Thursday, August 30, 2012
Court appearance five days before installation
Archbishop elect of San Francisco Salvatore Cordileone is scheduled to be installed in the archdiocese on October 4, five days before his first court date.
Archbishop elect on drink driving charge
The archbishop elect of San Francisco's comments about his drunk driving episode are below.
Had the archbishop not been apprehended would he have spoken about the wisdom of God?
It is becoming more laughable every day.
Will the Papal Nunico in Ireland when 'appointing' new bishops take into consideration the drinking habits of the candidates?
The Roman Catholic archbishop-elect of San Francisco issued an apology Monday for his drunk-driving arrest in San Diego, which he said brought shame and disgrace on himself and the church.
"I apologise for my error in judgment and feel shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself," the Rev. Salvatore Cordileone said in a statement. "I pray that God in His inscrutable wisdom will bring some good out of this."
Cordileone was arrested shortly after midnight Saturday at a drunk-driving checkpoint near San Diego State University. After failing a breath test, he was arrested and booked into county jail. He was released before noon after posting $2,500 bond.
In his statement, Cordileone said he was driving home after having dinner with his mother and several friends.
The 56-year-old priest is now bishop of Oakland and is set to be installed as San Francisco archbishop October 4. He is set to appear in court Oct. 9. He was selected to be San Francisco archbishop by Pope Benedict XVI to replace the retiring Archbishop George Niederauer.
Cordileone is a native of San Diego, where he was a priest and then auxiliary bishop. San Diego police said Cordileone was cooperative during the arrest and did not seek any special privileges.
Had the archbishop not been apprehended would he have spoken about the wisdom of God?
It is becoming more laughable every day.
Will the Papal Nunico in Ireland when 'appointing' new bishops take into consideration the drinking habits of the candidates?
The Roman Catholic archbishop-elect of San Francisco issued an apology Monday for his drunk-driving arrest in San Diego, which he said brought shame and disgrace on himself and the church.
"I apologise for my error in judgment and feel shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself," the Rev. Salvatore Cordileone said in a statement. "I pray that God in His inscrutable wisdom will bring some good out of this."
Cordileone was arrested shortly after midnight Saturday at a drunk-driving checkpoint near San Diego State University. After failing a breath test, he was arrested and booked into county jail. He was released before noon after posting $2,500 bond.
In his statement, Cordileone said he was driving home after having dinner with his mother and several friends.
The 56-year-old priest is now bishop of Oakland and is set to be installed as San Francisco archbishop October 4. He is set to appear in court Oct. 9. He was selected to be San Francisco archbishop by Pope Benedict XVI to replace the retiring Archbishop George Niederauer.
Cordileone is a native of San Diego, where he was a priest and then auxiliary bishop. San Diego police said Cordileone was cooperative during the arrest and did not seek any special privileges.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Unification realities make Germans wary of bailout toll
It is often argued that Germany never forgets the damage that the inflation of the 1920s caused and is therefore permanently frightend of the spectre of hyperinflation. In the article belpw, which appears in today's Irish Times the author points out that the unification of Germany created new scars and new worries that have great revelance in the current euro zone crisis.
By PETRA GERLACH-KRISTEN
MANY FEEL that Germany is dragging its feet in resolving the euro-area crisis because of a deep-rooted fear of inflation that stems from the experiences of German hyperinflation in 1923.
It is suggested that old fears are being rekindled by the idea that debt could be monetised again, this time on a European scale. While that may or may not be true, there is a much more recent experience that arguably matters more: German unification.
Unification in 1990 brought in the union between the internationally competitive, democratic west Germany and the economically weak east.
The collapse of the Berlin Wall caused general euphoria and led to a faster unification than pure economics might have suggested. The German mark was introduced in the German Democratic Republic in July 1990, merely eight months after the fall of the wall, and legal union followed in October.
However, the two states thus united were marked by large imbalances, to use today’s favourite expression. Per capita income in the east was about half that of the west, and unemployment was much higher. The German Agency for Labour put the unemployment rate in the east at 14.4 per cent in 1992. In the west, it was 6.4 per cent.
It was an open question at the time how the former east Germans would get used to the western market economy and the smaller role of the state in a capitalist society. However, the sense that the east Germans were Germans and would adjust fast was pervasive.
Accordingly, economic forecasts at the time were marked by optimism. German chancellor Helmut Kohl predicted that the eastern regions would become “blooming landscapes” before long. Of course, we know today that the adjustment has been slow and often painful, in the east and in the west.
Income in the east today still is more than 20 per cent below that in the west.
Unemployment at over 10 per cent is twice that in the west, and the age structure in the east has deteriorated sharply, with massive emigration of the young and well-educated towards the west.
Surveys show that the majority of the former GDR population feels disadvantaged in terms of income. One-third think that east and west will never become fully unified.
The population in the old west, by contrast, has borne, and still is bearing, the financial cost of the unification. The German CESifo group estimates that the net transfers from west to east have topped €1.6 trillion. That exceeds by far the original estimates of the costs of the union: the original fund for the German unification had been allotted €60 billion.
There are two big lessons Germans have taken away from unification. The first is that initial cost estimates were far too low. The bulk of the expense has come from automatic transfers, in particular social welfare spending. This is due to the fact that, compared with the west, the former east Germany takes in little in taxes and is faced with high pension and unemployment payments.
While the current efforts to end the euro crisis focus on loans, not one-sided transfers, it has not escaped Germans that the conditionalities attached to these loans imply an ever-closer integration of the euro area. A close fiscal union might bring automaticities in social spending similar to those in Germany’s recent history. Many Germans remain to be convinced that the pattern in tax receipts and government spending has changed permanently in the crisis countries.
They worry that the rescue funds discussed today will again turn out to have been only the tip of the iceberg.
The second lesson is that similarities between west and east were overestimated – even 22 years after unification, the two are still clearly distinct.
Politically, the old GDR’s landscape differs from that of the west, with far-left and far-right parties finding sizable support. And economically and socially, the idea that its industrious citizens would turn the former GDR quickly into a mirror image of western Germany has proved wrong.
Of course, it is not opportune politically to point out these differences, which helps explain why the experience of unification does not feature in the official discussion of how to end the euro-zone crisis.
Privately, however, Germans are acutely aware of the slow adjustment in the east. This feeds their fear that the crisis countries’ ability to reform is being overestimated as well.
Obviously, the EU member states in difficulty are market economies and thus more similar to western Germany than the old east was.
Nevertheless, many Germans wonder whether it will be possible to restore competitiveness and thus decrease unemployment. And if so, how fast? And beyond economics, can one expect the support for non-centre parties to decline? Unification has taught the Germans to be wary of high hopes.
Petra Gerlach-Kristen is associate research professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute
By PETRA GERLACH-KRISTEN
MANY FEEL that Germany is dragging its feet in resolving the euro-area crisis because of a deep-rooted fear of inflation that stems from the experiences of German hyperinflation in 1923.
It is suggested that old fears are being rekindled by the idea that debt could be monetised again, this time on a European scale. While that may or may not be true, there is a much more recent experience that arguably matters more: German unification.
Unification in 1990 brought in the union between the internationally competitive, democratic west Germany and the economically weak east.
The collapse of the Berlin Wall caused general euphoria and led to a faster unification than pure economics might have suggested. The German mark was introduced in the German Democratic Republic in July 1990, merely eight months after the fall of the wall, and legal union followed in October.
However, the two states thus united were marked by large imbalances, to use today’s favourite expression. Per capita income in the east was about half that of the west, and unemployment was much higher. The German Agency for Labour put the unemployment rate in the east at 14.4 per cent in 1992. In the west, it was 6.4 per cent.
It was an open question at the time how the former east Germans would get used to the western market economy and the smaller role of the state in a capitalist society. However, the sense that the east Germans were Germans and would adjust fast was pervasive.
Accordingly, economic forecasts at the time were marked by optimism. German chancellor Helmut Kohl predicted that the eastern regions would become “blooming landscapes” before long. Of course, we know today that the adjustment has been slow and often painful, in the east and in the west.
Income in the east today still is more than 20 per cent below that in the west.
Unemployment at over 10 per cent is twice that in the west, and the age structure in the east has deteriorated sharply, with massive emigration of the young and well-educated towards the west.
Surveys show that the majority of the former GDR population feels disadvantaged in terms of income. One-third think that east and west will never become fully unified.
The population in the old west, by contrast, has borne, and still is bearing, the financial cost of the unification. The German CESifo group estimates that the net transfers from west to east have topped €1.6 trillion. That exceeds by far the original estimates of the costs of the union: the original fund for the German unification had been allotted €60 billion.
There are two big lessons Germans have taken away from unification. The first is that initial cost estimates were far too low. The bulk of the expense has come from automatic transfers, in particular social welfare spending. This is due to the fact that, compared with the west, the former east Germany takes in little in taxes and is faced with high pension and unemployment payments.
While the current efforts to end the euro crisis focus on loans, not one-sided transfers, it has not escaped Germans that the conditionalities attached to these loans imply an ever-closer integration of the euro area. A close fiscal union might bring automaticities in social spending similar to those in Germany’s recent history. Many Germans remain to be convinced that the pattern in tax receipts and government spending has changed permanently in the crisis countries.
They worry that the rescue funds discussed today will again turn out to have been only the tip of the iceberg.
The second lesson is that similarities between west and east were overestimated – even 22 years after unification, the two are still clearly distinct.
Politically, the old GDR’s landscape differs from that of the west, with far-left and far-right parties finding sizable support. And economically and socially, the idea that its industrious citizens would turn the former GDR quickly into a mirror image of western Germany has proved wrong.
Of course, it is not opportune politically to point out these differences, which helps explain why the experience of unification does not feature in the official discussion of how to end the euro-zone crisis.
Privately, however, Germans are acutely aware of the slow adjustment in the east. This feeds their fear that the crisis countries’ ability to reform is being overestimated as well.
Obviously, the EU member states in difficulty are market economies and thus more similar to western Germany than the old east was.
Nevertheless, many Germans wonder whether it will be possible to restore competitiveness and thus decrease unemployment. And if so, how fast? And beyond economics, can one expect the support for non-centre parties to decline? Unification has taught the Germans to be wary of high hopes.
Petra Gerlach-Kristen is associate research professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Limburg bishops then and now
The current Bishop of Limburg is in the news for all the wrong reasons these days. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-bishop-of-limburg-triggers-uproar-with-luxurious-lifestyle-a-851707.html
The letter below was written by a predecessor of his, Dr Hilfrich to the Minister for Justice on August 13, 1941.
"Regarding the report submitted on July 16 by the Chairman of the Fulda Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Dr Bertram, I consider it my duty to present the following as a concrete illustration of destruction of so-called "useless life."
About eight kilometers from Limburg, in the little town of Hadamar, on a hill overlooking the town, there is an institution which had formerly served various purposes and of late had been used as a nursing home; this institution was renovated and furnished as a place in which, by consensus of opinion, the above mentioned euthanasia has been systematically practiced for months-approximately since February 1941. The fact has become known beyond the administrative district of Wiesbaden, because death certificates from a Registry Hadamar-Moenchberg are sent to the home communities. (Moenchberg is the name of this institution because it was a Franciscan monastery prior to its secularisation in 1803.)
Several times a week buses arrive in Hadamar with a considerable number of such victims. School children of the vicinity know this vehicle and say:" There comes the murder-box again." After the arrival of the vehicle, the citizens of Hadamar watch the smoke rise out of the chimney and are tortured with the ever-present thought, of the miserable victims, especially when repulsive odors annoy them, depending on the direction of the wind. The effeet of the principles at work here are: Children call each other names and say," You're crazy ; you'll be sent to the baking oven in Hadamar." Those who do not want to marry, or find no opportunity, say," Marry, never! Bring children into the world so they can be put into the bottling machine!" You hear old folks say, "Don't send me to a state hospital! After the feeble-minded have been finished off, the next useless eaters whose turn will come are the old people."
All God-fearing men consider this destruction of helpless beings as crass injustice. And if anybody says that Germany cannot win the war, if there is yet a just God, these expressions are not the result of a lack of love of fatherland but of a deep concern for our people. The population cannot grasp that systematic actions are carried out which in accordance with Par. 211 of the German criminal code are punishable with death! High authority as a moral concept has suffered a severe shock as a result of these happenings. The official notice that N. N. had died of a contagious disease and that for that reason his body has to be burned, no longer finds credence, and such official notices which are no longer believed have further undermined the ethical value of the concept of authority.
Officials of the Secret State Police, it is said, are trying to suppress discussion of the Hadamar occurrences by means of severe threats. In the interest of public peace, this may be well intended. But the knowledge and the conviction and the indignation of the population cannot be changed by it; the conviction will be increased with the bitter realization that discussion is prohibited with threats but that the actions themselves are not prosecuted under penal law.
Facta loquuntur.
I beg you most humbly, Herr Reich Minister, in the sense of the report of the Episcopate of July 16 of this year, to prevent further transgressions of the Fifth Commandment of God.
Dr. Hilfrich
I am submitting copies of this letter to the Reich Minister of the Interior and the Reich Minister for Church Affairs. [initialled by the above]
The letter below was written by a predecessor of his, Dr Hilfrich to the Minister for Justice on August 13, 1941.
"Regarding the report submitted on July 16 by the Chairman of the Fulda Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Dr Bertram, I consider it my duty to present the following as a concrete illustration of destruction of so-called "useless life."
About eight kilometers from Limburg, in the little town of Hadamar, on a hill overlooking the town, there is an institution which had formerly served various purposes and of late had been used as a nursing home; this institution was renovated and furnished as a place in which, by consensus of opinion, the above mentioned euthanasia has been systematically practiced for months-approximately since February 1941. The fact has become known beyond the administrative district of Wiesbaden, because death certificates from a Registry Hadamar-Moenchberg are sent to the home communities. (Moenchberg is the name of this institution because it was a Franciscan monastery prior to its secularisation in 1803.)
Several times a week buses arrive in Hadamar with a considerable number of such victims. School children of the vicinity know this vehicle and say:" There comes the murder-box again." After the arrival of the vehicle, the citizens of Hadamar watch the smoke rise out of the chimney and are tortured with the ever-present thought, of the miserable victims, especially when repulsive odors annoy them, depending on the direction of the wind. The effeet of the principles at work here are: Children call each other names and say," You're crazy ; you'll be sent to the baking oven in Hadamar." Those who do not want to marry, or find no opportunity, say," Marry, never! Bring children into the world so they can be put into the bottling machine!" You hear old folks say, "Don't send me to a state hospital! After the feeble-minded have been finished off, the next useless eaters whose turn will come are the old people."
All God-fearing men consider this destruction of helpless beings as crass injustice. And if anybody says that Germany cannot win the war, if there is yet a just God, these expressions are not the result of a lack of love of fatherland but of a deep concern for our people. The population cannot grasp that systematic actions are carried out which in accordance with Par. 211 of the German criminal code are punishable with death! High authority as a moral concept has suffered a severe shock as a result of these happenings. The official notice that N. N. had died of a contagious disease and that for that reason his body has to be burned, no longer finds credence, and such official notices which are no longer believed have further undermined the ethical value of the concept of authority.
Officials of the Secret State Police, it is said, are trying to suppress discussion of the Hadamar occurrences by means of severe threats. In the interest of public peace, this may be well intended. But the knowledge and the conviction and the indignation of the population cannot be changed by it; the conviction will be increased with the bitter realization that discussion is prohibited with threats but that the actions themselves are not prosecuted under penal law.
Facta loquuntur.
I beg you most humbly, Herr Reich Minister, in the sense of the report of the Episcopate of July 16 of this year, to prevent further transgressions of the Fifth Commandment of God.
Dr. Hilfrich
I am submitting copies of this letter to the Reich Minister of the Interior and the Reich Minister for Church Affairs. [initialled by the above]
Free fares and plenty of silly guff
The column below appears in this week's INM Irish regional newspapers.
By Michael Commane
I had an appointment in Tralee on Friday at 3.15pm. It meant taking the 11.00 rail service from Dublin Heuston. Its schedule arrival time in Tralee was 2.58pm. It would take me less than 10 minutes to walk to the venue.
The train was full. There was a large number of senior citizens on the train, which meant they were availing of their free travel passes.
Somewhere south of Sallins I overheard an elderly lady talking about her holiday in the Caribbean to be quickly corrected by the man beside her, saying that they had been in the Canaries.
The train arrived on time in Mallow, where passengers for Tralee changed trains. The Tralee train was due to leave Mallow at 1.30pm. It was a relatively new train - a South Korean built rail car. Anyone who uses the Dublin Cork railway will have noticed that in recent years Irish Rail has built a dedicated workshop south of Portlaoise, which is dedicated to servicing this fleet of rail cars.
It was 1.30 and the train was still at the platform. People were standing on the train. The seat reservation digital display system was out of order so passengers who had no reservations were sitting in seats that most probably were booked. Others with bookings were standing and annoyed. The doors of the train were closed and the air conditioning was not working.
1.45 and still not a move. People were beginning to get 'edgy'. Sitting opposite me were a German couple. They were obviously going on a walking holiday in south Kerry. They were reading their holiday guide and a book on walking tours.
Circa 1.50 the driver did tell us that there was a problem with the braking system on the train. Modern trains use an air brake that requires the brakes building up air in the system. Our train was not managing to do that so there was no way we could move off.
At about 2pm people were beginning to get more agitated and the woman who mistook the Canaries for the Caribbean was talking about calling the Joe Duffy Show to explain her plight on the stationary train.
Sometime about 2.10 Irish Rail decided that our train was going nowhere and buses arrived to bring passengers to Tralee and all the intermediate stations.
The German couple opposite me took it in their stride and as the woman was getting off the train she commented in a friendly and nice way that it could happen anywhere. And off the two of them went to the bus with not a bother on them. The Irish lady with the free travel pass was greatly agitated and giving out hell that this could only happen in Ireland and that probably all the bosses at Irish Rail are living in colossal houses and never use the train but travel about in their big company cars.
It was now approximately 2.20 and I decided that there was no way I could get to Tralee on time for my appointment and made the decision to return on the next up train back to Heuston.
Irish Rail could not have been more pleasant and caring. They supplied me with a complimentary single ticket back to Dublin and assured me that the company would listen to my case when I explained to the them that I had missed my appointment.
Of course the State has an obligation to care for its citizens, to see to it that there are adequate health, educational, social facilities available for all its citizens. But it did cross my mind on that stationary train in
Mallow it's hardly a God-given right that the State is obliged to ferry pensioners all over the country for free, especially if you have spent the last few weeks in the Caribbean, or even the Canaries.
A special word of thanks to the Station Master in Mallow and the ticket agent. If I had one quibble with Irish Rail it would be; how safe is it to run passenger trains with no Irish Rail personnel travelling on the train?
Commiseration to the Irish Rail personnel at the platform, who had to listen to loads of silly guff from a number of Irish passengers holding free travel passes.
By Michael Commane
I had an appointment in Tralee on Friday at 3.15pm. It meant taking the 11.00 rail service from Dublin Heuston. Its schedule arrival time in Tralee was 2.58pm. It would take me less than 10 minutes to walk to the venue.
The train was full. There was a large number of senior citizens on the train, which meant they were availing of their free travel passes.
Somewhere south of Sallins I overheard an elderly lady talking about her holiday in the Caribbean to be quickly corrected by the man beside her, saying that they had been in the Canaries.
The train arrived on time in Mallow, where passengers for Tralee changed trains. The Tralee train was due to leave Mallow at 1.30pm. It was a relatively new train - a South Korean built rail car. Anyone who uses the Dublin Cork railway will have noticed that in recent years Irish Rail has built a dedicated workshop south of Portlaoise, which is dedicated to servicing this fleet of rail cars.
It was 1.30 and the train was still at the platform. People were standing on the train. The seat reservation digital display system was out of order so passengers who had no reservations were sitting in seats that most probably were booked. Others with bookings were standing and annoyed. The doors of the train were closed and the air conditioning was not working.
1.45 and still not a move. People were beginning to get 'edgy'. Sitting opposite me were a German couple. They were obviously going on a walking holiday in south Kerry. They were reading their holiday guide and a book on walking tours.
Circa 1.50 the driver did tell us that there was a problem with the braking system on the train. Modern trains use an air brake that requires the brakes building up air in the system. Our train was not managing to do that so there was no way we could move off.
At about 2pm people were beginning to get more agitated and the woman who mistook the Canaries for the Caribbean was talking about calling the Joe Duffy Show to explain her plight on the stationary train.
Sometime about 2.10 Irish Rail decided that our train was going nowhere and buses arrived to bring passengers to Tralee and all the intermediate stations.
The German couple opposite me took it in their stride and as the woman was getting off the train she commented in a friendly and nice way that it could happen anywhere. And off the two of them went to the bus with not a bother on them. The Irish lady with the free travel pass was greatly agitated and giving out hell that this could only happen in Ireland and that probably all the bosses at Irish Rail are living in colossal houses and never use the train but travel about in their big company cars.
It was now approximately 2.20 and I decided that there was no way I could get to Tralee on time for my appointment and made the decision to return on the next up train back to Heuston.
Irish Rail could not have been more pleasant and caring. They supplied me with a complimentary single ticket back to Dublin and assured me that the company would listen to my case when I explained to the them that I had missed my appointment.
Of course the State has an obligation to care for its citizens, to see to it that there are adequate health, educational, social facilities available for all its citizens. But it did cross my mind on that stationary train in
Mallow it's hardly a God-given right that the State is obliged to ferry pensioners all over the country for free, especially if you have spent the last few weeks in the Caribbean, or even the Canaries.
A special word of thanks to the Station Master in Mallow and the ticket agent. If I had one quibble with Irish Rail it would be; how safe is it to run passenger trains with no Irish Rail personnel travelling on the train?
Commiseration to the Irish Rail personnel at the platform, who had to listen to loads of silly guff from a number of Irish passengers holding free travel passes.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
The void between Bonn and Berlin
On Gunther Jauch this evening journalist Wolfgang Herles made the comment that Angela Merkel really knew nothing about the Bonner Republik.
An important observation.
An important observation.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Dolan should not give the 'blessing'
It has been announced that Archbishop Timothy Dolan is to give a 'blessing' at the upcoming Republican Party convention.
This is a shocking development. He argues that this does not mean that he is supporting the party. Would the archbishop attend a meeting of one of many groups of people he condemns and give a 'blessing'?
Is someone, somewhere within the Catholic Church going to be brave and shout stop at the current tendency.
Has the world not suffered enough under German authoritarian behaviour in the last 100 years?
And the so-called certainty of their behaviour.
This can have nothing to do with the message of the Gospel.
This is a shocking development. He argues that this does not mean that he is supporting the party. Would the archbishop attend a meeting of one of many groups of people he condemns and give a 'blessing'?
Is someone, somewhere within the Catholic Church going to be brave and shout stop at the current tendency.
Has the world not suffered enough under German authoritarian behaviour in the last 100 years?
And the so-called certainty of their behaviour.
This can have nothing to do with the message of the Gospel.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The first battle day on the Volga remembered
On this date 70 years ago, August 22, 1942, the battle of Stalingrad began.
The Luftwaffe bombed the city almost close to total destruction. But it was that very bombing that gave the Soviet Army the chance to counter attack in sniper fire in every ruined building on the banks of the Volga.
Many historians will agree that it was on the Volga that the decisive strike against Nazi Germany was made.
The Luftwaffe bombed the city almost close to total destruction. But it was that very bombing that gave the Soviet Army the chance to counter attack in sniper fire in every ruined building on the banks of the Volga.
Many historians will agree that it was on the Volga that the decisive strike against Nazi Germany was made.
Politician talks of 'legitimate rape'
US senatrorial candidate Todd Akin from Missouri talks about a 'legitimate rape'.
Mr Akin said on television at the weekend that women do not get pregnant in the case of 'legitimate rape'.
Has one single US Catholic bishop spoken in public criticising Mr Akin's comment?
Mr Akin said on television at the weekend that women do not get pregnant in the case of 'legitimate rape'.
Has one single US Catholic bishop spoken in public criticising Mr Akin's comment?
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The poor die young and who cares
The column below appears in this week's INM Irish regional newspapers.
If Jesus Christ turned up on our doorstep what would he have to say about how we live out the message he left us? What would he say about how we treat the poorer and less privileged in our society? I think I have a fair idea.
 |
| The £10 Rosary deal |
By Michael Commane
It rained every single day in Kerry in early August. Maybe it rained every single day right through the 'summer'. In the end I took flight and decided to revisit places in which I had lived many years ago.
It's interesting to go back to places in which you previously lived.
My first call was Cork and on a whim I decided to retrace steps I had often taken in the late 1970s.
Back then I became friendly with Julia. She was an old lady, who lived in poor conditions. We immediately hit it off and I was greatly impressed with her gentleness and kindness. I got to know her children and their children and she became friendly with my parents.
Our friendship spanned a three year period. Within about a year of my leaving Cork Julia died. I had just begun teaching so I was unable to attend the funeral Mass but I did travel from Newbridge to Cork so as to be at the evening removal service.
In the funeral home before the body was transferred to the church I said a decade of the rosary and when I was leaving a member of the funeral home staff offered me a £1 note, which I declined. I suggested he give it to a deserving charity.
The following summer I was back in Cork and called on Julia's daughter. The moment the door was opened I felt all the wrong vibes. I had been friendly with Julia's daughter over the years and many is the laugh and joke we shared. Her husband experienced bad health and was in and out of hospital.
On this summer's day I certainly did not feel the usual warmth and welcome, which I had previously experienced. We chatted for a while and then when I was leaving I asked the woman of the house if the funeral of her late mother had set her back much. There was a momentary silence and then, and I can still see it, she looked at me with a coldness I had never seen in her face before. "Father, you don't mind if I say to you that I thought your charge of £10 to say a decade of the Rosary was very high."
I was stuck to the floor. I could not believe what I was hearing. I tried to explain that the reality was very different. But she did not believe me.
The funeral home people always dressed in a most respectable manner and haut couture has never been my thing. It seems people find it easier to believe the well-dressed 'respectable' merchants.
It must have been ten years later when I met up with her again. I explained to her in as forceful and convincing a way as I could, what had actually happened. I think eventually she believed my story.
When I was back in Cork earlier this month I met a neighbour of Julia's. She told me that Julia's daughter and her husband had died. They would have been no more than 10 years older than I.
The poor die young. And who cares.
It made me think how we treat our poorer and less privileged people in society. No one will convince me that the dice is not always stacked against those who have the least resources.
They are battered, abused and yes, insulted by State and the private sector.
After my evening in Cork I went on to Rome to retrace old haunts from the 1970s. Almost 40 years later I found myself scratching my head and asking myself, what indeed is it all about.
As a young student in Rome I really enjoyed skiing in Terminllo in winter and swimming in summer in Ostia.
Back then I never managed to get my head around those young men all dressed up in cassocks and habits. That clerical haut couture has always made me smile. It confirms me in my beliefs. A well researched story for a later date.
Wall graffiti on cyber space
An interesting quote from Stephen Collins in Saturday's Irish Times.
"The mainstream media has given an entirely undeserved credibility to such outpourings( Chris Andrew's tweet) by paying so much attention to what is essentially online graffiti, whether anonymous or not."
"The mainstream media has given an entirely undeserved credibility to such outpourings( Chris Andrew's tweet) by paying so much attention to what is essentially online graffiti, whether anonymous or not."
Saturday, August 18, 2012
On a pilgrimage
This column appears in today's Irish Times.
By Michael Commane
The house in which I am writing these words was the home of my grandfather, his father and his father before him. It was probably built at the end of the 18th century.
Imagine, if when it was first built someone had stood outside the door, looked up in the sky and said they had just seen the 10.45 London New York service pass overhead.
Of course people would express great worry about the person who would say such a thing and they might well be conveyed to the nearest mental hospital. Those days they called them mad houses.
During the years of Concorde every day at noon one could hear the sonic boom close to this house as it sped across the skies over the sea from London Heathrow to JFK in New York.
What would anyone have said in the early 1800s if someone told them they had heard the sonic boom in west Kerry?
Back then God was taken for granted. God was in the heavens and people had no problem believing in God. Today it is a different story and for many it is anything but God.
One thing is certain; our knowledge is limited. We are all the time learning new things. Individuals are constantly in a process of learning and so too the community and society.
Imagine how difficult it is to explain to a eight-year-old child that less than 50 years ago most people in the village where this house is had no telephones. Most eight-year-olds probably don't understand the word 'landline'. I did that and asked little Maurice what a landline was. He had no idea.
So what does one say when it comes to trying to say anything about God? Why can't our words about God change?
In tomorrow's Gospel, those who were listening to Jesus talk about eating his body and drinking his blood said: " This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it." (John 6: 60)
The US writer Gore Vidal, who died on July 31 expressed the opinion that it was outrageous to believe in a God or an afterlife. The previous day Maeve Binchy died. And she too expressed her disbelief in God or an afterlife.
To say that one believes in God and the efficacy of the Sacraments is in many ways '”intolerable language'”
There is indeed something “preposterous” about it. And even when we say we believe in God, what exactly does that mean? Also, what does it mean to say that one believes that Jesus Christ was God? We really are using 'incredible' words. It is certainly easy when one is born into a faith to accept it without ever giving it too much thought.
But we live in times where everything has to be tangible and immediate for us. If it can't be pinned down by sceince we are at once sceptical and suspicious. If we can't see it with our own eyes then we might well be tempted to dismiss it as a fairytale.
In tomorrow's Gospel, Jesus tells his followers: "It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6: 63)
Jesus recognises that there are those who do not believe in who he is or what he is doing. He tells them that it is through the power of the Father that we are called to love and see God.
The world in which we live is for all of us from time to time a valley of tears and It might well be an escape into fantasy to argue that there has to be more to it than this. And yet, the God question never goes away. There is something powerfully attractive and sublimely interesting in the life and words of Jesus as recalled in the New Testament.
All of us are children of our time, influenced by the styles, customs and mores of the here and now.
It would have been absurd to have spoken about sonic booms when this house was built. People who looked into the sky and spoke about contrails would have been a laughing stock.
Rather than say there is no God or after life, is it not more gentle, more possible to say that it is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer.
Once we utter the name of God, surely we have to go gently. No doubt there are those who are certain that God exists. But we can never ever afford to be glib when we talk about God.
In faith we can say, the same words as Simon Peter, "You have the message of eternal life and we believe".
Belief can never be placed in a straitjacket. The spirit gives life. Once we try to tie down that spirit, limit it to our way of thinking, surely we are attempting to control the spirit, expecting it to act and react according to our rules.
All of us are in process, on pilgrimage to discover the wonder and love of God. As a an old election slogan suggested –“'we are not there yet”.
By Michael Commane
The house in which I am writing these words was the home of my grandfather, his father and his father before him. It was probably built at the end of the 18th century.
Imagine, if when it was first built someone had stood outside the door, looked up in the sky and said they had just seen the 10.45 London New York service pass overhead.
Of course people would express great worry about the person who would say such a thing and they might well be conveyed to the nearest mental hospital. Those days they called them mad houses.
During the years of Concorde every day at noon one could hear the sonic boom close to this house as it sped across the skies over the sea from London Heathrow to JFK in New York.
What would anyone have said in the early 1800s if someone told them they had heard the sonic boom in west Kerry?
Back then God was taken for granted. God was in the heavens and people had no problem believing in God. Today it is a different story and for many it is anything but God.
One thing is certain; our knowledge is limited. We are all the time learning new things. Individuals are constantly in a process of learning and so too the community and society.
Imagine how difficult it is to explain to a eight-year-old child that less than 50 years ago most people in the village where this house is had no telephones. Most eight-year-olds probably don't understand the word 'landline'. I did that and asked little Maurice what a landline was. He had no idea.
So what does one say when it comes to trying to say anything about God? Why can't our words about God change?
In tomorrow's Gospel, those who were listening to Jesus talk about eating his body and drinking his blood said: " This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it." (John 6: 60)
The US writer Gore Vidal, who died on July 31 expressed the opinion that it was outrageous to believe in a God or an afterlife. The previous day Maeve Binchy died. And she too expressed her disbelief in God or an afterlife.
To say that one believes in God and the efficacy of the Sacraments is in many ways '”intolerable language'”
There is indeed something “preposterous” about it. And even when we say we believe in God, what exactly does that mean? Also, what does it mean to say that one believes that Jesus Christ was God? We really are using 'incredible' words. It is certainly easy when one is born into a faith to accept it without ever giving it too much thought.
But we live in times where everything has to be tangible and immediate for us. If it can't be pinned down by sceince we are at once sceptical and suspicious. If we can't see it with our own eyes then we might well be tempted to dismiss it as a fairytale.
In tomorrow's Gospel, Jesus tells his followers: "It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6: 63)
Jesus recognises that there are those who do not believe in who he is or what he is doing. He tells them that it is through the power of the Father that we are called to love and see God.
The world in which we live is for all of us from time to time a valley of tears and It might well be an escape into fantasy to argue that there has to be more to it than this. And yet, the God question never goes away. There is something powerfully attractive and sublimely interesting in the life and words of Jesus as recalled in the New Testament.
All of us are children of our time, influenced by the styles, customs and mores of the here and now.
It would have been absurd to have spoken about sonic booms when this house was built. People who looked into the sky and spoke about contrails would have been a laughing stock.
Rather than say there is no God or after life, is it not more gentle, more possible to say that it is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer.
Once we utter the name of God, surely we have to go gently. No doubt there are those who are certain that God exists. But we can never ever afford to be glib when we talk about God.
In faith we can say, the same words as Simon Peter, "You have the message of eternal life and we believe".
Belief can never be placed in a straitjacket. The spirit gives life. Once we try to tie down that spirit, limit it to our way of thinking, surely we are attempting to control the spirit, expecting it to act and react according to our rules.
All of us are in process, on pilgrimage to discover the wonder and love of God. As a an old election slogan suggested –“'we are not there yet”.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
In the words of Voltaire
A quote from Voltaire:
"Use, do not abuse; neither abstinence nor excess ever renders man happy."
Poking fun at priests
 |
| The graphic referred to on the link. |
The link below is doing the rounds today.
Often what is said in cyberspace can be nasty. Just some months back, priests and young clerical students wrote nasty material re the Association of Catholic Priests.
No one is immune to being offended or hurt by criticism. But maybe it particularly stops us in our tracks when what is said has truth to it. Even worse, when it is personally inflicted.
And what is saddest of all is that there really is no attempt to examine in any sort of real way the issues that cause people, even nasty people, to say these sort of things. Indeed, they could say so much more. They might even ask how much the institutional Catholic Church in Ireland spends on litigation annually.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The end of 'The Dandy'
 |
| The Dandy had two million readers in the 1950s |
The children's magazine 'The Dandy' may be about to disappear off the shelves and its new publishing platform will most likely be the web.
In the 1950s/1960s I was one of the two million children who read it.
I bought it every week in a little shop at Dublin's Kelly's Corner. Korky the Cat was great fun, Desperate Dan too. Did Tin Lizzy feature in it? But my favourite was Black Bob. It was the story of a Scottish farmer, Andrew Glen from Selkirk and his faithful collie, Black Bob.
It must have been on just one occasion I bought the magazine in a shop in Terenure. I can still see the shop exactly as it was back then, 50 years ago.
Amazing really, the impression that Andrew Selkirk and Black Bob could create.
I forget the name of a person I met ten minutes ago.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Press card gets almost universal acceptance
A wise Dominican friend has said that he enjoys reading this blog but from time to time finds the negative aspects somewhat tedious. Point taken and a purpose of amendment is in the pipeline.
Having said that, it might be worth relating this tale.
Anyone who is a member of the NUJ is entitled to a press card but one has to apply for it.
The press card is accepted in museums, galleries, gardens exhibitions around the world and grants the bearer free admittance.
This blogger has been using the card for over ten years. On Thursday for the first time, free admittance was refused. The place was at the church of San Clemente in Rome.
Having said that, it might be worth relating this tale.
Anyone who is a member of the NUJ is entitled to a press card but one has to apply for it.
The press card is accepted in museums, galleries, gardens exhibitions around the world and grants the bearer free admittance.
This blogger has been using the card for over ten years. On Thursday for the first time, free admittance was refused. The place was at the church of San Clemente in Rome.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Fairytale to lift depression
The Irish Times Maeve Binchy supplelemnt carries many gems.
Her report on the Prince Charles and Diana wedding in July 1981 is funny but maybe it's a lot more than funny.
Did Binchy mean to convey the idea that it was all a fake - she uses the word 'fairytale'?
In the last paragraph referring to the wedding day, she writes: "And the best bit of the fairytale is today".
Did she know something that the rest of us did not know back then?
And then how cleverly she tells the reader Diana was no good at school but her Dad had loads of money - so much that he could buy her a £100,000 flat in London. And that long before Paddy was hopping around the world with his spare cash buying up property in all the smart places.
So behind her smile, maybe Maeve Binchy saw it all as a whiff of cloud dust. Everything.
Her report on the Prince Charles and Diana wedding in July 1981 is funny but maybe it's a lot more than funny.
Did Binchy mean to convey the idea that it was all a fake - she uses the word 'fairytale'?
In the last paragraph referring to the wedding day, she writes: "And the best bit of the fairytale is today".
Did she know something that the rest of us did not know back then?
And then how cleverly she tells the reader Diana was no good at school but her Dad had loads of money - so much that he could buy her a £100,000 flat in London. And that long before Paddy was hopping around the world with his spare cash buying up property in all the smart places.
So behind her smile, maybe Maeve Binchy saw it all as a whiff of cloud dust. Everything.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
The archbishop, the fragile and the oppostion
An ineresting 'discussion' in this week's Irish Catholic between the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin and the Vocations Director of the Irish Dominicans, Gerard Dunne.
At face value it's an interesting debate. But there will not be a word about the sub-plot. And in that context, it would seem that Diarmuid Martin did, ever so slightly, refer to the 'sub-plot.
And the sub-plot is huge. If the truth were told, it could be a fabulous argument and one hell of a row.
And in the same paper, Professor Patricia Casey asks the Archbishop of Dublin to apologise for his comments at the MacGill Summer School for his comments about those men presneting themselves for priesthood.
Are we now to apologise for our opinions? Maybe.
A good discussion on those in 'charge' of priestly formation would surely be a far more necessary and beneficial exercie.
Interesting times.
At face value it's an interesting debate. But there will not be a word about the sub-plot. And in that context, it would seem that Diarmuid Martin did, ever so slightly, refer to the 'sub-plot.
And the sub-plot is huge. If the truth were told, it could be a fabulous argument and one hell of a row.
And in the same paper, Professor Patricia Casey asks the Archbishop of Dublin to apologise for his comments at the MacGill Summer School for his comments about those men presneting themselves for priesthood.
Are we now to apologise for our opinions? Maybe.
A good discussion on those in 'charge' of priestly formation would surely be a far more necessary and beneficial exercie.
Interesting times.
A princess looking like a lighting devil
Yesterday's Irish Times 'Maeve Binchy Supplement' is not to be missed.
Binchy's piece on the Princess Margaret wedding on November 15, 1973 is a great read, of historical worth too.
Binchy's piece on the Princess Margaret wedding on November 15, 1973 is a great read, of historical worth too.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Haranguing priests please stay quiet
Maeve Binchy is on public record for saying she did not believe in God.
Her death notice today informs readers that her funeral Mass will take place in the Catholic Church of the Assumption in Dalkey on Friday.
One might well discuss how consequential that is. That might be for another day.
But surely no priest in Ireland dare harangue people for having their children baptised who do not attend church.
Just in recent weeks a priest harangued the congregation for not going to confession (sic) before receiving Holy Communion.
If it were not so sad it would be all so laughable. It's nevertheless laughable.
Why not trust in the integrity of the individual person?
Her death notice today informs readers that her funeral Mass will take place in the Catholic Church of the Assumption in Dalkey on Friday.
One might well discuss how consequential that is. That might be for another day.
But surely no priest in Ireland dare harangue people for having their children baptised who do not attend church.
Just in recent weeks a priest harangued the congregation for not going to confession (sic) before receiving Holy Communion.
If it were not so sad it would be all so laughable. It's nevertheless laughable.
Why not trust in the integrity of the individual person?
The apparatchiks always on winning side
Th column below appears in this week's INM Irish regional newspapers.
By Michael Commane
Just 12 months ago I received a letter from my telehone provider with information on 'important changes to services'.
At the end of the page there is a short paragraph: "We are also aligning our daytime peak hours to 7am - 7pm; bringing us in line with other phone providers; simplifying our call rates by blending our evening and weekend call rates and changing the call set up charge to 6.5c.".
That's a direct quote from a letter dated July 21, 2011.
Last month I received another letter from my telephone provider dated July 4, 2012.
Here's a quote from the latest letter: "On 1 August 2012 our call rates will change and we will also simplify them by bledning our peak, evening and weekend rates. The call set up fee will also change to 7c."
I find all this remarkably odd. Just 12 months ago they told me that they were bringing their customers in line with other phone providers and blending evening and weekend calls. Have they decided there is little point in 'being in line' with other providers? Did their plans and policy not work?
Note the word 'blending'. It even has a gentle sound to it, elements of onomatopoeia. It sounds positive as if the telephone provider really has me at heart.
And now they are telling me that they have scrapped all of what they were introducing just a short 12 months ago and will be charging the same price for calls, whatever time you call.
For me that means that I will now be paying full day-time rates during the 24 hour period. The price of a call made between 7pm and 7am is changing from 1.3c to 4c - the same as the day-time rate.
That's an increase of over than 300 per cent. Is there any regulator out there who might think of examining such an increase and have a word in the ear of the telephone provider? Is there any user lobby, any watchdog of any shape or form, who is going to ask questions, object, say a gentle word about such a draconian increase?
Imagine the outcry if Government increased VAT by over 300 per cent, or if Irish Rail increased its fares by over 300 per cent.
A customer with my telephone provider can buy different packages. The new increases do not apply to the packages - at least not yet.
And the idea of paying seven cent for call 'set up' seems simple exploitation. It means if I spend just two seconds on the phone I pay the seven cent set up charge.
If you do not have a laser or credit card too bad. Then you have to pay an extra €3.75 per monthly bill. That's €45 per year. Almost half the current household tax and not a word of complaint from anyone.
We all know to our cost that no-one was keeping an eye on the banks. We were fooled and lulled into a fool's paradise. But who is keeping an eye on our telephone operators?
And by the way, make sure never to call directory enquiries. My telephone provider charges a minimum of €2.50 to call 11850 and €1.78 to call 11860.
No doubt, telephone books are coming to their sell by date. So make sure to keep one in your house. If you are looking for a number check it on the internet if you have internet connectivity.
There might well be readers who will say that I have little to worry about or that I am always ranting and giving out. Fine. But maybe it's the way of the world but the power of the strong over the weak is something I find difficult to take.
The big organisations, whatever they do or represent seem to have the ability and power to crush the small individual person.
And it seems we all sign into it and take it on the chin. And then the craven apparatchiks, who always manage to be on the side of the prevailing wind. Sad and pathetic, dangerous too. And they turn up in every organisation, clerical and lay.
I suppose they would like us all to 'blend' into conformity and accept the 'ways of the world'.
The Gospels have a lot to say on all this.
By Michael Commane
Just 12 months ago I received a letter from my telehone provider with information on 'important changes to services'.
At the end of the page there is a short paragraph: "We are also aligning our daytime peak hours to 7am - 7pm; bringing us in line with other phone providers; simplifying our call rates by blending our evening and weekend call rates and changing the call set up charge to 6.5c.".
That's a direct quote from a letter dated July 21, 2011.
Last month I received another letter from my telephone provider dated July 4, 2012.
Here's a quote from the latest letter: "On 1 August 2012 our call rates will change and we will also simplify them by bledning our peak, evening and weekend rates. The call set up fee will also change to 7c."
I find all this remarkably odd. Just 12 months ago they told me that they were bringing their customers in line with other phone providers and blending evening and weekend calls. Have they decided there is little point in 'being in line' with other providers? Did their plans and policy not work?
Note the word 'blending'. It even has a gentle sound to it, elements of onomatopoeia. It sounds positive as if the telephone provider really has me at heart.
And now they are telling me that they have scrapped all of what they were introducing just a short 12 months ago and will be charging the same price for calls, whatever time you call.
For me that means that I will now be paying full day-time rates during the 24 hour period. The price of a call made between 7pm and 7am is changing from 1.3c to 4c - the same as the day-time rate.
That's an increase of over than 300 per cent. Is there any regulator out there who might think of examining such an increase and have a word in the ear of the telephone provider? Is there any user lobby, any watchdog of any shape or form, who is going to ask questions, object, say a gentle word about such a draconian increase?
Imagine the outcry if Government increased VAT by over 300 per cent, or if Irish Rail increased its fares by over 300 per cent.
A customer with my telephone provider can buy different packages. The new increases do not apply to the packages - at least not yet.
And the idea of paying seven cent for call 'set up' seems simple exploitation. It means if I spend just two seconds on the phone I pay the seven cent set up charge.
If you do not have a laser or credit card too bad. Then you have to pay an extra €3.75 per monthly bill. That's €45 per year. Almost half the current household tax and not a word of complaint from anyone.
We all know to our cost that no-one was keeping an eye on the banks. We were fooled and lulled into a fool's paradise. But who is keeping an eye on our telephone operators?
And by the way, make sure never to call directory enquiries. My telephone provider charges a minimum of €2.50 to call 11850 and €1.78 to call 11860.
No doubt, telephone books are coming to their sell by date. So make sure to keep one in your house. If you are looking for a number check it on the internet if you have internet connectivity.
There might well be readers who will say that I have little to worry about or that I am always ranting and giving out. Fine. But maybe it's the way of the world but the power of the strong over the weak is something I find difficult to take.
The big organisations, whatever they do or represent seem to have the ability and power to crush the small individual person.
And it seems we all sign into it and take it on the chin. And then the craven apparatchiks, who always manage to be on the side of the prevailing wind. Sad and pathetic, dangerous too. And they turn up in every organisation, clerical and lay.
I suppose they would like us all to 'blend' into conformity and accept the 'ways of the world'.
The Gospels have a lot to say on all this.
Monday, July 30, 2012
German police chief sacked
This German Interior Minister sacked the head of the German police today.
No reason given.
German newspapers carried the story at the weekend.
No reason given.
German newspapers carried the story at the weekend.
Sentences out of our reach
"We have neglected the tiny sentences of life and now the big ones are beyond our reach."
That's a quote from Seabastian Barry's 'Secret Scripture'. Dr Grene is talking about his relationship with his wife.
But the sentence has a perfect fit in the context of priesthood and religious life where men and women say so little of meaning or worth to one another.
What real words do priests say in their parishes, to their parishioners?
Is it not as clear as day that priesthood in Ireland today is simply dysfunctional?
What to do?
That's a quote from Seabastian Barry's 'Secret Scripture'. Dr Grene is talking about his relationship with his wife.
But the sentence has a perfect fit in the context of priesthood and religious life where men and women say so little of meaning or worth to one another.
What real words do priests say in their parishes, to their parishioners?
Is it not as clear as day that priesthood in Ireland today is simply dysfunctional?
What to do?
Sunday, July 29, 2012
We owe our loyalty to the truth
Surely and especially as Dominicans we owe our loyalty to the truth and not to the institution.
If someone is unjusty treated then is it not our obligation to support the offended party?
The institutional Catholic Church seems to refuse to learn from its recent sad history.
If someone is unjusty treated then is it not our obligation to support the offended party?
The institutional Catholic Church seems to refuse to learn from its recent sad history.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Archbishop Martin's wise but gentle comments
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said at the MacGill Summer School yesterday, "It is not just that the number of candidates (for priesthood) is low.
"It is also that many of those who present themselves are fragile and some are much more traditional than those who went before them.
"There is a danger that superficial attatchment to the externals of tradition may well be a sign of fearfulness and flight from changed realities."
In many respects that is sensational coming from an archbishop. But is is succintly accurate. And the archbishop has only said the gentlest and kindest words about the current phenomenon.
Last week in a church a lady referring to a young man in his mid-20s studying for priesthood said, "the young boy is so good looking".
Is that the language or the sentiment that a woman would usually use when referring to a man in his mid-20s?
Older men express their embarrassment at the external behaviour of many of the young men studying for priesthood.
And the archbishop did not say a word about the real elephant in the room.
Is it not glaringingly obvious what is happening?
"It is also that many of those who present themselves are fragile and some are much more traditional than those who went before them.
"There is a danger that superficial attatchment to the externals of tradition may well be a sign of fearfulness and flight from changed realities."
In many respects that is sensational coming from an archbishop. But is is succintly accurate. And the archbishop has only said the gentlest and kindest words about the current phenomenon.
Last week in a church a lady referring to a young man in his mid-20s studying for priesthood said, "the young boy is so good looking".
Is that the language or the sentiment that a woman would usually use when referring to a man in his mid-20s?
Older men express their embarrassment at the external behaviour of many of the young men studying for priesthood.
And the archbishop did not say a word about the real elephant in the room.
Is it not glaringingly obvious what is happening?
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Ireland's dental disgrace
The column below appears in this week's INM regional newspapers.
By Michael Commane
On Friday I gave a talk at a summer seminar organised by the Irish Dominican Sisters. The seminar was to mark 50 years since Vatican II. I was asked to talk on the media in Ireland. I argued that the primary purpose of newspapers is to make money for their shareholders and if they don’t do that, customers will not buy their product. Good business means you survive and make a profit.
In the days approaching the talk I was nervous and apprehensive.
And then on the Wednesday before the talk while washing my teeth I noticed a piece of a tooth had broken away. The tooth had been a source of pain for the previous few days. But it was nothing serious and really not causing me any bother. But once it broke I became quite anxious. The last thing I wanted to happen was to wake up on Friday morning before the talk with a throbbing toothache. Those of you who have experienced bad toothaches will know exactly what I mean.
I called my dentist in Tralee who kindly arranged for me to visit a dentist in Dublin, who did some temporary repair work on the tooth. It meant it was not going to cause me any added worry for my Friday talk.
It set me thinking about all sorts of things. How privileged I am to have the financial resources to be able to pay for work on my teeth. What must it be like for someone who has no spare cash to get their teeth fixed.
Talk to any dentist and they will quickly tell you that the Irish Government has given up on the dental health of the nation.
If I did not have the money to pay for dental treatment last week PRSI contribibutions would not cover any repair work on my broken tooth. The possession of the medical card would entitle me to have the tooth extracted. I don't have a medical card.
GMS (medical card) patients are entitled to one check up, two fillings and as many extractions as they want per calendar year. PRSI patients are entitled to one examination only per year. The self-employed are entitled to nothing.
Isn’t that really a wonderful State. PRSI patients are entiled to no corrective work and GMS patients are allowed two fillings per year.
Any dentist I have spoken to in recent times is most critical of Government dental policy. Well, that’s not really the correct way to say it as the Government has no dental policy outside extraction.
It seems this Government has no problem with a toothless society.
When the Minister for Health was in a hurry to get back to the Dáil from Cyprus to try to justify or explain, whatever, his financial situation regarding his ownership of a nursing home, he can summon the Government jet to get him home on time.
Just think of it, a Government that incentivises tooth extractions has the money to fly a Government minister home from Cyprus to talk in riddles in the Dáil.
GUBU has risen from the ashes.
I doubt if any of our politicians, top Civil Servants, the bankers who are paid loads of money, give a second thought about going to a dentist. They just pay.
That’s what I did last week. But I'm ashamed of the society in which I am a citizen.
Of course, it’s not just dental care – it’s right across the board. We give lip service to treating all the children of the nation equally. It’s quite clear we don’t.
Last week Social Justice Ireland issued a report which shows how the gap between rich and poor is widening.
We all know that we are in recession but isn’t it odd that the top earners are now in a better position than they were before the crisis hit. And isn’t that ironic as it’s the top earners who are the ladies and gentlemen, who nodded their heads to the gurus and nomenclature of the day and did nothing about stopping the disaster.
Were we not paying them such top salaries so as to do good jobs and ultimately improve the conditions of all the citizens of this little republic?
The Minister for Education Ruairà Quinn keeps reminding us that we are in receivership and I understand that. But I don't understand how we can pay the salaries we do to Government ministers and the panoply of people around them and at the same time have not a care in the world in ripping out people's teeth.
What do GMS/PRSI patients with no spare cash do when they and their children need dental work?
It is shocking. And as long as the current Government 's 'extraction policy' is in place, every Government minister should walk about with his/her head bowed in shame.
How dare they fly in Government jets.
By Michael Commane
On Friday I gave a talk at a summer seminar organised by the Irish Dominican Sisters. The seminar was to mark 50 years since Vatican II. I was asked to talk on the media in Ireland. I argued that the primary purpose of newspapers is to make money for their shareholders and if they don’t do that, customers will not buy their product. Good business means you survive and make a profit.
In the days approaching the talk I was nervous and apprehensive.
And then on the Wednesday before the talk while washing my teeth I noticed a piece of a tooth had broken away. The tooth had been a source of pain for the previous few days. But it was nothing serious and really not causing me any bother. But once it broke I became quite anxious. The last thing I wanted to happen was to wake up on Friday morning before the talk with a throbbing toothache. Those of you who have experienced bad toothaches will know exactly what I mean.
I called my dentist in Tralee who kindly arranged for me to visit a dentist in Dublin, who did some temporary repair work on the tooth. It meant it was not going to cause me any added worry for my Friday talk.
It set me thinking about all sorts of things. How privileged I am to have the financial resources to be able to pay for work on my teeth. What must it be like for someone who has no spare cash to get their teeth fixed.
Talk to any dentist and they will quickly tell you that the Irish Government has given up on the dental health of the nation.
If I did not have the money to pay for dental treatment last week PRSI contribibutions would not cover any repair work on my broken tooth. The possession of the medical card would entitle me to have the tooth extracted. I don't have a medical card.
GMS (medical card) patients are entitled to one check up, two fillings and as many extractions as they want per calendar year. PRSI patients are entitled to one examination only per year. The self-employed are entitled to nothing.
Isn’t that really a wonderful State. PRSI patients are entiled to no corrective work and GMS patients are allowed two fillings per year.
Any dentist I have spoken to in recent times is most critical of Government dental policy. Well, that’s not really the correct way to say it as the Government has no dental policy outside extraction.
It seems this Government has no problem with a toothless society.
When the Minister for Health was in a hurry to get back to the Dáil from Cyprus to try to justify or explain, whatever, his financial situation regarding his ownership of a nursing home, he can summon the Government jet to get him home on time.
Just think of it, a Government that incentivises tooth extractions has the money to fly a Government minister home from Cyprus to talk in riddles in the Dáil.
GUBU has risen from the ashes.
I doubt if any of our politicians, top Civil Servants, the bankers who are paid loads of money, give a second thought about going to a dentist. They just pay.
That’s what I did last week. But I'm ashamed of the society in which I am a citizen.
Of course, it’s not just dental care – it’s right across the board. We give lip service to treating all the children of the nation equally. It’s quite clear we don’t.
Last week Social Justice Ireland issued a report which shows how the gap between rich and poor is widening.
We all know that we are in recession but isn’t it odd that the top earners are now in a better position than they were before the crisis hit. And isn’t that ironic as it’s the top earners who are the ladies and gentlemen, who nodded their heads to the gurus and nomenclature of the day and did nothing about stopping the disaster.
Were we not paying them such top salaries so as to do good jobs and ultimately improve the conditions of all the citizens of this little republic?
The Minister for Education Ruairà Quinn keeps reminding us that we are in receivership and I understand that. But I don't understand how we can pay the salaries we do to Government ministers and the panoply of people around them and at the same time have not a care in the world in ripping out people's teeth.
What do GMS/PRSI patients with no spare cash do when they and their children need dental work?
It is shocking. And as long as the current Government 's 'extraction policy' is in place, every Government minister should walk about with his/her head bowed in shame.
How dare they fly in Government jets.
Monday, July 23, 2012
If this is true it's time to move on
A man who goes to daily Mass in a Dominican church in Ireland said today that the Dominicans in his town are not interested in people. He went on, "They are only interested in God. No, that's not right. It's all about self-glorification."
A wise man, who made a simple and amazingly profound and accurate comment.
A wise man, who made a simple and amazingly profound and accurate comment.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Bringing redemption
Below is the Thinking Anew column in today's Irish Times.
By Michael Commane
A few months ago I went to a recycling centre with a wheelie bin full of
newspapers. I had walked about a kilometer pushing the wheelie bin in front of me, and with my dog on a lead. I know I looked odd.
Just as I began to throw the papers into the large container at the bring
centre, a man on duty approached and told me that wheelie bins were not
allowed on the premises.
I was astonished. It was difficult and embarrassing coming this far with
the wheelie bin. Heading back home with a full wheelie bin was not an
attractive idea.
The two of us had a set-to. I raised my voice and remonstrated that I
thought the ruling was crazy. He countered by saying he would call the
police. He also ordered me off the premises and to take my wheelie bin with me. I invited him to go ahead and call the Garda.
I cooled down a little and suggested I leave the bin outside and carry the
paper by hand into the large container. He was having none of it. He
telephoned his supervisor.
Eventually I was allowed bring in the wheelie bin and unload my papers.
When I was leaving I went up to the man and apologised for raising my
voice. We parted on ungracious terms. There were many aspects to the
encounter and it certainly had pantomime characteristics. At least I walked home with a lighter load.
Two weeks ago I was back at the bring centre, this time with a handful of
papers to dump. I approached the attendant. He didn’t recognise me. I
reminded him of our previous encounter.
Then he remembered, put his hand on my shoulder and smiled and we had a friendly chat. We exchanged pleasantries, a few laughs and I headed off to work on my bicycle.
He was so nice and friendly to me and I hope, I to him. I have no problem
calling it a moment of grace. A silly bad tempered altercation, which turned into something positive because of the protagonists backing off and using conciliatory words and gestures.
In tomorrow’s Gospel (Mark 6: 30 - 34) we read how Jesus, who had decided
to head off to a quiet place, relented, had pity on the people and went
back to be with them. The Gospel tells us he had ‘pity’ on them.
The word ‘pity’ might well evoke an expression or an attitude of being
patronising. But nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus through his
words and deeds was showing compassion.
In the first reading from the prophet Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 23: 1 - 6) we
read how Yahweh declares that none of the people will be lost.
It’s easy to get bowed down under rules and regulations. It is always
tempting to formalise our religious practice in such a way that we lose
touch with the essentials. It can become a game. But surely at the very
centre of any religion or faith system is our relationships with other people?
My experience at the bring centre was a reminder how rules can sometimes
get in the way and how human wisdom wins out in the end. And that too is
something about which Jesus was aware.
It is impossible to be a Christian in the exclusive company of oneself.
Christianity is about people. We believe that God joined the human race and
became one of us. We have been raised to a new reality. The Sacraments help bridge the gap between people and God.
The theology of priesthood regularly talks about how the ordained priest
carries out the work of God. But it must never be forgotten that the priest
above all else must be a people’s person. The priest can only be a priest
in the context of other people, all the time showing interest, compassion
and true interest in people. And listening and learning too from people.
Over the last few weeks the Gospel readings have concentrated on the
kindness and compassion of Jesus.
They are an important reminder to all of
us. Our words and deeds should show kindness and compassion.
How can we talk about loving God if we do not show kindness to our fellow
sisters and brothers?
My wheelie bin experience brought home to me the importance of being kind and gentle, even if it all gets off to a bad start. There is always the
possibility of healing.
We might well call it redemption.
By Michael Commane
A few months ago I went to a recycling centre with a wheelie bin full of
newspapers. I had walked about a kilometer pushing the wheelie bin in front of me, and with my dog on a lead. I know I looked odd.
Just as I began to throw the papers into the large container at the bring
centre, a man on duty approached and told me that wheelie bins were not
allowed on the premises.
I was astonished. It was difficult and embarrassing coming this far with
the wheelie bin. Heading back home with a full wheelie bin was not an
attractive idea.
The two of us had a set-to. I raised my voice and remonstrated that I
thought the ruling was crazy. He countered by saying he would call the
police. He also ordered me off the premises and to take my wheelie bin with me. I invited him to go ahead and call the Garda.
I cooled down a little and suggested I leave the bin outside and carry the
paper by hand into the large container. He was having none of it. He
telephoned his supervisor.
Eventually I was allowed bring in the wheelie bin and unload my papers.
When I was leaving I went up to the man and apologised for raising my
voice. We parted on ungracious terms. There were many aspects to the
encounter and it certainly had pantomime characteristics. At least I walked home with a lighter load.
Two weeks ago I was back at the bring centre, this time with a handful of
papers to dump. I approached the attendant. He didn’t recognise me. I
reminded him of our previous encounter.
Then he remembered, put his hand on my shoulder and smiled and we had a friendly chat. We exchanged pleasantries, a few laughs and I headed off to work on my bicycle.
He was so nice and friendly to me and I hope, I to him. I have no problem
calling it a moment of grace. A silly bad tempered altercation, which turned into something positive because of the protagonists backing off and using conciliatory words and gestures.
In tomorrow’s Gospel (Mark 6: 30 - 34) we read how Jesus, who had decided
to head off to a quiet place, relented, had pity on the people and went
back to be with them. The Gospel tells us he had ‘pity’ on them.
The word ‘pity’ might well evoke an expression or an attitude of being
patronising. But nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus through his
words and deeds was showing compassion.
In the first reading from the prophet Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 23: 1 - 6) we
read how Yahweh declares that none of the people will be lost.
It’s easy to get bowed down under rules and regulations. It is always
tempting to formalise our religious practice in such a way that we lose
touch with the essentials. It can become a game. But surely at the very
centre of any religion or faith system is our relationships with other people?
My experience at the bring centre was a reminder how rules can sometimes
get in the way and how human wisdom wins out in the end. And that too is
something about which Jesus was aware.
It is impossible to be a Christian in the exclusive company of oneself.
Christianity is about people. We believe that God joined the human race and
became one of us. We have been raised to a new reality. The Sacraments help bridge the gap between people and God.
The theology of priesthood regularly talks about how the ordained priest
carries out the work of God. But it must never be forgotten that the priest
above all else must be a people’s person. The priest can only be a priest
in the context of other people, all the time showing interest, compassion
and true interest in people. And listening and learning too from people.
Over the last few weeks the Gospel readings have concentrated on the
kindness and compassion of Jesus.
They are an important reminder to all of
us. Our words and deeds should show kindness and compassion.
How can we talk about loving God if we do not show kindness to our fellow
sisters and brothers?
My wheelie bin experience brought home to me the importance of being kind and gentle, even if it all gets off to a bad start. There is always the
possibility of healing.
We might well call it redemption.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Newspapers in business to make money
Talk below was given by Michael Commane today at the Irish Dominican Sisters summer seminar.
My first link with the world of newspapers was in the late 1950s when my uncle, John D Hickey, would come back to my aunt’s house in Thurles having covered a Munster final. He had to file his report back to Abbey Street and I was given the job of turning the handle on the telephone to get through to the operator to call Independent Newspapers in Dublin.
Ever since Sister Helen Mary invited me to give this talk on the media I have been amazed at the number of articles in the Irish newspapers on media affairs.
Indeed at one stage I began keeping newspapers that carried articles on the media but soon realised that I would quickly run out of space if I were to keep all the newspapers that carried relevant articles.
I have been working as a journalist since 1998. Let me stress, my area of competency is with the print media. I am not terribly familiar with radio and television. I do some work with pitching stories to local radio stations and I had column on Radio Kerry for about 12 months.
When the late Fr Paul Hynes was editor of Intercom he asked me to do a piece for him about my experience of the church in Germany. The previous summer I had cycled from Ostend to the parish where I was working. It was between the cities of Frankfurt-am-Main and Wuerzburg. When it appeared I was so excited as it was the theme of the cover page, which showed a picture of the cathedral in Cologne.
Then later Tom Jordan asked me to edit ‘Far and Near’. I cannot express to you how I enjoyed doing that. It was at the beginning of the new technology. And I did the lay out and a parishioner in St Saviour’s did the graphics. I would mail the copy-ready disk to the printers in Cork O’Learys. And if I missed the post I would cycle up to Heuston Station and
put it on the mail train to Cork. Mail trains have gone and when did anyone last use a floppy disk?
In 1997 I went back to school and did a post graduate course in journalism at DIT. From there I spent three months working in The Irish News in Belfast, then six months at the Newry Democrat.
I saw an ad in the Sunday Independent for a journalist at the Kerryman and got the job. I spent the next six years working as a sub editor in Tralee at the Kerryman.
They were great years. I cannot express to you how happy I was there, how happy I was that I was working for Independent News and Media - doing a mix of jobs laying out pages and writing a column. I loved it and miss it
terribly.
There is no job in the world as good as being a newspaperman or woman. Being a journalist is great fun and a great honour too.
Driving back to Castlegregory in West Kerry on a summer’s evening with the sun in my face I would say out loud. Michael you work on a newspaper.
While there I was also property editor - God love us and letters editor too. A very tricky job as so much libel can happen on that page, especially in a regional paper.
Libel has to do with the written word, slander with the spoken word. The broad definition of libel is that if in the common estimation of the ordinary person someone’s character is unjustly damaged then we have libelled that person.
When I first went to The Kerryman Jim Farrelly was managing director and he had worked with my uncle in the Independent. I remember one day he praised me on something I had written.
Whether he meant it or not, how chuffed I was at his comment. It made me think of the management skills of the Irish Dominicans.
Ger Colleran was editor and he had employed me. When reading my CV he presumed I was a former priest and threw the CV on the floor, passing a smart comment to his wife Siobhan. She made him pick it up and read it. Subsequently he called me for interview and gave me the job. We have remained good friends. I am baptizing his grandchild tomorrow in Tralee.
Ger is now managing director of The Star. The Phoenix carried a profile in late May on Ger suggesting that he will soon be editor of either the Sunday Independent or the daily paper.
These days I write a column twice a month for INM regionals that's 13 Irish regional newspapers and I also write a little column once a month for the Irish Times. I have a readership of close to a million. I work in the press office of Concern Worldwide.
The primary function or purpose of newspapers is to make money for their shareholders. That’s good business. They are serving their customers and if they don’t practise good business, people will not buy their product. There is always the danger that they be taken over by elites – the really mega rich. Government might be tempted to intervene.
I don’t believe they have an anti church agenda. Maybe there are people who
see them as opinion formers and leaders. But they are not. Their job is to tell the story. We could argue that point: The Guardian tells a different story than The Times or Telegraph. But have you ever noticed how journalists move from one newspaper to another and it’s a seamless change.
But it is also important to stress that we all see reality through our own eyes. Can there be such a thing as a completely objective ‘story telling. We all see reality through our own eyes. Have you ever watched Press TV?
I regularly wrote the editorial at The Kerryman and only once was it spiked and that was when I took the side of the then Irish Locomotive Drivers Association, ILDA and their leader Brendan Ogle. I supported their strike. The editor said no. He was right and I was wrong.
By the way, when using an acronym always spell the word out in full when using for the first time
The piece on ILDA was spiked and just this year I was told I could not write a column comparing the money Independent News and Media pays me for my column with how much Baby Jesus received when he stepped down from the top job at INM.
Do you know who Baby Jesus is? See, they call/called Sir Anthony God, so then they had to think up a name for his son Gavin. But it looks as if God has gone from this throne.
I don't believe there is a newspaper conspiracy against the church. Yes, owners of newspapers and journalists are angry with the church and of course they express their anger with the institutional church. There is one thing journalists hate and that is humbug and they perceive the leadership of the church to be past masters in the art of humbug.
During the war in Vietnam Richard Nixon once said, “it would be so much easier to run this war in a dictatorial way, kill the journalists and carryon the war”. Nixon hated the media with a passion. If people hate the
media, it’s important to ask, why?
In June in The Irish Times Vincent Browne dedicated a column to explaining
how the media is biased against working class people and shows a bias in favour of the rich and famous - the people who help sell newspapers.
He compared the coverage the murder of Breda Waters in January 2011 received compared to the coverage that the murder of Michaela McAreavey received. He argues sales and ratings are what it’s all about.
The Waters murder case is on at present in Ennis. Who knows about it? Whereas the McAreavy trial had journalists in Mauritius for weeks
There is a great parable there. I don’t believe the media is anti church and even if it is, it is not per se but rather by being so they believe they can sell more newspapers.
So often one hears Catholics complain that such and such a story gets no coverage because it is a good news Catholic story and the media try to silence it. The only reason it does not get coverage is because the media does not think it will sell papers.
We are not at all as important as we think we are. And remember, whether we like it or not, good news is no news.
And I know that first hand. I work in the press office in Concern where I spend my day trying to pitch stories to newspapers. Thousands of people might be dying in Sub Saharan Africa and we have a graphic account from an eyewitness.
Yet the newspapers will most likely go with some ephemeral topic that is forgotten tomorrow. And don’t think that’s the sole prerogative of the tabloid press.
This year Concern is spending €160 million in the 25 countries where we are working and we are spending €500,000 on our communications this year in Ireland so that we can sell our story to the Irish public in as accurate and attractive a package as possible.
After the inquiry into the Prime Time Investigates libel on Fr Kevin Reynolds it was much bandied about that RTE suffered from the disease of Group-think. I have no doubt it does. But we all suffer that particular ailment and I think no one more so than right wing groups within the church. They genuinely believe that the media is out to get them. I believe they are wrong.
The newspaper industry is in serious crisis – maybe that is something it shares with the institutional church. Modern technology means that newspapers are in a daily battle to keep abreast of the latest developments in social media.
In the last few months INM newspapers have introduced new technology that allows sub editors to lay out pages in any location in the company network. It means for example that The Kerryman can be laid out in Wexford, Sligo or Drogheda.
Last month in Australia three top editors at the Fairfax Media Group resigned, sending gasps through the newsrooms of the country’s two oldest broadsheets, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne Age. The London based Independent newspaper stopped printing and distributing its daily and Sunday titles in Ireland on July 2,
There are things going on in journalism which as Dominicans we need to understand. Print journalism is with very few exceptions losing money hand over fist. The internet has taken advertising and circulation. Staff is being cut, and quality is suffering. Worse than that there is cut throat competition between surviving print outlets. And that means that corners are being cut, and quality suffers even more.
Why send a skilled photographer and reporter to deal with a complex problem when you can get a vivid albeit one-sided view of it by recording the Joe Duffy show on radio and adding in some - probably fictional quotes.
If they can pick a good salacious story up off the web [far too often] they will do it. It costs money to do their own research. It costs money to send journalists to do stories, it costs money to send photographers to events.
Most regional newspapers now have no staff photographers.
Here let me stop to say something important.
Warning: if the person quoted is not identified, you are not getting the whole truth. Far too often the person quoted is only identified as a ‘source’. Some popular publications have discovered the way to retain readers is to scare the life out of them. So there is a barrage of the horrors that immigrants bring stories, of hopelessly exaggerated crime stories as the
Daily Beast tries to out sell the Daily Brute, in convincing readers that they will wake up dead in their beds if something is not done, lock up whoever the latest hate figure is or send them home. Then TV takes its cue from print, and constructs compelling narratives which reinforce the half truths. And up pops your politician in waiting - saying vote for me and I will rid you of these pestilences. And politics then joins the race to the bottom started by the print media.
That's an apocalyptic and crude version of the damage to politics and public discourse caused by the problems of the print media.
No doubt many of you have followed the Leveson Inquiry. It could happen here. I’m not sure I feel as smug about the Irish Media as does John Horgan. Mr Horgan spoke at the Leveson Inquiry last week.
Remember that the Irish Sun is published by News International which publishes the Sunday Times in Ireland. The Irish Daily Mail is owned by the UK Daily Mail, and 50 per cent of the Irish Star is owned by Richard Desmond who refuses to join the existing flawed UK regulation scheme.
You can be quite sure that phones have been hacked in Ireland, and each one of you should change the pin number on your mobile phone today if you have not already done so.
Talking about politicians - they have realised that newspaper staff is cut to the bone. So if they have a well-written short story they know it has a great chance of being published. That’s why politicians use journalists to write their stories for them. Just look at the number of former journalists Government ministers use in their press offices.
We should also know that and be doing similar tricks. We need people with media skills who can put across our values in a convincing way. Look at how former Mountjoy governor John Lonergan put a human face on the prison service. He answered questions, told the truth in plain language and people trusted him. Do we have a John Lonergan in the Dominican Order? Do we?
People have no idea the sweat and tears that goes into producing a newspaper. It is hectic frenetic, insane but above all the most satisfying job in the world.
Every Tuesday in the Kerryman I began work at 09.30 and worked until midnight.
Did you know that INM made a decision to stop using full points in all abbreviations in all its publications? Anyone guess why? To save ink and hence save money. It’s money, stupid Clinton.
Do you know what papers INM own in Ireland?
They own 13 regional newspapers.Sligo, Dundalk/Drogheda, Wexford, Wicklow, Bray, Kerry and Cork. The Sunday Independent, The Irish Independent, The Evening Herald, The Sunday World, 49 per cent of The Irish Daily Star, Ireland's Own, The Belfast Telegraph.
Most regional newspapers are owned by INM, Crosby group, Johnston Press and the Alpha Newspaper Group owned by John Taylor – Lord Kilclooney
The NUJ will say it is not a good idea that regional newspapers are owned by four large conglomerates.
Last month the Offaly Independent closed and NUJ’s Seamus Dooley pointed out that what had happened in the newspaper trade has been a dark day for journalism. He pointed out that local newspapers were never a cash cow but during the years of the Celtic Tiger, big
business moved in and bought up most of the regional media. The Clare Champion is still in family hands.
The Leinster Leader has halved its circulation in the last five years. Johnston Press bought it and if they were to recoup their money they would have to put a cover price of €10 on the paper.
The crass obeisance that Irish society gave to the church in Ireland for all my childhood and youth was unusual, to say the least. Certainly not healthy.
Go to your local library and look through old editions of your local newspapers and see how the newspapers were cap in hand with the church. And newspapers always capture the mood of the time. Just look at The Kerryman I
have here from 1953.
That was Ireland.
I think it is worth noting that the Vatican Council ran from 1962 to 1965 and during that time, RTE television was born. So this year we are celebrating 50 years of the Council and RTE Television.
Maybe some of you have read Robert Kaiser’s definitive work on the Vatican Council. In that book Kaiser clearly and in the most descriptive way possible explains that when it comes to being media savvy in any sort of normal way the Vatican was lost. It seemed the Vatican had not got the tools to deal with the modern media.
Redemptorist Francis X Murphy, who used the pseudonym Xavier Rynne revealed the inner workings of the Vatican Council to The New Yorker. He is credited with setting the tone for the popular view of the council, depicting it as conservative versus liberal.
But it is worth noting that the first two documents of Vatican II, from 1963, were the ones on liturgy and on social communication. Vivian Boland said to me that the church has always been very conscious and aware of methods of communication, uses them but also sees itself in rivalry with other 'communicators'. But why the rivalry? The church’s mission is to disseminate the Word of God in the here and now - the world in which we live.
Pope JohnXXlll saw in his election the commission to love the world in a special way, to minister to it and serve it.
The French Dominican Chenu said that the love of truth was more efficacious, more true in the intrepid witness of dialogue than in the protectionism of interdicts and defensive bulwarks.
I saw in a recent edition of the Tablet Archbishop DiNoia says it’s okay to criticise Chenu, Congar and deLubac now.
Karl Barth spoke about a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
So why is the church so scared of an open and free media? Last month they appointed Opus Dei man, Greg Burke to a newly created position of media adviser. Mr Burke has been working for Fox News for the last 10 years!
Fox is owned by the Murdoch [News] Corp. And Rupert Murdoch is a Papal Knight. He received his knighthood in 1998, the year before he married his third wife, Wendi Deng.
In June Rowan Williams commented how poor the Anglican Communion is in disseminating the good news stories it has.
The Vatican Council came and gave a great opportunity to people like Austin Flannery, Sean Mac Reamonn, John Horgan and Louis McRedmond. They were given the opportunity of reporting the workings of the Council, its reports and procedures. They were also able to convey the gossip and magic that surrounds the Vatican. It was a great opportunity for newspapers. But it also allowed some aspects of theological discussion to appear on Irish newspapers.
And Austin Flannery used the opportunity to perfection. He was there at the right moment and he deserves great praise for what he did.
Archbishop McQuaid set up his Radharc team and the Dominicans sent off Rom Dodd and TP McInerney to study radio and TV. When writing the obituary on TP for the Irish Times I contacted Claire Duignan MD of RTE Radio - her respect and praise for Tom really struck me
But the Council document on Communications was actually very different from the ecumenical spirit and practice of Vatican ll. It deals primarily with one church rather than with Christianity at large; it relied on outdated Catholic misconceptions rather than upon creative achievements of the secular mass communication profession and practice.
It falls far short of the high standard established by other documents. One Catholic editor at the time said about it, “it is not only
pre-aggiornamento but definitely pre-Pius Xll.
Isn’t ironic that back then a commentator said that the Decree might one day be cited as a classic example of how Vatican ll failed to come to grips with the world around it.
Of course the Council had its limitations but its efforts meant that the church could never go back to the old ways. Or could it? But certainly it allowed the media to have a less exaggerated opinion or understanding of the church.
Anyone who has been following the current Vatileaks one has to be struck by the tone and the language that the Vatican uses. I for one find their tone alienating.
Cardinal Bertone has spoken of a conspiracy against the church. I’m sure there’s not, but even if there is, to use the word ‘conspiracy’ is immediately setting a bad tone.
Time never stands still and certainly the media carnival never stands still. It is constantly moving from one story to another. News needs to be new. It is voracious for news and sensation. And that too applies to the newspapers of record.
And what better sensational stories, than what has been going on in Mother Church year after year. The mix of the secrecy of the church, its stringent views on all matters dealing with sexuality, makes it so inviting for newspapers.
And may I say the church’s apparent incompetence when it comes to dealing with the media has left the media with no alternative but to behave as it does.
The church considers itself above the ephemeral world of newspapers and that’s why we are where we are.
Never forget that the newspaper of today is used tomorrow as fish and chip wrapper. Of course it is an ephemeral world, a moving vision but it is a medium that people have to use and the church has seldom if ever used it in any sort of professional way.
The church always and ever seems to give the impression that it knows best. Newspapers hate that and so will make it their business to take them down a peg or two.
I remember when I was a novice Fr Basil Prendergast was alleged to have been involved in a coven in England. I think at the time I thought he had married a witch!
It’s a long time ago but I can still remember all the talk was that the provincial had managed to keep it out of the Irish papers but could not keep it out of the News of the World. There was a feeling that we were protecting Ireland by keeping the story out of the papers.
And isn’t that interesting - the church always uses that word SCANDAL. Everything must be kept quiet for fear of scandalising people. Of course papers love SCANDAL
May I jump forward to 2002. I was working in the Kerryman. We received a call at the office from an upset mother. Her son had been convicted of drink driving and she wanted to know would we keep it out of the paper.
It so happened that we did not have a reporter in court on the day. Had she not called we would never have known about it. But once she called we made it our business to get the story and publish it.
That’s how newspapers work. And it is a lesson well worth learning.
I have to admit that I have been ‘damaged’ by journalism. If Helen, Mary and I were walking down the road and we came on a road accident, I imagine Helen Mary’s first reaction would be what to do. Mine might well be to ask where are they from and is there a story in it.
I think what is happening with the Catholic press at present is not at all helpful to the long-term mission of the church. I sometimes get the impression that if it could go back to the old days it would jump at the opportunity.
It’s the small things that catch them out.
Regularly, indeed far too often the Irish Catholic will publish photographs. Every cleric will have his name and title and not a name or title for the non clerics in the same photo. Every week I notice they do that.
When I was with The Kerryman a picture could simply not appear without the name of every single person noted. I spotted a religious publication recently and every single picture
was captionless. That is simply insulting to the reader and crass unprofessionalism.
Take the simplest mistake - how often do we use the word church as if the Catholic church is the only church in the world? Think for a moment of the insult and hurt to people of other Christian denominations. We don’t need to say Catholic church every time, but the first mention in any piece of writing or broadcasting must include it - good manners alone requires that.
I believe we priests have terribly inflated ideas about our own skills. And guess what newspaper editors notice that.
Newspapers owe us nothing, nothing at all.
The church really needs to come down off its high horse and realise that.
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin’s Russia they are in the game of attempting to control media and get media to say nice things about them. We are the church telling the story of the marginalised.
Of course none of us wants to read bad news about ourselves in the newspaper and anyone with a grain of sense would do all in her or his power to keep bad news out of the paper.
When I finish this talk some of you might well say that I have been too harsh. Personally, I think I am being mild mannered and avoiding all hyperbole. And yes I know my long-suffering superiors have me down as a
fully-paid up member of the Awkward Squad.
There are some things I have learned over the years.
When you send something to a newspaper it must be well written, concise. Write it in such a way that after one paragraph the sub editor wants to read on. Presume nothing. One of the great skills I learned as a sub editor was to be able after the first paragraph to know whether or not the person could write.
Be clear, Re read it many times, using the scalpel generously. As a school teacher, I have noticed the improvement students make when they re-read their essays, especially, weaker students. I gave grinds to a young boy who is dyslexic and re-reading work has transformed the boy.
Don’t think that your words are the most important and greatest words ever written. Presume nothing.
Don’t be pompous. Watch out for the little things that might indeed prove far more important than you think. For example, why upper case Priest, Bishop, Cardinal? Only upper case in titles, Doctor Murphy, Bishop Murphy, Cardinal Daly.
Have you ever made it your business to get a copy of a newspaper’s style guide? Have you ever checked out The Guardian’s Style
Guide on the web?
Use simple everyday words. Be truthful. And when you have sent your story by email make sure to follow it up with a telephone call.
I also think it is important for an order or congregation to have a dedicated person who will deal with the media. And by that I mean someone who is a good networker and gets to know journalists.
In the past the networking might have been with editors as it was a power and authoritative relationship. But today it’s important that we get to know the journalists on the ground.
I wonder when last did an Irish Dominican go for lunch or coffee with a journalist.
In my job in the press office in Concern I deal with the regional Irish media and I cannot stress the importance of networking. You cannot imagine how easy my job is as a result of knowing journalists in newspapers.
I have never seen the Irish Media Contacts Directory in any of our priories. I find that strange for an order that says it is dedicated to preaching the Word.
I can well imagine that the art of networking has proved most beneficial for Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. No doubt you know his brother. Seamus Martin is a former Irish Times journalist. Ireland is a small place and one journalist knows another and the word spread very fast. And to his credit the archbishop has used his own media savvy and his networking to great benefit.
I think when it comes to dealing with the media and getting across the message of the Gospel it is essential we are gentle and kind, easy with other people. Far too often we give the silly impression of being proud and
arrogant, knowing it all.
And that’s so strange because we all know so little about God.
But I remain convinced that the Church has an amazing privilege and indeed obligation always to stay engaged with the world.
A Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other, or at least the electronic versions.
Are we as Dominicans convinced of our message. What is our message? Surely it is one of Good News and hope in a country, in a world that so needs hope.
Do we believe in the importance of our story?
In my job in Concern I hear how people see that our work is worthy but maybe dull. How do we go that extra step to show that our work is yes worthy but also dynamic?
The Good News surely is worthy and dynamic.
What a privilege it is to tell the world.
Thank you.
My first link with the world of newspapers was in the late 1950s when my uncle, John D Hickey, would come back to my aunt’s house in Thurles having covered a Munster final. He had to file his report back to Abbey Street and I was given the job of turning the handle on the telephone to get through to the operator to call Independent Newspapers in Dublin.
Ever since Sister Helen Mary invited me to give this talk on the media I have been amazed at the number of articles in the Irish newspapers on media affairs.
Indeed at one stage I began keeping newspapers that carried articles on the media but soon realised that I would quickly run out of space if I were to keep all the newspapers that carried relevant articles.
I have been working as a journalist since 1998. Let me stress, my area of competency is with the print media. I am not terribly familiar with radio and television. I do some work with pitching stories to local radio stations and I had column on Radio Kerry for about 12 months.
When the late Fr Paul Hynes was editor of Intercom he asked me to do a piece for him about my experience of the church in Germany. The previous summer I had cycled from Ostend to the parish where I was working. It was between the cities of Frankfurt-am-Main and Wuerzburg. When it appeared I was so excited as it was the theme of the cover page, which showed a picture of the cathedral in Cologne.
Then later Tom Jordan asked me to edit ‘Far and Near’. I cannot express to you how I enjoyed doing that. It was at the beginning of the new technology. And I did the lay out and a parishioner in St Saviour’s did the graphics. I would mail the copy-ready disk to the printers in Cork O’Learys. And if I missed the post I would cycle up to Heuston Station and
put it on the mail train to Cork. Mail trains have gone and when did anyone last use a floppy disk?
In 1997 I went back to school and did a post graduate course in journalism at DIT. From there I spent three months working in The Irish News in Belfast, then six months at the Newry Democrat.
I saw an ad in the Sunday Independent for a journalist at the Kerryman and got the job. I spent the next six years working as a sub editor in Tralee at the Kerryman.
They were great years. I cannot express to you how happy I was there, how happy I was that I was working for Independent News and Media - doing a mix of jobs laying out pages and writing a column. I loved it and miss it
terribly.
There is no job in the world as good as being a newspaperman or woman. Being a journalist is great fun and a great honour too.
Driving back to Castlegregory in West Kerry on a summer’s evening with the sun in my face I would say out loud. Michael you work on a newspaper.
While there I was also property editor - God love us and letters editor too. A very tricky job as so much libel can happen on that page, especially in a regional paper.
Libel has to do with the written word, slander with the spoken word. The broad definition of libel is that if in the common estimation of the ordinary person someone’s character is unjustly damaged then we have libelled that person.
When I first went to The Kerryman Jim Farrelly was managing director and he had worked with my uncle in the Independent. I remember one day he praised me on something I had written.
Whether he meant it or not, how chuffed I was at his comment. It made me think of the management skills of the Irish Dominicans.
Ger Colleran was editor and he had employed me. When reading my CV he presumed I was a former priest and threw the CV on the floor, passing a smart comment to his wife Siobhan. She made him pick it up and read it. Subsequently he called me for interview and gave me the job. We have remained good friends. I am baptizing his grandchild tomorrow in Tralee.
Ger is now managing director of The Star. The Phoenix carried a profile in late May on Ger suggesting that he will soon be editor of either the Sunday Independent or the daily paper.
These days I write a column twice a month for INM regionals that's 13 Irish regional newspapers and I also write a little column once a month for the Irish Times. I have a readership of close to a million. I work in the press office of Concern Worldwide.
The primary function or purpose of newspapers is to make money for their shareholders. That’s good business. They are serving their customers and if they don’t practise good business, people will not buy their product. There is always the danger that they be taken over by elites – the really mega rich. Government might be tempted to intervene.
I don’t believe they have an anti church agenda. Maybe there are people who
see them as opinion formers and leaders. But they are not. Their job is to tell the story. We could argue that point: The Guardian tells a different story than The Times or Telegraph. But have you ever noticed how journalists move from one newspaper to another and it’s a seamless change.
But it is also important to stress that we all see reality through our own eyes. Can there be such a thing as a completely objective ‘story telling. We all see reality through our own eyes. Have you ever watched Press TV?
I regularly wrote the editorial at The Kerryman and only once was it spiked and that was when I took the side of the then Irish Locomotive Drivers Association, ILDA and their leader Brendan Ogle. I supported their strike. The editor said no. He was right and I was wrong.
By the way, when using an acronym always spell the word out in full when using for the first time
The piece on ILDA was spiked and just this year I was told I could not write a column comparing the money Independent News and Media pays me for my column with how much Baby Jesus received when he stepped down from the top job at INM.
Do you know who Baby Jesus is? See, they call/called Sir Anthony God, so then they had to think up a name for his son Gavin. But it looks as if God has gone from this throne.
I don't believe there is a newspaper conspiracy against the church. Yes, owners of newspapers and journalists are angry with the church and of course they express their anger with the institutional church. There is one thing journalists hate and that is humbug and they perceive the leadership of the church to be past masters in the art of humbug.
During the war in Vietnam Richard Nixon once said, “it would be so much easier to run this war in a dictatorial way, kill the journalists and carryon the war”. Nixon hated the media with a passion. If people hate the
media, it’s important to ask, why?
In June in The Irish Times Vincent Browne dedicated a column to explaining
how the media is biased against working class people and shows a bias in favour of the rich and famous - the people who help sell newspapers.
He compared the coverage the murder of Breda Waters in January 2011 received compared to the coverage that the murder of Michaela McAreavey received. He argues sales and ratings are what it’s all about.
The Waters murder case is on at present in Ennis. Who knows about it? Whereas the McAreavy trial had journalists in Mauritius for weeks
There is a great parable there. I don’t believe the media is anti church and even if it is, it is not per se but rather by being so they believe they can sell more newspapers.
So often one hears Catholics complain that such and such a story gets no coverage because it is a good news Catholic story and the media try to silence it. The only reason it does not get coverage is because the media does not think it will sell papers.
We are not at all as important as we think we are. And remember, whether we like it or not, good news is no news.
And I know that first hand. I work in the press office in Concern where I spend my day trying to pitch stories to newspapers. Thousands of people might be dying in Sub Saharan Africa and we have a graphic account from an eyewitness.
Yet the newspapers will most likely go with some ephemeral topic that is forgotten tomorrow. And don’t think that’s the sole prerogative of the tabloid press.
This year Concern is spending €160 million in the 25 countries where we are working and we are spending €500,000 on our communications this year in Ireland so that we can sell our story to the Irish public in as accurate and attractive a package as possible.
After the inquiry into the Prime Time Investigates libel on Fr Kevin Reynolds it was much bandied about that RTE suffered from the disease of Group-think. I have no doubt it does. But we all suffer that particular ailment and I think no one more so than right wing groups within the church. They genuinely believe that the media is out to get them. I believe they are wrong.
The newspaper industry is in serious crisis – maybe that is something it shares with the institutional church. Modern technology means that newspapers are in a daily battle to keep abreast of the latest developments in social media.
In the last few months INM newspapers have introduced new technology that allows sub editors to lay out pages in any location in the company network. It means for example that The Kerryman can be laid out in Wexford, Sligo or Drogheda.
Last month in Australia three top editors at the Fairfax Media Group resigned, sending gasps through the newsrooms of the country’s two oldest broadsheets, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Melbourne Age. The London based Independent newspaper stopped printing and distributing its daily and Sunday titles in Ireland on July 2,
There are things going on in journalism which as Dominicans we need to understand. Print journalism is with very few exceptions losing money hand over fist. The internet has taken advertising and circulation. Staff is being cut, and quality is suffering. Worse than that there is cut throat competition between surviving print outlets. And that means that corners are being cut, and quality suffers even more.
Why send a skilled photographer and reporter to deal with a complex problem when you can get a vivid albeit one-sided view of it by recording the Joe Duffy show on radio and adding in some - probably fictional quotes.
If they can pick a good salacious story up off the web [far too often] they will do it. It costs money to do their own research. It costs money to send journalists to do stories, it costs money to send photographers to events.
Most regional newspapers now have no staff photographers.
Here let me stop to say something important.
Warning: if the person quoted is not identified, you are not getting the whole truth. Far too often the person quoted is only identified as a ‘source’. Some popular publications have discovered the way to retain readers is to scare the life out of them. So there is a barrage of the horrors that immigrants bring stories, of hopelessly exaggerated crime stories as the
Daily Beast tries to out sell the Daily Brute, in convincing readers that they will wake up dead in their beds if something is not done, lock up whoever the latest hate figure is or send them home. Then TV takes its cue from print, and constructs compelling narratives which reinforce the half truths. And up pops your politician in waiting - saying vote for me and I will rid you of these pestilences. And politics then joins the race to the bottom started by the print media.
That's an apocalyptic and crude version of the damage to politics and public discourse caused by the problems of the print media.
No doubt many of you have followed the Leveson Inquiry. It could happen here. I’m not sure I feel as smug about the Irish Media as does John Horgan. Mr Horgan spoke at the Leveson Inquiry last week.
Remember that the Irish Sun is published by News International which publishes the Sunday Times in Ireland. The Irish Daily Mail is owned by the UK Daily Mail, and 50 per cent of the Irish Star is owned by Richard Desmond who refuses to join the existing flawed UK regulation scheme.
You can be quite sure that phones have been hacked in Ireland, and each one of you should change the pin number on your mobile phone today if you have not already done so.
Talking about politicians - they have realised that newspaper staff is cut to the bone. So if they have a well-written short story they know it has a great chance of being published. That’s why politicians use journalists to write their stories for them. Just look at the number of former journalists Government ministers use in their press offices.
We should also know that and be doing similar tricks. We need people with media skills who can put across our values in a convincing way. Look at how former Mountjoy governor John Lonergan put a human face on the prison service. He answered questions, told the truth in plain language and people trusted him. Do we have a John Lonergan in the Dominican Order? Do we?
People have no idea the sweat and tears that goes into producing a newspaper. It is hectic frenetic, insane but above all the most satisfying job in the world.
Every Tuesday in the Kerryman I began work at 09.30 and worked until midnight.
Did you know that INM made a decision to stop using full points in all abbreviations in all its publications? Anyone guess why? To save ink and hence save money. It’s money, stupid Clinton.
Do you know what papers INM own in Ireland?
They own 13 regional newspapers.Sligo, Dundalk/Drogheda, Wexford, Wicklow, Bray, Kerry and Cork. The Sunday Independent, The Irish Independent, The Evening Herald, The Sunday World, 49 per cent of The Irish Daily Star, Ireland's Own, The Belfast Telegraph.
Most regional newspapers are owned by INM, Crosby group, Johnston Press and the Alpha Newspaper Group owned by John Taylor – Lord Kilclooney
The NUJ will say it is not a good idea that regional newspapers are owned by four large conglomerates.
Last month the Offaly Independent closed and NUJ’s Seamus Dooley pointed out that what had happened in the newspaper trade has been a dark day for journalism. He pointed out that local newspapers were never a cash cow but during the years of the Celtic Tiger, big
business moved in and bought up most of the regional media. The Clare Champion is still in family hands.
The Leinster Leader has halved its circulation in the last five years. Johnston Press bought it and if they were to recoup their money they would have to put a cover price of €10 on the paper.
The crass obeisance that Irish society gave to the church in Ireland for all my childhood and youth was unusual, to say the least. Certainly not healthy.
Go to your local library and look through old editions of your local newspapers and see how the newspapers were cap in hand with the church. And newspapers always capture the mood of the time. Just look at The Kerryman I
have here from 1953.
That was Ireland.
I think it is worth noting that the Vatican Council ran from 1962 to 1965 and during that time, RTE television was born. So this year we are celebrating 50 years of the Council and RTE Television.
Maybe some of you have read Robert Kaiser’s definitive work on the Vatican Council. In that book Kaiser clearly and in the most descriptive way possible explains that when it comes to being media savvy in any sort of normal way the Vatican was lost. It seemed the Vatican had not got the tools to deal with the modern media.
Redemptorist Francis X Murphy, who used the pseudonym Xavier Rynne revealed the inner workings of the Vatican Council to The New Yorker. He is credited with setting the tone for the popular view of the council, depicting it as conservative versus liberal.
But it is worth noting that the first two documents of Vatican II, from 1963, were the ones on liturgy and on social communication. Vivian Boland said to me that the church has always been very conscious and aware of methods of communication, uses them but also sees itself in rivalry with other 'communicators'. But why the rivalry? The church’s mission is to disseminate the Word of God in the here and now - the world in which we live.
Pope JohnXXlll saw in his election the commission to love the world in a special way, to minister to it and serve it.
The French Dominican Chenu said that the love of truth was more efficacious, more true in the intrepid witness of dialogue than in the protectionism of interdicts and defensive bulwarks.
I saw in a recent edition of the Tablet Archbishop DiNoia says it’s okay to criticise Chenu, Congar and deLubac now.
Karl Barth spoke about a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
So why is the church so scared of an open and free media? Last month they appointed Opus Dei man, Greg Burke to a newly created position of media adviser. Mr Burke has been working for Fox News for the last 10 years!
Fox is owned by the Murdoch [News] Corp. And Rupert Murdoch is a Papal Knight. He received his knighthood in 1998, the year before he married his third wife, Wendi Deng.
In June Rowan Williams commented how poor the Anglican Communion is in disseminating the good news stories it has.
The Vatican Council came and gave a great opportunity to people like Austin Flannery, Sean Mac Reamonn, John Horgan and Louis McRedmond. They were given the opportunity of reporting the workings of the Council, its reports and procedures. They were also able to convey the gossip and magic that surrounds the Vatican. It was a great opportunity for newspapers. But it also allowed some aspects of theological discussion to appear on Irish newspapers.
And Austin Flannery used the opportunity to perfection. He was there at the right moment and he deserves great praise for what he did.
Archbishop McQuaid set up his Radharc team and the Dominicans sent off Rom Dodd and TP McInerney to study radio and TV. When writing the obituary on TP for the Irish Times I contacted Claire Duignan MD of RTE Radio - her respect and praise for Tom really struck me
But the Council document on Communications was actually very different from the ecumenical spirit and practice of Vatican ll. It deals primarily with one church rather than with Christianity at large; it relied on outdated Catholic misconceptions rather than upon creative achievements of the secular mass communication profession and practice.
It falls far short of the high standard established by other documents. One Catholic editor at the time said about it, “it is not only
pre-aggiornamento but definitely pre-Pius Xll.
Isn’t ironic that back then a commentator said that the Decree might one day be cited as a classic example of how Vatican ll failed to come to grips with the world around it.
Of course the Council had its limitations but its efforts meant that the church could never go back to the old ways. Or could it? But certainly it allowed the media to have a less exaggerated opinion or understanding of the church.
Anyone who has been following the current Vatileaks one has to be struck by the tone and the language that the Vatican uses. I for one find their tone alienating.
Cardinal Bertone has spoken of a conspiracy against the church. I’m sure there’s not, but even if there is, to use the word ‘conspiracy’ is immediately setting a bad tone.
Time never stands still and certainly the media carnival never stands still. It is constantly moving from one story to another. News needs to be new. It is voracious for news and sensation. And that too applies to the newspapers of record.
And what better sensational stories, than what has been going on in Mother Church year after year. The mix of the secrecy of the church, its stringent views on all matters dealing with sexuality, makes it so inviting for newspapers.
And may I say the church’s apparent incompetence when it comes to dealing with the media has left the media with no alternative but to behave as it does.
The church considers itself above the ephemeral world of newspapers and that’s why we are where we are.
Never forget that the newspaper of today is used tomorrow as fish and chip wrapper. Of course it is an ephemeral world, a moving vision but it is a medium that people have to use and the church has seldom if ever used it in any sort of professional way.
The church always and ever seems to give the impression that it knows best. Newspapers hate that and so will make it their business to take them down a peg or two.
I remember when I was a novice Fr Basil Prendergast was alleged to have been involved in a coven in England. I think at the time I thought he had married a witch!
It’s a long time ago but I can still remember all the talk was that the provincial had managed to keep it out of the Irish papers but could not keep it out of the News of the World. There was a feeling that we were protecting Ireland by keeping the story out of the papers.
And isn’t that interesting - the church always uses that word SCANDAL. Everything must be kept quiet for fear of scandalising people. Of course papers love SCANDAL
May I jump forward to 2002. I was working in the Kerryman. We received a call at the office from an upset mother. Her son had been convicted of drink driving and she wanted to know would we keep it out of the paper.
It so happened that we did not have a reporter in court on the day. Had she not called we would never have known about it. But once she called we made it our business to get the story and publish it.
That’s how newspapers work. And it is a lesson well worth learning.
I have to admit that I have been ‘damaged’ by journalism. If Helen, Mary and I were walking down the road and we came on a road accident, I imagine Helen Mary’s first reaction would be what to do. Mine might well be to ask where are they from and is there a story in it.
I think what is happening with the Catholic press at present is not at all helpful to the long-term mission of the church. I sometimes get the impression that if it could go back to the old days it would jump at the opportunity.
It’s the small things that catch them out.
Regularly, indeed far too often the Irish Catholic will publish photographs. Every cleric will have his name and title and not a name or title for the non clerics in the same photo. Every week I notice they do that.
When I was with The Kerryman a picture could simply not appear without the name of every single person noted. I spotted a religious publication recently and every single picture
was captionless. That is simply insulting to the reader and crass unprofessionalism.
Take the simplest mistake - how often do we use the word church as if the Catholic church is the only church in the world? Think for a moment of the insult and hurt to people of other Christian denominations. We don’t need to say Catholic church every time, but the first mention in any piece of writing or broadcasting must include it - good manners alone requires that.
I believe we priests have terribly inflated ideas about our own skills. And guess what newspaper editors notice that.
Newspapers owe us nothing, nothing at all.
The church really needs to come down off its high horse and realise that.
North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin’s Russia they are in the game of attempting to control media and get media to say nice things about them. We are the church telling the story of the marginalised.
Of course none of us wants to read bad news about ourselves in the newspaper and anyone with a grain of sense would do all in her or his power to keep bad news out of the paper.
When I finish this talk some of you might well say that I have been too harsh. Personally, I think I am being mild mannered and avoiding all hyperbole. And yes I know my long-suffering superiors have me down as a
fully-paid up member of the Awkward Squad.
There are some things I have learned over the years.
When you send something to a newspaper it must be well written, concise. Write it in such a way that after one paragraph the sub editor wants to read on. Presume nothing. One of the great skills I learned as a sub editor was to be able after the first paragraph to know whether or not the person could write.
Be clear, Re read it many times, using the scalpel generously. As a school teacher, I have noticed the improvement students make when they re-read their essays, especially, weaker students. I gave grinds to a young boy who is dyslexic and re-reading work has transformed the boy.
Don’t think that your words are the most important and greatest words ever written. Presume nothing.
Don’t be pompous. Watch out for the little things that might indeed prove far more important than you think. For example, why upper case Priest, Bishop, Cardinal? Only upper case in titles, Doctor Murphy, Bishop Murphy, Cardinal Daly.
Have you ever made it your business to get a copy of a newspaper’s style guide? Have you ever checked out The Guardian’s Style
Guide on the web?
Use simple everyday words. Be truthful. And when you have sent your story by email make sure to follow it up with a telephone call.
I also think it is important for an order or congregation to have a dedicated person who will deal with the media. And by that I mean someone who is a good networker and gets to know journalists.
In the past the networking might have been with editors as it was a power and authoritative relationship. But today it’s important that we get to know the journalists on the ground.
I wonder when last did an Irish Dominican go for lunch or coffee with a journalist.
In my job in the press office in Concern I deal with the regional Irish media and I cannot stress the importance of networking. You cannot imagine how easy my job is as a result of knowing journalists in newspapers.
I have never seen the Irish Media Contacts Directory in any of our priories. I find that strange for an order that says it is dedicated to preaching the Word.
I can well imagine that the art of networking has proved most beneficial for Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. No doubt you know his brother. Seamus Martin is a former Irish Times journalist. Ireland is a small place and one journalist knows another and the word spread very fast. And to his credit the archbishop has used his own media savvy and his networking to great benefit.
I think when it comes to dealing with the media and getting across the message of the Gospel it is essential we are gentle and kind, easy with other people. Far too often we give the silly impression of being proud and
arrogant, knowing it all.
And that’s so strange because we all know so little about God.
But I remain convinced that the Church has an amazing privilege and indeed obligation always to stay engaged with the world.
A Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other, or at least the electronic versions.
Are we as Dominicans convinced of our message. What is our message? Surely it is one of Good News and hope in a country, in a world that so needs hope.
Do we believe in the importance of our story?
In my job in Concern I hear how people see that our work is worthy but maybe dull. How do we go that extra step to show that our work is yes worthy but also dynamic?
The Good News surely is worthy and dynamic.
What a privilege it is to tell the world.
Thank you.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Dominican Sisters' three day summer seminar
The Irish Dominican Sisters are hosting a three day seminar in Dublin this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The theme is, Vatican II Remembering, Reclaiming, Proclaiming.
Among those speaking are Helen Mary Harmey, Margaret MacCurtain, Bernard Treacy, Seamus Tuohy and Bishop Richard Clarke.
The writer of this blog is speaking tomorrow on the media. The theme of the talk is that the primary purpose of newspapers is to make money for shareholders and that there is not a media agenda against the Catholic Church.
Among those speaking are Helen Mary Harmey, Margaret MacCurtain, Bernard Treacy, Seamus Tuohy and Bishop Richard Clarke.
The writer of this blog is speaking tomorrow on the media. The theme of the talk is that the primary purpose of newspapers is to make money for shareholders and that there is not a media agenda against the Catholic Church.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
ACP assemblies in Galway and Mallow
The Association of Catholic Priests has announced regional assemblies for Galway and Mallow.
The Galway assembly is planned for October 6 in Galway's Clayton Hotel and the Mallow assembly is in the Commons Inn on October 13.
Over 1,000 people attended the meeting in Dublin in May.
The Galway assembly is planned for October 6 in Galway's Clayton Hotel and the Mallow assembly is in the Commons Inn on October 13.
Over 1,000 people attended the meeting in Dublin in May.
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