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Liberation
theology comes
of age under
Pope Francis
David Quinn
Megaphone diplomacy
in the Church
is unhelpful
Page 9
Page 7
Talk of 1916 anniversary ‘hollow’
while Govt targets poor – SVP
Charity spending €70m
helping families
Cathal Barry
The 100th anniversary of the
1916 Easter Rising will be
a hollow celebration if the
Government continues savage cuts to the most vulnerable, the Society of St Vincent
de Paul has warned.
Amid talk of further deep
budget cuts, the SVP, the
country’s largest charity, says
the coalition is failing to give
people hope and insists that
the Government must accept that further austerity
will only affect those already
struggling to make ends meet.
The SVP is already spending €70m a year helping hardpressed families make ends
meet in parishes and communities across the country.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week, SVP’s National
Vice-President for Social Justice, Tom MacSweeney said:
“The Government has a duty
to provide hope to its people,
even in the worst of times.”
“It has already begun planning to mark the centenary
of the Easter Rising of 1916
when the core of what was
then proclaimed as the future
for Ireland pledged equality
for all citizens. That is not the
reality of today,” he said.
The SVP’s intervention
comes after a major keynote
speech by Tánaiste Eamon
Gilmore outlining Government plans to make the 1916
centenary celebrations more
inclusive.
Mr MacSweeney insisted
that the Government is listening too much to influential
voices who are advocating for
further austerity rather than
showing true leadership by
protecting those hardest hit
my economic hardship.
Continued on Page 2
Putting on a brave face in Syria
Pupils are eager to answer a question in their classroom at the start of the new school year in the city of Aleppo,
Syria, this week. Trócaire has warned that over eight million people are in desperate need of life-saving shelter, food
and medicine in the country. Photo: CNS
Charismatic
Renewal
What the Church
can learn from the
renewal movement
The recommended retail price for The Irish
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Mary
Kenny
Assisi
In the footsteps
of St Francis
The clergy are not
accustomed to the
laity arguing back
Pages 18 and 19
Page 28
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2 | COMMENT ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
MichaelKelly
Where will Pope
Francis lead us?
Editor’s comment
T
here was a time
when it would not
have been uncommon to walk into
an Irish Catholic home and
see two portraits hung above
a mantelpiece held in equal
esteem: Pope John XXIII and
US President John F. Kennedy.
After the austere Pope
Pius XII, ‘Good Pope John’ as
he quickly became known,
was like a breath of fresh air
shining through the postwar haze. Equally President
Kennedy, young, handsome,
a man of the modern world
captured for many the optimistic spirit of the 1960s.
Neither man was in office
for very long, adding to the
esteem in which they were
held. John died in June 1963
after less than five years as
Pope, President Kennedy was
assassinated just five months
later half-way through his
term in office.
Wisdom
Both men, the conventional
wisdom goes, would have
achieved much more and
been even-greater beacons of
progress had they lived a little bit longer. Dying with your
boots on is a sure way to live
on in the public imagination.
John XXIII’s greatest
achievement was to summon
the Second Vatican Council
(1962-65) as a way to bring
the Church more into line
Pope Francis leaves the Basilica of St John Lateran after a meeting with clergy from
the Diocese of Rome on September 16. Photo: CNS
with the modern world. John
died after just one session
of the council and it was left
to his predecessor Paul VI to
steer a via media between
those who were fiercely resistant to any change and
those who felt the Catholic
Church would soon resemble
one of the mainstream Protestant denominations.
Vatican II was an extraordinary gift to the Catholic
ITALY
PILGRIMAGE
Church. Arguably the failure
of the Church in Ireland to
embrace and authentically
understand the Council has
been at the root of many of
the crises that has faced Catholicism on this island ever
since.
Complexity
John XXIII was without doubt
a saintly man, a fact that will
be celebrated next year when
he is canonised on the same
day as Pope John Paul II. However, the complexity of his
character and his ecclesiastical approach is done a disservice by the all-too-human desire to create caricatures and
simplistic narratives, often to
fit with one’s own particular
views or opinions.
Vatican II called the Church
to a more modern approach
to the world: it sought to
answer the question of how
the timeless message of the
Gospel can be presented in
a way that is relevant to new
generations. The Council was
about a new way of being the
Church: more collegial and
more participatory. The Council is sometimes invoked as a
Magna Carta for all kinds of
reforms within the Church:
supporters of married clergy
look to the council for inspiration; those who want women
to be ordained priests also
often cite Vatican II as part of
their argument. Not that the
council had anything to say
about either matter: but this
is where the ‘spirit of Vati-
can II’ comes in. The ‘spirit of
Vatican II’ too often refers to
a way of endorsing one’s own
particular vision of reform
invoking the council as a way
of trying to make those who
disagree think they are on the
wrong side of history.
to him and speaking to a pilgrims’ relative on a mobile
phone at a general audience.
But those acts just didn’t fit
the image of Benedict that
had been adopted by many
commentators even before
his election.
Blame
Traditional view
There are those within the
Church who are undoubtedly
disappointed because the
Church has not become what
they wanted it to become.
They tend to blame John Paul
II and Benedict XVI for this
almost as if there was some
hidden, almost gnostic, message from Vatican II that both
men supressed. They rarely,
if ever, cite the actual teaching of Vatican II preferring
instead to invoke the vague
‘spirit’.
It’ll be interesting to see
how this plays out with Pope
Francis. The Argentine Pontiff is lucky in that he has
crossed an important hurdle:
he is loved by the media. The
proliferation of media in the
modern world more-or-less
guarantees that if a world
leader is embraced by the media, the public adulation will
follow. There is no doubt that
Pope Francis is a man filled
with humility. It’s a quality
that his predecessor Benedict
XVI possessed in spades too,
but that didn’t fit into the
prevailing narrative of ‘God’s
Rottweiler’ or the ‘PanzerKardinal’.
Demeanour
There is absolutely no doubt
that Pope Francis moves with
ease among people in a way
that Benedict XVI never did.
His demeanour at the weekly
general audiences is more
reminiscent of Pope John Paul
II in his heyday. Francis draws
energy from people in a way
that large gatherings seemed
to drain Benedict. However,
it’s also true that the media
found gestures by Benedict
tedious in a way that they
would’ve found endearing
from Pope Francis. Benedict
was quite a good sport, trying
on hats that were presented
It can also be seen in the way
that Pope Francis is selectively reported. Aboard the
papal plane back from Brazil
he gave a wide-ranging interview in which he asserted
the Church’s traditional view
on women’s ordination insisting that “the door is closed”.
He appropriately called for
a compassionate attitude
to gay people (“who am I to
judge?”) before directing reporters to the catechism to
read the Church’s teaching on
the issue. Yet, his ‘who am I
to judge?’ was really the only
comment reported while his
stance on women’s ordination
was largely ignored because
it doesn’t suit the lazy narrative of Francis as a bit of a
renegade.
Great energy
Pope Francis’ papacy has already created great energy
and enthusiasm, particularly
his lively concern for the
poor and call for Catholics to
step outside of themselves
and become less self-referencing. Here’s a prediction,
though: Francis will make
much-needed changes in
the Church’s governance to
breathe life into the collaborative vision of Vatican II.
This will effect a massive
shift in ecclesiastical culture.
On the thorny issues of women’s ordination, priestly celibacy and issues around human sexuality there’ll be no
change. The response? Those
who were hoping for change
will blame ‘the Vatican’, the
Pope’s ‘handlers’. “If it was up
to Francis he’d change everything,” the narrative will go.
We may even have a ‘spirit
of Pope Francis’ based not on
what the Pontiff actually says,
but what he ‘might’ say if he
was free.
Continued from Page 1
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Talk of 1916 anniversary ‘hollow’
while Govt targets poor – SVP
“They do not understand the
reality of suffering,” he said.
“The Government has removed hope from many citizens by its policies of austerity,” he added.
According to Mr MacSweeney, the SVP “accepts
there must be economic discipline”. However he noted
“there are too many families
in distress and the Government should take note of the
many people who are now in
serious trouble”.
“There is a much wider
spread of people in difficulty
now. Austerity has clearly not
worked,” he said. He added:
“There has to be another way
and we do not see leadership
in Government showing there
is another option. We want an
Ireland of social equality with
chances and opportunity for
all people. That opportunity
is not there at the moment,”
he said.
The SVP plea for the most
vulnerable comes amid grow-
ing tension between Fine Gael
and Labour over next month’s
budget. Ministers are reportedly divided on whether cuts
totalling €3.1bn should go
ahead or whether the policy
of austerity should be eased.
Education, health and social
welfare are expected to be
hardest hit.
| NEWS ||3
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Archbishop
Martin
takes lead
on media
Inspiring young people called to action
Irish Catholic understands, is
keen that the Church would
Leader-in-waiting of the have a greater presence in and
Church in Ireland Archbishop availability to the media. Both
Eamon Martin has taken up a Archbishop Martin and the
new lead role in the Church’s recently-appointed Bishop of
communications strategy. Dr Limerick Dr Brendan Leahy
have been keen
Martin, who
to accept media
is currently
shadowrequests.
ing Cardinal
Both men are
Seán Brady
anxious that the
as coadjutor
Church’s voice
Archbishop
should be preof Armagh,
sented in the mes p e a r dia in a respectful
headed the
but unashamed
Church’s
fashion. They
campaign
have expressed
against Enda
the concern that
Kenny’s re- Archbishop Eamon
a Church spokescent abor- Martin.
person has oftion legisten been absent
lation. He has undertaken a from key discussions in the
number of high-profile me- past allowing those hostile to
dia interviews in recent times the Church to set the agenda.
and is acknowledged to have Sources in Maynooth conemerged as a competent me- firmed to The Irish Catholic
dia performer.
that they sense a new openIt is understood that Arch- ness to the media.
bishop Martin, a former exMeanwhile, Bishop of Kilecutive secretary of the bish- laloe Kieran O’Reilly has taken
ops’ conference, had become over as Episcopal Secretary of
increasingly concerned that the hierarchy. He replaced
the Church was not getting the long-serving Bishop of
its message across in an ap- Waterford William Lee who
propriate fashion.
previously held the role of
He recently took the lead co-ordinating the agenda of
at Maynooth by taking over the bishops’ conference.
the hierarchy’s Commission
Cardinal Brady is not due
for Planning Communications to retire until he turns 75
and Resources. At the same in August 2014. Archbishop
time he became a member Martin is reportedly keen to
of the Council for Commu- use this run-in time to work
nications which directs the hard on ensuring that the
Church’s media strategy.
Church’s structures are up to
Archbishop Martin, The speed.
Michael Kelly
Students Orla Davis, Clodagh Martin, Cliodhna McManus and Clare Bradley from Eureka Secondary School, Kells,
Co. Meath call on schools and youth organisations to ‘Go Do’ and enter the YSI Social Innovators Action Programme 2014, supported by the Vodafone Ireland Foundation. Eureka Secondary School holds the title of Young
Social Innovators of the Year 2013 for their project on Bringing Organ Donation in Education. The closing date for
entries for 2014 programme is September 30. Photo: Fennell Photography
K&L prepares
for Ploughing
Championship
Mags Gargan
Bishop Denis Nulty has issued
an invitation to participants
at the National Ploughing
Championship at Ratheniska,
Co. Laois later this month to
visit the Diocese of Kildare &
Leighlin’s stand.
The event, from Septem-
ber 24-26, is one of Europe’s
largest outdoor exhibitions
and agricultural trade shows,
which attracts on average
1,300 exhibitors and 187,000
visitors.
“They are a super three
days in the life of the diocese
and in this my first year as
Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin
Bishop Denis Nulty.
I look forward to meeting
many of you from the country
and around the diocese who
will join us that day,” Bishop
Nulty said.
K&L diocese will share exhibition stand 326 with the
Church of Ireland Diocese of
Dublin choirs join
forces for major
performance
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Ossory and
Cashel.
Sisters
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Monastery
in Delgany,
Co. Wicklow
will also be
at stand 530
after a “very
positive experience” last
year when
their handmade candles, cards and calendars proved very popular.
The Irish Missionary Union will also have a stand at
no 531 where returned missionaries will be available to
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Church choirs throughout
the Archdiocese of Dublin are
joining forces for one rousing
performance to close the Year
of Faith.
Singers from all corners of
the Dublin archdiocese are
being encouraged to join an
assembled choir to perform
G.F. Handel’s masterpiece
Messiah at a special ceremony
in All Hallows College Chapel
in November.
The assembled choir will
be joined by internationallyrenowned soloists and the
Orchestra of Saint Cecilia.
Speaking to The Irish
Catholic, the choir’s director,
Blánaid Murphy said: “With
warm-ups, vocal training and
the wonderful choruses in
Messiah this promises to be
a truly glorious experience
for all.
“I am really hoping that we
get a really large choir from all
over the diocese assembled
for this,” she said.
Rehearsals for the performance begin Thursday,
September 26 in All Hallows
College, Dublin. There is a
registration fee of €30 per
person.
For more information contact faithmessiah2013@gmail.
com or phone 085 7634395.
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4 | NEWS ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Belfast church Cross-church campaign
damaged
to tackle sectarianism
in attack
Cathal Barry
Paint splashed on the door of St Mary’s Star of the Sea
church, Antrim.
There has been widespread
condemnation after a Catholic church was damaged in a
petrol bomb attack in Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim.
Paint was also thrown at St
Mary’s Star of the Sea church
on the Shore Road.
Presbyterian Moderator Dr
Rob Craig has condemned the
“blatantly sectarian” attack as
“despicable”.
He called on
those within
unionism “to
stand shoulder
to shoulder
with St Mary’s
parishioners
“The cross-community
condemnation of such actions
shows that those who carry
out these despicable attacks
have no support from wider
society where tolerance and
respect for diversity are being actively encouraged,” Dr
Craig said.
Sinn Féin councillor Gerry
O’Reilly said the attack was
“despicable and completely
sectarian”.
He called on those within
unionism “to stand shoulder
to shoulder with St Mary’s parishioners and use whatever
influence they have to end the
attacks”.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week Parish Priest,
Fr Anthony Alexander said
the attack had saddened parishioners. “It is very upsetting, particularly for the older
members of the congregation
who have a great affection
for the church and have been
worshiping here for years,” Fr
Alexander said.
“This shouldn’t be happening. I find it hard to understand why people would vandalise somewhere, let alone a
place of worship,” he said.
“The police and members
of the local community and
other churches have been
very supportive and helpful,”
he added.
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Encourage
“People can make a difference
in their own way; they don’t
have to leave it to the politicians. We hope this campaign
will encourage people to take
the initiative to do something
positive for their community,”
he said.
According to Fr Magill,
there is a “real desire among
all churches to work together
to develop the peace process”.
Mayhem
“The violence is nothing like
the mayhem of the past but
the difficult situation over the
summer has overshadowed
the progress.
“At the heart of this project
is relationships and getting to
know each other. We have to
fight now together against a
narrative of negativity,” he
said.
Leaders from the Methodist, Presbyterian, Church of
Ireland and Catholic Churches
are endorsing the new campaign in support of the upcoming talks by US diplomat
Dr Richard Haass to encourage all who are taking part
and the wider community to
seek the common good at this
time.
The campaign has been
devised by members of various churches and has now
been endorsed by the Catholic Primate of all Ireland, Cardinal Seán Brady, Church of
Ireland Primate of all Ireland,
Archbishop Richard Clarke,
Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr Rob
Craig and President of the
Methodist Church in Ireland,
Dr Heather Morris.
For more information see
www.hopeandhistory.com/
Pallottines welcome new students
Students starting the canonical year with the Pallottines in Dublin pictured with Fr Emmet O’Hara SCA Vocation’s
Director: Christopher Burke (Derry), Brendan McCarrick (Sligo), John Regan (Mayo), Jamie Twogig (Cork), Charles
Lafferty (Derry) and Liam O’Donovan (Kilkenny).
RTÉ unveils new religious schedule
Michael Kelly
YEAR OF FAITH PILGRIMAGE
TO THE HOLY LAND
PILGRIMAGES ABROAD
LAURI DUFFY TRAVEL
A new cross-church campaign
to tackle sectarianism has
been established in the North
following a summer of parade
related violence.
The initiative entitled
‘Hope and History – Building Peace in Northern Ireland’ is inviting members of
the churches to sign up to a
statement that gives positive
encouragement to those who
are committed to making
peace work and to improve
relationships into the future.
Speaking to The Irish
Catholic this week, founding
member Fr Martin Magill said
he hopes the campaign will
“encourage and empower
people to be their own peacemakers”.
“We want to convey a message of positivity and this offers those who aren’t involved
in public life an opportunity
to have their voices heard,” Fr
Magill said.
RTÉ is gearing up for another
season of religious discussion
programming. Beyond Belief
returns to RTÉ One TV with
a new series of six Monday
night programmes beginning
on September 23 at 11.15pm.
In this series, Mick Peelo
and a panel discuss a range of
Raphoe
launches Faith
Gathering
Bishop Philip Boyce officially
launched the Raphoe Faith
Gathering at an event in the
Pastoral Centre in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal last Monday.
The Faith Gathering will
take place on the weekend of
October 19-20 in the Loreto
Secondary School Letterkenny with a variety of keynote
speakers and workshops, including an address by Papal
Nuncio, Archbishop Charles
Brown and Colette Furlong.
stories from a moral, ethical
and religious perspective.
Conscience
Programme 1 explores the
issue of conscience and the
law and asks: What exactly
is conscience and what is its
role in public life? Future programmes will examine issues
as diverse as forgiveness, the
On the Saturday afternoon
there will be a Youth Space
event for young people aged
15-25 facilitated by Elation
Ministries and over 80 young
people will be presented with
the Pope John Paul II Award
after 7.30pm Mass in the cathedral.
Bishop Boyce will celebrate the closing liturgy on
Sunday at 5pm in which people will be commissioned to
take back their experiences to
their parishes.
For more information see
www.raphoediocese.ie or
contact the Pastoral Centre
on 074 9121853.
Angelus, Islam, the media and
what life and death actually
mean.
Meanwhile, the popular
Radio One programme The
God Slot with presenter Eileen Dunne will return to
its usual Friday night slot of
10pm from Friday, October 4.
Producer Gerry McArdle
told The Irish Catholic that
the show was expected only
to have one series back in
2011.
However, now in its third
series, he says it will continue with “our mix of news,
reviews of books, theatre and
film, discussions and in-depth
interviews, and all things that
have a religious, spiritual or
faith dimension”.
Bishop Philip Boyce at the launch of the Raphoe Faith
with Bairbre Cahill, Diocesan Resource Worker, Fr
Cathal O’Fearraí, Siobhán Foy and Carmel Maguire
from the organising committee and representatives of
several parishes.
| NEWS ||5
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Fr Iggy denies being pushed out
Mags Gargan
Fr Iggy O’Donovan
Fr Iggy O’Donovan has denied
reports that he is being forced
to leave his position as Prior
of the Augustinian Church in
Drogheda, as he prepared to
leave the town on sabbatical
this week.
Fr Iggy, who is no stranger
to controversy and was heavily criticised for issuing an invitation to Church of Ireland
minister Michael Graham to
join him in an Easter Mass in
2006, said he is aware of “certain parties who made complaints against me and those
complaints were passed up
the line, but no Augustinian
has forced my hand”.
After two terms as prior
in Drogheda, Fr Iggy is packing up this week for his new
position with the Augustinian community in Limerick
as part of the “normal moves
in the province”, and told The
Irish Catholic his superior offered him the option of a sabbatical and he is “still considering his options”.
Fr Iggy, who celebrated the
30th anniversary of his ordination this year, said “there
are elements who are not easy
with me or who feel that I am
heretical or disobedient” and
“who put on pressures on me”
but “none of them were put
on me by the Augustinians”.
Some 1,500 people attended Fr Iggy’s final Mass in
Drogheda last Sunday after
his 12 years in the parish. He
said it was a “hugely emotional” affair and that he was sad
to leave the community.
In his homily, Fr Iggy said
he could not leave the town
without making reference to
Fr Tony Flannery, whom he
Kerry diocese
gets funding
to support
gay teens
Dominicans continue to increase vocations
Cathal Barry
Dominican friars in formation - Front row: Bro. Matthew Martinez, Bro. Daragh McNally, Fr Gregory Carroll (provincial), Bro. Paul Hughes, Bro. Philip Mulryne. Back row: Bro. Greg Daly, Bro. Eoin Casey, Bro. Colm Mannion, Bro.
Patrick Desmond, Bro. David McGovern, Bro. Jesse Maingot, Bro. Matthew Farrell, Bro. Luuk Jansen, Bro. Ronan
Connolly, Bro. Damian Polly, Bro. Michael Ronan O’ Dubhghaill, Bro. Kevin O’ Reilly, Bro. Conor McDonough, Bro.
Neil Fox. (Missing from picture: Bro. Stephen Cummins).
A pharmacist, publican, nurse,
engineer, accountant, and former professional footballer
are among the 19 men currently in formation with the
Irish Dominican friars.
Bro. Philip Mulryne is a
former professional footballer
from Belfast who played for
Manchester United, Norwich
City and internationally with
Northern Ireland before retiring in 2008.
First profession
He joined the novitiate last
year with Matthew Farrell,
Jesse Maingot and Michael
(Ronan) O Dubhghaill and
they made their first profession in St Mary’s Dominican
priory church in Cork on
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Philangeli Association Novena
to the Angels SS Michael,
Gabriel & Raphael
the Guardian Angels
Novena of Masses celebrated from
29th September to 7th October 2013
&
Please send your petitions to:
Salvatorian Fathers, 129 Spencer Road,
Harrow Weald HA3 7BJ
Sunday, presided over by Fr
Gregory Carroll OP, prior provincial.
The Dominican friars also
received two new novices,
Greg Daly and Neil Fox, both
from Dublin, during the celebration of the community
Mass in St Mary’s last Saturday. Both new novices now
begin their year-long noviti-
described as being “persecuted with a zeal that is as
pathological as the paranoia
that feeds it”.
“How has it come to this,
that intolerant and extreme
right-wingers — encouraged,
apparently, by certain authorities and career-oriented
priests — can meet in solemn
conclave to determine who is
guilty of what these people
label heresy?” Fr Iggy asked.
ate in Cork as they continue
to discern their vocations as
Dominican friars.
“It is a day of great joy for
the Irish Dominicans as these
men take this important step
in their lives and rounds off a
happy weekend for the Irish
Dominican province,” said Fr
Gerard Dunne OP, Vocations
Director.
TARA SHOP
IN LOURDES
Attracta, Sinead and all the girls
will be pleased to see you again
Kerry diocese received €1,300
last year to fund weekly group
meetings for gay teens and
those questioning their sexuality.
The Community Foundation of Ireland’s annual report 2012 reveals it provided
Kerry Diocesan Youth Service (KDYS) with the funding
last year “to support a new
LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender] group of 12 people to meet once weekly”.
The group now meets every week in the Tralee Youth
Centre, according to the KDYS
website.
Safe space
The website describes the
group as “a safe space for
young people aged from 1518 years, who are Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or
questioning their sexuality”.
Speaking to The Irish Cath-
olic this week, KDYS chairperson Fr Ger Godley said young
people approach the organisation every week “suffering
from exclusion and marginalisation”.
Fr Godley said that confusion around sexuality can be
“a major issue for young people who are already dealing
with very serious issues and
may be quite vulnerable”.
Support services
“The funding is to put in place
support services for young
people who come to our drop
in centres with particular issues. We offer them all the
support we can give them,”
he added.
KDYS describes itself as
a voluntary youth work organisation providing a range
of services responding to
the needs of children, young
people, their families and
communities in the Diocese
of Kerry.
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6 | NEWS ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Tánaiste’s
move on
uniforms
‘strange’ education
chief
Cathal Barry
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore’s
plans to force schools to allow parents opt for cheaper
uniforms has been branded
“strange” by an senior education chief.
Ferdia Kelly, General Secretary of the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) told The Irish
Catholic “it seems strange
that the Minister for Foreign
Affairs would want to bring
in regulations on school uniforms when one of his own
senior party members is the
Minister for Education”.
The Competition Authority has backed the Tánaiste’s
demand that school uniform
costs must be cut. However,
Mr Kelly of the JMB has said
that the decision should be
made at “local school level”.
“Schools would not want
to cause any further distress
to parents who are already
in difficulty,” Mr Kelly noted.
However, “school management should enter into conversations with parents at
local school level and an appropriate response should be
agreed upon,” he said.
“The school management
and parents know its community the best so they should
be the ones to make the decision. Otherwise you are into
micromanaging schools, and I
mean that in a negative way,”
he said.
Mr Gilmore has said: “I
think this issue needs to be
looked at and a sensible way
must be worked out with
schools to ensure there’s a
uniform policy that doesn’t
result in very expensive costs
for families.”
One of the options supposedly being considered is
to cut the grants for running
costs to schools that insist on
parents buying more expensive branded uniforms from
certain shops.
According to reports in the
media, meetings between Mr
Gilmore’s officials and the
Department of Education
will take place in the coming weeks to hammer out the
details.
However, Mr Gilmore has
not made any promises that
new measures would be in
place in time for next month’s
Budget.
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Dublin parish
to launch Year
of Faith boat
John Colgan, Eddie Crawford, Paul O’Flaherty, Alan
Condon, Pat Talbot, Willie Lockhart and Michael Quinn
with the Year of Faith boat they built for Cherry Orchard
parish in Dublin.
Mags Gargan
Cherry Orchard Parish in
Dublin will launch a custommade Year of Faith boat next
week, built by the local men’s
shed group.
The idea for the boat,
based on the Year of Faith
logo, was originally floated
by parish priest, Fr Sean Duggan. Parish Pastoral Worker,
Jane Mellet and parishioner
Mary Barrett both jumped on
board and Mary approached
Pat Talbot, who runs the Matt
Talbot Centre in Ballyfermot
and John Colgan, who leads
the crew of the Men’s Shed
Group.
The first-time boat builders spent every Tuesday of the
last three months working on
the project from the hull up
and creating great interest in
the area. “It has created a real
buzz in community and captured people’s imaginations,”
said Mary Barrett. “It was a
lovely summer and watching the men work outside the
church generated interest and
got people thinking.”
The finished boat, which
has a rudder, seat, and a sail
made by a local lady, passed a
floating test on the canal last
week.
Following a parish vote,
the newly named ‘Spirit of the
Orchard’ will be launched at
11am Mass on October 6 and
will become a permanent fixture in the church.
No Capuchin
cameo in D’Movie
This is what pilgrims
said about the
2012 Pilgrimage to
the Holy Land:
‘This has truly been an
inspirational, emotional and wonderful
journey to the Holy
Land’ (Marie)
‘I can’t single out any
one part of the trip as I
enjoyed every moment’
(Teresa)
‘A shared journey in
prayerfulness and
discovery flawlessly
delivered with humour
and fun’ (John)
more testimonials
on the website
Fr Bryan Shortall OFM Cap., guardian of the Capuchin
Friary, St Mary of the Angels, on Church Street in Dublin, with Brendan O’Carroll and his wife Jennifer Gibney,
during the current filming of Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie
with scenes taking place at Moore St market and the
Capuchin church.
Can we learn from
Charismatic Renewal?
The impact
of the
Renewal
movement
and how it
refreshed
the Church
may again
be part of
the solution,
writes
Gerard
Gallagher
H
ands up, I never
‘joined’ the Charismatic Renewal.
But my life has
been impacted and touched
by a great many people whose
lives have been changed because of Charismatic Renewal. People of a certain age may
recall the emergence of the
Charismatic Renewal around
Ireland.
The influence of the Charismatic Renewal Movement
and its impact on the Church
in Ireland is in many ways incalculable. From its arrival in
1972 the Charismatic Renewal
matured from an energetic
style of worship to a more
measured and sedate movement by the end of the 1990s.
The first recorded meeting
took place in Kimmage Manor
in Dublin. The first participants were a mixture of seminarians, religious sisters and
young university students.
These meetings became popular. Gradually as meetings
grew in size larger venues
emerged. Probably the most
popular one was in Earlsfort
Terrace in Dublin and then
later in Eustace Street. At the
invitation of Charles Lamb
a member of the Society of
Friends, a gathering began
on Friday evenings in Eustace
Street. Soon afterwards enormous crowds also gathered
at Dublin Airport Church for
weekly charismatic meetings.
Groups quickly sprang up all
around Ireland.
The vibrant format of
prayer attracted people mainly because of its simplicity. It
was centred on Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit and
shared prayer. Younger readers may not realise how lib-
erating and freeing this was,
especially based on the fact
that the ‘new liturgy’ had not
fully established itself. Soon
people began to talk about
their lives being changed and
transformed.
Many groups introduced
the ‘Life in the Spirit’ seminars. The Charismatic Renewal was attractive to many
young people and people
looking for a different expression of faith than was found
in parishes. New forms of
religious communities were
created. Some of these still
exist. Leadership structures
were put in place. Annual
conferences were organised
and attended by thousands of
people. These provided an international flavour with new
forms of music, well-known
speakers such as Cardinal Leo
Suenens, one of the great figures of Vatican II, who gave
particular attention to the
emergence of the movement.
By the 1990s some of the
early leadership had got older
and the age profile of prayer
groups increased, which
meant that it became somewhat unable to keep up with
youth culture and changes
that were taking place. However, what remained was a
deep core faith and belief in
the power of God to change.
The late Cardinal Cahal
Daly made an interesting
reflection: “In retrospect,
the renewal movement has
proved to be a great grace
for many within the Roman
Catholic Church. It has given
many Catholics a new love
for and familiarity with holy
scripture, a new-felt personal
experience of Jesus Christ as
their Lord and Saviour, a new
experience of the presence
and power of the Holy Spirit
in the Church and in their
personal lives…All of this is
positive and good.”
The impact of the Renewal
movement and how it refreshed the Church and its
structures may again be part
of the solution as we struggle
to find methods and means
to create plans for renewal in
Ireland.
Pope Francis spoke of his
regret about not having time
for the Charismatic Renewal
at one time in his life. He
also said that “this movement does much good for the
Church overall”. He said that
he was ‘converted’ when he
saw the good work that they
were doing in their ministry.
On Sunday, September 29
in St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral
Dublin, people are invited to
a special event celebrating
the Charismatic Renewal in
Ireland, past and present and
looking ahead. Starts 2:30pm
Mass at 6:30pm will be celebrated by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. For details call
01-8745441 – or email [email protected]
| COMMENT ||7
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Under Pope Francis,
liberation theology
comes of age
P
ope Francis’ September 11 meeting
with Dominican Fr
Gustavo Gutierrez
was an informal one, held in
the in the Pope’s residence,
the Domus Sanctae Marthae,
and not listed on his official
schedule. Yet the news that
Pope Francis had received the
85-year old Peruvian priest,
who is widely considered the
father of liberation theology,
has excited interest far beyond the Vatican’s walls.
During the 1990s, the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith conducted a lengthy
critical review of Fr Gutierrez’s work, and required him
to write and rewrite articles
clarifying some of his theological and pastoral points.
But within a single week
in early September 2013,
the Vatican newspaper,
L’Osservatore Romano, published an interview with Fr
Gutierrez, an article by the
theologian himself, and two
articles praising his work one of them by the prefect
of the Congregation
for the Doctrine
of the Faith,
Archbishop
Gerhard
Muller.
Social patterns
Liberation theology emerged
in Latin America in the 1960s
and 1970s. It finds in Scripture the principles and inspiration for working to free
people from unjust social patterns and structures. Its starting point often is the concrete
situation of Latin America’s
predominantly poor people
and how they understand the
Scriptures as relating to them
in their struggles for freedom
from sin and from unjust social structures.
During the 1980s, the
Vatican’s doctrinal office
under then-Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger, the future Pope
Benedict, issued two major
documents on liberation theology. The documents praised
the movement’s concern for
the poor and for justice, but
condemned a tendency to
mix Marxist social analysis
and concepts such as ‘class
struggle’ with religious commitments to end poverty and
injustice.
The consequences of theologians adopting Marxist
methods, Pope Benedict later
told Brazilian bishops, included “rebellion, division,
dissent, offense (and) anarchy,” which were still “creating great suffering in your
diocesan communities and a
serious loss of vital energy”.
On another occasion, he
told an interviewer that the
“politicisation of the faith”
by some liberation theologians had contributed to the
“widespread exodus” of Latin
American Catholics to Pentecostal and other Protestant
churches.
Many Jesuits embraced
liberation theology as part of
what a 1975 decree by the order called their “commitment
to promote justice and enter
into solidarity with the voiceless and the powerless”.
document, of which thenCardinal Bergoglio was a
principal author, did not use
the term ‘liberation theology,’ but its strong words
about the “building of a just
and fraternal society” that
ensures “health, food, education, housing and work for all”
reflect the spirit of the movement in its orthodox version.
Affirmation
Pope Francis’ election was
thus a powerful affirmation
of the belief that the pursuit
of social justice is a necessary consequence of Christian faith. But less than nine
months before the papal con-
Fr Gustavo Gutierrez OP, considered the father of
liberation theology. Photo: CNS
clave, a less heralded appointment had already signalled
that this belief, as formulated
in liberation theology, enjoyed favour at the Church’s
highest levels.
When Pope Benedict
named Archbishop Muller to
head the doctrinal office, in
July 2012, he surely knew that
the man he was making the
highest custodian of Church
teaching after the Pope himself was an admirer and coauthor of none other than Fr
Gutierrez.
Francis X. Rocca is Rome Bureau Chief for Catholic News
Service.
Photo: Sam Tarling/Caritas Switzerland
A Caritas project in Lebanon which is providing
shelter for Syrians who have fled their homes.
The Vatican
has been
gradually
warming to
a proper understanding
of liberation
theology,
says
Francis X.
Rocca
Following years of Vatican
criticism of liberation theology under Blessed John Paul
II and Pope Benedict XVI,
these events might seem to
indicate a reversal of policy
under Pope Francis. It would
be more accurate to say they
represent the fruit of a long
and painful process, through
which the Church has clarified the nature of its commitment to the world’s poor
today.
Sympathy
Not surprisingly, any signs of
sympathy with secular ideas
of revolution drew concern
from the Vatican. In 2007,
the doctrinal congregation
warned of “erroneous or dangerous propositions” in the
work of Jesuit Fr Jon Sobrino. The following year, Pope
Benedict found it necessary
to ask the Jesuits as an order
to reaffirm their adherence to
Church teaching on a number
of controversial questions, including “some aspects of the
theology of liberation”.
As superior of the Jesuits’
Argentine province from 1973
to 1979, then-Fr Jorge Mario
Bergoglio discouraged politicisation among his priests,
especially during the military
dictatorship that took power
in Argentina in 1976. In the
polarised atmosphere within the order, he was hardly
counted as a friend of liberation theology.
But the future Pope’s
pastoral work for and
with the poor was constant, and would eventually find expression at the
Fifth General Conference
of the Bishops of Latin
America and the Caribbean,
held in 2007 in Aparecida,
Brazil.
The conference’s
concluding
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Archbishop Gerhard Muller, head of the
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8 | FEATURE ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Challenging the Church
Church has created a vacuum
“where the extremists are
dominating” and this has
caused “a feeling of hopelessness where people feel we are
back to where we were”.
He says he has “even heard
people in the BBC who should
know better” say “we have
slipped back to 1969” but he
dismisses this out of hand
saying it is too easy to forget
“how far we’ve come”.
Brewer adds: “If truth is a
casualty of war perspective is
a casualty of peace.”
Prof. John
Brewer tells
Martin
O’Brien
the Church
needs to
do more
to combat
conflict in
the North
‘D
espite their
condemnation
of violence,
the Churches
were not seen as neutral and
above the fray. They were
seen as part of the problem.
This made it very difficult for
them to be seen as part of the
solution.”
That was John Brewer, Professor of Post-Conflict Studies, one of the foremost sociologists of religion, conflict
and peace in these islands
with an ever growing international reputation to boot,
speaking last month at the
West Belfast Festival.
His audience in St Oliver
Plunkett Church heard him
go on to declare: “The institutional Church – by which I
mean the Church leadership,
chief office holders and bureaucrats – did very little in
the peace process other than
minimally condemn the violence.”
Controversial
It is controversial researchbased conclusions like these
that makes Brewer, the author or co-author of 15 books
and Senior Fellow at the
new Institute for the Study
of Conflict Transformation
and Social Justice at Queen’s
University Belfast, one of the
most interesting and challenging academics in Ireland
today and a much sought contributor on the international
conference circuit.
Twenty four hours after
speaking to The Irish Catholic
he was off to attend workshops on religion, conflict
and peace over two days at
the University of Malaysia in
Kuala Lumpur.
But significantly, as we
shall see presently, his criticism is not just historical.
Indeed he is at his most passionate and compelling when
Prof. John Brewer.
he moves from explaining his
research findings on things
that go back perhaps 40 years
or more ago to lambasting
what he sees as the failure
of the Churches today to address burning issues arising
from the conflict.
Negotiations
His comments are particularly relevant as they come at
the start of the negotiations
chaired by the United States
envoy Dr Richard Haass.
‘If truth is a
casualty of war
perspective is
a casualty of
peace.’
Brewer is perhaps most famous for a pioneering study
into anti-Catholicism in
Northern Ireland in which he
“challenged Protestants to get
the beam out of their own eye
before they criticised Catholics”. (Macmillan Press 1998).
He has had an interesting
faith voyage himself, born and
brought up an English Catholic in Shropshire with an Irish
grandmother who came to
England in the 1890s and a
third generation Irish grandfather whose own grandfather arrived from Co. Antrim
at the height of the Famine.
Brewer left the Catholic
Church in 1970 “on a point of
principle” around Humanae
Vitae and other issues. He
converted to Presbyterianism and has had something
of a peripatetic faith journey
to the point where he is today “a non-denominational
Christian”.
During the Troubles he
says the leaderships of the
Catholic, Presbyterian and
Church of Ireland, “did little except speechify about
the violence and write grand
statements”.
In contrast, he says there
were “courageous individuals on the ground who did a
very great deal” and singles
out Fr Alec Reid of Clonard,
Rev. Ken Newell of Fitzroy
Presbyterian Church and David Porter of Evangelical Contribution on Northern Ireland
(ECONI) among others who
“worked for peace in spaces
that were outside the control
of cautious, conservative and
largely unsupportive bishops
and moderators”.
Canon David Porter is the
recently appointed director
of reconciliation to the new
Archbishop of Canterbury,
Justin Welby.
Mavericks
Brewer describes such people
as “religious independents,
mavericks and individuals
found in every denomination,
on both sides, and of every
gender”.
He says they were “often
criticised by their church
leadership or held out to dry
when it became known they
were involved” citing the
treatment of Fr Alec Reid and
of Rev. David Armstrong who
was forced out of Northern
Ireland after wishing happy
Christmas to the local parish
priest in Co. Derry.
He is particularly critical
of the main Protestant “middle class” churches for “making working class loyalists
feel like scum” pointing out
many of these middle class
Protestants were more likely
to be found with Catholics in
west Belfast than on the loyalist Lower Newtownards Road.
Brewer doesn’t flinch from
going beyond the conclusions
of his meticulous academic
research to express challenging personal opinions on
controversial issues on which
there is little consensus in a
divided society.
One of his duties as an
academic “is not just to write
boring books that nobody
reads but also to influence
public debate about the future” by giving talks like the
one in St Oliver Plunkett and
contribute to radio and TV
discussions and interviews
such as this.
Seamus Heaney was certainly not pointing the finger
at people like him when he
wrote Whatever You Say Say
Nothing.
Professor Brewer says the
late Cardinal Cahal Daly was
not sufficiently critical of the
British Government for fear
of “confirming the Protestant
stereotype that the Church
was the IRA at prayer”. And
that Dr Daly and his Church of
Ireland counterpart Archbishop Robin Eames should have
taken risks by talking directly
to republican and loyalist
paramilitaries. “Did Jesus see
himself as incapable of dealing with outcasts?” he asks.
Leadership
Whatever the rights and
wrongs of such criticism
– and there are those who
would say that without the
moderate leadership of Daly
and Eames and others, things
would have been worse Brewer is no less trenchant in
his critique of the institutional Church in Northern Ireland
today.
His charge is their collective failure to address the really big issues confronting a
post conflict but still bitterly
divided society 15 years after
the Good Friday Agreement.
“The Church is silent on
key things they have expertise in like forgiveness, civility, remembrance, victimhood,
and tolerance,” he declaims.
Against the background of
the street unrest of the past
year he says the silence of the
‘I had to
grow up very
quickly, bottle
everything up,
and learned
fast that life
was very unfair,
for me and for
others’.
An antidote to any feeling of hopelessness he says
is the message on the website www.hopeandhistory.
com inspired by the famous
Heaney poem which has received tens of thousands of
hits in recent times.
It calls for humility, healing and hope in the run up
to the Haass negotiations
and has the support of many
Church traditions and the four
main Church leaders.
It has been organised by
Brewer and Belfast-based
members of his £1.26m international cross national
five year research project
on compromise among victims of conflict in Northern
Ireland, South Africa and Sri
Lanka funded by The Lever-
hulme Trust.
It is clear something drives
John Brewer. When you ask
the answer comes quickly.
The seminal event in his life
came at the age of two when
he lost his father in 1954, a
Royal Marine who survived
World War II but was killed
in a freak mining accident
taking the full force of a rock
fall to save the mine manager.
His 24 year old mother
with another son two years
older couldn’t really cope and
he was effectively brought up
by an aunt, a devout Catholic.
“I had to grow up very
quickly, bottle everything up,
and learned fast that life was
very unfair, for me and for
others”.
Social justice
As a result he developed “a
deep rooted commitment to
social justice, fairness and
equality”, becoming the first
in his village to go to university and a sociologist exploring
justice related issues around
e.g. racism, apartheid and
anti-Semitism.
Sectarianism was added
when he came from the
University of East Anglia to
Queen’s with his three year
old daughter and pregnant
wife to Belfast during the
hunger strikes in 1981. “I was
an expert in the study of conflict and Northern Ireland was
a kind of laboratory.”
He stayed, raised a family
here and after nearly a decade as professor of sociology
in the University of Aberdeen
returned to Queen’s this year
to a place that has really been
his home since he first arrived
more than 30 ago.
| COMMENT ||R19
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Megaphone diplomacy
in Church is unhelpful
If Archbishop
Diarmuid
Martin has
an issue with
the Catholic
The Guardian in Britain, what
media he
do you expect to find? The
Guardian is a newspaper of
should
the left. The first thing you
will expect is to find a newsdiscuss it,
paper that supports the cause
equality. It will emphasise
says David ofstories
that seem to promote
equality as well as stories that
Quinn
threaten equality (so as to
W
hat is the role
of the Catholic
media? What is
the role of the
Catholic commentator? These
questions are prompted by an
address given by Archbishop
Diarmuid Martin at a conference in Kilkenny last week.
I suppose the same kind
of questions can be answered
to a certain extent by asking what is the role of a leftwing/liberal/feminist media
or commentator?
When you pick up say,
alert its readers of impending
dangers).
You will expect it to support abortion, gay marriage,
and insofar as it covers religion, it will either be hostile
or else supportive of tendencies within religion that suit
it.
Its commentators will generally operate from the same
ideology as the newspaper,
although there might be one
or two ‘dissidents’ so as to acquaint the readers with how
the ‘other side’ thinks.
The Guardian will also be
A man reads the Italian Catholic daily newspaper Avvenire in St Peter’s Square prior to Pope Benedict XVI’s
recitation of the Regina Coeli at the Vatican in 2010.
Photo: CNS
wrong. A newspaper will
hope to get it right more often than it gets it wrong. Time
will tell whether the speculation is correct in this case.
But to run stories of this kind
is standard practice. The Irish
Independent recently ran a
story about the possibility
that Enda Kenny could take
over from Herman Van Rompuy as President of European
Council.
Catholic media
broadly sympathetic to the
Labour party and hostile to
the Tories.
What I have described
above pretty much describes
The Irish Times in this country as well.
Clash
The Daily Telegraph on the
other hand is a conservative
paper. It supports the Conservative party. It supports
limited government as distinct from a big state. It believes other values apart from
equality are important, such
as freedom and if there is a
clash between freedom and
equality it will probably come
down on the side of freedom.
It is more sympathetic
to religion, critical of liberal
abortion laws and broadly
supportive of marriage as distinct from other family forms.
Its commentators will reflect the broad outlook of The
Daily Telegraph.
While The Guardian and
The Daily Telegraph will represent distinct points of view,
they must nonetheless strive
to be fair, accurate and objective in their reporting and
commentary. That is, a story
should report the facts as fairly, accurately and objectively
as possible.
What about a Catholic
newspaper? Well, many of
the same observations made
about other kinds of newspapers will apply here also.
A Catholic newspaper will
represent a point of view; the
Catholic point of view. Between one Catholic newspaper and another there will be
differences of emphasis and
tone. There will also be areas
of intense disagreement both
between and within Catholic
newspapers.
For example, there might
be strong differences over the
rule of celibacy, liturgy, the
future of religious life, the exact role of the laity, the proper
relationship between Church
and State and with the other
religions, and their opinion
about this or that bishop, or
Archbishop of Dublin for that
matter.
As with the secular newspapers, all Catholic newspapers should strive to be fair,
accurate and objective in
their reporting. ‘Objective’
here does not mean not having a point of view. It simply
means that you try to detach
your opinion from the facts
and report the facts as objectively as possible.
Accurate
Newspapers will not always
be accurate. When they make
a mistake they should acknowledge it with due prominence. When The Irish Times
recently reported an ‘abortion’ in the National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street it
got the story wrong from top
to bottom.
Even though the story had
been the front-page headline,
the correction was printed in
a very small box on an inside
page. This mistake far exceeds
any mistake I can remember a
Catholic newspaper making.
On a fairly regular basis all
newspapers will run speculative pieces. One newspaper
might run a report about a
possible cabinet reshuffle and
the possible winners and losers. Another might run a story
about tense relations between senior party members,
for example, between Eamon
Gilmore and Joan Burton. Mr
Gilmore has several times
denied any such tensions exist but the papers persist in
reporting them.
Catholic (and secular)
newspapers will often run
pieces about what priest or
priests is favourite to succeed
an outgoing bishop in a given
diocese.
Prior to his appointment
as Archbishop of Dublin,
many newspapers predicted
Diarmuid Martin was in line
to succeed Cardinal Desmond
Connell. They were right this
time. In other cases they have
been wrong.
Recently this newspaper
ran a piece about the growing talk in Archbishop’s House
that Dr Martin will be offered
a job back in Rome. The report
plainly annoyed Archbishop
Martin but the Editor had a
judgement call to make.
He could ignore the speculation and not print anything.
But then the reports might
turn out to be true and The
Irish Catholic would have
missed the chance to get
ahead of the story as it were,
to accurately predict what is
going to happen.
Sometimes newspapers
will get this kind of thing
At this stage, Archbishop
Martin has criticised Catholic
media and commentators on
a number of occasions. That
is his prerogative, just as it is
a politician’s prerogative (or
anyone else’s for that matter)
to criticise the secular media.
But perhaps it might be an
idea for him to meet with the
editors of the various Catholic newspapers, and Catholic
commentators as well, to discuss what’s on his mind? He
could do it one-on-one or collectively.
This kind of thing isn’t uncommon in the broader media and it’s usually better than
what can be seen as a sort
of megaphone diplomacy.
Politicians will from time to
time meet editors of national
newspapers to talk things
over. How about it?
needs more voices!
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about the Catholic faith in the media?
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- have a sincere commitment to Catholic teaching and values
- are open to developing your media skills
- have time and energy for three training weekends in Dublin
- are available for speaking in the media
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10 | NEWS ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Killaloe diocese
launches ‘out
into the deep’
Mags Gargan
O
ver 600 people
from
parishes
across the Diocese
of Killaloe attended a three-day diocesan faith
gathering in Ennis, Co. Clare
last weekend.
The gathering was organised to celebrate the Year of
Faith and recognise the many
contributions made to parish
life in the diocese. The theme
for the weekend was taken
from the Gospel of St Luke
‘Launch out into the Deep’
(5:4) and it was officially
launched on Friday night
with a liturgical gathering in
Ss Peter and Paul cathedral.
Dr Ruth Patterson gave the
keynote address and Bishop
Kieran O’Reilly launched
the Diocesan Pastoral Plan,
‘Builders of Hope’, which is a
culmination of a two-year listening session in the diocese.
The plan lays out goals for
the diocese for the next seven years, from leadership for
renewal in the local church,
partnership in ministry and
management of resources to
liturgy, communications and
safeguarding.
Enthusiasm
On a sunny Saturday morning, a line of cars, many
decorated with Clare hurling
flags, streamed into St Flannan’s College for the second
day of talks, workshops and
prayer. Bishop Kieran O’Reilly
welcomed participants saying
that “it was a ‘wow moment’
for me”, when he arrived seeing all the cars and a full assembly hall, and he “would
like to thank you for your enthusiasm and your presence
here today”.
Fr Dermot Ryan, President
of St Kieran’s College, Kilkenny, gave a very engaging
opening address on ‘Faith in
a Changing Culture’. He challenged participants to introduce people to a personal
relationship with God, to
“radically make God known”
and “involve people emotionally in the Faith”.
When asked how grandparents can pass on the Faith,
Fr Ryan said it must be based
on trust. “We cannot force
people into a relationship
with God. We cannot drag
them into the Church - they
have to find their own way.
But if you believe it and practise it, they will come to you.
Present a truth so beautiful it
has to be embraced.”
Sacred spaces created by
parish clusters were scattered
across the college grounds
and there were sculpture,
framed print and batik exhibitions on display.
Workshops
A number of workshops were
available throughout the afternoon on themes such as
Celtic spirituality, lay-led
liturgies, pastoral councils, meditation, ‘God in the
Movies’ and ‘Why Catholic
Schools?’ Bishop Emeritus
Willie Walsh gave a workshop
on ‘Faith and Doubt’, which
took the form of a discussion
group where people shared
personal stories of their faith
journey and their concerns
for the faith of the future
generation. A married couple, Patrick Tracey and Linda
Rainsberry, from a Catholic
and Anglican faith tradition
gave a workshop on how they
are raising their four children
in both traditions and how
they can mutually enrich each
other. The Irish Catholic’s TV
& radio reviewer, Brendan
O’Regan gave a workshop on
‘Finding Faith on the Web’,
examining ways of deepening one’s faith using online
resources from diocesan websites to blogs.
Breda O’Brien gave the afternoon keynote address on
‘Being a Catholic in Ireland
today’ and the role of faith in
the family, in the parish, community and in the media. She
told The Irish Catholic: “there
is great resilience in the Irish
Church and really there’s
great worth where we are at
the moment. We can get a
sense of persecution and that
things are dreadful, but in
fact events like this show us
that there is still great life and
great joy and that we have
something to give.”
There was also a parallel
Youth Gathering in St Flannan’s on Saturday which involved workshops by Youth
Apha and Elation Ministries,
a talk by Fr Ger Jones on the
Pope John Paul II Awards and
by Bishop Kieran O’Reilly. The
day ended with a combined
Taize prayer gathering in the
assembly hall of the school.
Participants gathered once
again in the cathedral for
Mass on Sunday and the closing ceremony led by Bishop
O’Reilly.
Caitlin and Nicola NicChonmara, Quin; Dylan
Boon, Kilmaley and Astle Narakathara, Shannon
Declan O’Brien, Puckane/Carrig and John O’Donoghue,
Youghalarra.
| NEWS ||11
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
The gathering for the Taizé evening on Saturday night.
Why did
you come to
the Killaloe
Faith
Gathering?
“I came because I was
invited by our priest.
The morning session
with Fr Dermot Ryan
was fantastic. He was
completely relevant to
the way the Faith is going at this point in time.
He is in tune with the
younger people and he
is able to relate with
the older people, and
is able to bring the two
together.”
Declan O’Brien
Hannah Evans,
Trócaire; Fr Tom
Ryan, Shannon
and Mary Freeman, Newmarketon-Fergus.
“I read in the church
and I teach as well, so
I thought the gathering
might give me something to bring back to
school. It’s been good to
hear different people’s
opinions, younger and
older, and how people’s
faith has developed
through their lives.”
Ciara Lewis
“I’m not a massive supporter of the Catholic Church but I am a
supporter of faith and
I enjoy meeting people of a similar faith. It
also reaffirms that faith
continues despite the
shortcomings of the
institution and you get
re-invigorated.”
Geraldine Caulfield
(left) Members of the
Ennis Brass Band who
performed at the closing
ceremony.
(right) Bishop Kieran
O’Reilly lights a candle at
the closing ceremony in
the Cathedral of Ss Peter
and Paul.
Geraldine Caulfield and Lisa McGeeney, Terryglass &
Kilbarron and Margaret McCabe, Puckane/Carrig.
Ciara and Geraldine Lewis, Portroe.
Bishop Willie Walsh (retired Bishop of Killaoe) with Susie Lynch, Ballyea and Grainne Daly, Clarecastle.
12 | NEWS ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
The congregation in the Church Of Our Lady Of Dolours. Photos: John McElroy
Francis, Gemma and Sophia Sabong with Maria Jordan, Rey and Ed Sabong at the
Church of Our Lady of Dolours.
Glasnevin parish
celebrates centenary
Mags Gargan
Altar servers Jake Abrahamian, David Dunne, Rachel
Louise Mahon, Lara Reynolds and John Reynolds at the
centenary Mass.
The choir of Our Lady Of Dolours and the children’s
choir singing during the centenary Mass.
The Church of Our Lady of Dolours in Glasnevin, Dublin
where Archbishop Diarmuid Martin celebrated Mass last
Sunday for the centenary of the parish.
Fr Sean Mundow PP of the Church of Our Lady of Dolours in Glasnevin thanking the congregation.
Deirdre Sneyd with her daughters Olivia and Ciara arriving for the centenary Mass.
Last Sunday the parish of Our
Lady of Dolours in Glasnevin,
Dublin gathered to celebrate
their parish centenary in the
Church of Our Lady of Dolours. Archbishop Diarmuid
Martin was the main celebrant at 11.30am Mass with
parish priest, Fr Sean Mundow. During his homily Archbishop Martin said the history
of a parish “is the history of
a community which has attempted over time to be the
focal point in society of what
the teaching of Jesus Christ
means”.
The archbishop prayed for
the priests and religious and
lay people “who were the
building blocks of this community over the past century
in a changing world and a
changing culture”.
He also acknowledged the
role of the educators, teachers, parents and “those who
built up the tradition of worship and prayer and sacred
music which have been a
particular part of the history
of this parish”.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin with Fr Sean Mundow PP
greeting Moira O’Hare and Margaret Heffernan after the
Mass.
Kay and Tom Moran with Sr Veronica from the nearby
Bon Secours Hospital at the Church of Our Lady of
Dolours.
Dalgan and Marie Kirwan outside the Church of Our
Lady of Dolours.
| EVENTS ||13
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Out & About
Cork Pilgrimage in Medjugorje
A group of pilgrims from all over
North Cork and beyond, who travelled to Medjugorje recently on a
trip organised by Sheila Kelleher.
Photo: Peter Scanlon
St Patrick’s & St Joseph’s parish, Wicklow & Rathnew held a celebration for 28 couples marking 25, 40, 50, 55 and
60 years of marriage.
Edel Sherwood, Cris White, Sean Ferguson, Murt Joyce
and Fr Hugh O Byrne pictured at the coffee morning
in aid of HCPT - The Pilgrimage Trust - held at Joyce’s
Wexford last Saturday.
INSHORT
Wicklow parish
celebrates marriages
cates and candles were then presented to each couple.
of Armagh will share his faith with the congregation.
Mayobride Year of Faith talks
Cloyne Year of Faith talks
On Friday, September 6 St Patrick’s & St Joseph’s parish, Wicklow & Rathnew held a celebration for 28 couples marking 25,
40, 50, 55 and 60 years of marriage.
There was about 200 in attendance for the Mass which was
celebrated by Fr Donal Roche Adm, and co-celebrated by Fr Pat
O Rourke and Fr Paddy Graham, whose own brother was celebrating 50 years of marriage on the night. One couple representing each anniversary processed at the beginning of Mass
with a candle representing all the others who were celebrating.
Members of the families involved did the readings and the
Wicklow church choir added immensely to the celebration.
After Mass, the couples and their families were led over to
the parish centre by a piper where the hospitality group had
laid on a wonderful supper, with tea, coffee and wine.
Once everyone had enjoyed the refreshments, the certifi-
On Wednesday night St Patrick’s Parish, Mayobridge, Co. Down
welcomed Sr Briege Mc Kenna to speak as part of their Year of
Faith Programme of faith talks.
Over 1,200 people flocked to hear Sr Briege share her faith
and pray for healing. Mayobridge Parish has been home to the
Poor Clare Sisters since 1924.
Whilst the sisters live in Newry now, they still actively minister to the people of Mayobridge and further afield; it was extra special therefore, to welcome Sr Briege, a Poor Clare Sister,
one of their own, to the parish. People from all over the country
stayed until nearly midnight to speak with the sisters and Sr
Briege to pray for healing.
The final talk in the Mayobridge Parish Year of Faith Programme will take place on October 7 at 7.30pm when Archbishop Eamon Martin, newly appointed coadjutor Archbishop
A series of autumn Year of Faith talks in the Diocese of Cloyne
examining the documents of Vatican II begins in various locations throughout the diocese next month.
Bishop William Crean said the talks are “a wonderful opportunity” to explore some of the documents from Vatican II
and people may be “surprised by the joy and hope they offer, by
way of insight, and if reflected on prayerfully, I have no doubt,
will enrich you and your families greatly”.
The theme of the talks is the ‘Joy of Vatican II Rediscovered’
and all talks last one hour from 8-9pm. The first document to
be addressed is Dei Verbum, with Sr Emmanuel and team in the
Midleton Park hotel on Oct 1 and Fermoy Cork Mart Centre on
Oct 2, in Mallow Mercy Centre with Fr John Ryan on Oct 2, Edel
Quinn Hall, Kanturk with Fr Joe Rohan on Oct 7 and in Fr Ryan
Hall, Macroom with Fr John McCarthy on Oct 15.
14 | EVENTS ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Out & About
Mayo choirs climb Reek
Friends and members of several Mayo choirs,
including members of Castlebar Parish Choir,
Cill Aodáin Choral Society, Cór Mhaigh Eo,
Mayo Male Voice Choir, the Moy Singers and
Westport Choral Society, as well as festival
committee members, pictured at the launch
of the 2014 Mayo International Choral Festival
last Saturday on the summit of Croagh Patrick.
Photo: Ger Duffy
Pictured (l-r) are
Kevin Byrne from
Kilkenny, Emma
Hoctor from Offaly
and David Cleere
from Kilkenny
participating in
the Console Run,
Walk and Talk for
Life at the Phoenix
Park, Dublin where
several hundred
families and friends
took part last Saturday to mark World
Suicide Prevention
Week. Photo: Conor
McCabe
Proprietors Denis &
Bridget Collins and staff
members Kerri
Hancock & Natalia Lisowska
are pictured
with Fr Finbarr
Lucey at the
official opening of Ardmore
Open Farm,
Ardmore, Co.
Waterford.
INSHORT
Mayo musical mountaineers
launch choral festival
Year of Faith pilgrimage
to Ardmore
Last Saturday saw the Mayo International Choral Festival reach
new heights as the 2014 syllabus was officially launched from
the top of Croagh Patrick. Climbers representing Castlebar Parish Choir, Cill Aodáin Choral Society, Cór Mhaigh Eo, Mayo Male
Voice Choir, the Moy Singers and Westport Choral Society became ‘musical mountaineers’ for the day and hit all the high
notes in a rousing chorus of ‘Moonlight in Mayo’ 2507 ft above
sea level.
This year 44 choirs participated in the festival and next
year’s event promises even more national and international
choirs performing from May 15-28. Closing date for choir entry
is January 31 (competing and non-competing choirs welcome).
For further details contact Festival Chairman Edward Horkan
on (087) 6683043 or Festival Director, Declan Durcan on 094
90 24421 or log onto www.mayochoral.com
On Sunday, September 1 nearly 80 pilgrims set off from the
St Laurence Pastoral Area (Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity,
St John’s, Sacred Heart, Ss Joseph, Benildus and Mary, Killea,
Crooke and Faithlegg) in the Diocese of Waterford & Lismore on
pilgrimage to the Ardmore Monastic site to mark the Year of
Faith.
First stop was at the ruined Cathedral of Ardmore, where Fr
Donal O’Connor gave a talk on the life of St Declan and passing
on the Faith in Irish history.
The pilgrims visited the round tower and St Declan’s burial
site, and prayed at the Holy Well where members of the group
recounted their own personal faith stories.
The pilgrimage concluded with a gathering for prayer in the
parish church and a rendition of Faith of Our Fathers, followed
by a meal in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford.
Order of Malta Summer Camp
The 30th annual Order of Malta International Camp – a week
of friendship, teamwork, achievement and inclusion for young
disabled people from over 20 countries – took place in August
in Clongowes College, Clane Co. Kildare.
This was a unique opportunity for over 600 disabled guests
and their carers to partake in activities and events to help them
overcome personal challenges in a spirit of inclusion, friendship and fun.
Colm Markey Builders transformed the ancient castle with
wheelchair accessible toilets and showers built in the school’s
gym changing rooms. A marquee rose in the garden; so did a
shooting range and an archery area. A large field was set to accommodate horse and carriage rides and over 30 Order of Malta
Ambulance Corps units lent their help on site.
The communications team produced a daily Camp newsletter and the entertainment committee produced nights of song
and music.
| EVENTS ||15
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Edited by Mags Gargan
[email protected]
Events deadline is a week in
advance of publication
ARMAGH
Eucharistic Adoration in St Malachy’s Church, Armagh daily
from 6am to midnight, and all
night on Wednesdays.
CARLOW
The next Family Tree Healing
Mass in St Patricks Church,
Rathoe will be celebrated on
October 3 - celebrant Fr John
Walsh (Chaplin in Limerick
Prison).
CLARE
Right and top: Participants taking part in Mass at the
30th annual Order of Malta International Camp recently
in Clongowes College, Clane Co. Kildare. Photo: Julian
Andrews
Annual Triduum in honour of St
Pio of Pietrelcina, takes place
in St Joseph’s Church, Ennis,
September 23-25, commencing at 7.30pm each evening.
Preachers: Fr Ger Fitzgerald,
Ennis parish; Sean Mulryne;
Fr Liam Kelly, Ennis friary.
The Adult Study on the Cathechism of the Catholic Church
has resumed on Tuesdays
at 7.30pm in St Joseph’s
meeting room, Kincora Park,
Ennis. These studies are
open to all adults who wish
to attain a more profound
understanding of the Catholic
Faith. For further information
contact Eithne 087 6679516.
CORK
Fr Stephen Redmond SJ (Milltown, Dublin), pictured
at the wedding of his niece Rachel Gerrard and Frank
Shouldice at Barntown, Co. Wexford last Saturday.
Ann and Joe O’Riordan, two primary school teachers
taking time out of work to volunteer in Ethiopia for six
months with the Vincentian Lay Missionaries (VLM),
pictured with Mary Anne Stokes of VLM. The couple will
teach students in a Montessori teacher-training college
run by the Daughters of Charity to south of the country.
VLM sends volunteers to Ethiopia year-round, continuing the tradition of Irish Vincentian Missionaries in
Africa.
Catholics United for the Faith
presents the seminar ‘How to
bring loved ones back to God’
with Mary Kearns in the SMA
Hall, Wilton on Saturday, Sept
21 with Mass at 10am. For
booking or further information
contact Adrian on 0861775364 or 021-4812751.
Year of Faith talks from 8-9pm
on Dei Verbum in Mallow
Mercy Centre with Fr John
Ryan on Oct 2, Edel Quinn
Hall, Kanturk with Fr Joe Rohan on Oct 7 and in Fr Ryan
Hall, Macroom with Fr John
McCarthy on Oct 15.
DONEGAL
About 80 pilgrims from the St Laurence Pastoral Area
in the Diocese of Waterford & Lismore on pilgrimage to
Ardmore to mark the Year of Faith.
Eucharist Adoration in St Pius X
adoration chapel Letterkenny
has been extended to open
at 2pm on Sundays through
to Friday 9pm day and night.
All are welcome.
DOWN
The next Mayobridge parish
Year of Faith programme will
take place on October 7 at
7.30pm when Archbishop
Eamon Martin, newly appointed coadjutor Archbishop
of Armagh, will share his faith
with the congregation.
DUBLIN
Pilgrims from Kingscourt parish, Co. Cavan at the Basilica of St Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy during the
recent parish pilgrimage to mark the Year of Faith which was organised by MAP Travel, Dublin.
Open Christianity Network annual lecture on ‘Reform of the
Roman Catholic Church – is
it possible?’ by Fr Brian Lennon SJ, author of Can I stay
in the Catholic Church?, on
Saturday, Sept 28 at 2.30pm
in Taney Parish Centre, Dundrum. Admission free.
The Pallottines will hold a Vocation’s Weekend in Dundrum
from Friday, October 18 to
Sunday, October 20. Contact:
Fr Emmet on 087-7542116
or email: emmet.ohara9@
gmail.com
‘The Liffey: legends, literature
and landscape’: a talk by
Christopher Moriarty at
6.30pm on Tuesday, September 24 in the Central Catholic
Library, 74 Merrion Square,
D2. Further details from the
library office on 01-676 1264
or email catholiclibrary@
imagine.ie
The 10th anniversary celebration of Our Lady of Knock
Prayer Group will take place
in St Gabriel’s Nursing Home,
Glenayle Road, Raheny, D5
on Thursday, October 31,
commencing with Holy Mass
at 7.15pm. This will be followed by our Lady of Knock
Novena Prayers and MarianCarroll will be in attendance.
Our Lady of Knock prayer meetings take place on the last
Thursday of every month in
St Gabriel’s Nursing Home,
Glenayle Road, Raheny, D5,
from 8pm - 9pm. All welcome.
KILDARE
Traditional Latin Mass in Cill
Mhuire, Ballymany, Newbridge, on Saturday, September 21 by kind permission of
the Parish Priest, followed by
St Conleth’s Catholic Heritage Association AGM www.
catholicheritage.blogspot.com
TIPPERARY
Theology of the Body Weekend
Retreat, Pallottine Retreat
Centre, Thurles from October
11-13. Facilitator: Robert
McNamara Mts. To book contact Fr Emmet O’Hara SCA:
[email protected]
087-7542116.
WATERFORD
The Cistercian Sisters of
Glencairn Abbey will hold a
monastic experience weekend for women who would
like to discern their monastic
vocation from October 25-27.
Contact Sr Sarah, vocation director at vocations@
glencairnabbey.org for more
information.
WEXFORD
The annual St Pio Healing Mass
will take place on Thursday,
September 19 in St Aidan’s
Church, Ferns. Mass with be
concelebrated by Fr Terence
Harrington OFM Cap., Fr
Paddy Cushen PP and Fr
Richard Redmond CC. There
will be individual blessings
with St Pio’s glove.
Official Opening of the Co. Wexford Pro Life Campaign Office
on Thursday, September 19
with Holy Mass celebrated at
7.30pm prior to the opening.
Refreshments will be served
afterwards. The Friars at the
Friary Wexford Town have
kindly given permission for
use of office space at their
facility.
WICKLOW
The Glencree Prayer Group
hold a special Mass for
healing in St Kevin’s Church,
Glencree on the First Saturday of every month.
16 | INTERNATIONAL NEWS ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
WorldReport
Edited by Paul Keenan
Vatican news
Vatican plans diplomatic drive
for peace
The Vatican’s new secretary of state
plans to use the Church’s vast global
diplomatic network to build peace.
Archbishop Pietro Parolin (pictured) said
Pope Francis has already injected a new
impetus into the Vatican’s Secretariat of
State structure and given a new push for
Church-led diplomacy.
The archbishop, who is currently the
papal nuncio to Venezuela, will start his new role October 15.
In a recent interview with the Venezuelan Catholic newspaper, Diario Catolico, Archbishop Parolin said: “The Pope’s
initiatives have given the secretary of state an impetus and
have also created a new diplomatic momentum.”
When asked if he would be spearheading a new diplomatic
offensive for peace, he noted that it was a complicated question but said, “Yes, I hope that we can recoup” that drive.
“We have this great advantage in respect to other churches, to other religions: We can count on an international institutional presence through diplomacy,” he said.
Archbishop Parolin said the Vatican has to take advantage
of its vast network of papal nuncios around the world and all
the contacts it has with international organisations.
“They are precious instruments that can be used to help the
world,” he said.
Pope’s Letter Published in
Italian Newspaper
Pope Francis has responded to the questions of a nonbeliever journalist, in a letter published on the front page of
Rome-based daily La Repubblica.
The Pope, who has won praise for spontaneous and unusual moves during his six
month papacy, was responding to editorials
written by the daily’s founder and long-time
editor Eugenio Scalfari, who posed a series
of theological questions to the Pontiff in the
paper over the summer.
To the 89-year-old Scalfari’s question of
whether someone without faith who commits a sin would be
forgiven by the Christian God, Francis replied: “God forgives
those who follow their conscience.”
The Pope continued: “The question for those who do not
believe in God is to follow their own conscience. Sin, even for
a non-believer, is when one goes against one’s conscience.
“To listen and to follow your conscience means that you
understand the difference between good and evil,” the Pope
said.
Mr Scalfari said he had not expected the South American
Pope to respond “so extensively and so affectionately, with
such fraternal spirit”.
New Pope-mobile
for Francis
An Italian priest has given Pope Francis a
20-year-old white Renault 4 to drive himself around the Vatican.
The car - which has 300,000 km on the
clock - was presented to the Pope by Fr
Renzo Zocca.
Known for his humble lifestyle, Francis said he used to
drive the same car in his native Argentina.
After the Pope appealed to priests several months ago
not to drive expensive cars but to save money and give it to
the poor, Fr Zocca wrote him a letter saying he had used the
same car for decades and wanted to gift it to the Pope.
Fr Zocca said he was moved by the Pope’s effort to create “a Church for the poor”, and told the Italian magazine
Famiglia Cristiana that he wanted to give him a symbolic
gift.”What better than my old Renault 4?” he asked.
Father Zocca said he was surprised to receive a phone call
from the Pontiff accepting the gift. The priest turned up at his
Vatican residence last weekend to present the car to him.
‘Sanctity stronger
than scandals’ - Pope
P
ope Francis offered
words of encouragement to Rome’s
priests this week,
assuring them that recent
and current scandals cannot
overcome the Church’s holiness and urging them to keep
their vocations alive through
love of God.
The Pope made his remarks at a meeting with diocesan clergy in the Basilica of
St John Lateran, the cathedral
of Rome.
Pope Francis devoted the
first part of the two hour
meeting to answering a let-
ter he had received from an
elderly parish priest, writing
of his struggles as a pastor.
“The letter is beautiful, I was moved,” the
Pope said. “The letter
is simple. The priest is
mature and he shared
with me one of his feelings: fatigue.”
While voicing sympathy, the Pope said
that such an experience is an inevitable part of
priestly life.
The Pope then took questions from five of the priests
in the audience, who asked
him about specific pastoral
challenges.
Pope Francis urged priests
to make their
churches more
welcoming. He
also offered success stories from
his native Argentina, including
one about fundraising that appealed to natural
generosity.
According to the Vatican
newspaper L’Osservatore
Romano, the Pope urged the
priests to keep alive the mem-
ory of the beginning of their
vocations, born in the love of
Jesus, as an antidote to what
he called “spiritual worldliness”.
The Pope then reassured
the priests that the Church
was alive and well, despite
being rocked by recent scandals.
“I dare to say that the
Church has never been so
well as it is today,” he said, in
spite of scandals such as that
over clergy sex abuse. “The
Church will not collapse, I am
sure. Sanctity is stronger than
scandals,” he said.
UNITED STATES
of New York at a news conference after a two-day meeting
of the USCCB’s Administrative
Committee.
While acknowledging
Catholic Health Association’s
expertise in health care concerns, the cardinal told reporters that he appreciated
the fact that the organisation acknowledged that the
bishops remain the authentic
teachers of faith and morals
within the Church. “We really
listen to them in a lot of the
input they give us. But when
it comes to faith and morals
that, of course is what this ultimately is all about, they do
defer to us,” he said. The contraceptive mandate remains
a “high, high concern among
the bishops,” he said.
Blaire of Stockton, California,
called the programme “one of
the most effective and important federal programmes to
combat hunger in the nation”.
In a letter, the bishop said,
“SNAP helps relieve pressure
on overwhelmed parishes,
charities, food banks, pantries
and other emergency food
providers across the country
that could not begin to meet
the need for food assistance
if SNAP eligibility or benefits
were reduced”.
“The Faith community and
the private sector are vital in
the fight to combat hunger,”
he continued. “But government has an indispensable
role in safeguarding and promoting the common good of
all.
“This includes ensuring
that poor and hungry people
have access to adequate and
nutritious food.”
Bishop Blaire also urged
that states should retain the
flexibility they currently have
to respond to local needs and
economic conditions.
sities are ranked among some
of the best in the country, US
News & World Report’s annual rankings has shown.
The University of Notre
Dame in Indiana, is the topranked national university on
the list, placing 18th in the
magazine’s annual survey.
Georgetown University in
Washington was close behind in a three-way tie for the
20th spot, and Boston College
placed 31st.
Catholic schools swept the
top three spots in regional
rankings in the North region,
with Villanova University
in Pennsylvania taking first
place, Providence College in
Rhode Island in the second
spot, and Fairfield University
in Connecticut finishing third.
In the region’s top 10, Loyola University, Maryland was
ranked sixth, while the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania tied for eighth.
In the Midwest, Creighton
University in Omaha, Nebraska, topped the list. Two other
Catholic schools finished in
the top 10: Xavier University, Cincinnati, was fourth,
and John Carroll University in
University Heights, Ohio, was
seventh.
Contraception
concerns
The president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops
(USCCB) has said the Catholic
Health Association’s acceptance of rules governing women’s access to contraceptive
coverage under the Affordable Care Act was “less than
helpful” to the bishops’ effort
to seek changes in the mandate.
“We have not, ourselves as
bishops, been able to arrive
at the same conclusion, that
accommodation with HHS
(Health & Human Services) is
that easy. There’s no way that
we’re ready to say that yet,”
said Cardinal Timothy Dolan
Food stamp
cuts
The chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Domestic
Justice and Human Development has urged the US House
of Representatives not to accept a proposed $40 billion
in cuts to the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP), formerly known as
food stamps. Bishop Stephen
Catholic
colleges
Catholic colleges and univer-
Numbers in the news
In percentage terms the number of US
Catholics who view Pope Francis favourably, according to research conducted
by the Pew Research Centre. Just 4% of Catholics in America
say they have an unfavourable view of the first Latin American Pope, while 17% express no opinion or say they have not
heard enough about Francis to have an opinion. Francis’ current
favourability rating among US Catholics is roughly equivalent to
the high water mark for Pope Benedict XVI, who was rated favourably by 83% of US Catholics in April 2008 following his visit
to the US. Pope John Paul II was rated favourably by upwards of
nine-in-ten US Catholics in three separate Pew Research polls
in the 1980s and 1990s.
79
50
The percentage drop of Britons identifying
themselves as Anglican over the past 30
years, according to statistics published last
week in the annual British Social Attitudes survey. The proportion of Britons who describe themselves as Catholic, however,
has remained steady during the same period.
According to the survey, 9% of those questioned last year
said they were Catholic, compared to 10% of those asked in
1983. This compares with a decline from 40% to 20% of those
saying they were Anglican during the same period.
The proportion of Christians identifying with other Christian
denominations also remained stable at 17%.
| INTERNATIONAL NEWS ||17
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Philippines fire fight
A man runs to fetch water to douse burning houses in a residential district, caused by a fire fight between government soldiers and Muslim rebels with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Zamboanga, southern Philippines
September 12. Bishops in southern Philippines have condemned rebels’ use of hostages as human shields in gunfights with government troops. Photo: CNS
CANADA
Tragedy
response
by the Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of
Caritas Internationalis, and its
general secretary, Michel Roy,
but also reflections on “how
we can come to the aid of
people right here in our own
country,” Msgr Powers said.
FRANCE
respect others in a just way.
We’ll have sanctified the public sphere, but risked a resurgence of communitarianism
in the process,” he added.
HONG KONG
Papal pastries
Religious
freedom
Canada’s bishops will be discussing charity, at home and
abroad when they meet in
Quebec for their annual plenary session next week.
Within the past several
months, floods in southern
Alberta, a fire at Lac-Megantic,
Quebec and the flash flooding
in Toronto highlighted the
fact that Canada’s bishops do
not have an organised structure to respond to tragedies
within the country, said Msgr
Patrick Powers, general secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.
This year’s plenary in
Sainte-Adele, Quebec, will
feature a “thorough conversation on charity” that features not only presentations
A spokesman for France’s
bishops urged the government to ensure a new ‘charter of secularism’ does not
impede religious freedom.
Msgr Bernard Podvin,
spokesman for the French
bishops’ conference, told the
French Catholic daily La Croix
that although Church officials
understood why the government sent the document to
schools last week, “secularism must not be hollow or
limited to negating and hindering religions”.
Msgr Podvin said Catholic
leaders understood that politicians feared people would
use religion as an “identity
emblem”, but added that religious faith formed part of
the French values of “liberty,
equality and fraternity”.
“If we don’t cultivate a
true knowledge of religions,
young people won’t be able to
oners here”.
Mooncakes are a traditional pastry eaten during
the commemoration of one
of China’s traditional festivals,
the Mid-Autumn or Moon
Festival, which this year falls
on September 19. For the past
three years, Cardinal Zen has
headed an effort to distribute
mooncakes to prisoners in
jails throughout Hong Kong.
AUSTRALIA
Canberra
archbishop
Pope Francis’ response to a
request for a symbolic ‘mooncake’ donation to prisoners in
Hong Kong has generated excitement and a flood of cash
donations since it was published in early September.
The Asian Church news
portal ucanews.com reported that Cardinal Joseph Zen,
retired Archbishop of Hong
Kong, issued the request to
Pope Francis in August. He
noted that the new Pope was
well-known for his charity
and regard for the poor as
Archbishop of Buenos Aires
in Argentina, “so I guessed he
would also be interested in
donating mooncakes to pris-
Bishop Christopher Prowse
has been named archbishop
of Canberra and Goulburn,
Australia.
The Canberra-Goulburn
Archdiocese has been without a bishop since Archbishop
Mark Coleridge was moved to
Brisbane in April of 2012.
The Canberra-Goulburn
Archdiocese has a population
of some 620,000, with a Catholic population of 176,500.
They are served by around
120 priests and 200 religious.
Christopher Prowse was
born in East Melbourne in
1953, and was ordained to
the priesthood in 1980. He received episcopal ordination in
2003 and served as an auxiliary bishop of Melbourne before being named in 2009 the
bishop of Sale, Australia.
BRITAIN
Sex selective
abortion
An English archbishop has
praised the British government for seeking clarification
of a decision not to prosecute
two doctors who agreed to
abortions on the grounds of
gender.
Archbishop Peter Smith of
Southwark issued a statement
after Jeremy Hunt, secretary
of state for health, questioned
the decision of the Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS),
the organisation that decides
v cases should proceed to
court, not to bring criminal
cases against the doctors.
“Many people are rightly
very concerned about the
CPS decision not to prosecute
in the case of the doctors
who were willing to conduct
abortion as a means of gender selection, and I welcome
the intervention of the health
secretary,” said Archbishop
Smith, vice president of the
Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and chairman
of the bishops’ Department of
Christian Responsibility and
Citizenship.
“Abortion is always an
injustice to the child who is
unwanted, and sex selection
through abortion is just one
expression of that injustice,”
he said in the statement last
week.
18 | INTERNATIONAL NEWS ||
Pope’s Assisi
visit will put
focus on St
Francis
The
significance
of the visit
of Pope
Francis
to Assisi
next month
cannot be
overemphasised, says
David
Torkington
B
efore the papal election Cardinal Jorge
Bergoglio hadn’t
given a thought to
what name he would choose
if he was elected Pope. The
very idea hadn’t even entered his mind. Even immediately after his election
he still hadn’t thought what
name to choose. Then a good
friend of his, Cardinal Claudio
Hummes, Archbishop Emeritus of Sao Paolo whispered
in his ear, “Don’t forget the
poor!” It was whilst thinking about the poor that the
Holy Father immediately
thought of St Francis, and how
he would like to preside over
a Church that was poor, and
which worked for the poor.
Within minutes it all seemed
so obvious to him, - he would
choose the name of St Francis
of Assisi to inspire him and
the Church over which he was
to preside.
The Jesuit writer Fr Gerald Blaszczak said that whilst
most Jesuits were shocked
that a Jesuit was elected
Pope, “any Jesuit worth his
salt, would not be surprised
that the new Pope took the
name of St Francis of Assisi”.
Spirituality
There are two main reasons
for this assumption firstly St
Ignatius himself had written
in his diary that he admired
and wished to emulated St
Francis more than any other
saint and secondly the spirituality that he bequeathed
to the Society of Jesus that he
founded depended on, and
grew out of, Franciscan spirituality in the first place.
Despite the abuses of the
Crusades, their initial victories nevertheless opened up
the East to pilgrims, whose
experiences fuelled a newfound spirituality that began
to emphasise the historical
person of Jesus. St Bernard of
Clairvaux (1090–1153) was
the first to make devotion to
the humanity of Jesus central to his spiritual theology,
but it was St Francis of Assisi
(1181–1226) who spread this
devotion to ordinary people,
through his extraordinary life,
in which he so imitated the
man he called Friar Jesus that
in the Middle Ages he came
to be seen as a Second Christ.
It was immediately after his
own pilgrimage to the Holy
Land that he built the first crib
at Greccio in the Rieti valley,
for the Christmas of 1223. It
began the practice that, to this
day, symbolises the rebirth of
the incarnation, that is at the
heart and centre of Christian
spirituality.
Ascetical practices
The influence of Franciscan
spirituality spread out and
down through subsequent
centuries through a new
popular spirituality that came
to be called the Devotio Moderna, known to most of us by
its most famous work The
Imitation of Christ, by Thomas
a Kempis. Although the mystical prayer that was the mainspring of everything Francis
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
The Basilica of St Francis of Assisi
is seen from the Rocca Maggiore, a
fortress on top of the hill above the
town of Assisi. Pope Francis will visit
the birthplace of his namesake on the
saint’s feast day, October 4. Photo: CNS
said and did faded into insignificance, it encouraged
ascetical practices, softened
with sentiment, that enabled ordinary Christians to
make the imitation of Christ
a reality in their daily lives. At
this time many lives of Christ
were written, like the Life of
Jesus by Ludolph the Carthusian, that inspired St Ignatius
and encouraged him to embrace much of the spirituality of the Devotio Moderna.
However, he also assimilated
Franciscan spirituality in its
pristine purity through the
Benedictine monks of Montserrat in Spain, who had
been deeply influenced by
their Italian brethren at the
Benedictine Abbey at Bobbio
in the Province of Piacenza,
where many scholars believe
St Francis stayed in his early
years.
It must be remembered
that the magnetic presence
and preaching of the great
Franciscan Reformers, Saints
Bernadine of Siena, John Capistrano, James of the Marches
and Albert of Sarteano had set
all Italy on fire in the fifteenth
century from the humblest
lay person to the most erudite monk.
Reflections
It was just before his famous
‘retreat’ at Manresa in 1522,
that St Ignatius visited the Abbey of Montserrat where the
Abbot Dom Garcia Ximenes
de Cisneros, had not only produced his own Spiritual Exercises, imbued with Franciscan
spirituality, but published
them for the use of pilgrims
on a newly installed printing
press. That St Ignatius was
influenced by these exercises
when he came to perfect his
own, is beyond question. The
series of reflections for the
last three weeks of the thirty
days owed much to the spirituality of the Poverello from
Assisi.
Devotional
The Exercises are not only
deeply devotional, but under
a competent director, are a
highly effective means of
helping a person make crucial and significant decisions
that can determine the direction of their lives. Since the
Council of Trent they have
had perhaps more influence
on Catholic spirituality than
any other single form of devotional exercise.
However their impact has
been blunted by a failure to
realise that these exercises
are, as they were originally
meant to be, primarily for beginners. Once the fervour that
they generate begins to give
way, quite naturally, to contemplative prayer at the outset of the mystic way, believ-
(left) The San Damiano
Cross hangs in the Basilica of St Clare in Assisi. It is the cross St.
Francis of Assisi was
praying beside at the
Church of San Damiano when he received
his commission from
the Lord. Franciscans
continue to cherish it
as the symbol of their
mission from God.
The icon-style of the
painting is attributed to
Serbian monks in the
Assisi area during the
12th century.
Photo: CNS
(right) Franciscans
pray during Mass at
the Basilica of St Mary
of the Angels in Assisi.
Photo: CNS
The famous Porziuncola church in Assisi.
| INTERNATIONAL NEWS ||19
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
The tomb of St Francis of Assisi is located in the crypt of the lower church at the
basilica named for him in Assisi, Italy. Photo: CNS
Franciscans alike to unite and
to harness the best in both
their complimentary spiritualities for the well-being and
renewal of the Church.
Unique vision
ers are often left floundering.
The Exercises of St Ignatius were never explicitly
designed to lead believers
onward into mystical contemplation, nor are the majority of directors able to lead
them there, when such an
eventuality arises. The stillness and the deep interior
silence into which contemplative prayer eventually
leads a beginner could not be
emphasised by the first Jesuits for fear of seeming to lead
the faithful into the heresy of
Quietism. This heresy condemned in 1685 encouraged
the Protestant belief that we
do absolutely nothing, in or
out of prayer to attain perfection, not even resist temptation. So, down to the present
day, the prayer that was for St
Francis and for his followers
like St Bonaventure, St Bernadine of Siena, and the other
great Franciscant reformers,
the only form of prayer with
which to prepare for effective apostolic action, fell into
abeyance to the present day.
It seems to me that this
momentous visit of Pope
Francis to Assisi should be
a clarion call for Jesuits and
We certainly need more
than ever the simple Christcentred spirituality that St
Francis re-introduced so effectively at the beginning of
the thirteenth century, with
his own unique vision of the
journey into the Father, in,
with and through Friar Jesus,
in whom all creation are related to each other as brothers and sisters. But we need
something of the Jesuit genius
for translating that spirituality into clear and coherent
‘spiritual exercises’ so structured that they can appeal to
men and women, who live in
the 21st century. Add to this
the need for leaders, teachers
and spiritual directors versed
in the Franciscan mystical
tradition, who know from
both learning and from their
own personal experience,
how to lead beginners onward in mystical contemplative prayer. For, as the Jesuit
mystic Père Lallement put it,
“You can do more in a month
with contemplative prayer
than you can do in a lifetime
without it.”
It is in this area that the
present Pope has a deeply
personal contribution to
make to the future renewal
of the Church from his own
personal experience that
parallels the personal experience of St Francis perfectly. St
Francis was not a born saint.
He admitted, like our present
Pope, that he had made many
mistakes in his early life some
of them serious mistakes that
could not easily be forgotten.
However both of them had
conversion experiences when
they encountered Christ in
the poor. St Francis writes
about this explicitly in his
Last Will and Testament.
This experience had the
same effect on both of them.
They both turn back to Christ
radically through the deep
and prolonged interior prayer
that leads to contemplation.
In his brilliant book on Pope
Francis, Paul Vallely describes
how he gets up very early in
the morning for two hours of
personal prayer before Mass.
All evening engagements
that could prevent this time
for prayer are simply cancelled.
only sees what needs to be
done to change the Church,
but simultaneously receives
the power to do it. For the
Fathers of the Church, as for
St Francis of Assisi this was
above all else the one thing
necessary, if the Church is to
be continually renewed.
Symbolic
The Roman curia may well be
reformed today, collegiality
may be introduced tomorrow, with full consultation
of the laity to follow, but it
is not enough. It is undoubtedly necessary, but without a
Church committed to seeking
‘the one thing necessary’ it
will still fail to achieve what
we all hope and pray for. If
this is done then future ages
will look back on the papacy
of Pope Francis, and to his
visit to Assisi this October, as
St Francis of Assisi is depicted in a stained-glass
window inside the Church of San Damiano near Assisi.
Photo: CNS
the symbolic beginning of the
deep and lasting renewal for
which we have all been hoping and praying.
David Torkington is the
author of Wisdom from Franciscan Italy: the Primacy
of Love.
Contemplation
If there is a secret to the inner
spiritual life of Pope Francis
then, it is to be found here, as
it was to be found in the saint
whose name he has chosen
to bear. St Thomas Aquinas
defines contemplation as “a
simple gaze upon the Truth
accompanied by awe”. It is
here more than anywhere
else that Pope John XXIII not
Pope Benedict XVI walks with other religious leaders in the crypt of the Basilica of St
Francis in Assisi in 2011. The Pope prayed at the tomb of St Francis at the end of an
interfaith meeting for peace. Photo: CNS
Adorning the walls of the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi are a series of 28 frescoes
painted by the famed Florentine Renaissance artist Giotto. They tell the story of a
man’s extraordinary journey of faith. In this fresco, St Francis holds up the Basilica
of St John Lateran, the episcopal seat of the pontiff. It illustrates the dream of Pope
Innocent III, who moved by this vision, endorses the religious order of St Francis and
his followers. Photo: CNS
20 | OPINION ||
Your faith in your hands
Reconciliation is key
T
he fact that peace is more than the absence of war is
so self-evident it hardly seems worthwhile pointing
out. Nevertheless, the truism bears repeating in the
particular context of the Northern peace process.
By any objective measure the 1998 Good Friday Agreement
and the ceasefires that precipitated the accord have been a
stunning success. A daily round of sectarian violence and titfor-tat murders have given way to peace – imperfect as it is.
As imperfect as the peace is, it is also vulnerable. This is why
the engagement of US diplomat Richard Haass, who begins to
chair talks on outstanding contentious issues, is so vital if the
political parties are to build on the institutions established by
the peace deal.
Dr Haass will try to make progress on contentious issues
that have proved too difficult for the political parties at Stormont to resolve. Chief among these issues will be flags, contentious parades and the much-touted concept of a shared future.
The participation of the political parties is important. But
the process will only be a success if it can reach into the hearts
of grassroots communities all across the North to ensure that
the process is inclusive.
Too often discussion between the political parties – particularly between the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin
– resemble a cynical carve-up rather than a sincere attempt to
create a shared future. There is little evidence that the political
parties are really engaged on the key issues affecting communities such as educational disadvantage, unemployment, underemployment and fragmenting and disenchanted communities.
Dr Haass and his team will also have to keep a keen eye on
the past in a region so often imprisoned by history. Nothing
divides politicians in the North more than the history of the
past 40 years and the legacy of sectarian political institutions
and civil conflict.
Legacy of the past
There is not even political agreement on what constitutes a
‘victim’. Previous initiatives that have examined the legacy of
the past have proved controversial as both sides sought to write
history as the victor to the detriment of the other.
It’s appropriate that we look to the United States for help
on these issues. The United States has been a good friend to
Ireland and a good friend to the people of Northern Ireland in
giving energy and resources to a seeming never-ending path
towards a peace agreement at a time when others walked away.
The engagement of the US, however, cannot allow the Irish and
British governments to shrink from their responsibilities. Both
governments, it should be remembered, are co-signatories of
the Good Friday Agreement and therefore share responsibility
for making the deal work on a permanent basis. Understandably the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Britain’s Prime Minister
David Cameron have been overwhelmed by dealing with an
economic crisis. But they must not allow this to deflect them
from the vital issues of reconciliation that are now once-again
centre-stage in the North.
Churches also have their part to play in the process. Religious leaders have perhaps more right than others to be at
the table given the fact that it was often people of faith who
stepped beyond denominationalism and reached across the divide at a time when politicians were seeking to highlight and
accentuate divisions.
The Haass process is a vital step on the road to a more permanent settlement. It deserves the support and encouragement of all people of goodwill.
Editor: Michael Kelly, [email protected]
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The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Letters
Speech on Catholic press
missed opportunity
Dear Editor, I do not think
that I can be alone in seeing
the publicity surrounding
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s recent speech on the
New Evangelisation in a New
Ireland as being a missed
opportunity. Whilst there is
much of interest and value
in the speech itself, drawing
on the call of Pope Francis
and Pope Benedict XVI to be
outward-looking and positive in our proclamation of
the Gospel, the accompany-
ing press release from the
Bishops’ Conference focused
mainly on Archbishop Martin’s challenge to the Catholic
press.
Did no one have the
foresight to realise that the
mainstream reporting of
this would just reinforce the
image of the Church as a
nest of squabbling factions?
Whose interest does it serve
when the mainstream media
is gifted with the story of
the Archbishop of Dublin
seeming to take potshots at
Catholic journalists? How
ironic that the value of this
speech was undermined by
a negative and short-sighted
presentation!
It is also regrettable
that Archbishop Martin’s
remarks about the ‘growing
and worrying phenomenon
of blogs’ wasn’t balanced
by an acknowledgement of
the many decent Catholics
laity and clergy who do so
much to share their faith in
an informative and positive
manner on-line. Perhaps it is
time for our bishops to look
more closely at how some
of their confrères abroad,
and especially in the United
States, have been engaging
with their flocks and the
world via their blogs and
Twitter accounts.
Yours etc.,
Rev. Bernard Healy CC,
St John’s Parish Centre,
Tralee,
Co. Kerry.
Don’t shoot the messenger
Dear Editor, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin recently criticised sections of the Catholic
press in Ireland for a ‘growing tendency to tabloidism’.
I presume his criticism is not
directed at The Irish Catholic,
which while supportive of
the archbishop’s work on
dealing with clerical sexual
abuse, has also raised questions about the extent of his
leadership in other areas.
Because of his strong and
decisive stance on the abuse
issue, Archbishop Martin is
probably the only member of
the Catholic hierarchy who
has any serious credibility
left with the Irish public - of
all faiths and none. For that
reason, it would be a pity
if the archbishop was to
display a thin skin when it
comes to perceived or actual
slights to him in the press.
For one who is renowned
for his media savvy, he
should be more aware of
the dangers of shooting the
messenger.
Yours etc.,
Declan Harmon,
Whitethorn Crescent,
Palmerstown,
Dublin 20.
Parishes praying for peace
Dear Editor, The Irish
Catholic (IC 05/09/2013)
report titled “Irish parishes
respond to Pope’s peace vigil
call,” rightly drew attention
to the massive peace efforts
of Pope Francis and his preannounced Saturday Rome
vigil of fasting and prayer in
respect of Syria.
Pope Francis made an international appeal to Catho-
lics, Christians, believers
and all peace loving people
throughout the world to join
in his Saturday campaign. A
great many Saturday prayer
vigils were organised in cathedrals and parishes across
the world.
Regrettably here in this
part of Ireland there was very
little evidence of any organised Catholic response to the
Pope’s earnest plea apart from
the occasional Sunday Mass
prayer intention in respect
of the grave threats to world
peace. Parish newsletter mentions of Pope Francis’ intentions were very rare indeed.
On a positive note, here in
our local cathedral, and in relation to the Pope’s plea, we
had a Eucharistic Prayer for
Reconciliation at some Sun-
day Masses.
Surely it is time for all
people of peace, including
our bishops, clergy and lay
people to give wholehearted
backing to Pope Francis and
his earnest plea for prayers
and fasting for peace.
Yours etc.,
Alan Whelan,
Beaufort,
Co. Kerry.
Proving existence of God
Dear Editor, I asked a group
of young people to do some
research with a view to
discover whether or not God
really exists. They gave me
the analysis of their investigations and their resultant
proof of the existence of
God.
This world goes on a huge
space journey every 365 ¼
days around the sun. This
has been happening for millions of years. The result of
this space journey is the gen-
eration of the four seasons
of the year: Spring, Summer,
Autumn and Winter. This annual movement of the world
operates with such precision
time-wise to the fraction of a
second that the only natural
conclusion must be that it
is taking place by design,
where you have design you
must have a Designer. Since
the operation has been occurring for millions of years
the Designer must have been
in existence for millions of
Letters to the Editor
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years and even before this
phenomenon began.
The next conclusion
come to by the young people
was that the Designer of
World v Sun must be super
intelligent and all powerful
because the whole planetary
system is so vast and intricate in all its workings.
A further conclusion was
that the Designer/architect/
engineer must be good and
benign because the end result of this movement of the
world every 365 ¼ days generating the four seasons of
the year is the production of
food for all living creatures
including us humans. The
sum total of these of these
observations was that the
young people concluded
finally that this Designer/architect/engineer qualifies for
the title of God!
Yours etc.,
Fr Con McGillicuddy,
Raheny,
Dublin 5.
merits of individual letters.
We do not publish letters using pseudonyms or other formulae to conceal the writer’s identity, such as “name and address
with editor”. Please note, we also do not print copies of letters
addressed to someone else, open letters, nor do we publish
verse.
Letters to the Editor should only be sent to The Irish Catholic, and not to other publications. Letters may be shortened for
space requirements.
| OPINION ||21
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Letters to the Editor may be sent by the following means:
Post: The Irish Catholic, St Mary’s, Bloomfield Avenue, Donnybrook,
Dublin 4. Email: [email protected]
Rejoicing in the aisle
Crossword puzzle
1
2
3
4
8
Gordius No. 34
5
6
7
9
10
11
13
12
14
15
16
17
18
19
21
20
22
23
24
25
26
Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St Petersburg, Florida, rejoices at the conclusion of the dedication of the newly renovated Cathedral of St Jude the Apostle in St Petersburg. Photo: CNS
Promoting Nothing justifies voting for abortion
fertility
awareness
Dear Editor, Fertility awareness is a subject that comes
up for discussion in the
media from time to time.
However it falls short of
explaining that there is information available that every
woman should know.
This is information, scientifically proven, whereby a
couple can plan or postpone
a pregnancy, as deemed
necessary. It would be interesting to hear from any of
your readers who are already
aware of this.
Yours etc.,
Kathleen Byrne,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.
Dear Editor, The President
and Taoiseach slammed the
Catholic Church with their
abortion legislation and
they then participated in a
Eucharistic celebration – the
“Source and Summit of our
Faith” - that demonstrated
to the Church and future
generations their disregard
for the Magisterium. Unfortunately there has been little
effective response from the
hierarchy.
Abortion is one of the
sins for which a Catholic is
excommunicated, subject
to basic conditions. The
love and Mercy of God will
always consider extenuating circumstances especially
in the case of disturbed and
distressed women who may
not always be fully responsible for their actions. No one
Headlines with
double meanings
Dear Editor, Did you notice
the ambiguity on page 4
in your September 12 headline, “Police patrol threatened Catholic schools”. When
I first read the headline, I
read it as saying that police
patrols had gone to Catholic
schools so as to attack them.
But, when I read the article, it
was clear that the police had
gone to schools which were
being threatened, so as to
protect them. Phew!
Yours etc.,
Colm Culleton,
Bagenalstown,
Co. Carlow.
can be morally explicit in
such circumstances and the
compassion of the Catholic
Church is not lacking in guiding those who seek help.
Neither our Taoiseach or
our President appeared unduly disturbed or distressed
as they ratified the legalisation of abortion, and I fail to
find appropriate extenuating
circumstance to justify their
reception of Holy Communion including the VIP manner under which Mr Kenny
received. Does Michael D. or
Enda believe or accept that
the Eucharist is the Body,
Blood, Soul and Divinity of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
Creator and Master of the
Universe. Are they aware of
the outrages sacrileges and
indifferences by which He is
offended?
This is not a moral condemnation of these men.
God alone will judge their
immortal souls albeit their
relationship with His Church.
Nor is it intended as criticism of the Catholic Church
whose mandate from Christ
will never be diminished by
prince or politician. These
gentlemen have flaunted
their authority over the
Church by their public actions and the hierarchy has
prevaricated in its response.
Perhaps the solution may lie
in Matt. 10:34 “Do not think
that I have come to bring
peace to the world, no I did
not come to bring peace but
a sword.”
Yours etc.,
Donald McDonnell,
Hillside,
Co. Louth.
Lessons on military
interventions not learnt
Dear Editor, Despite his
political manoeuvring, one
suspects that President Barak
Obama intends to bomb
Syria. It is amazing that the
West does not learn from
the results of its military
intervention in Iraq, Afganistan and Libya. In the case of
Iraq these results have been
catastrophic. The proposal
that it should intervene in
the fratricidal conflict in
Syria without recourse to
the United Nations is almost
beyond belief.
Yours etc.,
J. Anthony Gaughan,
Blackrock,
Co. Dublin.
27
Across
1 Droop (3)
3 Opening tennis shot from one
of twelve good citizens? (4,7)
8 Fictional character - with a
Twist (6)
9 Scrawl (8)
10 Pixies (5)
11 Went out like the tide (5)
13 Swiss money sounds candid
(5)
15 Break a target for the yachting event (7)
16 Fly from here to make the pit
roar out (7)
20 Perfectly clear (5)
21 Inundate fifty with nourishment all around (5)
23 Pulsate as broth is stirred (5)
24 Scottish castle that has ointment (but that’s not in writing)
(8)
25 Quantity of drink that has a
pennant attached (6)
26 Unkind term for a cafe-diner
(6,5)
27 Even without the cardinal,
Adam’s mate can be seen (3)
Down
1 It may keep you dry to
have verification of your
hygiene practice! (11)
2 Mourning (8)
3 Taunts (5)
4 How to make Kay mash
an Arabic veil (7)
5 Pay increase (5)
6 Drink (6)
7 A seer with only one pupil
(3)
12 How the cab intrudes,
causing commotion (11)
13 Capone’s overweight?
Deadly! (5)
14 & 17 From Czech capital, a youngster can help
the bride have a fine day
(5,2,6)
18 The Southern policeman
consumes all the bivalve
(7)
19 Sheepdog (6)
22 Portals (5)
23 Claw found in the midst
of Oriental onyx (5)
24 Plead, entreat (3)
Gordius No 108 Solution
Across 1 Cherry tomato 7 Nod 9 Tofu 10 Truant 11 Hera 14
Stare 15 Amaze 16 Stag 18 Tests 21 Exult 22 Heist 23
Hardy 24 Land 25 Let go 26 Glade 29 Pace 33 Andrew
34 Life 36 Era 37 Your eminence
Down 1 Coo 2 Emus 3 Right 4 Taunt 5 Minor 6 Once 8
Draught horse 9 Total eclipse 12 Saturn 13 Leith 14 Sitar
17 Thirty 19 Style 20 Shale 27 Liner 28 Durum 30 Clay 31
Swan 32 Glen 35 Foe
22 | FEATURE ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Family&Lifestyle
A house of hospitality and heritage
Sarah
Kelly takes
a tour of the
Mercy International
Centre in
Dublin
W
hat do Florence
Nightingale
and Sir Conan
Arthur Doyle
have in common? Would you
believe that their common
denominator is the Sisters of
Mercy?
Catherine McCauley’s
house of Mercy is located on
Baggot St, Dublin. Established
in 1827 to be a safe house
for women, young girls and
children living on the Dublin
streets, Catherine’s intention
was that the poor could be
visible to the rich. Her house
of Mercy was therefore the
crossroads between the affluent and the destitute. Sr Mary
Kay Dobrovolny says that
Catherine intentionally wanted the rich to see the poor
and wanted to locate a place
where the girls could
seek employment
in a protective
place.
Catherine
was a woman ahead of
her time. In
terms of her
thinking,
her strong
will and her
Bust of
Catherine
McCauley.
Photos:
David Knight
(top) Inside the Chapel.
(right) Catherine McCauley welcomes you to her
house of Mercy.
determination in the face
of all the odds which were
stacked firmly against her.
She defied a social logic of
the time which viewed women as second class citizens.
When Catherine opened the
house, it was at the very end
of the Penal Laws in Ireland.
No system for the education
of children, namely the poor
Catholics was yet in place.
Catherine went to France to
study teaching techniques
for teaching large numbers
of children and she brought
back this technique and implemented it in her work.
In addition to the house on
Baggot Street being the first
Mercy school, it was
also the first teacher
training facility in
Ireland for women.
An interesting note is that
Catherine participated actively in
the construction
of the house, and
even signed the
blueprint which
can be seen hanging
on the wall beside the Irish
oak spiral
sta i rcase.
Another remarkable detail
that deserves to be mentioned is that Catherine never
actually intended on establishing a religious order, but
God’s will was truly at work.
Bronze statue
Today, the house still stands,
and can be clearly recognised
from without by the marvellous bronze statue of Catherine, hands outstretched
welcoming you as you enter
the premises. Immediately,
there is a sense of homecoming. Greeted with such friendly staff and guide, one cannot
but feel they are in a sacred
and special space.
The tour
provides the
visitor with an
optic experience
that rivals none.
The house still retains its
magnificent Georgian detail,
which allows the visitor to
become part of the history of
Mercy. The tour commences
with a fantastic video documentary detailing the life
and mission of Catherine
McCauley. The story is simply impressive. As you meander through the great and
spacious rooms, it is hard to
imagine that this house once
accommodated for the education of 200 young Dublin
street children.
and two who were street children she found in the slums
of Dublin who had been abandoned. She also looked after
an older adult woman with
various problems.
In 1994, the house on Baggot Street was established
as a house of heritage. From
the outside, one could be
mistaken in assuming that
this building is merely like
the other Georgian houses
around it.
The tour provides the visitor with an optic experience
that rivals
none. It provides guests
with the opportunity
to see how
Mercy spread
wo rl d w i d e .
Sometimes it
isn’t enough
to read about
it. You actually see
how far and
A glimpse of
wide this rethe heritage
ligious order,
centre.
which was
established in Dublin, spread
throughout the world. “It is
remarkable to think what
one woman from Dublin
achieved,” says Sr Mary Kay.
Bathed in natural light This tour provides the visitor
from two great Georgian with a rare glimpse into the
windows, Catherine’s room person of Catherine. But not
is filled with a real sense of only into a distant memory,
peace and serenity. Leading a but rather as someone who
guided tour Sr Mary Kay says
much of Catherine’s presence
is alive in this room as “in
the midst of renovating the
house, it’s the only room that
has retained its original features”. Even “the floor boards
are still intact,” she says. Sr
Mary Kay feels extremely
connected to Catherine in
this room because she’s hearing the same noises that Catherine would have heard, “feeling the texture, knowing the
same sounds that Catherine
would have felt or heard”.
is very much alive. Especially
when you consider that the
guide is in fact one of Catherine’s spiritual daughters, a
Sister of Mercy.
Hospitality
So, if you want to find out
what Florence Nightingale
and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
have in common, then a visit
to the Mercy Centre is a must.
The Mercy Centre provides
visitors and guests with great
hospitality, a time for refreshment, renewal and a good cup
of tea. Along with their remarkable tour, they also have
a heritage room, a chapel, a
range of programmes relating
to Catherine McCauley, conference facilities, a gift shop,
and accommodation which
can cater for 19 people. The
house is located within close
proximity to the city and
Dublin Bus provides an excellent service on the 39A, or if
you’re feeling active, a brisk
15 minute walk from Trinity
College will suffice.
Tours of the Mercy International Centre are conducted
by appointment at 10am
Mondays to Fridays. A tour
takes approximately 2 hours
and includes tea and scones.
Cost €5 per person. For more
information contact the Mercy International Centre on
01-661 8061 or email: info@
mercyinternational.ie
Connected
One of the most prominent
features of this room is the
wooden statue of the crucified Jesus. “Catherine really
found in the image of the
crucified Christ the pain and
suffering of the Dublin poor,”
says Sr Mary Kay. For her it really connected with her and
helped focus her perspective.
Catherine was often found in
front of this statue in floods
of tears. Catherine also knew
a tremendous amount of pain
and grief in her own life confides Sr Mary Kay. While she
was establishing her house
of Mercy she was the legal
guardian of nine children,
seven of whom were relatives,
Stain Glass window dated 1831 depicting the Assumption of Mary from the Dublin based Early Studio.
| COMMENT ||23
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
FrRolheiser
www.ronrolheiser.com
Disappearing Roots
‘H
ome is where
we start from.”
T.S. Eliot wrote
that and it describes an experience that can
be felt both as a freedom and
as a heartache. I cite my own
case:
I grew up in a second-generation immigrant community on the Canadian prairies.
My grandparents’ generation
had been the first settlers in
that region and everything
they built, from their houses
to their schools, were understandably built with what
they could afford and situated along roads and railways
they could access. They did
the best with what they had
and didn’t have the luxury of
building with long-term permanence in mind.
Disappeared
Consequently many buildings that surrounded me
when I was a child have since
disappeared: The elementary school that I attended
closed while I was still a student there. Both the building and school grounds have
long ago disappeared. Wheat
fields grow there now and
you would never know that
a school once existed on that
location. The same holds true
for the High School I attended.
organisations were passing
through our lives at a snail’s
pace 40 years ago, in 1970. Today more than the buildings
of our youth are disappearing
from our lives.
What’s to be said about
this? What does this transience say about our lives and
our times? Is this good or
bad?
Transience
It too has disappeared, buildings and grounds replaced by
grain fields. Indeed, the entire
town that gave it its address
has disappeared.
After high school, I attended two separate seminaries and each of these too
suffered the same fate; both
stood empty for number of
years and then were gutted
by fire. The theological college I taught at for the first 15
years of my priesthood was
demolished to make room
for a new freeway and now
operates out of new buildings on a different site. The
farm that I grew up on still
operates, though the house I
grew up in is now abandoned
and the fields rented out.
Nobody in my family lives
there anymore. It’s symbolic
perhaps that the only building that’s still in use from
my early years is the church
where I worshipped as child.
Every other building of my
youth, adolescence, and early
adulthood has disappeared. I
am an orphan in terms of the
buildings that nurtured me in
my youth.
Technology
But, in this, I’m hardly unique.
All of us today, in different
forms, are orphaned in this
way. Already in 1970, Alvin
Toffler, in his famous book,
Future Shock, pointed out
how transience and impermanence are beginning more
and more to shape our psyches, as things, people, places,
knowledge, and organisations
pass through our lives at an
ever-increasing rate. And he
wrote this long before the
impact of information technology began to reshape our
lives much more radically.
The transience and impermanence that Toffler describes in
1970 are dwarfed and taken to
their square root by information technology today. By today’s standards, things, people, places, knowledge, and
I suspect that we’re all still
sorting this out. Transience
and impermanence aren’t
sins, though they aren’t necessarily virtues either. For
me, it seems, they’re a mixed
bag, a mixed blessing. On the
positive side, they’ve brought
us a new freedom. For many
centuries, people were toomuch imprisoned by the suffocating permanence of the
things, places, and knowledge
of their time. They had stability, but often had petrification
as well. Everything held firm,
but too firm, few new doors
ever opened. The transience
and impermanence in our
lives sets us free in a way that
allows us to let ourselves be
nourished and blessed by our
roots, even as we aren’t bound
by them.
But there’s a huge heartache in this as well. Constantly having the familiar
disappear can also grieve
the heart, and it should. It’s
healthy to want to go back to
visit the old houses, schools,
neighbourhoods, and text-
books that once nurtured us.
And so the loss of the things
and places of our youth can
be painful.
But the pain of transience and impermanence in
our lives also helps point us
towards the things that don’t
change, namely, faith, hope,
and love. These can never be
bulldosed-under, replaced
by grain fields, burnt-down
by fire, expropriated and
knocked down to make way
for a new freeway, or rendered obsolete by newer software. In this world, scripture
tells us, we have no lasting
city, but we are already inextricably bound up with things
that do last forever.
Centuries before Christ,
the biblical writer, Qoheleth
warned us that everything in
this life is vanity: “Vanity of
vanities, everything is vanity.”
However he uses the word
“vanity” in a different sense
than we do today.
For him, it does not connote a psychological narcissism or an unhealthy preoccupation with our appearance
and persona. Rather, for him,
“vanity” simply means vapour, a passing mist, transience, impermanence, something that disappears too
quickly.
Experiencing that transience can give us a heartache;
but it can also make us search
more deeply inside all this
impermanence for that which
is permanent.
Dialogue between different faith traditions
Bernadette
Sweetman
explores
using Share
the Good
News as a
catechetical
resource
D
espite the touchscreen/always on
Wi Fi-accessibility
with which we
are surrounded nowadays,
one skill seems to be gaining most value if not prevalence – the ability to engage
in fruitful dialogue. Thanks
to technological advances we
are able to talk to people on
the other side of the world, to
alert each other of the traffic
on the road home as we travel, to instantly share photographs of precious moments
with loved ones who are far
away. Yet, has there ever been
a time when skill in dialogue
has been more sought after?
In recent times, as clerical
appointments have been announced, both at home and
abroad, it seems to me that
a proven track record of dialogue with, for example, other
faith communities, has been
somewhat of a clincher.
Fruitful
What is dialogue? More to
the point, what is fruitful dialogue? The media most often
speaks of dialogue in political
and religious dimensions. Unfortunately, there is so much
distrust, misunderstanding
and discord between various
groups on a global scale, that
emergency meetings aimed at
engaging in fruitful dialogue
are more and more common-
Pope Francis talks during a private audience with members of the World Jewish Congress at the Vatican on
September 2. Photo: CNS
place. For example, the summits and meetings of headsof-states along with security
personnel are never far from
the headlines.
Ease of communications
does not always equate with
fruitful dialogue because the
latter demands a respect of
and openness to the other
party’s worldview, belief
system and ideologies, not
merely open channels for listening and speaking. This is
challenging because we can
be suspicious of others’ per-
spectives out of fear of hidden
agendas or being accused of
pedantry and close-mindedness.
Quest
The quest for dialogue is ever-topical. Pope Francis has
been vociferous in his call for
dialogue in the Syrian crisis,
and just last week his letter about dialogue, written
in response to a journalist
and non-believer, appeared
in the Italian newspaper La
Repubblica. Francis cited two
reasons for the importance of
dialogue between the Church
and non-believers. The first is
the historical breach between
the Enlightenment culture
and the Church. “The time has
come, and Vatican II inaugurated this season, for an open
dialogue, without preconceptions, which reopens the
doors for a serious and fruitful
encounter,” wrote the Pope.
Second, Francis says, for the
believer, dialogue with others is not a “secondary accessory” but rather something
“intimate and indispensable”.
Baggage
This brings us to a more focused question about dialogue between different faith
traditions in contemporary
Ireland. We only learn about
ourselves and others by truly
and wholly encountering
each other with all our socalled ‘baggage’. Share the
Good News: The National
Directory for Catechesis acknowledges the plurality that
leads to the growing need for
fruitful dialogue: “We need
new ways of engaging with
the variety of cultural influences, indigenous as well as
newly-arrived, that make
modern Ireland such a rich
tapestry…We must attempt
to find the language, and live
the message, in the public
space as well as in our families, parishes and other Christian communities.” (SGN, 64)
The directory encourages us
to recall that “We do not enter into dialogue with empty
hands but bring with us all
the riches of the truth that
God has revealed to us.” (SGN,
67) Yet we are also reminded
that, though closely related,
dialogue and proclamation
have their own place. (SGN,
67 citing Redemptoris missio, 55)
We are responsible in our
daily lives to honour and work
towards fruitful dialogue but
we must always ensure that
those in positions of leadership do so by right example.
“We should all be able to
honour people of different
religious convictions, and
reverence their commitment,
without in any way succumbing to relativism.” (SGN, 67)
24 | REVIEWS ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
BookReviews
Edited by Peter Costello
Recent books in brief
St Gerard Majella: Rediscovering a Saint
by Brendan McConvery
C.Ss.R
(Redemptorist Publications,
€10.00/£8.95)
Majella is a familiar enough personal name in Northern Ireland,
as Fr McConvery reminds us, and
in past decades there was a wide
spread devotion to him, especially
in matters that concerned what
the author calls “the great life- giving mysteries” of conception,
labour and birth. Though St Gerard (born in 1726 and died in
1755), was in his life time an obscure member of his order, he
had in the country around Naples a reputation for great saintliness. Soon after his death in 1755 a devotion sprang up to him,
especially focussed on those having difficult births – arising
from the reputed efficacy of a handkerchief he had given years
before to a young woman in labour. He was canonised in 1904,
and especially in Italy and Ireland, became the focus great
devotion. The author provides an attractive and well illustrated
account of both the saint’s life and his extending influence. St
Gerard seems to him a very appropriate model for modern
times.
Women of the
early Church
Seamless Robe: New and
Collected Poems
by Michael Ruddy SS.CC.
(Published by the author, €9.99
+ pp €1.50/£8.00 + pp £2.80;
ISBN-13: 978-17828014050)
The allusion in the title is, of course,
to the robe of Christ, but in these
poems by the parish priest of a
parish near Dublin, they might also
allude to the seamless nature of life
and spirit. Poets he notes write from
what they know, and what a parish
priest has is a very specific kind of
knowledge. Only too well aware of
what appears to be a decline in religion, Michael Ruddy prefers
instead to celebrate faith in a tone of joy and inspiration. Aside
from his poems the book also includes a set of reflections arising from his everyday experience again.
“For what is life if not returning
To knowledge lost in rising seas
Of fear and doubt
Yet which cannot wash away:
The divine in every human heart?”
The proceeds from the sale of his little volume will all go
towards aiding the missionary work of the Congregations of
the Sacred Heart in Africa and Asia. (For copies contact the
Presbytery, St John’s Drive, Sruleen, Dublin 22)
At Home in My Body,
CD1: Reconnecting
by Pádraig Ó Fátharta
(issued by the author, email:
athomeinmybody.com, €10
+ pp €1.80)
A sign of the changing times:
this is a CD by a Connemara
based priest, influenced perhaps by Eastern ideas, which
allows listeners to become at
home in themselves, and in
doing so open up their spirit to
wider influences. His insights
are intended for both individuals and for prayer groups. There
has been a long tendency in some teachers to denigrate the
body. Of this we are only too aware in Ireland. But to fully realise
the divine within us it might be said that we too have to ponder
the mystery of incarnation that we too are both divine and human, we cannot neglect the one without the other.
This is a novel experiment, but one in keeping with the times.
He would remind us that Aquinas spoke of delighting the sense,
and that theme emerges too in the poetry of Hopkins. A surprising venture but one in which this retired missionary continues
in another way his life’s work. Any profits will go to St Patrick’s
Missionary Society.
Band of Angels: The
Forgotten World of
Early Christian Women
by Kate Cooper
(Atlantic, €30.00 / £25.00)
Peter Hegarty
T
he prime mover
in Kate Cooper’s
learned, engaged
history is Saint Paul,
the peripatetic tent-maker
who was the most influential
of all Christian missionaries.
He and his early converts proclaimed the new faith in the
seaports of the Eastern Mediterranean. These first converts, who themselves would
become agents of conversion,
tended to be well-born, propertied women.
Paul seems to have had a
deep understanding of the
societies in which he moved.
In the ancient world politics,
business and war-making
were the preserves of men,
while women dominated
family and community life.
Networks
Networks of prosperous,
well-connected women were
precisely what proselytisers
needed to tap into. The new
faith spread along the women’s’ family and social connections; the first Christian communities enjoyed shelter and
sustenance in their homes.
Paul’s successors followed
his approach: Saint Jerome,
for instance, carefully cultivated society women in late
imperial Rome. Paul’s letters
to the communities he left
behind were often attempts
to dampen down bickering
among, and offer guidance
to, his enthusiastic new followers.
For older women
the embrace
of this austere
Christianity
brought release
from constant
pregnancies,
‘a second
virginity’.
Christianity appealed to
women. In those early centuries it was still a horizontallyorganised faith, one which
offered them a measure of
equality, and positions of
authority. Certain aspects of
Christianity, such as asceticism, attracted women. This
desert Christianity, which had
its golden age in the fourth
century, placed great value
on virginity and sexual continence, and had a particular draw for younger women
with no wish to live a life of
subjection to a man, or face
the mortal danger of childbirth. For older women the
embrace of this austere
Christianity brought
release from constant
pregnancies, ‘a second
virginity’.
Cooper’s women
and their efforts are
forgotten or overlooked largely because they left behind
only a few accounts
of their lives and travails.
Cooper scrutinises these few that
have come down to
us. She makes the
intriguing point
that the Gospel
According to Luke
may (some scholars think) have been
the work of a woman. It is
certainly beyond dispute that
the gospel relates the story of
the Annunciation, and Mary’s
reaction to the news of her
pregnancy, from a female
point of view.
Martyr
Perpetua, an early Christian
martyr, left behind a prison
diary with almost unbearable
descriptions of the sufferings,
loneliness and privation she
endured in her last weeks of
life before she was thrown to
beasts. Cooper compares the
diary to that written by Anne
Frank, for it also “captures
the moral courage of a young
woman who knows that she
has been called on to play a
part in a story far larger than
her own, and who refuses to
feel sorry for herself”.
A grim postscript to Cooper’s exhilarating history concerns Saint Thecla, a devoted
follower of Paul. She is supposed to be buried in a convent in the mountain village
of Maaloula near Damascus.
Residents of the village have
told journalists that the convent has now become the target of Al Qaeda’s shells, while
jihadis attempt forcible conversions of Christians in the
streets below.
| REVIEWS ||25
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
Readers should note that as The Irish Catholic
circulates throughout the island of Ireland, the
prices of books are given in both euros and
pounds, but prices may vary by outlet.
More insights into
Africa’s mission era
Berengario Cermenati
Among the Ebira of
Nigeria: A study in
Colonial, Missionary
and Local Politics
1897-1825
by Edmund M Hogan
(HEBN, €32.00/£26.95;
ISBN-13: 978-9780811822;
available at a discount on
Amazon.co.uk)
Peter Costello
I
n this book Fr Hogan,
now living in Cork after
a life spent on the missions in Africa, continues
his interesting investigations
of the social, political and religious interactions in the early
years of colonial Nigeria. The
Ebira of his study may not be
so familiar a name as the Ibo
or Yoruba are to many readers. They are a smaller tribe
of Nigeria’s middle belt, between the largely Christian
coast states and the overwhelmingly Muslim northern
states.
Nigeria and its long standing conflicts are not of merely
historical interest. The rivalries which Fr Hogan explores
still have their influences, indeed their militant continuations, into the current state of
Nigeria.
Here his focus is Berengario Cermenati, an Italian
Catholic missionary, and his
interactions with the local
British administrator, and the
tribe’s young ruler.
By The Books Editor
Mark Patrick Hederman, OSB has already given a wide
ranging appreciation in this newspaper of some of the
special qualities that characterised the late poet Seamus
Heaney, whose passing has been greatly mourned. But
there are other things too that might be said about Heaney
from the point of view of the literary historian.
Seamus Heaney was a special man certainly, but he
was also well placed to take advantage of the openings that
came his way.
He was, for instance, one of the generation in Northern Ireland who greatly benefited by the Government of
Northern Ireland following up in 1947 the lead given by
the British Education Act of 1944 which opened up wider
horizons of education for working class and farming folk in
Northern Ireland. “Educate that you may be free,” the mantra
of Thomas Davis, was taken seriously by many Nationalists.
They seized the moment. Heaney was gifted an opportunity
not open to the majority in the South.
Well educated at school in Derry, as others had been, he
was able to pass into Queen’s University. It was there that
his first poems were published in those fugitive pamphlets
that characterised the first stages of the remarkable emergence of so many poets in modern Ulster in the late 1950s.
Young poets
Colonial policy
It has to be borne in mind that
British colonial policy as developed by Lord Lugard was
to govern through existing African rulers and political systems to main the peace and
commercial development.
These rulers, being traditional in origin, have in today’s Africa come into conflict with ideas of the held by
the independence generation
who wished to impose modern theories of the state and
governance, downscaling
these traditional forms. But
back in the first decades of the
last century the chiefs were
still potent.
The events described in
this book largely in the five
years after 1920 involved two
Irish officers. A Captain Joseph Fitzpatrick (the administrator of his subtitle) and also
a district officer named D.P.J
O’Connor.
But of more central im-
The World of Books
Nigerian Monument
to Lord Lugard.
portance was a disciple of
Lugard’s Frederick Byng-Hall,
determined to uphold native
rule and the peace at all costs.
He suspected Cermenati of
undermining it in opposing
the local ruler. The story, a
complicated one well told
by the author, ends with the
removal of Cermenati back to
Italy by his superiors under
pressure from the colonial
authorities. Altogether a fascinating, if often disturbing
history.
Repercussion
In the background to all this
were the repercussion on Nigeria of the German colony of
Togo, later a British mandate.
Fitzpatrick had been the object of a rumour that he attempted to surrender to the
Germans in the neighbouring
colony of Togo in the Great
War – a libel he over threw.
Readers of Fr
Hogan’s books
will come away
enlightened
about what lies
behind today’s
headlines
But the complicated interactions of the various parties
illustrate the fact which was
demonstrated in his early
book that the development
of modern Nigeria, with
which Ireland has many connections, was no easy or uncomplicated matter. Fr Hogan
adroitly throws light not only
on the politic, but also on the
development of the Catholic
Church from quite small be-
ginnings in the area.
Readers of Fr Hogan’s
books will come away enlightened about what lies
behind today’s headlines
from that still disturbed
country. Indeed he has some
rewarding insights on the difficulties of even writing history in modern Africa, where
one is so dependent on colonial and missionary sources
where formal African sources
hardly exist. He has thought
long and hard not only about
the peoples he writes about,
but why and how he can as an
historian write about them.
A book for the student of
missionary history certainly,
but one which can be highly
recommended to anyone interested in modern Africa and
its changing elites and eternal
conflicts.
Some young poets never got beyond those pamphlets.
However, unlike to so many of his contemporaries, Heaney
was taken up by Faber & Faber, the London based firm
where T.S. Eliot was the dominant director, the publishers of
poets ranging from Ezra Pound to
Ted Hughes.
Heaney remained for the rest of
his career with his first publisher.
This is no small matter, when one
considers the broken backed careers
of so many Irish poets, of whom the
best example would be Patrick Kavanagh, who suffered through a long
unpublished poetic silence between Seamus Heaney.
1948 and 1960. Indeed in this respect Heaney’s career mirrors that of Yeats’ with Macmillan.
This sure and certain foundation was one which Heaney
was able to build. There was always something steady,
rooted, sane in his work. His first collection in 1966, Death
of a Naturalist, became, for a book of poems, a remarkable
“best seller”. At one stride Heaney seemed to dominate the
literary scene.
In that collection there is a poem on which he reflects on
his farmer father tilling the soil with a spade, the eternal figure of Abel, quite Biblical in its resonance. But the son could
not now use a spade. What came to his hand was his pen.
He would dig with that.
Traditional life
And dig he did, cultivating his own past, the spirit of the age
in which he lived, and the everlasting verities of poetry. His
poetry seemed to readers around the world to draw out from
the traditional life in which he had been reared a sense of
permanence, the eternal present of all great art.
A poet by vocation, he was by profession a teacher, first
at school, later at university level, as a professor in the US.
Yet there was little truly professorial about Heaney. Certainly
he had a great public presence on the speaker’s platform, on
television, by the open grave of a departed friend.
The status of poet was one highly admired in Celtic society, and Heaney had that same status in the eyes of many of
his modern Irish countrymen. But, as the award of the Nobel
Prize for Literature, it was one shared around the world.
There was something not just universal, but mythical
about his poetry. It is often said that poetry is what gets lost
in translation. This seems not to have been the case with
Heaney. One is reminded of the remark by Claude LeviStrauss that “Lé mythe est perçu comme mythe par tout
lecteur dans le monde entire” – myth is perceived as myth
by every reader in the whole world. And the creations of
Seamus Heaney seem also to be read in that mythic way by
the whole world.
26 | CLASSIFIEDS ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
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28 | COMMENT ||
The Irish Catholic, September 19, 2013
MaryKenny
Notebook
‘Rebel priests’ may
reinvigorate the Church
O
pen debate and
free discourse are
healthy, so maybe
it’s good that we
are witnessing “rebel priests”,
such as Fr Iggy O’Donovan,
Fr Gerard Moloney, Fr Tony
Flannery and Fr Brian D’Arcy
making their opinions known,
even when this invites Vatican disapproval.
I am not sure if the correct
word really is “silenced”, since
the priests in question have
ample access to the media
and the airwaves - although
of course I sympathise with
any person who has been deprived of their ministry or the
practice of their profession.
A colleague of mine was
recently fired from
her job – at which
she excelled – in
circumstances
which do not
at all seem just.
And she, now,
cannot practice
her profession.
IC/09/28
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Laser
That’s how it happened to
me, last time I was sacked.
It’s painful, it’s upsetting, you
feel rejected and you start
worrying about the bills. But
you also get inured to the idea
that this is the way the world
works. Maybe the Vatican
isn’t too different from any
other corporate body
in its operational
approach.
The remedy?
You just have
to be brave and
carry on as best
you can, hoping that when
God (not the
worldly boss) closes a door
he also opens a window of
opportunity.
In the long run, maybe the
priests who are in some disagreement with the Vatican
will usher in an era of more
open debate and more challenges to authority.
Challenges
However, not all priests easily accept challenges to their
own authority. I recently
heard a sermon – in England –
in which the priest inveighed
against the practice of ‘zero
hours’. I put to him the suggestion that some employees
found zero hours convenient.
Some of my invalid husband’s
carers willingly accept zero
hours because they are able
to work limited shifts without
losing social welfare benefits.
The priest in question didn’t
at all like me questioning the
social basis of his sermon.
The clergy are not, perhaps,
accustomed to the laity arguing back.
But that could be
the trend of the future, as we all get
more argumentative.
Promoting awareness of sepsis
Save €21
MY DETAILS
Upsetting
The axe tends to fall
with some alacrity
in the media
business.
You contact the
page
editor
to ask
if there
are any
probl e m s
Fr Brian D’Arcy.
Your faith in your hands
for
with your text – corrections
or amendments needed? And
you are told, “er, sorry, the editor has sent you a letter saying we’re not using you any
more. End of arrangement.
Awfully sorry about that, old
girl, but as you know, a newspaper is a dictatorship and
what the editor says, goes.”
☐
numbers because of medical
failure to spot symptoms
and act accordingly (fever,
chills, rapid breathing, painful
muscles, passing no urine in
a day).
There is now a UK Sepsis
Trust set up especially to
raise awareness of the numbers who die – more than
from breast or bowel cancer.
This is exactly the
condition that proved fatal
for Savita Halappanavar,
and when further enquiries are conducted into her
tragic death, the frightening
ubiquity of sepsis should be
noted. And all in the medical
profession should be made
aware of the number of fatalities claimed by this condition.
Speaking against bullfighting
I have no animus against
fox-hunting, which is part
of a countryside tradition
and keeps Renard the Fox
from killing chickens and
biting babies, but I’ve always
thought the Spanish corrida
a horrible, sadistic sport.
So it was uplifting to read of
the Colombian former matador, Alvaro Munera, who quit
bullfighting when he came
to accept that it involves
the deliberate torment of an
animal.
He gave an interview
recently in which he recalled
a bad moment: “Once I killed
a pregnant heifer and saw
how the foetus was extracted
from her womb.
The scene was so terrible
that I puked and started to
cry. I wanted to quit right
there but my manager said…
scenes like that were a
normal thing to see in this
profession.
I’m sorry to say that I
missed that first opportunity
to stop….Some time later, in
an indoor fight, I had to stick
my sword in five or six times
to kill the bull.
The poor animal, his entrails pouring out still refused
to die. He struggled with all
his strength until the last
breath.” It was only when he
was badly gored that Munera
finally decided to quit. “It was
like God thought – ‘if this
guy doesn’t want to listen to
reason, he’ll have to learn
the hard way’.”
Bravissimo to Alvaro
Munera, who now speaks out
against the bullfight.