides to discuss his dilemma with his father, who is a philosophy professor and has written books on Kant and Hegel.
He says about his father, "For a long time I believed there must be a wealth of undiscovered treasure behind that uncommunicative manner, but later I wondered if there was anything behind it at all."
That surely is a powerful sentiment. How often are people 'built up' to be wise and important but really have nothing to say or offer? They hide behind all sorts of clever tricks and empty formulae. A curtain veils the fact that they may really believe in nothing, or stand for nothing. What happens when that applies to priests? Can priesthood be an almost perfect incubation space for such pomp and emptiness.
The very idea of clerical dress gives so much form to that sham and veneer. Surely it must allow for the perfect curtain. It can give an 'authority' that is simply not there and maybe make the person 'untouchable'.
Michael immediately adds about his father: " Perhaps he had been full of emotions as a boy and a young man, and by giving them no outlet had allowed them over the years to wither and die".
Schlink portrays Hanna, with whom Michael falls in love at a young age. He later discovered she was a guard at Auschwitz.
It is a powerful description of an illiterate woman, who probably ends up at Auschwitz in an attempt to hide her illiteracy. And then her trial is another 'escape'.
It is a great read.
Michael decides to discuss his dilemma with his father, who is a philosophy professor and has written books on Kant and Hegel.
He says about his father, "For a long time I believed there must be a wealth of undiscovered treasure behind that uncommunicative manner, but later I wondered if there was anything behind it at all."
That surely is a powerful sentiment. How often are people 'built up' to be wise and important but really have nothing to say or offer? They hide behind all sorts of clever tricks and empty formulae. A curtain veils the fact that they may really believe in nothing, or stand for nothing. What happens when that applies to priests? Can priesthood be an almost perfect incubation space for such pomp and emptiness.
The very idea of clerical dress gives so much form to that sham and veneer. Surely it must allow for the perfect curtain. It can give an 'authority' that is simply not there and maybe make the person 'untouchable'.
Michael immediately adds about his father: " Perhaps he had been full of emotions as a boy and a young man, and by giving them no outlet had allowed them over the years to wither and die".
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Ross McAuley OP
Fr Ross McAuley died at the Drogheda Memorial Hospital on the Curragh in Co Kildare on Sunday. His remains were removed to the Dominican church in Athy on Tuesday evening and burial took place today after requiem Mass in St Dominic's.
At the liturgy on Tuesday Fr Joe O'Brien spoke of the presence of God and how Ross was always conscious of God's presence.
He told the congregation that he and we most likely believed in God and his presence, and that Ross was now experiencing God's presence. He suggested/'warned' the congregation that Ross was 'watching' over all of us.
His words were most uplifting and apt.
This blog has already posted a column on Ross. It was written some days before he died.
At the liturgy on Tuesday Fr Joe O'Brien spoke of the presence of God and how Ross was always conscious of God's presence.
He told the congregation that he and we most likely believed in God and his presence, and that Ross was now experiencing God's presence. He suggested/'warned' the congregation that Ross was 'watching' over all of us.
His words were most uplifting and apt.
This blog has already posted a column on Ross. It was written some days before he died.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Caritas in Veritate
Is there a Latin version of 'Caritas in Veritate'?
It seems there is not. Is this unusual? In what language was it written?
It seems there is not. Is this unusual? In what language was it written?
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
It remains a taboo subject
The Anglican Communion is currently attempting to come to terms with the issue of homosexuality among its priests.
There has been much publicity surrounding the debate. There are those who are worried and concerned that it might well cause division within the church.
While the Anglicans discuss the matter in private and in public, there is little or no debate within the Catholic church concerning the matter. Indeed, it is almost a taboo subject.
Why is that?
It would seem that the Anglicans have the courage and openness to address the issue and then talk about it publicly.
Of course it is a significant matter within the Catholic church too but there is no discussion about it. To add to the complexity of the matter there seems to be a nexus between clerical closet homosexuality and an inordinate 'concern' for pseudo-orthodoxy. There also seems to be a link between some type of curious piousity and closet homosexuality within clericalism.
It is very difficult to understand how gay men, who are priests, manage to give such support to the conservative aspects of Catholic church teaching. It seems that the tendency is in the ascendent. It is most unlikely that there will be any attempt to discuss the issue. And that is a great pity.
Gay men are anything but misogynist, the same cannot be said about gay clerics.
No anonymous comments will be published on this topic.
There has been much publicity surrounding the debate. There are those who are worried and concerned that it might well cause division within the church.
While the Anglicans discuss the matter in private and in public, there is little or no debate within the Catholic church concerning the matter. Indeed, it is almost a taboo subject.
Why is that?
It would seem that the Anglicans have the courage and openness to address the issue and then talk about it publicly.
Of course it is a significant matter within the Catholic church too but there is no discussion about it. To add to the complexity of the matter there seems to be a nexus between clerical closet homosexuality and an inordinate 'concern' for pseudo-orthodoxy. There also seems to be a link between some type of curious piousity and closet homosexuality within clericalism.
It is very difficult to understand how gay men, who are priests, manage to give such support to the conservative aspects of Catholic church teaching. It seems that the tendency is in the ascendent. It is most unlikely that there will be any attempt to discuss the issue. And that is a great pity.
Gay men are anything but misogynist, the same cannot be said about gay clerics.
No anonymous comments will be published on this topic.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Timothy Garton Ash's article
Last week Guardian columnist Timothy Garton Ash wrote about the Conservative party's allies in the European Parliament.
He referred to a Polish politician. His thesis was that the he believed the man stood for little. At present he was aligned with conservative policy. He also pointed out that he has also been associated with hard right wing groups and been close to being anti Semitic in his views.
It was an interesting article and TGA did admit that the only sure thing that he could say about the Polish politician was that he was good at pushing his own image and liked fine wines.
Reading the article it did occur to this reader that he could very well have been writing about many Catholic priests who espouse right wing views.
He referred to a Polish politician. His thesis was that the he believed the man stood for little. At present he was aligned with conservative policy. He also pointed out that he has also been associated with hard right wing groups and been close to being anti Semitic in his views.
It was an interesting article and TGA did admit that the only sure thing that he could say about the Polish politician was that he was good at pushing his own image and liked fine wines.
Reading the article it did occur to this reader that he could very well have been writing about many Catholic priests who espouse right wing views.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Flying high with Ikea
If you are looking for all the thrills of no frills airline Ryanair without lifting a foot off the ground then visit the newly opened Ikea store in Dublin.
The store is so close to the airport you actually can get the smell of aviation fuel, that is if you can manage to spend any time or energy concentrating on that particular sense.
And just as when you get off a Ryanair flight, leaving Ikea, you say to yourself; it's cheap.
The store is so close to the airport you actually can get the smell of aviation fuel, that is if you can manage to spend any time or energy concentrating on that particular sense.
And just as when you get off a Ryanair flight, leaving Ikea, you say to yourself; it's cheap.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Custom and practice
The dispute in the diocese of Galway as to whether a coffin should or should not be left open in Liscannor church is receiving an amount of national publicity.
Bishop Martin Drennan argues that a village church should not be used as a funeral parlour.
Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley urges the bishop to change his mind on the matter.
In The Irish Examiner today Dan Buckley argues that Bishop Drennan’s letter is extraordinary and that a change of heart on his part would be an act of Christian compassion. He points out that when a pope dies his coffin is left open in St Peter’s for a number of days.
Is there a theology behind the bishop’s stance or has it something to do with funeral parlours?
The bishop points out that his standard is expressed in the question, ‘will this decision further the Kingdom of God?’ He says that it is that criterion which guides him in the choices he is called to make.
How do we ever know in such matters how best to ‘further the Kingdom of God’?
It does seem there is need for some sort of universal norm or practice when it comes to liturgical practice across the church. Then what about local custom?
It is ‘prohibited’ to give a eulogy at a funeral Mass. And yet when it comes to the funeral Mass of an important person, eulogies are pro forma.
Bishop Martin Drennan argues that a village church should not be used as a funeral parlour.
Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley urges the bishop to change his mind on the matter.
In The Irish Examiner today Dan Buckley argues that Bishop Drennan’s letter is extraordinary and that a change of heart on his part would be an act of Christian compassion. He points out that when a pope dies his coffin is left open in St Peter’s for a number of days.
Is there a theology behind the bishop’s stance or has it something to do with funeral parlours?
The bishop points out that his standard is expressed in the question, ‘will this decision further the Kingdom of God?’ He says that it is that criterion which guides him in the choices he is called to make.
How do we ever know in such matters how best to ‘further the Kingdom of God’?
It does seem there is need for some sort of universal norm or practice when it comes to liturgical practice across the church. Then what about local custom?
It is ‘prohibited’ to give a eulogy at a funeral Mass. And yet when it comes to the funeral Mass of an important person, eulogies are pro forma.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
A great man lies on his death bed
An Irish Dominican I know for 42 years lies on his death bed.
He was born on Christmas Eve 1939. It makes him 69. He is not old. He was born into a world of war. Hitler was prancing around Europe and would keep doing so until he met his match at Stalingrad and Kursk.
It means Ross grew up in a world of turmoil, which caused indescribable pain for millions of people. It meant rations and privation in Ireland.
Ross is a slight man. But he always had an amazing energy, physical and intellectual.
When I was a novice, Ross was finishing his studies at UCC. Studying with him at the time were three other Dominicans, two of them now dead. The other man left the Dominicans and priesthood. One man committed suicide. Another man died of natural causes. Only for Ross the latter would never have managed his exams. Ross pulled him by his boot strings through his final exams and essay deadlines.
After University Ross went to South American where he spent many years. I never saw his work first-hand but I am told he built schools and churches with his own hands. He was a dynamic 'terrier'.
Authority and the establishment had not got the tools or insight to 'handle' him. All they could ever do was to dismiss him as maybe even 'mad'.
He was no diplomat or 'fixer' but a man who spoke his mind no matter what the consequences. He saw through the nonsense of all the clerical rot that exists in abundance in Ireland.
He was abrasive, at times could be impossible, but he was always great. He was truthful. And he was highly intelligent. He was never afraid to stand up to the great and the mighty. He was afraid of no-one. All he was ever afraid of was dishonesty and deceit. Humbug was anathema to him. Inefficiency and waste too.
He is now a frail and weak man. But his mind still razor sharp.
I asked him on Friday if he believed in God. He replied, 'stronger than ever'. When I asked him about the existence of heaven, he made no reply.
The Dominican Order will be a far poorer place without Ross. More than ever, the order needs sentry boxes manned by people such as Ross.
Ross was born before Stalingrad and Kursk. But his life in some ways is a mirror image of the doggedness and ferocity of those valiant fighters. It stands in stark relief to the nonsensical pageantry and liturgical lap dancing that takes place in today's Irish church.
He was born on Christmas Eve 1939. It makes him 69. He is not old. He was born into a world of war. Hitler was prancing around Europe and would keep doing so until he met his match at Stalingrad and Kursk.
It means Ross grew up in a world of turmoil, which caused indescribable pain for millions of people. It meant rations and privation in Ireland.
Ross is a slight man. But he always had an amazing energy, physical and intellectual.
When I was a novice, Ross was finishing his studies at UCC. Studying with him at the time were three other Dominicans, two of them now dead. The other man left the Dominicans and priesthood. One man committed suicide. Another man died of natural causes. Only for Ross the latter would never have managed his exams. Ross pulled him by his boot strings through his final exams and essay deadlines.
After University Ross went to South American where he spent many years. I never saw his work first-hand but I am told he built schools and churches with his own hands. He was a dynamic 'terrier'.
Authority and the establishment had not got the tools or insight to 'handle' him. All they could ever do was to dismiss him as maybe even 'mad'.
He was no diplomat or 'fixer' but a man who spoke his mind no matter what the consequences. He saw through the nonsense of all the clerical rot that exists in abundance in Ireland.
He was abrasive, at times could be impossible, but he was always great. He was truthful. And he was highly intelligent. He was never afraid to stand up to the great and the mighty. He was afraid of no-one. All he was ever afraid of was dishonesty and deceit. Humbug was anathema to him. Inefficiency and waste too.
He is now a frail and weak man. But his mind still razor sharp.
I asked him on Friday if he believed in God. He replied, 'stronger than ever'. When I asked him about the existence of heaven, he made no reply.
The Dominican Order will be a far poorer place without Ross. More than ever, the order needs sentry boxes manned by people such as Ross.
Ross was born before Stalingrad and Kursk. But his life in some ways is a mirror image of the doggedness and ferocity of those valiant fighters. It stands in stark relief to the nonsensical pageantry and liturgical lap dancing that takes place in today's Irish church.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The norm has to be wrong
There has to be something wrong in an economy where the farmer receives circa 20 cent for a litre of milk and a pint of milk in Rathgar costs 80 cent.
Maybe more significantly, there has to be something seriously worrying in a society where we take this economic madness to be the norm.
Will it end up in civil unrest on our streets?
Maybe more significantly, there has to be something seriously worrying in a society where we take this economic madness to be the norm.
Will it end up in civil unrest on our streets?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Direct line to God has to be a fraud
In recent weeks I have been attending Mass in various churches in different places. Sitting down listening to sermons I have been confirmed in my belief that the most important task/charism/role of a priest is to be gentle and understanding towards people.
The arrogance and nonsense of so many sermons is really breathtaking. It is actually difficult to fathom. Silly material dressed up with some sort of pseudo importance/superiority. I keep asking myself to these men actually believe this piffle themselves.
And then I have seen cases of men mentioning they have been so many years ordained and thanking God for the gift. Is all this stuff not sensational arrogance?
Maybe I belong to the 'wrong generation' but it is the certainty that is so difficult to take or understand.
The arrogance and nonsense of so many sermons is really breathtaking. It is actually difficult to fathom. Silly material dressed up with some sort of pseudo importance/superiority. I keep asking myself to these men actually believe this piffle themselves.
And then I have seen cases of men mentioning they have been so many years ordained and thanking God for the gift. Is all this stuff not sensational arrogance?
Maybe I belong to the 'wrong generation' but it is the certainty that is so difficult to take or understand.
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