Fr Simon Sleeman OSB - his mother has been in the news of late - was on the John Murray Show on RTE Radio One this morning. It made for interesting listening.
Well worth a listen. I bet Simon Sleeman is not a Tea Party man.
How much can you tell from a person's voice?
The Tea Party people are flying. There seems to be many similarities between them and a new mood within priesthood.
I see Newt Gingrich - the man who has spent years campaigning for 'solid family values' has been married at least three times and left one of his wives in quite extraordinary fashion.
Come to think about it the Tea Party people and the men of Latin have a great deal in common.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Climbing Mount Brandon on a clear day
The column below appears in all INM regional titles in Ireland today.
By Michael Commane
It’s well I was not up partying until the small hours on the Friday after the Junior Cert results were published, as it would have made for a tough day ahead.
Although I had not been to bed until 01.00 or so I was down to school on my bike for English class at nine. But before getting to the classroom the school principal sidled up to me and asked me if I would accompany the transition year up Mount Brandon. It was 08.50 and planned departure time was 09.15. It meant I had to dash home, make a sandwich, get clothes for the mountain and put on a pair of boots.
We were at the base of the mountain circa 09.45. Our guide was there waiting for us and we set off at 10.10.
There were 16 of us, 14 students, our guide and yours truly. It must be about 10 years since I was up the mountain. While I am on a bicycle every day and do a fair share of walking and swimming, I am 61 and it had been some time since I had been out climbing.
Before getting off the bus I did say to the students that I did not want to hear one vulgar word on the mountain.
They had received their Junior Cert results on the Wednesday and as you can imagine, they were full of the joys of life. None of them had been up the mountain before so I presumed we would be pulling and coaxing some of them up to the top. Nothing of the sort. I was flabbergasted with how fit they were and somewhat embarrassed that it was I who had to be pulled and coaxed. Well not really. But still they were as fit as fiddles.
It was a perfect day. We could see for miles and miles. Yes, I know we have gone metric but miles are far more descriptive than kilometres in this context.
We got to the top at 12.30 where we had our lunch and took a 30-minute break.
They really were a special group of students. It has often struck me with young Irish students how they seem to have little or no interest in anything to do with nature or art. It seems as if everything is a bore for them and all they want is a McDonalds and a shopping spree. The moment we reached the top ridge on Brandon I heard one of the 15-year-old students express his wonder and awe at the sheer beauty of what lay all around him. It really was a great moment.
The entire operation was really a magical experience. Everything went perfectly. Maybe it had something to do with the professionalism of our guide Noel from Irish Adventures in Dingle. He was most impressive and had that gift of being totally in control and yet at the same time managing to merge so perfectly with the young people he was guiding up the mountain. Never once during the walk did he have to shout or discipline anyone. That was probably a mixture of the attitude of the group and the guide’s professionalism.
We arrived back in the car park at the base of Mount Brandon at 14.50. Mission accomplished. We had been to the top of the second highest mountain in Ireland. At 952 metres (3,123 feet) on a day of blue skies and not a sign of a whiff of wind. Incredible good fortune.
On the pole at the top of the mountain was a red and white flag blowing ever so gently. Some of the group were not at all happy. It was two days before the All-Ireland. I tried to explain that it was good for the game to spread around the honours!
The behaviour of the students was impeccable. Never once during our five hours on the mountain was there a hint of misbehaviour. Of course they are not saints. No one is. But I was greatly impressed with both their attitude and behaviour. I was impressed with their fitness and their support for one another. No one was left behind, well maybe, except for me! Nobody sulked. It really was a perfect day.
Our school is a small 130-student school in West Kerry. I have taught in in a number of schools and am forever impressed with the good nature of the vast majority of our school-going students.
But there is something special about this school in West Kerry. Maybe it is that it is a small school. No doubt economists and politicians will tell us that schools have to cater for large numbers so as to be viable. Surely it is a matter of what is best for the children.
And to boot our school is not a fee paying school.
Not once in the course of the day did I hear one bad or vulgar word. They kept their word. That too is important.
By Michael Commane
It’s well I was not up partying until the small hours on the Friday after the Junior Cert results were published, as it would have made for a tough day ahead.
Although I had not been to bed until 01.00 or so I was down to school on my bike for English class at nine. But before getting to the classroom the school principal sidled up to me and asked me if I would accompany the transition year up Mount Brandon. It was 08.50 and planned departure time was 09.15. It meant I had to dash home, make a sandwich, get clothes for the mountain and put on a pair of boots.
We were at the base of the mountain circa 09.45. Our guide was there waiting for us and we set off at 10.10.
There were 16 of us, 14 students, our guide and yours truly. It must be about 10 years since I was up the mountain. While I am on a bicycle every day and do a fair share of walking and swimming, I am 61 and it had been some time since I had been out climbing.
Before getting off the bus I did say to the students that I did not want to hear one vulgar word on the mountain.
They had received their Junior Cert results on the Wednesday and as you can imagine, they were full of the joys of life. None of them had been up the mountain before so I presumed we would be pulling and coaxing some of them up to the top. Nothing of the sort. I was flabbergasted with how fit they were and somewhat embarrassed that it was I who had to be pulled and coaxed. Well not really. But still they were as fit as fiddles.
It was a perfect day. We could see for miles and miles. Yes, I know we have gone metric but miles are far more descriptive than kilometres in this context.
We got to the top at 12.30 where we had our lunch and took a 30-minute break.
They really were a special group of students. It has often struck me with young Irish students how they seem to have little or no interest in anything to do with nature or art. It seems as if everything is a bore for them and all they want is a McDonalds and a shopping spree. The moment we reached the top ridge on Brandon I heard one of the 15-year-old students express his wonder and awe at the sheer beauty of what lay all around him. It really was a great moment.
The entire operation was really a magical experience. Everything went perfectly. Maybe it had something to do with the professionalism of our guide Noel from Irish Adventures in Dingle. He was most impressive and had that gift of being totally in control and yet at the same time managing to merge so perfectly with the young people he was guiding up the mountain. Never once during the walk did he have to shout or discipline anyone. That was probably a mixture of the attitude of the group and the guide’s professionalism.
We arrived back in the car park at the base of Mount Brandon at 14.50. Mission accomplished. We had been to the top of the second highest mountain in Ireland. At 952 metres (3,123 feet) on a day of blue skies and not a sign of a whiff of wind. Incredible good fortune.
On the pole at the top of the mountain was a red and white flag blowing ever so gently. Some of the group were not at all happy. It was two days before the All-Ireland. I tried to explain that it was good for the game to spread around the honours!
The behaviour of the students was impeccable. Never once during our five hours on the mountain was there a hint of misbehaviour. Of course they are not saints. No one is. But I was greatly impressed with both their attitude and behaviour. I was impressed with their fitness and their support for one another. No one was left behind, well maybe, except for me! Nobody sulked. It really was a perfect day.
Our school is a small 130-student school in West Kerry. I have taught in in a number of schools and am forever impressed with the good nature of the vast majority of our school-going students.
But there is something special about this school in West Kerry. Maybe it is that it is a small school. No doubt economists and politicians will tell us that schools have to cater for large numbers so as to be viable. Surely it is a matter of what is best for the children.
And to boot our school is not a fee paying school.
Not once in the course of the day did I hear one bad or vulgar word. They kept their word. That too is important.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Hints of a hankering for yesterday's style
How the world changes, or does it?
Back in the Ireland of the 1950s a priest called almost every day to a professional couple. It eventually dawned on the lady of the house that father was calling for his daily glass of whiskey. He called most days at 11am.
On one occasion he was asked if he would deliver a parcel for the couple. He replied that he never carried parcels.
Fast forward to today and try to understand the priest who when he is asked to wash dishes explains that his hands are the hands of an ordained minister.
Of course there are amazing, hard working priests. But the worry is that there seems to be a terrible hankering for the old ways of the 'parcel-style' priest, especially with the men who play Latin.
Back in the Ireland of the 1950s a priest called almost every day to a professional couple. It eventually dawned on the lady of the house that father was calling for his daily glass of whiskey. He called most days at 11am.
On one occasion he was asked if he would deliver a parcel for the couple. He replied that he never carried parcels.
Fast forward to today and try to understand the priest who when he is asked to wash dishes explains that his hands are the hands of an ordained minister.
Of course there are amazing, hard working priests. But the worry is that there seems to be a terrible hankering for the old ways of the 'parcel-style' priest, especially with the men who play Latin.
Simply a story with a lovely ending
The piece below appears on the front page of today's Irish Times.
THE FOUNDER of the Sisters of St Joseph, who will be canonised as Australia’s first saint next month, was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1871 after exposing a paedophile Irish priest, it has been revealed.
Australian television has reported that Sr Mary MacKillop discovered that children were being abused by Fr Patrick Keating in the Kapunda parish near Adelaide in south Australia.
She told Josephites director Fr Julian Tenison-Woods about the abuse. It was then reported to the vicar general and Fr Keating was sent back to Ireland, where he continued to serve as a priest.
Fr Charles Horan, a Galway man who was a colleague of Fr Keating, swore revenge on Sr MacKillop and her order. After only four years as a nun, she was excommunicated by Adelaide’s bishop Laurence Shiel, who was originally from Wexford.
She was turned out on the street with no money and nowhere to go.
Five months later, though, on his deathbed, Bishop Shiel instructed that Sr MacKillop be absolved and restored.
Fr Paul Gardiner, who has advocated for Sr MacKillop’s canonisation for 25 years, said Fr Horan had been working for Bishop Shiel and had urged him to break up the Josephites. When Sr MacKillop, who was then aged 29, refused, she was banished from the church. “She submitted to a farcical ceremony where the bishop had . . . lost it,” Fr Gardiner said.
“He was a puppet being manipulated by malicious priests. This sounds terrible, but it’s true.”
In 2009, 100 years after Sr MacKillop’s death, Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide publicly apologised to the Sisters of St Joseph for her wrongful excommunication.
“On behalf of myself and the archdiocese, I apologise to the sisters . . . for what happened to them in the context of the excommunication, when their lives and their community life was interrupted and they were virtually thrown out on the streets . . . This was a terrible thing,” he said.
After being reinstated by the Catholic Church, Sr MacKillop became known for her work with disadvantaged children, female ex-prisoners and prostitutes.
She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 following a Vatican decree that in 1961, a Sydney woman was cured of leukaemia through Sr MacKillop’s intercession. The second miracle required for sainthood occurred in the mid-1990s when a woman sent home from hospital to die due to inoperable lung and brain cancer was cured.
The family of Cork man David Keohane, who was beaten almost to death in Sydney in 2008, said his waking from a coma in Cork University Hospital in March last year was due to their praying to Sr MacKillop.
“All we can really say is that faith in Mary MacKillop helped them to get through this,” Steve Carey, a Keohane family friend, said at the time.
Sr MacKillop, who was born in Melbourne to Scottish immigrant parents in 1842 and died in Sydney in 1909, will be canonised by Pope Benedict in Rome on October 17th.
THE FOUNDER of the Sisters of St Joseph, who will be canonised as Australia’s first saint next month, was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1871 after exposing a paedophile Irish priest, it has been revealed.
Australian television has reported that Sr Mary MacKillop discovered that children were being abused by Fr Patrick Keating in the Kapunda parish near Adelaide in south Australia.
She told Josephites director Fr Julian Tenison-Woods about the abuse. It was then reported to the vicar general and Fr Keating was sent back to Ireland, where he continued to serve as a priest.
Fr Charles Horan, a Galway man who was a colleague of Fr Keating, swore revenge on Sr MacKillop and her order. After only four years as a nun, she was excommunicated by Adelaide’s bishop Laurence Shiel, who was originally from Wexford.
She was turned out on the street with no money and nowhere to go.
Five months later, though, on his deathbed, Bishop Shiel instructed that Sr MacKillop be absolved and restored.
Fr Paul Gardiner, who has advocated for Sr MacKillop’s canonisation for 25 years, said Fr Horan had been working for Bishop Shiel and had urged him to break up the Josephites. When Sr MacKillop, who was then aged 29, refused, she was banished from the church. “She submitted to a farcical ceremony where the bishop had . . . lost it,” Fr Gardiner said.
“He was a puppet being manipulated by malicious priests. This sounds terrible, but it’s true.”
In 2009, 100 years after Sr MacKillop’s death, Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide publicly apologised to the Sisters of St Joseph for her wrongful excommunication.
“On behalf of myself and the archdiocese, I apologise to the sisters . . . for what happened to them in the context of the excommunication, when their lives and their community life was interrupted and they were virtually thrown out on the streets . . . This was a terrible thing,” he said.
After being reinstated by the Catholic Church, Sr MacKillop became known for her work with disadvantaged children, female ex-prisoners and prostitutes.
She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 following a Vatican decree that in 1961, a Sydney woman was cured of leukaemia through Sr MacKillop’s intercession. The second miracle required for sainthood occurred in the mid-1990s when a woman sent home from hospital to die due to inoperable lung and brain cancer was cured.
The family of Cork man David Keohane, who was beaten almost to death in Sydney in 2008, said his waking from a coma in Cork University Hospital in March last year was due to their praying to Sr MacKillop.
“All we can really say is that faith in Mary MacKillop helped them to get through this,” Steve Carey, a Keohane family friend, said at the time.
Sr MacKillop, who was born in Melbourne to Scottish immigrant parents in 1842 and died in Sydney in 1909, will be canonised by Pope Benedict in Rome on October 17th.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Ominous whispers at Irish Rail
Blogging is a notorious vehicle for spreading unfounded rumour and general gossip. It gives crazy people a chance to go public.
The following item may well be 'unfounded rumour' and 'general gossip'.
Is there something terribly amiss at Irish Rail?
Among the workforce there is unstoppable gossip about the condition of the new fleet of trains that Irish Rail bought from CAF in Spain.
The original design allowed for a cab and power unit at each end. Irish Rail modified the train to allow them to attach their GM locos to the train. It means the train unit is a push pull operation.
The story among many of the workers is that it is not working and the modified train is digging up the track.
Certainly it is fact that they have had to modify the bogies.
Staff who have to walk through the train are complaining that because of the rocking, it is now becoming a health risk.
The trains are far too unstable on the track as per current running.
And the other whisper is that the company is right now haemorrhaging.
Anyone notice how the on board cleaning has been terminated?
Are there many Anglo Irish Banks in Ireland?
A better logic needs to be applied to their online sales. You can travel on the 09.15ex Tralee Heuston train for €12. If you buy a ticket to Connolly from Tralee on the asme train using the same online booking system the charge is over €60.
The following item may well be 'unfounded rumour' and 'general gossip'.
Is there something terribly amiss at Irish Rail?
Among the workforce there is unstoppable gossip about the condition of the new fleet of trains that Irish Rail bought from CAF in Spain.
The original design allowed for a cab and power unit at each end. Irish Rail modified the train to allow them to attach their GM locos to the train. It means the train unit is a push pull operation.
The story among many of the workers is that it is not working and the modified train is digging up the track.
Certainly it is fact that they have had to modify the bogies.
Staff who have to walk through the train are complaining that because of the rocking, it is now becoming a health risk.
The trains are far too unstable on the track as per current running.
And the other whisper is that the company is right now haemorrhaging.
Anyone notice how the on board cleaning has been terminated?
Are there many Anglo Irish Banks in Ireland?
A better logic needs to be applied to their online sales. You can travel on the 09.15ex Tralee Heuston train for €12. If you buy a ticket to Connolly from Tralee on the asme train using the same online booking system the charge is over €60.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
From ECB to London with a DB ICE
On October 19 an Inter City Express of German Railways (DB) will arrive at London's St Pancras International Terminal.
It is expected by late 2013 trains will be running between Frankfurt-am-Main and London. Journey time will be under four hours. And then it will be on to Berlin.
German Railways is State owned as is the track.
It is expected by late 2013 trains will be running between Frankfurt-am-Main and London. Journey time will be under four hours. And then it will be on to Berlin.
German Railways is State owned as is the track.
New man in charge of Dominican Order
Bruno Cadoré, the new man in charge of the Dominican Order has his roots in the West Indies. His grandfather emigrated to France from Martinique.
According to someone who has met him, he combines simplicity with a deep wisdom.
He says about the new man, "He combines a lovely simplicity with a deep wisdom. I like most of all his good human qualities, yes, Christian qualities. After his novitiate he spent some time in Haiti. He says that it was where he first began to appreciate what the Gospel is about.
According to someone who has met him, he combines simplicity with a deep wisdom.
He says about the new man, "He combines a lovely simplicity with a deep wisdom. I like most of all his good human qualities, yes, Christian qualities. After his novitiate he spent some time in Haiti. He says that it was where he first began to appreciate what the Gospel is about.
The nonsense of queueing
This article appears in Ireland today in the regional newspapers of Independent News and Media.
By Michael Commane
Cycling in Dublin last week close to midnight I spotted a queue outside an Xtra Vision shop. I was cycling from Heuston Station to the south side of the city. It wasn’t just late and dark, but it was also wet and windy and there they were standing in a queue. I could not believe my eyes and kept cycling. Curiosity got the better of me so I stopped and asked two young ‘fellas’ what was up. They were not in the queue but across the road and were clued in to what was going on. They told me that those outside the shop were queuing to buy a new computer game that was about to be launched. I expressed my bewilderment to the two ‘fellas’ and they also thought it hilarious and expressed what a weird sight it was, especially because of the night that was in it. It was 15 minutes away from midnight on a wet windy autumn night in Dublin.
This queueing business has developed a whole life of its own. Or has it?
Back in the boom times, remember those days, there were queues for knock-down bargain-price houses. The houses were selling for well under €1 million!
Some months back I spotted not a small queue outside an Aldi shop. It was about 30 minutes before the shop was due to open. The ‘queuers’ had obviously seen there were special offers about to go on sale and they wanted to be in first to get their hands on them.
What struck me was that none of those in the queue looked particularly happy. You would imagine they would be a type of ‘professional queuer’ who made it their business to pick up bargains wherever available and that they should be full of the joys of life and delighted with the great bargains they pick up. Not so at all. I was also struck by their dress. There was nothing special or elegant about how they were attired.
The phenomenon of Aldi and Lidl offering special bargains alongside their usual groceries seems to have given men the possibility of becoming shopaholics.
A friend of mine has a roomful of unopened gadgets bought at Lidl and Aldi. I have designed a new modus operandi for myself when I am in these shops. If I spend more than ten seconds thinking about buying a particular item, then I don’t need it and walk on.
That’s not always easy.
But the queues are around a long time. Those early New Year bargains that begin on December 26 get people planning their queue strategy on Christmas Day.
Just examine the money that is spent on advertising and you would want to be a fool to think that we are not all influenced by smart slogans no matter how single-minded we might think we are.
And then once you are hooked on some brand or other it is most unusual to change.
It’s easy enough for me to scratch my head and wonder at people queuing in the rain and wind at midnight but one way or another we are all children of the world of advertising.
When I was a child the clothes label was inside the garment and if it appeared on the outside it would be a source of laughter and derision. These days it has to be on the outside. Not just on the outside, but screaming at you. Free advertising for which the customer pays.
And then there are all the various brands and branding. Companies spend large sums of money branding their product. In my childhood, branding had all to do with sheep.
The times they are a-changing. Of course things are forever changing and that’s the way of the world. But just as we are asking serious questions these days about where our leaders and bankers have brought us, is it not time to ask some questions about the world of advertising? Have we all been driven crazy by an ephemeral quicksand that is silly beyond words.
To queue for a computer game at midnight in the wind and rain has to be a nonsense.
And then I was back thinking again about my own childhood and how people queued in church pews to go to confession. Is there simply something in the human psyche that forces us to queue and look for those fleeting bargains whether in terra firma or in the sky?
Every time I see a queue at an ATM I think back at the confession queues. Can I dare ask the question whether or not we are better off queueing at an ATM or outside a confessional?
One way or another queueing at midnight in the wind and rain in autumnal Ireland has to be crazy.
By Michael Commane
Cycling in Dublin last week close to midnight I spotted a queue outside an Xtra Vision shop. I was cycling from Heuston Station to the south side of the city. It wasn’t just late and dark, but it was also wet and windy and there they were standing in a queue. I could not believe my eyes and kept cycling. Curiosity got the better of me so I stopped and asked two young ‘fellas’ what was up. They were not in the queue but across the road and were clued in to what was going on. They told me that those outside the shop were queuing to buy a new computer game that was about to be launched. I expressed my bewilderment to the two ‘fellas’ and they also thought it hilarious and expressed what a weird sight it was, especially because of the night that was in it. It was 15 minutes away from midnight on a wet windy autumn night in Dublin.
This queueing business has developed a whole life of its own. Or has it?
Back in the boom times, remember those days, there were queues for knock-down bargain-price houses. The houses were selling for well under €1 million!
Some months back I spotted not a small queue outside an Aldi shop. It was about 30 minutes before the shop was due to open. The ‘queuers’ had obviously seen there were special offers about to go on sale and they wanted to be in first to get their hands on them.
What struck me was that none of those in the queue looked particularly happy. You would imagine they would be a type of ‘professional queuer’ who made it their business to pick up bargains wherever available and that they should be full of the joys of life and delighted with the great bargains they pick up. Not so at all. I was also struck by their dress. There was nothing special or elegant about how they were attired.
The phenomenon of Aldi and Lidl offering special bargains alongside their usual groceries seems to have given men the possibility of becoming shopaholics.
A friend of mine has a roomful of unopened gadgets bought at Lidl and Aldi. I have designed a new modus operandi for myself when I am in these shops. If I spend more than ten seconds thinking about buying a particular item, then I don’t need it and walk on.
That’s not always easy.
But the queues are around a long time. Those early New Year bargains that begin on December 26 get people planning their queue strategy on Christmas Day.
Just examine the money that is spent on advertising and you would want to be a fool to think that we are not all influenced by smart slogans no matter how single-minded we might think we are.
And then once you are hooked on some brand or other it is most unusual to change.
It’s easy enough for me to scratch my head and wonder at people queuing in the rain and wind at midnight but one way or another we are all children of the world of advertising.
When I was a child the clothes label was inside the garment and if it appeared on the outside it would be a source of laughter and derision. These days it has to be on the outside. Not just on the outside, but screaming at you. Free advertising for which the customer pays.
And then there are all the various brands and branding. Companies spend large sums of money branding their product. In my childhood, branding had all to do with sheep.
The times they are a-changing. Of course things are forever changing and that’s the way of the world. But just as we are asking serious questions these days about where our leaders and bankers have brought us, is it not time to ask some questions about the world of advertising? Have we all been driven crazy by an ephemeral quicksand that is silly beyond words.
To queue for a computer game at midnight in the wind and rain has to be a nonsense.
And then I was back thinking again about my own childhood and how people queued in church pews to go to confession. Is there simply something in the human psyche that forces us to queue and look for those fleeting bargains whether in terra firma or in the sky?
Every time I see a queue at an ATM I think back at the confession queues. Can I dare ask the question whether or not we are better off queueing at an ATM or outside a confessional?
One way or another queueing at midnight in the wind and rain in autumnal Ireland has to be crazy.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Pope Benedict talks of Newman the priest
Pope Benedict celebrated Mass in Birmingham today. At the Mass John Henry Newman was beatified.
Pope Benedict began his sermon by referring to the sacrifice made by the people of Britain in defeating nazi Germany. It was a moving and poignant introduction to his words. He spoke about how the writings of Newman are relevant for the teaching of faith today and how Newman saw the importance of the link between faith and reason.
He concluded by referring to Newman the priest, who cared for the sick and the old and how they turned out in large numbers to attend his funeral.
Pope Benedict began his sermon by referring to the sacrifice made by the people of Britain in defeating nazi Germany. It was a moving and poignant introduction to his words. He spoke about how the writings of Newman are relevant for the teaching of faith today and how Newman saw the importance of the link between faith and reason.
He concluded by referring to Newman the priest, who cared for the sick and the old and how they turned out in large numbers to attend his funeral.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Kasper, Pope Benedict, the razzmatazz
British television is giving extensive coverage to Pope Benedict's official visit to Scotland and Wales.
The more one reads and sees about the visit surely the more confused one becomes.
How much of my Catholic faith, the faith I inherited from my parents, a numbers game?
What is Walter Kasper saying? Is this all choreographed high diplomatic strategy or is it style from an organisation that is inept?
And then there is something sad about Dr Paisley and his demonstration.
Do all the Catholic spokespersons appearing on television and radio really believe all of what they are saying?
The razzmatazz that seems such an integral part of the visit seems so far removed from faith, even from what Bavarian born Josef Ratzinger believes.
It's confusing.
The piece below is from a Guardian blog.
Cardinal Walter Kasper's sudden diplomatic illness tells us almost as much about the Vatican's real plans as his undiplomatic remarks to a German news magazine. In an interview with Focus, he said that "an aggressive new atheism has spread through Britain. If, for example, you wear a cross on British Airways, you are discriminated against."
Kasper is normally one of the Vatican's more diplomatic and emollient figures. He spent years negotiating with the Church of England. He was the man the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, rang up in a rage when plans emerged for a mass defection to the Roman Catholic Church of Anglican opponents to women priests.
Yet he was also the man who in 2008 urged the Anglican communion to take a stand against homosexuality. And his remarks fit into a conservative view of Britain, one which would have appealed to John Henry Newman in his conservative moods. And it is Newman who the pope has come here to beatify.
Britain today, said Kasper, is "a secular and pluralist country. Sometimes, when you land at Heathrow, you think you have entered a third world country."
The standard liberal remedies for the church's decline hold no attraction for the cardinal. "Look at the Protestant churches," he said: "They have married priests and women priests, too. Are they doing better? The Church of England has also taken on terrible problems with these developments. I wouldn't wish those problems on my church."
This is not only stupefyingly tactless, and wrong (the Church of England has 600 priests in training, half of them women; the Roman Catholic church has 39 priests in training), it is also bizarre, in view of the pope's initiative last year to welcome married Anglican clergy, if they are opposed to women priests.
The Church of England, Kasper believes, has been brought to the point of schism and collapse by compromise with the spirit of the age. He says: "There is a crisis of values and direction in western society which has its roots in the Enlightenment, and was given added impetus by the radical movements of the 60s. And because the churches live in this society, their faith is weakened."
This view will horrify many English Catholics. For the liberals in the English church, the reforming Second Vatican Council of the 60s opened the church to learning from the outside world, and the last two popes have attempted to drag down again the iron shutters which once kept the church distinct. But to Pope Benedict and his circle, the council showed it had learned all the necessary lessons of the 500 years since the Reformation. Now it is time once more for the world to learn from the church.
This view has a certain lunatic consistency. By blaming almost everything wrong with the church on liberalism and acoustic guitars, it pushes into the future any consideration of whether things will get better when those have been extirpated. It sets up the Catholic church as defender of European identity against Islam, and against secularism. The restoration of the Latin mass is also, partly, an attempt to restore Europe to its Christian roots by establishing a living ritual that appears to go back centuries.
All this, I think, is what the Vatican really believes it is up to, and Kasper just blurted it out. What his sudden mysterious illness adds to the picture is that it is determined that there should be no diplomatic incidents on this trip – and that it still has no clue how to avoid them.
The more one reads and sees about the visit surely the more confused one becomes.
How much of my Catholic faith, the faith I inherited from my parents, a numbers game?
What is Walter Kasper saying? Is this all choreographed high diplomatic strategy or is it style from an organisation that is inept?
And then there is something sad about Dr Paisley and his demonstration.
Do all the Catholic spokespersons appearing on television and radio really believe all of what they are saying?
The razzmatazz that seems such an integral part of the visit seems so far removed from faith, even from what Bavarian born Josef Ratzinger believes.
It's confusing.
The piece below is from a Guardian blog.
Cardinal Walter Kasper's sudden diplomatic illness tells us almost as much about the Vatican's real plans as his undiplomatic remarks to a German news magazine. In an interview with Focus, he said that "an aggressive new atheism has spread through Britain. If, for example, you wear a cross on British Airways, you are discriminated against."
Kasper is normally one of the Vatican's more diplomatic and emollient figures. He spent years negotiating with the Church of England. He was the man the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, rang up in a rage when plans emerged for a mass defection to the Roman Catholic Church of Anglican opponents to women priests.
Yet he was also the man who in 2008 urged the Anglican communion to take a stand against homosexuality. And his remarks fit into a conservative view of Britain, one which would have appealed to John Henry Newman in his conservative moods. And it is Newman who the pope has come here to beatify.
Britain today, said Kasper, is "a secular and pluralist country. Sometimes, when you land at Heathrow, you think you have entered a third world country."
The standard liberal remedies for the church's decline hold no attraction for the cardinal. "Look at the Protestant churches," he said: "They have married priests and women priests, too. Are they doing better? The Church of England has also taken on terrible problems with these developments. I wouldn't wish those problems on my church."
This is not only stupefyingly tactless, and wrong (the Church of England has 600 priests in training, half of them women; the Roman Catholic church has 39 priests in training), it is also bizarre, in view of the pope's initiative last year to welcome married Anglican clergy, if they are opposed to women priests.
The Church of England, Kasper believes, has been brought to the point of schism and collapse by compromise with the spirit of the age. He says: "There is a crisis of values and direction in western society which has its roots in the Enlightenment, and was given added impetus by the radical movements of the 60s. And because the churches live in this society, their faith is weakened."
This view will horrify many English Catholics. For the liberals in the English church, the reforming Second Vatican Council of the 60s opened the church to learning from the outside world, and the last two popes have attempted to drag down again the iron shutters which once kept the church distinct. But to Pope Benedict and his circle, the council showed it had learned all the necessary lessons of the 500 years since the Reformation. Now it is time once more for the world to learn from the church.
This view has a certain lunatic consistency. By blaming almost everything wrong with the church on liberalism and acoustic guitars, it pushes into the future any consideration of whether things will get better when those have been extirpated. It sets up the Catholic church as defender of European identity against Islam, and against secularism. The restoration of the Latin mass is also, partly, an attempt to restore Europe to its Christian roots by establishing a living ritual that appears to go back centuries.
All this, I think, is what the Vatican really believes it is up to, and Kasper just blurted it out. What his sudden mysterious illness adds to the picture is that it is determined that there should be no diplomatic incidents on this trip – and that it still has no clue how to avoid them.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Not a good day for Ireland
On the day that tens of thousands of Irish young people receive their Junior Cert results and an agency of the State will advise them and their parents not to abuse alcohol, the taoiseach appears on the front page of every Irish newspapers looking and sounding inebriated.
Brian Cowen seems a decent, intelligent and good man but that he has to tell us that he was not drunk is a sad day for Ireland.
How many nurses, teachers, plumbers, farmers, doctors, all of us who are paying the new hardship levy, could stay partying until 03.00 and have a work engagement at 08.30 that morning?
What does it say about those who are out batting for him?
The comments from the Minister for Justice are simply not acceptable.
Please.
Brian Cowen seems a decent, intelligent and good man but that he has to tell us that he was not drunk is a sad day for Ireland.
How many nurses, teachers, plumbers, farmers, doctors, all of us who are paying the new hardship levy, could stay partying until 03.00 and have a work engagement at 08.30 that morning?
What does it say about those who are out batting for him?
The comments from the Minister for Justice are simply not acceptable.
Please.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
The terrible and absurd redundant apostrophe
The Irish Times has in recent weeks done a series on spotting errors. They published their results in yesterday's paper. And they had the good grace to spot their own errors too.
The sentence below with nine words has two typos/grammatical errors appears on a website. Irish Dominican website.
Please also have a look at our others video's
And why uppercase priest, chapter, province? After all we don't uppercase plumber, meeting and county. Are priests, chapter and province different from the rest of the human race?
The sentence below with nine words has two typos/grammatical errors appears on a website. Irish Dominican website.
Please also have a look at our others video's
And why uppercase priest, chapter, province? After all we don't uppercase plumber, meeting and county. Are priests, chapter and province different from the rest of the human race?
The man from the Bundesbank
The link below is well worth a read.
http://francishunt.blogspot.com/2010/09/islam-integration-and-west.html
http://francishunt.blogspot.com/2010/09/islam-integration-and-west.html
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Rooney makes it in The Star and Alive
Yesterday's Irish Daily Star carried a story on soccer ace Wayne Rooney on its front page.
"Apart from red-faced Roo, fame-hungry vice girl Jenny Thompson scored with 13 other soccer aces - six defenders, three midfielders and four stirkers". One of two paragraphs on its front page.
This is the same Wayne Rooney who recently appeared on a lead page of Alive newspaper. Alive is a fundamentalist style right wing newspaper that says it is Catholic in content.
Alive pictured Wayne Rooney with a Rosary beads around his neck and in the blurb the reader was told what his faith meant for him.
In the current issue of Alive there is a short piece on a poll taken in Germany showing that the Germans want to leave the euro and put the Mark back in their pockets.
The newspaper is a collection of hate pieces that are most disturbing. Anytime it can find anyone or anything that seems to support its 'cause', they appear as some sort of role models.
Every page of the newspaper contains hate stories and many of them are wrapped up in a sexual context.
Thankfully there is a statment at the bottom of the front page distancing itself from the Irish Dominican province.
"Apart from red-faced Roo, fame-hungry vice girl Jenny Thompson scored with 13 other soccer aces - six defenders, three midfielders and four stirkers". One of two paragraphs on its front page.
This is the same Wayne Rooney who recently appeared on a lead page of Alive newspaper. Alive is a fundamentalist style right wing newspaper that says it is Catholic in content.
Alive pictured Wayne Rooney with a Rosary beads around his neck and in the blurb the reader was told what his faith meant for him.
In the current issue of Alive there is a short piece on a poll taken in Germany showing that the Germans want to leave the euro and put the Mark back in their pockets.
The newspaper is a collection of hate pieces that are most disturbing. Anytime it can find anyone or anything that seems to support its 'cause', they appear as some sort of role models.
Every page of the newspaper contains hate stories and many of them are wrapped up in a sexual context.
Thankfully there is a statment at the bottom of the front page distancing itself from the Irish Dominican province.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
A tooth tale
The column below appears in the Irish regional newspapers of Independent News and Media.
By Michael Commane
When the first British troops encountered their German enemy in World War 1 they immediately noticed the good teeth of the German soldiers. The British have never been renowned for the health of their teeth and we Irish are further down the scale when it comes to oral hygiene.
Who’s to blame for the poor quality of Irish teeth? Is it the fault of the State, the individual or the dentist? Like everything in life nothing is as straightforward as to provide a simple answer. Certainly education, money and resources, as per usual, play a significant role in the state of the nation’s teeth.
It is important to say that dental care in Ireland has improved greatly in the last 20 to 30 years. The introduction of fluoride into the water has dramatically reduced tooth decay.
I’m 61 and as proud as punch that I still have a full mouth of my own original teeth. For that I have to thank my mother and my dentists.
When I was around 12 or 13 my mother thought I needed orthodontic work done and took me to the dental hospital in Dublin where she was told that I did not qualify for free dental care. Either I was over the age or my father’s income was over the limit. All I know is that I was not eligible for ‘free’ dental care. My mother took me to Joe Briscoe who looked after my teeth until I was in my 40s. Just before he retired he promised me that if I cared for my teeth I would take them to the grave.
Thank you Mr Briscoe, it’s looking good.
Not in any way denigrating the married state, I have always said that changing dentist is in so many ways analogous to changing spouses. Trust in your dentist is paramount.
Over ten years a
go I found a new dentist and I think it’s worth telling the story of how I have built up such a relationship with him and why I believe he has earned my trust.
Very often columnists sound off and tell all the bad news stories. This is a good news story, though, there may well be a complementary bad news story lurking in the background.
In the last two years deep filings in two teeth had reached their sell by date and it was decided to replace them with modern-style crowns. It is a new system called a Cerec and the job is done using computer aided design. The first one proved a resounding success and really is an amazing job. Alas with the second one it was not so simple. After the job had been done an infection set in. My dentist explained that the Cerec probably activated or switched on some decayed matter that was already in the tooth.
Maybe men are bad patients and I a particularly bad one but the pain was indescribable. I went back to my dentist and he did some temporary work on the tooth. Some weeks later while out of the country the tooth flared up again and on the flight home I felt my head lifting off my shoulders with such a terrible pain.
The following day when in Dublin I called my dentist in Tralee. He arranged that I pick up medication at a pharmacy in Dublin and then some days later he made an appointment for me to visit a dentist colleague of his in Dublin.
The Dublin dentist having examined the tooth and asking me a few questions decided to leave the job until I went back to my dentist in Tralee.
When I asked how much I owed him he pointed out he had done no work on the tooth and that I owed him nothing. I was impressed. And relieved.
Some days later I had work done on the tooth in Tralee. All was well again. The relief of not having a toothache is quite extraordinary and anyone who has suffered from a bad toothache knows exactly what I mean.
A week or so passed and to my great surprise my dentist in Tralee telephoned to know if all was well with the tooth. I was chuffed to think he would call to see how the tooth was. And of course I was greatly impressed.
These days it’s easy to criticise those in charge of things and also professional people in well paid jobs. But that does not mean we cannot also praise them for their good and caring work.
But to think that the State has now reneged on paying for a service that we have paid into for years really is a scandal. People who have been paying PRSI all their working lives have at the stroke of a pen been told that they now have to pay for the vast majority of dental work that they get done.
The way our great State is now treating us means that for people who cannot afford dental work the only solution is extraction. That is a scandal and it says much about how docile we are that we are not storming the gates of Government and telling them we have every right to keep our teeth.
I’m privileged and fortunate to be able to pay for my dental work.
Thank you Mum and dentist. Shame on you State.
By Michael Commane
When the first British troops encountered their German enemy in World War 1 they immediately noticed the good teeth of the German soldiers. The British have never been renowned for the health of their teeth and we Irish are further down the scale when it comes to oral hygiene.
Who’s to blame for the poor quality of Irish teeth? Is it the fault of the State, the individual or the dentist? Like everything in life nothing is as straightforward as to provide a simple answer. Certainly education, money and resources, as per usual, play a significant role in the state of the nation’s teeth.
It is important to say that dental care in Ireland has improved greatly in the last 20 to 30 years. The introduction of fluoride into the water has dramatically reduced tooth decay.
I’m 61 and as proud as punch that I still have a full mouth of my own original teeth. For that I have to thank my mother and my dentists.
When I was around 12 or 13 my mother thought I needed orthodontic work done and took me to the dental hospital in Dublin where she was told that I did not qualify for free dental care. Either I was over the age or my father’s income was over the limit. All I know is that I was not eligible for ‘free’ dental care. My mother took me to Joe Briscoe who looked after my teeth until I was in my 40s. Just before he retired he promised me that if I cared for my teeth I would take them to the grave.
Thank you Mr Briscoe, it’s looking good.
Not in any way denigrating the married state, I have always said that changing dentist is in so many ways analogous to changing spouses. Trust in your dentist is paramount.
Over ten years a
go I found a new dentist and I think it’s worth telling the story of how I have built up such a relationship with him and why I believe he has earned my trust.
Very often columnists sound off and tell all the bad news stories. This is a good news story, though, there may well be a complementary bad news story lurking in the background.
In the last two years deep filings in two teeth had reached their sell by date and it was decided to replace them with modern-style crowns. It is a new system called a Cerec and the job is done using computer aided design. The first one proved a resounding success and really is an amazing job. Alas with the second one it was not so simple. After the job had been done an infection set in. My dentist explained that the Cerec probably activated or switched on some decayed matter that was already in the tooth.
Maybe men are bad patients and I a particularly bad one but the pain was indescribable. I went back to my dentist and he did some temporary work on the tooth. Some weeks later while out of the country the tooth flared up again and on the flight home I felt my head lifting off my shoulders with such a terrible pain.
The following day when in Dublin I called my dentist in Tralee. He arranged that I pick up medication at a pharmacy in Dublin and then some days later he made an appointment for me to visit a dentist colleague of his in Dublin.
The Dublin dentist having examined the tooth and asking me a few questions decided to leave the job until I went back to my dentist in Tralee.
When I asked how much I owed him he pointed out he had done no work on the tooth and that I owed him nothing. I was impressed. And relieved.
Some days later I had work done on the tooth in Tralee. All was well again. The relief of not having a toothache is quite extraordinary and anyone who has suffered from a bad toothache knows exactly what I mean.
A week or so passed and to my great surprise my dentist in Tralee telephoned to know if all was well with the tooth. I was chuffed to think he would call to see how the tooth was. And of course I was greatly impressed.
These days it’s easy to criticise those in charge of things and also professional people in well paid jobs. But that does not mean we cannot also praise them for their good and caring work.
But to think that the State has now reneged on paying for a service that we have paid into for years really is a scandal. People who have been paying PRSI all their working lives have at the stroke of a pen been told that they now have to pay for the vast majority of dental work that they get done.
The way our great State is now treating us means that for people who cannot afford dental work the only solution is extraction. That is a scandal and it says much about how docile we are that we are not storming the gates of Government and telling them we have every right to keep our teeth.
I’m privileged and fortunate to be able to pay for my dental work.
Thank you Mum and dentist. Shame on you State.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The world of agents and clerics
On the back page of yesterday's Irish Independent there is a story at the top of the page about how a cardinal tells a victim to 'stay quiet'. Further down the page there is the story of the death of Gareth Williams the MI5 agent.
Both reports are tragic stories about the lives of people. Both stories are about organisations, which take the oxygen of their existence from silence.
The cardinal tells the victim, "I don't think you'd do yourself or him a favour by shouting this from the rooftops".
The MI5 operative "had few close friends and been willing to confide little about his work or private life".
So many lives destroyed and for what? Organisations and agencies that have a madness for secrecy at their core.
And the underlining arrogant self-righteousness of such organisations. They always know best. It's custom and practice and precedence too.
Both reports are tragic stories about the lives of people. Both stories are about organisations, which take the oxygen of their existence from silence.
The cardinal tells the victim, "I don't think you'd do yourself or him a favour by shouting this from the rooftops".
The MI5 operative "had few close friends and been willing to confide little about his work or private life".
So many lives destroyed and for what? Organisations and agencies that have a madness for secrecy at their core.
And the underlining arrogant self-righteousness of such organisations. They always know best. It's custom and practice and precedence too.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
The great Christoph Schlingensief dies
Christoph Schlingensief, who was considered one of the most important figures in the German theatre has died.
Schlingensief, who was also a renowned artist and actor, had suffered from lung cancer for more than two years.
He directed numerous films, plays and operas, including at the renowned annual Richard Wagner festival in Bayreuth, and in Manaus, Brazil.
Schlingensief's plays, mostly staged in Germany, Switzerland and Austria always questioned the status quo.
He was greatly influenced by his local Catholic priest in Oberhausen where he was an altar boy. He later joined a Catholic youth movement.
He believed that the Hitler virus had left a great and terrible mark on the German psyche.
At one stage when four million people were unemployed during the chancellorship of Helmut Kohl he planned a swim for all four million near the home of Kohl. Had all four million dived at the one instant it would have flooded Kohl's home. The German police banned the action.
Christoph Schlingensief is a great loss to Germany. He is survived by his wife, Aino.
Schlingensief, who was also a renowned artist and actor, had suffered from lung cancer for more than two years.
He directed numerous films, plays and operas, including at the renowned annual Richard Wagner festival in Bayreuth, and in Manaus, Brazil.
Schlingensief's plays, mostly staged in Germany, Switzerland and Austria always questioned the status quo.
He was greatly influenced by his local Catholic priest in Oberhausen where he was an altar boy. He later joined a Catholic youth movement.
He believed that the Hitler virus had left a great and terrible mark on the German psyche.
At one stage when four million people were unemployed during the chancellorship of Helmut Kohl he planned a swim for all four million near the home of Kohl. Had all four million dived at the one instant it would have flooded Kohl's home. The German police banned the action.
Christoph Schlingensief is a great loss to Germany. He is survived by his wife, Aino.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Nothing is ever simple and straightforward
This column appears today in the regional papers in Ireland owned by Independent News and Media
By Michael Commane
The Leaving Cert results are out, so too the first round CAO offers.
It has all been something of a media circus. But like all circuses, after a few days it picks up its tent and moves on to the next story. That’s the way of the media and nothing wrong with that. But like everything else, there is always another story behind the headlines. Nothing is simple and as straightforward as we think.
As a school teacher about to go back to school at the end of this week I think I have some sort of understanding about what is happening in education in Ireland. In some ways it is clear and simple, in other ways it is extraordinarily complex.
There are also many modern day myths about Irish education. The idea that we have the best educated young people in Europe is a nonsense. A German student who does English in his or her Abitur (final school examination) is far more proficient in English than an Irish person is in German who does German in his or her Leaving Cert. Another myth might be how we give schools reputations; so often we can be so wrong and allow snobbery to fool us.
The Leaving Cert is something analogous to a horse race. It certainly has its competitive nuances. There’s a competition out there to get that coveted third level offer.
Is it a fair competition? Is the individual young person allowed reach his or her academic potential and does the State get value for money?
On the RTE1 main television news on the Thursday evening after the LC results were published there was a piece on the results and the journalist finished the report by commenting that Leaving Cert results in Dublin depend mainly on the student’s postal address. How right she is.
The church has a long history in education in Ireland. The brothers and sisters spent generations in schools. Was it education and opening the mind to new ideas or was it some sort of appalling factory that stopped us from thinking? It’s easy to be clever in hindsight.
There are few sisters or brothers teaching in classrooms today. There is a big debate taking place on the ownership of primary schools but there is less discussion on the ownership and management of second level schools.
The Catholic Church runs, manages and controls most of the best all-round schools. Names such as Loreto on the Green, Glenstal, Clongowes are renowned centres of education. Take a trip up the driveway of Clongowes or Glenstal and you are immediately catapulted into a world of privilege and splendour. It costs money and lots of it to send your child to these schools. It’s another world from schools that have to eke out an existence on a daily basis. It is most unlikely that there will be any problems with subject choice or teacher pupil ratios in the top fee paying schools in the State.
If someone has spare cash and knows how to go about it then they can send their children to a religious-run elite school. Is that the way it should be?
What if the religious orders pulled out of elite-style schooling, packed their bags and moved to deprived urban areas where they would offer their skills in the educational area? How prophetic it would be.
People who talk about religious-run schools talk about a special Christian ethos that pervades the school. I have always been sceptical about that.
The students of the elite schools go on to become the captains of Irish
industry. Where has the so-called Christian ethos led them and indeed the rest of us?
Alas if the church closed the doors of these schools it is most likely that they would be taken over by private companies and run for profit. That would be a retrograde step.
Of course there will be exceptions but the child who grows up in a socially deprived background has far less a chance of getting those 600 points than the sons and daughters of professional people. Okay that’s the way of the world. But should it be the way of the world and the way of things in Ireland that church-run elite schools actually get tax breaks while at the same time cash strapped schools in deprived inner city areas are gulping for survival.
It’s worth noting that there is less class division lines in rural Ireland than there is in urban areas.
We all know that family background, what goes on inside the home, plays a vital role in the life and times of a young school-going person.
If we spent more resources on education we would have to spend far less money in security, police and prisons.
And just to prove the point that nothing is as simple as the media might like to portray, Kerry, which has a long tradition of educating bright young people, does not have one such elite-style school within its borders. See, nothing is simple and straightforward.
By Michael Commane
The Leaving Cert results are out, so too the first round CAO offers.
It has all been something of a media circus. But like all circuses, after a few days it picks up its tent and moves on to the next story. That’s the way of the media and nothing wrong with that. But like everything else, there is always another story behind the headlines. Nothing is simple and as straightforward as we think.
As a school teacher about to go back to school at the end of this week I think I have some sort of understanding about what is happening in education in Ireland. In some ways it is clear and simple, in other ways it is extraordinarily complex.
There are also many modern day myths about Irish education. The idea that we have the best educated young people in Europe is a nonsense. A German student who does English in his or her Abitur (final school examination) is far more proficient in English than an Irish person is in German who does German in his or her Leaving Cert. Another myth might be how we give schools reputations; so often we can be so wrong and allow snobbery to fool us.
The Leaving Cert is something analogous to a horse race. It certainly has its competitive nuances. There’s a competition out there to get that coveted third level offer.
Is it a fair competition? Is the individual young person allowed reach his or her academic potential and does the State get value for money?
On the RTE1 main television news on the Thursday evening after the LC results were published there was a piece on the results and the journalist finished the report by commenting that Leaving Cert results in Dublin depend mainly on the student’s postal address. How right she is.
The church has a long history in education in Ireland. The brothers and sisters spent generations in schools. Was it education and opening the mind to new ideas or was it some sort of appalling factory that stopped us from thinking? It’s easy to be clever in hindsight.
There are few sisters or brothers teaching in classrooms today. There is a big debate taking place on the ownership of primary schools but there is less discussion on the ownership and management of second level schools.
The Catholic Church runs, manages and controls most of the best all-round schools. Names such as Loreto on the Green, Glenstal, Clongowes are renowned centres of education. Take a trip up the driveway of Clongowes or Glenstal and you are immediately catapulted into a world of privilege and splendour. It costs money and lots of it to send your child to these schools. It’s another world from schools that have to eke out an existence on a daily basis. It is most unlikely that there will be any problems with subject choice or teacher pupil ratios in the top fee paying schools in the State.
If someone has spare cash and knows how to go about it then they can send their children to a religious-run elite school. Is that the way it should be?
What if the religious orders pulled out of elite-style schooling, packed their bags and moved to deprived urban areas where they would offer their skills in the educational area? How prophetic it would be.
People who talk about religious-run schools talk about a special Christian ethos that pervades the school. I have always been sceptical about that.
The students of the elite schools go on to become the captains of Irish
industry. Where has the so-called Christian ethos led them and indeed the rest of us?
Alas if the church closed the doors of these schools it is most likely that they would be taken over by private companies and run for profit. That would be a retrograde step.
Of course there will be exceptions but the child who grows up in a socially deprived background has far less a chance of getting those 600 points than the sons and daughters of professional people. Okay that’s the way of the world. But should it be the way of the world and the way of things in Ireland that church-run elite schools actually get tax breaks while at the same time cash strapped schools in deprived inner city areas are gulping for survival.
It’s worth noting that there is less class division lines in rural Ireland than there is in urban areas.
We all know that family background, what goes on inside the home, plays a vital role in the life and times of a young school-going person.
If we spent more resources on education we would have to spend far less money in security, police and prisons.
And just to prove the point that nothing is as simple as the media might like to portray, Kerry, which has a long tradition of educating bright young people, does not have one such elite-style school within its borders. See, nothing is simple and straightforward.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Maxmillian better than Kevin but all a fraud
Today's Frankfurter Rundschau reports that someone with the first name Maxmillian gets better marks in an exam than had he the name Kevin - even if Kevin gives similar answers to Maxmillian.
What does that say about our chances of borrowing money if we are in competition with the Germans?
Wissenschaftler haben herausgefunden, dass Schulaufgaben, die unter dem Namen Maximilian verfasst wurden, besser benotet werden als die gleichen Aufgaben, die von einem Kevin abgegeben wurden - auch wenn es sich um das gleiche Kind handelt.
Kinder mit vorurteilsbeladenen Vornamen bekommen schlechte Noten, sagen Wissenschaftler.
Die Vornamen von Kindern können deren Schulnoten beeinflussen. Das haben Oldenburger Wissenschaftler in einer Studie herausgefunden, bei der sie den Zusammenhang zwischen Namen und Notengebung analysierten.
„Aufgaben, die unter dem Namen Maximilian verfasst wurden, erhielten zum Beispiel eine bessere Bewertung als die gleichen Aufgaben unter dem Namen Kevin“, sagte Prof. Astrid Kaiser vom Institut für Pädagogik am Dienstag.
Für die Studie hatten mehr als 200 Grundschullehrer Texte bewertet. Diese stammten zwar immer von demselben Kind, mal trug es aber einen mit Vorurteilen belasteten Vornamen, mal einen positiv empfundenen. (dpa)
What does that say about our chances of borrowing money if we are in competition with the Germans?
Wissenschaftler haben herausgefunden, dass Schulaufgaben, die unter dem Namen Maximilian verfasst wurden, besser benotet werden als die gleichen Aufgaben, die von einem Kevin abgegeben wurden - auch wenn es sich um das gleiche Kind handelt.
Kinder mit vorurteilsbeladenen Vornamen bekommen schlechte Noten, sagen Wissenschaftler.
Die Vornamen von Kindern können deren Schulnoten beeinflussen. Das haben Oldenburger Wissenschaftler in einer Studie herausgefunden, bei der sie den Zusammenhang zwischen Namen und Notengebung analysierten.
„Aufgaben, die unter dem Namen Maximilian verfasst wurden, erhielten zum Beispiel eine bessere Bewertung als die gleichen Aufgaben unter dem Namen Kevin“, sagte Prof. Astrid Kaiser vom Institut für Pädagogik am Dienstag.
Für die Studie hatten mehr als 200 Grundschullehrer Texte bewertet. Diese stammten zwar immer von demselben Kind, mal trug es aber einen mit Vorurteilen belasteten Vornamen, mal einen positiv empfundenen. (dpa)
An amazing moment of church history
Cardinal Sean Brady’s interview on RTE Radio 1 today is a milestone in the history of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
The 'bad man' who is protected by a cardinal
Reading the story below gives some insight into the control and power that leading authorities really have.
The crazy situations that exist. Don't we really fool ourselves when we think we live in wonderful democracies in the western world.
Imagine a cardinal archbishop protecting a man he says is 'a bad man'.
When it comes to talking out of both sides of their mouths, top marks for the CIA, MI5/6, Mossad, BND and bishops, archbishops and cardinals, State agencies, major corporations. And these are the people who tell ordinary people how to behave.
The idea that priests are foisted on communities without one single word of approval by the community is another absurdity. All so bizarre.
A report from the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman has confirmed that the RUC, the Catholic Church and the British government colluded to protect a priest who was suspected of being involved in one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles, the 1972 Claudy bombing, in which nine people were killed.
The report says the decision of the police to seek the assistance of the Catholic Church and the British authorities failed those who were murdered, injured and bereaved in the bombing.
According to Northern Ireland's Policing Ombudsman, Al Hutchinson, the RUC investigation was wound down after the priest, Fr James Chesney, was transferred over the border to a parish in Co Donegal where he died eight years later.
The Ombudsman's report claims that after the Claudy bombing, on the basis of intelligence and other material, the RUC believed Fr Chesney was a suspect in the case and the IRA's director of operations in south Derry.
The Ombudsman details how an Assistant Chief Constable wrote to the Northern Ireland Office seeking help to 'render harmless a dangerous man, Fr Chesney.'
A meeting subsequently took place between then Northern Secretary William Whitelaw and then leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland Cardinal William Conway at which, according to Northern Ireland Office records, the Cardinal indicated 'he knew that the priest was a very bad man and would see what could be done.'
According to the documents, at that meeting in December 1972 the Cardinal also mentioned the possibility of transferring Fr Chesney to Donegal.
The Ombudsman's investigation also found documentary evidence that then Chief Constable of the RUC Graham Shillington was aware of the proposal to transfer Fr Chesney to Donegal.
He wrote on a document, outlining that he would prefer a move to Tipperary.
The Ombudsman concludes that in relation to the Claudy bombing, senior officers were wrong not to pursue their lines of inquiry, which would have implicated or eliminated Fr Chesney from the investigation.
He says that the investigation had been compromised by officers seeking the government's assistance through its engagement with senior figures in the Catholic Church.
He describes what happened as 'a collusive act'.
The crazy situations that exist. Don't we really fool ourselves when we think we live in wonderful democracies in the western world.
Imagine a cardinal archbishop protecting a man he says is 'a bad man'.
When it comes to talking out of both sides of their mouths, top marks for the CIA, MI5/6, Mossad, BND and bishops, archbishops and cardinals, State agencies, major corporations. And these are the people who tell ordinary people how to behave.
The idea that priests are foisted on communities without one single word of approval by the community is another absurdity. All so bizarre.
A report from the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman has confirmed that the RUC, the Catholic Church and the British government colluded to protect a priest who was suspected of being involved in one of the worst atrocities of the Troubles, the 1972 Claudy bombing, in which nine people were killed.
The report says the decision of the police to seek the assistance of the Catholic Church and the British authorities failed those who were murdered, injured and bereaved in the bombing.
According to Northern Ireland's Policing Ombudsman, Al Hutchinson, the RUC investigation was wound down after the priest, Fr James Chesney, was transferred over the border to a parish in Co Donegal where he died eight years later.
The Ombudsman's report claims that after the Claudy bombing, on the basis of intelligence and other material, the RUC believed Fr Chesney was a suspect in the case and the IRA's director of operations in south Derry.
The Ombudsman details how an Assistant Chief Constable wrote to the Northern Ireland Office seeking help to 'render harmless a dangerous man, Fr Chesney.'
A meeting subsequently took place between then Northern Secretary William Whitelaw and then leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland Cardinal William Conway at which, according to Northern Ireland Office records, the Cardinal indicated 'he knew that the priest was a very bad man and would see what could be done.'
According to the documents, at that meeting in December 1972 the Cardinal also mentioned the possibility of transferring Fr Chesney to Donegal.
The Ombudsman's investigation also found documentary evidence that then Chief Constable of the RUC Graham Shillington was aware of the proposal to transfer Fr Chesney to Donegal.
He wrote on a document, outlining that he would prefer a move to Tipperary.
The Ombudsman concludes that in relation to the Claudy bombing, senior officers were wrong not to pursue their lines of inquiry, which would have implicated or eliminated Fr Chesney from the investigation.
He says that the investigation had been compromised by officers seeking the government's assistance through its engagement with senior figures in the Catholic Church.
He describes what happened as 'a collusive act'.
Weekday Mass in the Latin language
St Kevin's Church in Harrington Street offers a Mass in Latin every weekday morning at 0800.
Today there were 11 people present for the Mass which is celebrated at a side altar in the main church.
The main gate on Synge Street which leads to the main entrance to the church is closed with notices telling people to keep out. There are automatic gates controlled by a pin pad.
To gain access to the church one has to enter through a pedestrian gate on the South Circular Road.
There are prayers said in English at the end of the Mass which were omitted in the 1962 missal.
The priest dons a black three cornered hat during the short walk from the altar to the sacristy.
The adult altar server touching the vestment, the black hat on the credence table. All the quiet words.
Why pray in a language that most likely is not understood by those attending? Is Mass in Latin some sort of statement?
Today's Mass was celebrated in dignity and quiet. But, and surely there is a 'but' to it. It must be the stuff of a great study/book.
When the priest did turn to the people on the first occasion he looked at the congregation but on all times after that he made no eye contact with anyone.
Is this what cults are about?
Today there were 11 people present for the Mass which is celebrated at a side altar in the main church.
The main gate on Synge Street which leads to the main entrance to the church is closed with notices telling people to keep out. There are automatic gates controlled by a pin pad.
To gain access to the church one has to enter through a pedestrian gate on the South Circular Road.
There are prayers said in English at the end of the Mass which were omitted in the 1962 missal.
The priest dons a black three cornered hat during the short walk from the altar to the sacristy.
The adult altar server touching the vestment, the black hat on the credence table. All the quiet words.
Why pray in a language that most likely is not understood by those attending? Is Mass in Latin some sort of statement?
Today's Mass was celebrated in dignity and quiet. But, and surely there is a 'but' to it. It must be the stuff of a great study/book.
When the priest did turn to the people on the first occasion he looked at the congregation but on all times after that he made no eye contact with anyone.
Is this what cults are about?
Grammar at Trinity College
Yesterday on RTE1 Radio the deputy provost of Trinity College in Dublin when talking about CAO offers said at one stage ".... have rose...".
Is that where we are?
Is that where we are?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Germn ICE crashes near Lamprecht
AN ICE train of German Railways travelling between Frankfurt-am-Main and Paris hit a dust cart near Lamprecht in the Pfalz on Tuesday.
The high speed train had 300 passengers on board. 15 passengers were injured, some seriously. One coach was derailed.
That a high speed train could be in such a collision with only one coach derailing and no fatalities is a great statement of the safety of modern railway design.
The section of track is closed and Frankfurt Paris traffic has been diverted over Strassburg.
The high speed train had 300 passengers on board. 15 passengers were injured, some seriously. One coach was derailed.
That a high speed train could be in such a collision with only one coach derailing and no fatalities is a great statement of the safety of modern railway design.
The section of track is closed and Frankfurt Paris traffic has been diverted over Strassburg.
Irish Rail charges €2 fee for laser card
The week that Irish Rail is condemned for its careless maintenance programme it raises its fares.
Up to now if you bought a ticket on the internet using a laser card there was no charge. This week that is no longer the case and passengers now have to pay €2 for every laser card transaction.
And not a single whisper about it in the media. A two euro increase on a €10 fare is a substantial hike.
But an Irish Rail insider has confirmed to this blog that the rail company will shortly be offering very attractve fares on their website - even 'free fares'.
As for Irish Rail's fare structuring policy - it is simply daft and inequitable.
Up to now if you bought a ticket on the internet using a laser card there was no charge. This week that is no longer the case and passengers now have to pay €2 for every laser card transaction.
And not a single whisper about it in the media. A two euro increase on a €10 fare is a substantial hike.
But an Irish Rail insider has confirmed to this blog that the rail company will shortly be offering very attractve fares on their website - even 'free fares'.
As for Irish Rail's fare structuring policy - it is simply daft and inequitable.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Every address tells its own story
John A Murphy has a letter in today's Irish Times Letter which the reader is given the correct spelling and meaning of the spot where Michael Collins was killed. In another letter on the same page Rónán Collins MD writes that Senator Twomey’s letter of disapproval is backward and parochial. Both letters appear under the heading, ‘Address at Collins Commemoration’.
Rónán Collins gives as his address, Thorncliffe Park, Rathgar, Dublin 14. You can’t be in Rathgar and Dublin 14 at the same time.
John A Murphy points out that the mBláth distortion is ‘misplaced pedantry’.
While it might be misplaced, it certainly is not pedantic to include Rathgar in a Dublin 14 address. It is incorrect but tells an important social story
Rónán Collins gives as his address, Thorncliffe Park, Rathgar, Dublin 14. You can’t be in Rathgar and Dublin 14 at the same time.
John A Murphy points out that the mBláth distortion is ‘misplaced pedantry’.
While it might be misplaced, it certainly is not pedantic to include Rathgar in a Dublin 14 address. It is incorrect but tells an important social story
The hurlers and the bishop and his ring
RTE last evening filmed an hour long programme on Ireland's ten greatest ever sports persons. Vincent O'Brien, Roy Keane, George Best were among the 10. The winner was Padraig Harrington.
Also included in the list was Cork and Glen Rovers star hurler Christy Ring. The film showed exploits of all 10 sports people. We were shown extracts from Ring's All Irelands. And then the amazing clip of All Ireland hurlers kneeling down and kissing the ring of the bishop.
How we are all children of our time. What crazy and servile things do we do today that we will be shocked by in 50/60 years time?
Also included in the list was Cork and Glen Rovers star hurler Christy Ring. The film showed exploits of all 10 sports people. We were shown extracts from Ring's All Irelands. And then the amazing clip of All Ireland hurlers kneeling down and kissing the ring of the bishop.
How we are all children of our time. What crazy and servile things do we do today that we will be shocked by in 50/60 years time?
Crazy dress and in Latin to boot
A cleric, presumably a priest, all dressed in black top to toe, wearing a 'cornered hat with tassel' is asked going into church what's on. He replies Mass. The Mass will be in Latin. He was asked why Latin and replies, "Because that is the mother tongue of the church". The questioner continues by pointing out that he is a member of the church and Latin is not his mother tongue to which the cleric replies, "it is a sacred language".
The chap was young and looked decidedly odd. Some days later a member or a religious congregation was overheard saying that there is every chance that the 'church' could well become a cult.
The chap was young and looked decidedly odd. Some days later a member or a religious congregation was overheard saying that there is every chance that the 'church' could well become a cult.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Vatican knows things we don't know
And all the talk about the resigning bishops, who are not resigned.
The usual suspects the usual comments.
But who are the people in the Vatican who make the decision?
It is generally recognised by the CIA, MI5, BND and Mossad that the Vatican has the best secret service agency in the world.
They know things we don't. What does the Vatican know that we don't know?
Why is it that there is not a word of the story re the two Irish bishops on the Vatican website? At least not to be found on either the German or English pages.
Just an afterthought, what has all this got to do with the Gospel and the preaching and living of the Good News among the people of God?
The usual suspects the usual comments.
But who are the people in the Vatican who make the decision?
It is generally recognised by the CIA, MI5, BND and Mossad that the Vatican has the best secret service agency in the world.
They know things we don't. What does the Vatican know that we don't know?
Why is it that there is not a word of the story re the two Irish bishops on the Vatican website? At least not to be found on either the German or English pages.
Just an afterthought, what has all this got to do with the Gospel and the preaching and living of the Good News among the people of God?
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
A rail daft promotional fare
In late July Irish Rail celebrated 150 years operations at Birdhill station and the oldest man in the village unveiled a plaque. Beside the station is a small idyllic garden. The station must have the quaintest and finest entrance of any station anywhere. It is a real gem.
Irish Rail say they are offering promotional fares on the line, that is the Limerick Nenagh, Ballybrophy to Dublin line. Yet, if you go on the internet to buy a ticket, it is significantly cheaper to travel from Dublin to Cork or Kerry than it is to Limerick via Birdhill.
Quite likely this line has never in its history made a profit.
Over the last year or so we have become critical of the people who manage our banks and our country. Not a word about our railway managers. Why?
Irish Rail say they are offering promotional fares on the line, that is the Limerick Nenagh, Ballybrophy to Dublin line. Yet, if you go on the internet to buy a ticket, it is significantly cheaper to travel from Dublin to Cork or Kerry than it is to Limerick via Birdhill.
Quite likely this line has never in its history made a profit.
Over the last year or so we have become critical of the people who manage our banks and our country. Not a word about our railway managers. Why?
Call to women to miss Mass on September 26
The article below appears in today's Irish Times. An interesting idea. Another idea might be if churchgoers decided for a number of Sundays to pass the collection plate.
On Monday last I stood outside the cathedral in Thurles and stood in awe as I looked at the property owned by the hierarchical church. And it's similar in ever town, city and village in Ireland.
In recent weeks a church is being repaired in Kerry and the work is being done because of crass inefficiency and simple laziness by church authorities. It is also breathtaking arrogance. The people will pay for the job. Really terrible.
AN 80-YEAR-OLD woman is organising a one-day boycott of Sunday Mass “by the faithful women of Ireland” next month.
Jennifer Sleeman from Clonakilty in Cork said she wants “to let the Vatican and the Irish church know that women are tired of being treated as second-class citizens”.
She has called on the Catholic women of Ireland to “join your sisters on Sunday, September 26th. On that one day boycott Mass. Stay at home and pray for change. We are the majority. We may have been protesting individually but unremarked on, but together we have strength and our absence, the empty pews, will be noticed”.
She said: “Whatever change you long for, recognition, ordination, the end of celibacy, which is another means of keeping women out, join with your sisters and let the hierarchy know by your absence that the days of an exclusively male-dominated church are over.”
She told The Irish Times she had chosen the date of September 26th as her 81st birthday was three days previously, on the 23rd.
She said she looks at her “children and grandchildren and see no future for the Catholic Church. Some of the grandchildren go through the rites of sacraments but seldom, if ever, visit a church afterwards. Some of my children are actively looking for a meaningful spiritual life but they do not find it in the Catholic Church.”
But, she said, “I must except my eldest son who is a monk in Glenstal Abbey, another place that helps me keep some shreds of faith.”
She noted her son, Fr Simon, was supportive of her in her action.
Over recent Sundays, Ms Sleeman had been to the Church of Ireland in Clonakilty, to Mass in Knocknaheeney, and back to the Catholic Church in Clonakilty. “I felt so welcome in the first two and just wondered what I was doing in ‘my own church’ [Clonakilty],” she said. “Since then I have been to the celebration of the Methodist Church’s 150 years in Clonakilty, another joyful and welcoming occasion.”
A former Presbyterian who converted to Catholicism 54 years ago, she said: “I am not a cradle Catholic. I chose to join as an adult helped by meeting a wonderful priest . . . but I now wonder did I do the right thing?” She has found that “somehow I have grown up but the church has not”.
The sexual abuse scandals “horrified me. I find I belong to an organisation that seems caught in a time warp, run by old celibate men divorced from the realities of life, with a lonely priesthood struggling with the burden of celibacy where rules and regulations have more weight than the original message of community and love”.
On Monday last I stood outside the cathedral in Thurles and stood in awe as I looked at the property owned by the hierarchical church. And it's similar in ever town, city and village in Ireland.
In recent weeks a church is being repaired in Kerry and the work is being done because of crass inefficiency and simple laziness by church authorities. It is also breathtaking arrogance. The people will pay for the job. Really terrible.
AN 80-YEAR-OLD woman is organising a one-day boycott of Sunday Mass “by the faithful women of Ireland” next month.
Jennifer Sleeman from Clonakilty in Cork said she wants “to let the Vatican and the Irish church know that women are tired of being treated as second-class citizens”.
She has called on the Catholic women of Ireland to “join your sisters on Sunday, September 26th. On that one day boycott Mass. Stay at home and pray for change. We are the majority. We may have been protesting individually but unremarked on, but together we have strength and our absence, the empty pews, will be noticed”.
She said: “Whatever change you long for, recognition, ordination, the end of celibacy, which is another means of keeping women out, join with your sisters and let the hierarchy know by your absence that the days of an exclusively male-dominated church are over.”
She told The Irish Times she had chosen the date of September 26th as her 81st birthday was three days previously, on the 23rd.
She said she looks at her “children and grandchildren and see no future for the Catholic Church. Some of the grandchildren go through the rites of sacraments but seldom, if ever, visit a church afterwards. Some of my children are actively looking for a meaningful spiritual life but they do not find it in the Catholic Church.”
But, she said, “I must except my eldest son who is a monk in Glenstal Abbey, another place that helps me keep some shreds of faith.”
She noted her son, Fr Simon, was supportive of her in her action.
Over recent Sundays, Ms Sleeman had been to the Church of Ireland in Clonakilty, to Mass in Knocknaheeney, and back to the Catholic Church in Clonakilty. “I felt so welcome in the first two and just wondered what I was doing in ‘my own church’ [Clonakilty],” she said. “Since then I have been to the celebration of the Methodist Church’s 150 years in Clonakilty, another joyful and welcoming occasion.”
A former Presbyterian who converted to Catholicism 54 years ago, she said: “I am not a cradle Catholic. I chose to join as an adult helped by meeting a wonderful priest . . . but I now wonder did I do the right thing?” She has found that “somehow I have grown up but the church has not”.
The sexual abuse scandals “horrified me. I find I belong to an organisation that seems caught in a time warp, run by old celibate men divorced from the realities of life, with a lonely priesthood struggling with the burden of celibacy where rules and regulations have more weight than the original message of community and love”.
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