John Waters Article

TheIrishCatholic
FR ROLHEISER: Struggling to understand when people take their own lives, Page 30
Thursday, July 28, 2011 E1.30/stg1
www.irishcatholic.ie
EDITORIAL
TIME FOR
PENITENCE
The time for hollow
apologies is over
H
the
the
newly
State
and
The Taoiseach's speech, while unfair in some
our new Catholic idyll. Those who said otherwise
of the detail, was an emotional roar from much

of Catholic Ireland to the Vatican for action now.
is very much in the past, the memories of the
The Pope, in his
rights and wrongs of the Taoiseach's
abuse of power remain and many are estranged
reform but it is coming too slowly. Not only that,
speech. For now, it is diplomats who
from the Church now because of lingering hurt.
there is a `cabal' to use Archbishop Martin's term,
will have to repair the strained but
EMOTIONAL ROAR
of bishops actively trying to push the blame for
The Taoiseach's speech equally resonated with a
is an amazing revisionism and even were it true,
relationship
Irish
State.
time,
will
between
judge
the
Hopefully,
the
Holy
See
recalled
Taoiseach
Enda
and
Kenny's
harsh
speech,
intemperate
despite
mis-
Catholic Church outside of public scandals. In
language,
cap-
many ways, the speech was a plea from a
Four Easters ago, this paper called on the Irish
Catholic leader to the Church leadership in the
badly let down by an institutional Catholicism
Vatican to quickly and with finality, put an end
peculiar to Ireland.
to the ongoing scandal surrounding abuse in the

Irish Church. For over 15 years, the Irish bishops
ways betrayed 14 centuries of unbroken and life-
have had to be dragged to the courts and
giving Christian tradition. Instead of fond mem-
tribunals of inquiry to admit gross errors. In
ories of a nurturing Church, most remember an
1996 we were told that the bishops had been on
arrogant authoritarian Irish Church and a privi-
a learning curve. Then came Ferns. Then the
leged clerical caste that obsessed over sexuality
Ryan Report. Then the Murphy Report and now
and hell fire and neglected the tender compas-
the Cloyne Report. All along, they tried to hide
sion of Christ.
behind lawyers, spending millions of euro in

Church funds in the process. Even in the last few
months, some Church leaders are not fully co-
whether it was young unmarried mothers to a
operating with their own National Board and are
Magdalene
plays
reluctant to allow reports into their dioceses to
relationship
be published. Ordinary people, including clergy,
There
The Irish Catholic

3 0
or
was
books
burnt
symbiotic
or
forms of abuse of power by the Church in Irish

society which has scandalised so many and left
so many hurt and bruised. Just as Pope John Paul
the Catholic Church and apologised to all those

hurt by Inquisitions, Crusades and many more,
the Irish bishops could have put a penitent
Church on a firm road to forgiveness and real
renewal. But mediocrity and pride triumphed
and last week they reaped that harvest when the
Taoiseach got up to speak.
Church in Britain
Faith in focus
Page 18
Pages 22 and 23
Uncovering the Catholic

roots of Westminster Abbey
683040
bishops to collectively seek forgiveness for all
II in the Jubilee year faced the historical sins of
holy for Church or State was expelled from sight,
home
it ignores the primacy of conscience even over

the Pope.
tured the anger of a generation that has been
What wasn't narrowly viewed as pure and
Reflections on `why I
am still a Catholic'
The recommended retail price for The Irish

Catholic in the Rep of Ireland is E1.30
PORTUGAL ~ FATIMA
11-14 SEPTEMBER, 2011
3-NIGHTS FULL BOARD BASIS
399 PLUS 75 TAX (INSURANCE OPTIONAL)

Ph: (01) 2410823
Letter to Irish Catholics, promised
their inaction on child abuse back on Rome. This
younger generation who have never known the
banned.
are sick and tired of this.
were ignored or not believed. While this Church

in
``Le catholicisme du type Irlandais'' in many
771393
Irish
Nuncio will help the Vatican understand that
quotes
emerging
Catholic idealism. All would be nice and pure in
the
istorians,
important
and
between
www.joewalshtours.ie
Continues on Page 3
John Waters
A debate that goes
around in circles
Page 7
Why the Irish Government

attacks the Catholic Church
COMMENT
2|
The Irish Catholic, July 28, 2011
Phil Lawler
Any Catholic American who

lived through the Long Lent
of 2002 can sympathise with
the beleaguered Catholics of
Ireland today. Especially for
someone like myself, a native Bostonian, who saw the
sex-abuse scandal erupt
from a ground-zero perspectivethe, scenes that are
playing out now in Dublin
look depressingly familiar.
In Ireland, as in Boston, a
society that was until recently dominated by Catholic
influence is now in full angry
rebellion against the Church.
Politicians who curried favour with the hierarchy just
a few years ago now compete with each other to take
the toughest public stand
against the bishops and the
Vatican. The media are in
attack mode, ready to lash
out at any sign of Catholic
misconduct, and let subtle
distinctions be damned. The
public is angry, so angry in
fact, that a remarkable
transformation has occurred:
Britain's Queen Elizabeth is
more welcome in today's
Ireland than Pope Benedict.
Catholicism dominated in
Ireland much more fully, and
far longer, than in Boston. So
since the pendulum of public
opinion swung, the results
have been even far more
extreme. Politicians in Boston slapped aside Catholic
objections to ratify same-sex
marriage, but they have
never (not yet, anyway) proposed legislation that would
threaten a priest with prison
if he refused to violate the
confessional seal.
``This is not Rome,'' said
the Taoiseach Enda Kenny, in
Apostolic Visitor for the Dublin Archdiocese Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston pictured
with Archbishop Martin outside the pro-cathedral on the feastday of St Laurence
O'Toole last year. The crisis in Ireland has parallels in Boston. Photo: John McElroy
an angry tirade against the

Church. ``This is the Republic
of Ireland in 2011: a republic
of laws.'' It seems clear that
the Taoisech saw himself as
bravely defying the power of
the Vatican although it is far
from clear that the Vatican
has had any practical control
over Irish political affairs in
recent years. Kenny's speech
was not logical, nor did his
political proposals answer
any real need, as we shall see
below. The purpose of his
broadside, it seems, was not
to solve problems for the
Government but to create
problems for the Church.
And God knows, the Church
has enough problems of her
own.
Dublin's
archbishop
The drama in Ireland in-
cludes one element that was

missing from the sex-abuse
scandal in the US: the presence of an influential and
outspoken prelate who has
frequently criticised his colleagues for their mishandling
of the problem. Dublin's
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin
is himself immune from cri-
ITALIAN ESCORTED TOUR TO

FIUGGI & SORRENTO
(VISITING ROME, TIVOLI, SORRENTO & POMPEII)
FIUGGI ~ 4 NIGHTS HB, SORRENTO ~ 3 NIGHTS HB
EX CORK ~ 7 NIGHTS
19 SEPTEMBER
ACCOMPANIED BY SPIRTUAL DIRECTOR
Price: 899 inclusive

Ph: (01) 2410816
ticism on the handling of old

sex-abuse cases, since he
was serving at the Vatican, in
offices that had nothing to do
with clerical misconduct,
until he was sent to Dublin
in 2003. Since his arrival
there, he has clashed repeatedly with his brother
bishops: demanding release
of documents, criticising past
administrations, prodding
for resignations, and pointedly declining to issue expressions of support for
embattled colleagues.
By meeting with abuse
victims, underlining the
gravity of the problem,
frankly acknowledging past
failures, and pushing for
candour, Archbishop Martin
has undoubtedly helped to
ease public outrage a bit, and
to give troubled Catholics a
welcome sense that someone, at least, understands
their horror at the stories of
betrayal that continue to
emerge. Yet the archbishop
has been far better at citing
problems than finding
solutions, far more likely to
bewail the past misconduct
of others than to show the
way forward. `Ì find myself
asking today, can I be proud
of the Church that I'm a
leader of?'' he told an RTE
broadcast audience this
week. Coming from the Primate of Ireland, that is
hardly a statement calculated to boost Catholic morale.
In that RTE interview,
Archbishop Martin might
have helped to restore a bit
of needed perspective to
public discussions by challenging some of the illogical
points being made by Enda
Kenny and his political supporters. The Taoiseach lambasted the Irish hierarchy for
not requiring bishops to disclose reports of sexual abuse
in the 1990s, when his own
government had not made
any such requirement until
recent weeks. He tore into

the Vatican for failing to
approve policies that the
Irish bishops had devised in
1996, while at the same time
making it quite clear that he
did not trust the bishops
who had drawn up, and
would carry out, those proposed policies.
Mr
Kenny's speech
Mr Kenny's speech was most
remarkable, however, in that
it focused criticism not on
the Irish bishops, but on the
Vatican. (As the invaluable
Irish Catholic commentator
David Quinn has pointed out,
hostility toward the Church
always emerges as hostility
toward the Vatican.) The Irish Government leader condemned the Vatican for
disapproving of the Irish
bishops' policies without
bothering to examine the
reasons for that disapproval.
In 1997 the Vatican or to
be more accurate, one office
within the Vatican, the Congregation for Bishops, said
that the proposed Irish policies did not include adequate
canonical safeguards for the
rights of accused clerics. As a
result, the Congregation for
Clergy warned, a priest guilty
of sexual abuse might appeal
a disciplinary sentence and
escape punishment. That is a
real, legitimate concern; a
fair-minded critic would
have acknowledged as much.
In his unofficial response to
Mr Kenny's diatribe, Fr Federico Lombardi, the director
of the Vatican press office,
explained that the Vatican's
action in 1997 should not be
interpreted as an order to
continue covering up sexual
abuse. Nevertheless, a fair
critic should also acknowledge that the Vatican response was disappointing or,
as the Cloyne Report put it,
`èntirely unhelpful'' to advocates of real reform within
the Irish Church. While the
Congregation for Clergy had

real enough concerns about
the Irish bishops' proposal,
the substance and tenor of
the response from Rome
(again quoting the Cloyne
Report) `èffectively gave individual Irish bishops the
freedom to ignore the procedures which they had
agreed and gave comfort and
support to those who dissented from the stated official Irish Church policy.''
That too is an accurate assessment.
In appraising the Irish
bishops' policies, the Congregation for Clergy might
have pointed out the problems and then offered potential solutions. The Vatican
office might have encouraged the Irish hierarchy to
refine the proposal before
putting it into effect. No such
encouragement is evident in
the 1997 message from
Rome. Unfortunately, as we
now know, there was a serious split within the Vatican,
through the late 1990s, on
the proper handling of sexabuse cases. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, under Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger, was pushing for a
strong disciplinary response.
The Congregation for Clergy,
under Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, took a much more
casual approach to the problem, as did the powerful
Secretariat of State under
Cardinal Angelo Sodano.
The Vatican's attitude toward sex-abuse cases has
undergone two major
changes in the past decade:
both of them clearly changes
for the better. In 2001, Cardinal Ratzinger gained sole
jurisdiction for such cases for
his Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, and
began taking every instance
of clerical abuse seriously.
Then in 2005 Cardinal Ratzinger, who was now even
more acutely conscious of
the severity of the problem,
having sifted through the
avalanche of troublesome
personnel files coming from
the US, became Pope Benedict XVI. Since his election
there have been no more
examples of Vatican sympathy for priestly abusers and
their defenders in the hierarchy. Enda Kenny, in his
outburst against the Vatican,
neglected to mention the
clear change in policies
emanating from Rome and,
for that matter, the clear
change within the Irish hierarchy. The errors of the past
are gross and undeniable.
But are they continuing? The
Cloyne Report exposed a
lackadaisical attitude toward
abuse reports in that diocese,
as late as 2008. That is
appalling. But let's not forget
what happened in the Diocese of Cloyne. Bishop John
Magee, a very influential

man in Rome, who had
served as private secretary to
three Popes, was forced to
resign in disgrace, even before the Murphy commission
began its investigation. In
other words, the Vatican
took action before the Irish
Government did.
The Vatican has subsequently accepted the early
resignations of three other
Irish bishops. More changes
may be coming, as the result
of an Apostolic Visitation: a
thorough Vatican investigation of the Church in Ireland.
The Vatican is now demanding accountability of Church
leaders. It can certainly be
said that in the past some
Vatican officials supported
Irish bishops who covered up
sexual abuse. Not today.
Why, then, are Irish government leaders lashing out
at the Vatican? To gain political advantage? No doubt
that is part of the explanation. But I think there is
more. I think that Kenny's
fulminations against Roman
influence betray a mounting
hostility toward the Church
which has been growing in
Ireland for years, and has
only burst into prominence
now because of the sexabuse scandal. Years from
now, I suspect, historians
will say that the public influence of the Church in Ireland fell sharply in the wake
of the sex-abuse scandal. But
that will be a very superficial
analysis, just as it is superficial to say that Catholic
influence in Boston has
plummeted since 2002.
A healthy
Catholic
hierarchy would
not include
bishops who
believe that
welfare of
predatory
priests takes
precedence over
that of innocent
children.
In both cases, the public

influence of the Catholic
Church was manifestly in
decline for years before the
scandal emerged. Indeed the
scandal itself is a manifestation of a deeper problem
within the Church.
A healthy Catholic community would not accept
misguided attacks on the
Vatican. And a healthy
Catholic hierarchy would
not include bishops who believe that welfare of predatory priests takes precedence
over that of innocent children.
Phil Lawler is Director of
CatholicCulture.org
NEWS
Climate of ùndeclared heresy'

in Irish Church Archbishop
Michael Kelly
has warned of a climate of
`ùndeclared heresy'' in the
Church in Ireland brought
about by a crisis of passing
on the Faith.
In an interview with Italian daily newspaper La
Stampa in the wake of the
Cloyne Report Dr Martin also

said the Taoiseach Enda Kenny's failure to give credit to
the ``radical reform'' of procedures introduced by Pope
Benedict XVI was `ùnfortunate''.
He said: ``the crisis of the
Irish Church is not simply a
crisis related to sexual abuse
of minors. These are symptoms of a deeper crisis.
``The crisis goes much
20,000 are
expected to
climb Reek
Up to 20,000 people are expected this weekend for the
annual Reek Sunday pilgrimage on Ireland's holy mountain, Croagh Patrick in the
Diocese of Tuam. Last year
Reek Sunday was one of the
most busy days for Mountain
Rescue Ireland, and pilgrims
are advised to be cautious
climbing and to wear suitable clothes and footwear.
On Garland Friday the
Eucharistic Congress Bell will
be taken up to the summit of
Croagh Patrick by a group of
young people. Mass will be
celebrated on the summit at

8am and every half-hour until 2pm. The 10am Mass will
be celebrated in Irish and
Archbishop Michael Neary,
Archbishop of Tuam will
celebrate Mass at 10.30am.
Pilgrims may avail of the
Sacrament of Reconciliation
on the summit from 7.30am
to 2.30pm.
The Tuam Diocesan Vocations Committee will have a
marquee at the foot of the
mountain to promote vocations and distribute some
literature.
EDITORIAL
TIME FOR
PENITENCE
From Page 1
And, now, we are tired of apologies that ring hollow.

The Vatican has a once in a generational opportunity now
and should seize it. The step-by-step approach to renewal
hasn't worked. When the Irish bishops went to Rome to
meet the Pope, the one issue they were united on was that
the Vatican should not cut the number of dioceses. We
don't need 26 dioceses or 26 bishops for a population the
same as Manchester's this model of Church is clearly not
fit for purpose and has not been so for decades.
Archbishop Martin has said as much.
The Irish Church needs someone to grab it, shake it up
and make it fit for purpose because it is not capable of
reforming itself. The Vatican needs to do this. Irish
Catholics love their Church and want it back.
We've all had enough. We want a Church that espouses
Christian values through quality leadership and Gospel
witness and can speak to an increasingly secular society
but founded on Christian ethics.
As a society, we have lost our way, caught up in
corruption and greed at the highest levels. As a society, we
failed and continue to fail our children, our sick, our
elderly and our young who cannot find work. We all have
to take some responsibility as a nation for our faults as a
people. It was our greed that brought the IMF to our door.
Perhaps the Taoiseach will be equally vocally strong on
these issues. There are many problems we just can't lay at
the door of St Peter's in Rome.
deeper. It is a crisis of Faith,

a crisis of transmission of the
Faith and in many cases a
lack of understanding of the
nature of the Church,'' he
said.
The archbishop added:
`Ìreland is now a highly
secularised society, and
many look to the Church
through a secularised lens
to the point that, in a sense,
one could speak of what I call
à climate of undeclared
heresy' that pervades many
dimensions of understanding
of Faith among Catholics''.
On the Taoiseach's speech
in the Da il in which he
attacked the Vatican Archbishop Martin said `ùnfortunately,'' Mr Kenny, ``failed to
mention the radical reforms
made to Church procedures
under the guidance of the
Pope.
This
week
``There is no doubt that

the Irish Church today is a far
safer place for children than
it was just a few years ago,''
he said.
He said Pope Benedict's
norms ``have undoubtedly
been a great support in encouraging the Church in Ireland and elsewhere, in an
attempt to follow a clear cut
and consistent course of action against paedophilia.''
The Bell of the Burren
Excitement building
for `Holy Oxegen'
Fr Barry Horan with the Eucharistic Congress Bell at the Cliffs of Moher in Doolin, Co.
Clare as it made its way around the Diocese of Galway.
Mags Gargan
Excitement is building at the

ancient monastic centre of
faith in Clonmacnois, Co. Offaly as hundreds of young
people are set to arrive there
on nine sponsored free buses
from around the country for
the annual Youth 2000 Summer Festival, taking place
from August 4-7.
Two fields will be transformed into a tented village
as a team of 30 volunteers
prepare the site this week for
the lively outdoor event for
young Catholics.
The weekend includes a

live concert with Elation
Ministries, talks and workshops and time for relaxing
in the chill out cafe, or taking
part in games and activities.
Fr Bernard Murphy, of the
Community of Franciscan
Friars of the Renewal, USA
is the guest speaker.
Anna McNevin (21), from
Co. Meath was at the festival
last year and said she would
recommend the Clonmacnois
festival to any young person
``who wants to find out more
about the Catholic Faith''.
``There you will see a vibrant
and exciting young Church,
The Marian
Movement of Priests
in The
Irish
Catholic
The online
family
Websites offering
supportPages
to families
26 and 27
Blacksmith's
craft
Producing art
from iron Page 25
learn so much and meet

great people,'' she said.
There is no admission fee
for the festival. For more
information or to book online visit www.youth2000.ie.
Youth 2000 can be contacted
at 01 6753690/085 8289231
or 0770 6736677 from
Northern Ireland.
HOLYLAND 2011
SPECIAL OFFERS
Direct Flights From Dublin
Regional Cenacle
For Priests And Laity
Will be held on
Saturday, 27th November, 2010 at
All Hallows College, Drumcondra, Dublin 9
From 10.30am - 5pm
Please bring a packed lunch

All Welcome
Based on 4-star hotels, half board

including tax & insurance.
12-October 2011 8-nights 1,249

20-October 9-nights 1,299 Ex Cork
29-October 8-nights 1,249
FOR FULL DAY TO DAY INTINERARY,
CONTACT JOE WALSH PILGRIMAGE TOURS,
143 LR BAGGOT STREET, DUBLIN 2
Ph: (01) 2410822
|3
NEWS
4|
Church's child safeguarding

body wants more power
Michael Kelly
The head of the National
Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church
(NBSCCC) has called on the
State to provide it with
powers to compel bishops
and other Church leaders to
co-operate.
Ian Elliott backed a similar call by Dublin's Archbishop Diarmuid Martin for
such powers of compellability.

An audit is currently underway into the country's 26
dioceses while similar audits
of the other 162 religious
orders, congregations and
missionary societies will follow.
Mr Elliott said `èveryone
wants the audits completed.
Public inquiries are very
slow and costly. It is not the
best way of progressing this
Feile will focus

on faith in sport
Antrim football star Paddy
Cunningham and former
Manchester United soccer
player Philip Mulryne form
the panel to discuss the role
of faith in sport today as part
of the St Oliver Plunkett
parish contribution to Belfast's Feile an Phobail.
According to Glen Phillips,
Parish Manager: ``Paddy and
Philip are two local lads who
have reached the top of their
respective sports. This panel
discussion is a great opportunity for people to come
along, see their sporting heroes and hear their stories''.
The event will take place
Full extent
According to the board's Review of Safeguarding Practice in the Catholic Church,

the audit sets out ``to ascertain the full extent of all
complaints or allegations,
knowledge, suspicions or
concerns'' of clerical child
sex abuse in the period from
January 1, 1975, to the present.
Its objective is ``to confirm
how known allegations have
been responded to and what
the current arrangements for
safeguarding children are'' in
the relevant diocese or institution.
Six dioceses have been
fully audited to date. It is

hoped this will have been
completed in all 26 dioceses
by mid-2012. Bishop Philip
Boyce of Raphoe and Bishop
Colm O'Reilly of Ardagh and
Clonmacnoise have revealed
audits have taken place in
their dioceses.
Mr Elliott recalled that
when he went to investigate
Cloyne he was presented
with `àbout 10 pieces of
paper. It didn't take long to
realise that these were different pieces lifted out of a

file''. Some referred to other
documents which had not
been provided. Following a
crisis meeting with Bishop of
Cloyne John Magee and diocesan delegate Msgr Denis
O'Callaghan, further files
were produced.
``But it wasn't till later we
discovered that some of the
information given was false,''
Mr Elliott said.
Irish connection in Cairo
at St Oliver Plunkett's in
Glenveagh Drive on Thursday, August 4.
Irish Language Journalist
of the Year Eoghan O Neill
will give a talk on the revival
of Irish in Belfast on Tuesday
August 2.
On Sunday August 7, renowned Jesuit priest Fr Peter
McVerry will deliver the 8th
annual St Oliver Plunkett
lecture on `Social Justice
role and limitations of State
and Church'.
All events will take place
at the church on Glenveagh
Drive, Lenadoon at 7pm and
all are welcome.
The Apostolic Nuncio in Cairo, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald was joined by his Irish relatives at St Mary's the Mount
Church, Walsall last Saturday to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of his priesthood. Archbishop Fitzgerald is pictured
with (right) his first cousin Ray Fitzgerald and family from Monkstown, Co. Dublin and (left) first cousin Derry Twomey
and family from Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. The archbishop's sister from Australia, Bernadette is also next to him on
the left with the Twomeys. Photo: JLPRESSAGENCY.COM
TIVAL
S
E
F
H
YOUT AUG 2011
0407
16-35 YEAR OLDS W
issue.'' This, he felt, ``would

be in partnership between
the State and the board''.
It would be ``great'', he
said, if statutory compellability powers were extended to the board.
HSE place children in

ùnacceptable risk'
Michael Kelly
ELCOME!
INSPIRING TALKS / LIVE MUSIC
/ PRAYER
To support this event, please send donations to Youth 2000,

ras Treasa, Clarendon St, Dublin 2 with the completed form
or call: 01 675 3690 / www.youth2000.ie
NAME
ADDRESS
Youth 2000 Registered Charity No CHY 14874
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has been severely

criticised for putting foster
children in unsafe and unsuitable placements.
The report carried out by
the Health Information and
Quality Authority (HIQA)
comes just days after Minister for Children Frances
Fitzgerald admitted that

some State agencies are
not following the Government's own child safeguarding policies.
HIQA concluded that
some children of the 329
in foster care in Dublin
North-Central were placed
by the HSE with foster parents who were unassessed
and unapproved.
HIQA found that children

remained in unsuitable and
unsafe placements. This
was described as `ùnacceptable''.
Allegations
HIQA says there were cases

where additional children
were placed with some foster carers, against whom
allegations had been made.
Fourteen new complaints were made against

foster carers since the original inspection report last
year.
HIQA says there was evidence of allegations of a
similar nature, made about
foster carers over a protracted period of time by
different and unrelated
children.
MaryKenny
COMMENT
|5
Out of context
Holy See's
global reach
il speech last week, the Taoiseach quoted

In his keynote Da
from Pope Benedict's reflections on democracy, where he had
once written that a democratic consensus is ``not the source

of all truth''.
I think I can understand why the Holy Father, as a German,
would have made that point. It is a basic fact of German
history that Adolf Hitler was voted into power through

democratic means. Though he used sleight of hand (and
Parallels with the British Empire
thuggery) to neutralise his rivals, Hitler was undoubtedly

supported by a democratic mandate. Post-war Germans have
never forgotten that lesson.
That is why Josef Ratzinger would have said that
democracy is not the source of all truth. British parliamentarians have made the same point when they are reminded
N the day that
volved in running that Em-
world-wide network, and
the Taoiseach
pire were Irish. So it was a
doubtless it has been slow to
made his corus-
close relationship.
respond to the crises in the
represents a matchless glo-
Irish Church; and while some
bal network to which the
cating criticism
At the same time, the
that more than 70 per cent of the people support the death
with the Holy See.
penalty: but parliament doesn't.
This particular `èmpire''
of the Vatican, the Holy See
British Empire became so
of the Taoiseach's more
Irish diaspora has hugely
itself was involved in enter-
widespread and so far-flung
pointed accusations have
contributed. Throughout the
ing into diplomatic relations
it encompassed a quarter
been rebutted by experts
world, you will find Catholics
with Malaysia.
of the world when King Ed-
such as Professor Vincent
whose families have been
ward VII came to the throne
Twomey SVD, it has seemed
evangelised by Irish mis-
state with which the Holy
in 1901 that the nation of
that the Holy See dragged its
sionaries. To cut off relations
See has diplomatic relations.
Ireland became a relatively
feet in correcting the clerical
with the Holy See would,
Perhaps part of the problem
small part of it. So London
abuse scandals.
effectively, sabotage connec-
in relations between Ireland
always seemed to be tardy
It is often quite healthy to
and the Vatican is a repeat of
when addressing Irish pro-
have an adversarial relation-
community with many,
the problematic relationship
blems. There was always
ship between Church and
many Irish links. At the most
which existed between Ire-
something more pressing in
State it keeps both on their
practical level, how would
land and the British Empire.
Mesopotamia (Iraq) or So-
toes, and deters compla-
that help the country?
maliland (Somalia) or the
cency, but it would surely be
of the British Empire, but
Sudan, and Ireland just had
unwise for Enda Kenny to
course of action which Mr
often quite an active part. In
to take her place in the
take his party chairman
Flanagan has suggested:
1900, it was estimated that
queue.
Charlie Flanagan's advice
``cutting off your nose to
and break off all relations
spite your face''.
Malaysia is the 179th
Ireland was not only part
up to a third of people in-
The Vatican, too, is a
Sermons short and to the point please!

A young friend of mine attended a country
wedding in the midlands last weekend and it
was an altogether happy occasion. However,
the priest saying the nuptial Mass preached for
45 minutes, which really was way too long. My
friend couldn't remember a word of what he said
- the length of the sermon overshadowed any
message.
My experience of public speaking is that the
shorter an address, the more likelihood that
people will remember what you say.

It's easy to get carried away, but a speaker
or a preacher needs to discipline
themselves not to do so. The Bishop of London,
Richard Chartres, spoke for less than 10
minutes at the wedding of Prince William and
Kate Middleton, and what everyone said later
was ``what a good sermon everything you
needed to know about marriage succinctly
communicated''.
Abolishing Vatican embassy

would be a mistake
Peter Costello
everyone
Ambassador in the Vatican,
thinks, but also to a wide
but the role of the Papal
range
Nuncio in Ireland.
which
Books Editor
is
of
what
diplomats
from
The insinuation by the Taoi-
many other countries, not
Technically he is accre-
seach Enda Kenny that the
all of them ``Catholic'' by
dited to the Irish State, not
government would consider
any means.
to the Irish Church. It is the
abolishing the Irish Embassy
Through his conversations
individual bishops speaking
in the Vatican as a conse-
he is able to tap into a wide
for each of their dioceses that
quence of the Cloyne Report
range of information from
represent Irish Catholics to
suggests a lack of under-
quite literarily China to Peru,
the Vatican.
standing of not only the role
on topics ranging from poli-
It would be very desirable
of that particular embassy,
tics and trade to terrorism
if some clarity were brought
but of diplomacy in general.
and human rights. To allow
to defining the role of the
In the old days withdraw-
the single issue of clerical
Nuncio, especially
ing an ambassador was a
child abuse to sunder these
light of the revelations of
preliminary
declaring
vital links would be cutting
past exchanges between the
war. Is this what Mr Kenny
of our nose to spite our face.
Nuncios, the bishops and the
to
has in mind?
The annual releases of
Made clearer
government
over
clerical
But the greater importance
But abolishing our em-
fairs files by the National
of a diplomat attending the
bassy to the Holy See would
Archives always contain ma-
Holy See than the court of
be a mistake. Far from scal-
terial from the Vatican Em-
Silvio Berlusconi should be
ing it down, we should scale
bassy. They make fascinating
made be clearer.
it up. And make the voice of
Department of Foreign Af-
If there is any ambiguity
the Irish Government more
Our Vatican ambassador
over the diplomatic relations
clearly heard in the shadowy
has access not just to the
of Ireland and the Vatican it
corridors of power around St
senior ranks of the Church,
lies not in the status of our
Peter's Square.
reading.
Norwegian gun law
After the atrocity in Norway at the weekend, people have felt

rightly a surge of solidarity with the people of Norway.
It is touching to see the bower of flowers and notes of
condolences outside the Norwegian Embassy in Molesworth Street in Dublin. But if this ghastly massacre had
occurred in America, we would have been greeted by an
outpouring of anti-American rhetoric blaming the terrible gun
laws, and allegedly gun-totin' culture of the United States.
I haven't read a word, however, about the gun laws of
Scandinavia where hunting is part of the traditions and
how they have caused the dreadful loss of life that occurred
in Oslo and at Utoeya Island.
tions with a global Catholic
There is a phrase for the
.12&.6+5,1(1$7,21$/129(1$
'HGLFDWHGWRWKHPHPRU\RI0RQVLJQRU-DPHV+RUDQ
7KHPH)DLWK3URYLGHQFHDQG$FWLRQ
'$7(
6XQGD\
WK$XJXVW
SP
7,7/(
63($.(5
)DLWK3URYLGHQFH
DQG$FWLRQ
6XQGD\
WK$XJXVW
SP
0RVW5HY0LFKDHO6PLWK'&/
''%LVKRSRI0HDWK
0HDWK'LRFHVDQ3LOJULPDJH
7KH/LIHDQG7LPHV
RI0VJU-DPHV
+RUDQ

)DLWK"

0RQVLJQRU-RVHSK4XLQQ33.QRFN

:RUGLQ$FWLRQ
0V0DU\.HQQ\'XEOLQ
$XWKRU-RXUQDOLVW 3XEOLF6SHDNHU

+RSHLQ+DUG7LPHV
0U-RKQ:DWHUV'XEOLQ
$XWKRU-RXUQDOLVW &ROXPQLVW
9HU\5HY+DUU\%RKDQ
336KDQQRQ&R&ODUH
)RXQGHURIWKH&pLILQ&HQWUHIRU9DOXHV
/HG&KDQJHLQ,ULVK6RFLHW\
5HY'HFODQ0DUPLRQ60
6W0DU\V0LOOWRZQ'XEOLQ
7KHRORJLDQ$XWKRU /HFWXUHU

0RQGD\
WK$XJXVW
7XHVGD\
WK$XJXVW
:HGQHVGD\
WK$XJXVW

7KXUVGD\
WK$XJXVW

7KH&KDQJLQJ5ROH
RIWKH3ULHVW
)ULGD\
WK$XJXVW

3URYLGHQFH

6DWXUGD\
WK$XJXVW
in the
child abuse.
The Taoiseach seriously de-contextualised Pope Benedict's

words, it would seem.
6XQGD\
VW$XJXVW
)HDVWRI2XU
/DG\RI.QRFN

0RQGD\
QG$XJXVW

7R7UXVWLQ*RG

)DLWKLQ$FWLRQ

.QRFN(XFKDULVW
DQG5HQHZDO
5W5HY0DUN3+HGHUPDQ26%
$EERWRI*OHQVWDO$EEH\/LPHULFN
0RVW5HY3KLOLS%R\FH2&'''

%LVKRSRI5DSKRH
5DSKRH'LRFHVDQ3LOJULPDJH

0RVW5HY&KULVWRSKHU-RQHV''
%LVKRSRI(OSKLQ
(OSKLQ'LRFHVDQ3LOJULPDJH
9HU\5HY-RVHSK&DQRQ&RRQH\
.QRFN
5HWLUHG33%DOO\KDXQLV

7:26(66,216'$,/<30 30(;&(3721681'$<7+
$1'681'$<67:+(1&(5(021,(6&200(1&(:,7+
$12,17,1*2)7+(6,&.$730
COMMENT
6|
The meaning of Taoiseach

E
David Quinn
NDA Kenny's extraordinary attack

on the Vatican has
been popular in
the same way an attack by
an Irish politician on the
British Crown circa 1935
would have been popular.
However, was it brave or did
it pander to a particular
mood that is understandable,
but that has also been
whipped up by a largely antiCatholic Irish media?
Kenny's speech responding to the Cloyne report read
like one of those diatribes
against the Church and
against the Pope that were
being printed in the British
press ahead of Pope Benedict's visit to Britain last
September.
But those diatribes weren't being written by leading
politicians, let alone by the
British Prime Minister. They
were being written instead
by inveterate Churchbashers like the atheist, Professor Richard Dawkins.

As we know, the Pope's
visit to Britain turned out to
be a big success and he was
feted, not condemned by the
British political establishment. It is ironic that the
head of the Catholic Church
worldwide is now held in
higher regard by the British
government than by the Irish
one.
The Queen's recent visit to
Ireland was the first by a
reigning British monarch in a
century. It took that long for
anti-British feeling here to
sufficiently subside to make
such a visit possible, and
even then, Dublin was subjected to virtual martial law.
Given the current poisonously anti-Catholic mood,
how long will it be before we
are `mature' enough (to borrow a word used in connection with the Queen's visit)
to receive a Pope again?
There is a still a possibility
that Pope Benedict will come
to Ireland for next year's
Eucharistic Congress, but
would it be wise given Enda
Kenny's speech last week?
What has been so striking
about the latest outburst
against the Catholic Church

has been its almost relentless focus on the Vatican and
on the Pope himself.
Instead of our bishops
being the main focus of attack, it has been an admittedly awful letter sent to the
Irish hierarchy in 1997 by
the Congregation for the
Clergy via the office of the
Papal Nuncio to Ireland.
Because of how this letter
has been reported, however,
most members of the public
probably believe that it positively ordered the bishops
not to report child abuse
allegation to the gardai.
Of course, it did nothing
of the sort, although it was
It is ironic that
the head of the
Catholic Church
worldwide is
now held in
higher regard
by the British
government
than by the Irish
one.
The Irish Catholic

SUBSCRIPTION OFFER
IIrelands largest and best selling Catholic newspaper THE IRISH
CATHOLIC
is offering all new subscribers the brand new book THE
C
VATICAN absolutely FREE on your subscription for a year. The Vatican Secrets and Treasures of the Holy City is a unique behind-the-scenes look at the
worlds smallest nation and the spiritual centre of the Catholic Church.
The beautifully illustrated insiders guide into the 2,000 year long history
of the Vatican offers a unique photographic tour, fascinating personal interviews with various Vatican employees who make their home there, from a Swiss Guard to a singer
in the Sistine Chapel choir. Launched by Cardinal Leonard Sandri at the Casina of Pius IV in the Vatican, this
magnificent volume has been translated into several languages, and has received wide international acclaim.
For the best read on a Sunday and a FREE book
dont miss this exclusive offer available only while stocks last.
SUBSCRIBE NOW! WHILE STOCKS LAST

SUBSCRIPTION RATES 2010/2011(Duration 52 Weeks)
Ireland 110 UK 135
EU 135
Rest of World 135
(Please note that all prices are quoted in euros and are inclusive of postage and packing)
I enclose a cheque/postal order for ________

Please charge my card: Mastercard Visa
for ___________
Laser
Card number:____________________________________Exp: _____/_____

Name:_________________________________________________________
Phone:____________________________Address:_____________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Post to: Subscription Department, The Irish Catholic, The Irish Farm Centre,
Bluebell, Dublin 12 or Phone: 01 4199 505 to place your order by credit card.
The Irish Catholic

SUBSCRIPTIONS
overly concerned with the

rights of accused priests, and
it did have a reservation with
the mandatory reporting of
allegations, a reservation
shared by the Irish State
until last month, meaning
the State itself should be
attacked as strongly as that
letter.
Enda Kenny's speech was
based on the premise that
the letter was even worse
than it was, and furthermore
that it represents the attitude of the Vatican, and of
the Pope, to this day.
Overlooked
It completely overlooked the

fact that, as a result of the
actions of Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger (now the Pope) in
2001, the Vatican began to
place much less emphasis on
the rights of accused priests
meaning that in the last 10
years hundreds of clergy
worldwide have been laicised or removed from ministry.
It is also worth noting
that the 1997 letter has been
in the public domain before.
It was quoted in the Dublin
report two years ago, and it
was also quoted in an RTE
documentary in January.
Therefore, if its contents
were really so explosive, why
didn't they cause outrage on
those previous occasions, or
is a certain amount of the
outrage this time manufactured?
The Taoiseach's speech is
the strongest attack on the
Holy See by any Western
leader in decades. It was the
sort of attack usually reserved for states that are
regarded as being hostile to
the national interest, in other
words, it was the sort of
speech normally reserved for
enemy nations.
The speech was almost on
a par with a speech in which
President Ronald Reagan
called the Soviet Union `the
evil empire'.
In describing the ``dysfunction, disconnection, elitism, the narcissism'' of the
Vatican, and by accusing it of
downplaying the ``rape and
torture of children'', Enda
Kenny did not stop short of
saying about the Vatican
what Reagan said about the
USSR.
But when Reagan delivered that speech he was
widely condemned. Anticommunists loved it, but
liberals deplored it. They felt
he was pandering to anticommunist sentiment in
America and harming relations with the Soviet Union.
In fact, when public anger
is running high, the job of a
politician is often to moderate it, not to stoke it. It is
often more statesmanlike to
respond in a measured way.
Condemn
When the IRA was conducting bombing campaigns in

Britain in the past, and Brit-
An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.
ish anger was running high,

it would have been easy for a
British Prime Minister to
condemn the Irish State for
not doing enough to curtail
the activities of the IRA in
the Republic, but it would
also have been irresponsible.
The Taoiseach's speech
has also been welcomed by
Irish priests of an anti-Rome
bent. For example, the Association of Catholic Priests' Fr
Tony Flannery (brother of
Frank Flannery, a senior advisor to Fine Gael), was fulsome in his praise of it.
Fr Flannery speaks for
those priests and religious
and laity who believe that
Rome stands in the way of all
those reforms they believe
are necessary if the Church is
to be renewed, for example,
married priests and women
priests. Therefore they were
delighted to see the leader of
the country dishing it out to
the Vatican in such strong
terms.
Ironically, Fr Flannery has
The Taoiseach's
speech is the
strongest attack
on the Holy See
by any Western
leader in
decades.
previously criticised the Irish

Church's policy of mandatory
reporting thereby coming
close to the attitude of the
Congregation of the Clergy as
outlined in its letter of 1997.
Cosy notion
Indeed, this tends to upset

the cosy notion that if only
Rome allowed the Church in
Ireland the freedom to do its
own thing, the scandals
would have been much better handled.
But the fact is that there
were plenty of Irish priests
who would have been
against mandatory reporting
anyway, and there were
plenty who would have recommended a `pastoral' approach towards accused
clergy, rather than a more
penal approach, with or
without Rome.
Whether it was the intention or not, Enda Kenny's
speech has exposed a deep
vein of anti-Rome feeling in a
section of the Church in Ireland, never mind the general
public.
It is as though we are now
being asked to choose the
Roman Catholic Church in
Ireland, and the Irish Catholic Church. Catholics in the
past have had to make a
similar choice. How will we
choose? This is a fateful time
to be an Irish Catholic.
Enda Kenny's speech
hostile to religion in general
to.
and Christianity in particuing less than to see Irish
speaking, he made clear, as a
Catholicism buried at a
Catholic dismayed by what
crossroads with a stake
had occurred. But he did not
through its heart. The dis-
seek to go beyond a reaction
cussion is therefore driven
to the events set forth in
by anger and neurosis rather
recent reports into clerical
than a genuine passion for
abuse and speak to Catholics
truth or renewal.
who, bereft and devastated
At the heart of this dis-
by what has emerged, wish
cussion is a fallacy: that we,
to know how their Church
Ireland, can survive in the
might be allowed and en-
absence of the Church. This
abled to heal itself.
delusion, driven in large part

by the secular-agnosticism
would argue that, as a poli-
or secular-atheism of most of
tician, it was not his role to
the contributors, is rarely
do so. But is this true? As a
questioned, never mind
Catholic he must know that,
tested. When, occasionally,
in spite of his rhetoric of
the question is raised, it
separation, it is not possible
invariably meets with an old
to administer a society
argument from the realm of
without reference to the
ethics: we don't need
culture out of which it has
churches to make us moral,
emerged. I cannot believe
to enable us to hope and live.
that Enda Kenny is
ad idem
This thinking reminds me
with Ruairi Quinn or John
of what happens when I go
Gormley, in insisting on a
to Spain on my holidays.
crude secularism, or with,
in
There's no Internet cafe
say, Dermot Ahern, in be-
the village where we stay,
lieving that his Catholicism
but if I walk along the street
can be left at the gates of
with my iPhone, I can easily
Leinster House. (Incidentally,
find some open wifi network
it would be interesting to
that I can tune into for a few
hear what he has to say
minutes to send off the odd
about all that.)
email. Secularism is like that:
Unsettling
freeloading and parasitical,
There is an unsettling aspect

to all of this, which I believe
lar, and who wish for noth-
Taoiseach's speech. He was
Perhaps the Taoiseach
while outwardly proclaiming

independence.
But, whereas my sneaky
is being missed. Over the
use of some unguarded wifi
past few years in particular,
signal at least does no da-
what we find is that virtually
mage to the technology I
every public discussion pur-
exploit, secularism is intent
porting to address itself to
upon destroying that which
faith or religion becomes
it appropriates without ac-
focused very soon after com-
knowledgment of what is
and its cover-up, there is no
the abusers. The hallmarks of
abuse unless there is an
mencement on the subject of
happening or responsibility
entitlement to a hearing.
these unspoken conditions
opportunity to attack the
clerical abuse. Even to state
towards what might happen
Thus, time and time again,
are to be seen in virtually
Catholic Church, and there
this is to run the risk that one
next. The new secular Ireland
we hear how terrible the
every utterance on these
are more such episodes to
is seeking to ``move on'' from
seeks to exploit the positive
abuses were and how they
subjects, including Enda
follow shortly.)
child abuse and thus show
legacy of 1,500 years of Irish
must not be allowed to hap-
Kenny's much-celebrated
Christianity, while disman-
pen again. By the time these
il last week.
speech to the Da
Positive
disrespect for the suffering of

the victims.
tling the structures that
condemnations have been
HE true nature of
|7
tions as he addressed himself

There was a lacuna in the
John Waters
COMMENT
My own initial response
Criticism can be a positive
made this civilisation possible.
uttered and re-uttered, the
to the speech was that it was
thing, even when that is not
speaking time is up and it is
refreshing and constructive.
its guiding intention. Many
someone else's turn. Thus,
Only later, when I reread it
of the failings of the Church
The new secular Defeat

Ireland seeks to
exploit the
positive legacy
of 1,500 years of
Irish
Christianity,
while
dismantling the
structures that
made this
civilisation
possible.
There is, in the present dis-
new perspectives rarely get
several times in search of a
in this matter arise not from
the crisis con-
expressed, as the discussion
core message, did I become
bad motives but poor com-
fronting Ireland
digs itself deeper into a circle
somewhat less enthusiastic,
munications, clumsy proce-
now is that it is a
of condemnation and disso-
spotting the evasions, disin-
dures and lack of awareness.
crisis of understanding, faith,
ciation.
genuous passages and wea-
My general sense, observing
culture and, above all,
Apologist
sel words.
some of the statements from
Indeed, there is often a sense
politicians criticising the
needed is one sensible per-
and analysis, which, far from
that any attempt to move the
Church about what has hap-
son with a complete aware-
leading us anywhere new,
discussion out of this rut
pened. On the contrary, I
ness of Irish conditions, to
provoke further slippage in
amounts to a sign that the
believe there is far too great
vet all statements issuing
our collective sense of what
speaker is some kind of an
of a tendency among certain
from that quarter. This
is at stake. Every day, the
apologist for the abusers. To
kinds of Catholics and
would ensure that clear lines
central issues are defined for
speak about the condition of
Catholic clergy to lapse into
of logic and intention could
us yet again by people who
Irish Catholicism or to seek
kneejerk defence mode at
be maintained without all
really do not care if the
to make any kind of case for
the slightest hint of criticism.
the time giving hostages to
One of the problems, of
we are being encouraged to
Church can be rendered
its rehabilitation is immedi-
I understand why this hap-
those who seek nothing from
course, is that, for the most
saw
capable of renewing itself,
ately identified as a sign of
pens: a deep sense of the
all this but the final destruc-
part, the discussion is con-
upon which Irish society
and for the most part would
disrespect for the victims of
unfair and blunderbuss nat-
tion of Irish Catholicism.
structed precisely to lead to
currently sits.
prefer if it did not.
abuse, or, worse, as evidence
ure of so much criticism. But
of a desire to offer succour to
such defensiveness merely
way, that Enda Kenny has
Church, for the most part
must have some feeble
said about the clerical abuse
adds weight to the sneaky
any such objective. I believe
excluding those who, while
awareness that to throw
scandals is said for effect.
insinuation of the Church's
that, quite sensibly from a
in no way seeking to avoid
Catholicism on the skip of
mortal enemies that only
political perspective, he
what has occurred, desire a
history is to dump parts of
they are really serious about
chose to construct his speech
genuine renewal of the
ourselves, the greater and
child abuse. (In fact, there
in such a way as to maximise
Church so that such a thing
most vital parts, the parts
have been a number of epi-
his insurance against attack
can be prevented from hap-
which ensure our hope,
sodes in the secular arena in
from those who dominate
pening again. By definition,
happiness and security? Is it
recent times which serve to
the discussion and to appeal
the discussion is managed
too much to ask that our
suggest that such people
to a popular sentiment
and conducted between
Taoiseach might have some-
couldn't care less about child
minted by the same condi-
people who are profoundly
thing to say about this also?
humanity. But every day, we

awake to new revelations
Almost everything that is
Each time, the speaker seeks

to send a signal of innocence,
probity and correct thinking,
to distance himor herself
from the evils that have
occurred. Until a speaker has
made clear his or her total
repugnance of child abuse
Criticism can be
a positive thing,
even when that
is not its
guiding
intention.
I have no problem with
the Vatican, is that what is
I do not suggest, by the
cussion an inescapable sense
that the solution to the pro-
blems which have emerged

in the Irish Church involves
the defeat of Catholicism in

Ireland. The new Godless Ire-
land now being ushered into

our lives depends on the very
concepts
and
essences
it
seeks to destroy, and sees

no responsibility to replace
them even as it tears them
apart. Indeed, nobody ap-
pears even to be aware that
the destruction of the
through
the
branch
But surely even an idiot
FEATURE|
8|
FERMANAGH IN FOCUS
The Lake
County
Continuing a series highlighting the good

news from parishes around the country,
Mary O'Donnell reports on the Church alive
in Fermanagh.
Praise for busy parishioners
HE active Pastoral
Council for the

parish of Aghavea/Aughentaine,
in Brookeborough, has its
work cut out covering an
area which encompasses the
three churches of Brookeborough, Coonian and Fivemiletown.
Parish priest, Fr Denis Dolan is full of praise for the
good work being done by the
dozen or so members, who
meet regularly to discuss
parish matters. One of its
most memorable activities
this year was to organise a
celebration for the new
Bishop of Clogher, Liam MacDaid, who had once served as
curate in the parish. The
parishioners came together
for Mass celebrated by

Bishop MacDaid and enjoyed
the opportunity to meet up
with their former curate at a
special function afterwards
in the local GAA centre.
Acknowledging the wide
area to be covered by the
Pastoral Council, Fr Dolan
recalled there being four
churches in the parish when
he arrived 18 years ago: ``The
area is quite big, but there
isn't a large number of people. When I first came there
were four churches and just
myself and an elderly priest,
who was based in Brookeborough, to cover them.
``This was quite a change
for me, as prior to that I had
been in a parish where there
was only one priest and one
church! It was a different

set-up, but I adjusted and I
have been very happy here.''
The Pastoral Council is
hoping to resurrect the St
Vincent de Paul Society and
the St Joseph's Young Priest
Society within the parish.
Recalling that there had
once been a strong St Joseph's Young Priest Society in
the area, Fr Dolan said that
they hoped to get this up and
going again in September as
some people had expressed
an interest in getting involved. The chairman of the
Pastoral Council is Kieran
Haren, who is also involved
in the Diocesan Youth Committee and the introduction
of the John Paul II Awards to
the parish.
ABOVE: John Paul II

Award winners from the
Brookeborough parish
with mentors, Geraldine
Boyle and Kieran Haren,
and Bishop Liam MacDaid.
RIGHT:Fr McKenna and

Fr Dolan with Bishop
Liam MacDaid, former
curate of Brookeborough.
A vibrant parish with historic past
The Parish of Galloon, in

rural County Fermanagh,
comprises Newtownbutler
and Donagh and borders
counties Cavan and Monaghan.
Today's parish takes its
name from the nearby Galloon monastic site on the
island of the same name on
the shores of Lough Erne,
three miles outside Newtownbutler.
Associated with Saints
Tiernach and Comghgall, the
monastic site has two 9th
Century high cross shafts at
either end of an old cemetery
that marks the historic site
today.
The parish has a long and
historic past, going back over
1,500 years, and is documented as one of the most persecuted parishes in the
whole of the province of
Ulster during the Penal days.
Quite a few Mass rocks
and gardens dot the rural
landscape running from the
lough shore townlands right
up to the higher mountain
area above Lisnaskea.
One cleric notably con-
High Cross shaft at Galloon monastic site on Galloon island.

nected with the Fermanagh
parish is the late Canon Tom
Maguire, who was parish
priest from 1936 until 1968
and, on many occasions, captured the headlines of the
national newspapers with
his historic Fermanagh Feiseanna, which was held each
July and included the famous
St Patrick's Church, Donagh, with its purpose built adoration chapel.

visit by Eamonn de Valera.
Containing 185 townlands and running about 20
miles long, Galloon is a vibrant parish, with a wide
variety of groups and orga-
nisations catering for the

young and old, including Eucharistic Adoration.
St Patrick's Church, at Donagh, has a purpose-built
Adoration Chapel, which
was constructed in the

1990s and is an active part
of parish life.
Other active groups in the
parish include the Pioneer
Total Abstinence Association,
the Faith and Light Group

and St Joseph's Young
Priests' Society, as well as
two GAA Clubs, Newtownbutler First Fermanagh's and St
Patrick's Donagh.
FEATURE|9
FERMANAGH IN FOCUS
Something old,
something new!
As restoration work on St
Joseph's Church, Ederney, in
the parish of Culmaine, nears
an end, the parishioners are
looking forward to celebrating the new look for their
place of worship with a special Mass in September.
Built back in the 50s of
reconstituted stone, the entire building has undergone a
major clean, enhancing the
look of the stone finish and
revealing the original green
colour of the natural slate
roof.
The work also included
the replacement of 96 pieces
of glass that had broken over
the years, the replacement of
the flat roofs, the construction of granite steps to replace the concrete steps
damaged by frost, and the
erection of railings.
The first major repair of
the church in 50 years follows the celebration of its
Golden Jubilee in 2007 and
gave the parishioners the
chance to highlight in granite
the history of the foundation
stone, which had been laid
by Bishop Eugene O'Callaghan on June, 26, 1955.
Another new feature is
the placing of two natural
stone water fonts, which had
belonged to the old church,
on two pillars at the top of
Geraldine Daly, Rosemary Cassidy and Marian Mulligan

with the quilt they created to record 92 of the many
townlands in the Glendarragh Valley. Photo: Gerry
Gallagher
A living parish
St Joseph's Church, Ederney, after major works. Photo:
Gerry Gallagher
the steps.
This latest project will no
doubt figure in the rich parish archives, which includes
old photographs and recordings from a number of people in 2007 who
remembered the closing of
the old church in 1957, as
well as some of those who
had been involved in the
building of the new church
and the two curates who had
been in the parish at the
time.
The baptismal font from

the old church now at St
Joseph's, Ederney.
New hymn for Adoration Chapel opening

A new parish hymn has been
produced for the opening
celebrations later this year
of the extension to the
Church of the Immaculate
Conception, in Newtownbutler.
Canon Edward Murphy,
PE, has used local ballad,
`The Lovely River Finn', to
produce the new hymn, the
words and music of which
are also to be incorporated
into the stained glass windows of the new Adoration
Chapel.
Having undergone major
renovations in recent times,
the Church of the Immaculate Conception is now having a new car park and
extension constructed.
The extension comprises
of a small oratory, which will
be used for Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament and
morning Mass, along with a
new toilet block, office and
meeting room, and it is
hoped that work will be
completed later in the year.
The alert 91-year-old Canon Edward is one of two
priests in the Galloon Parish
and he is working hard,
The Parish of Culmaine, in

North West Fermanagh, is
regarded by its parishioners
as à living parish', and parish
priest, Fr Brendan Gallagher
agrees that lay involvement
is one of its greatest
strengths, with just over
400 families actively participating in the life of the
parish.
As well as St Joseph's, the
main church located in Ederney village, there is St Patrick's Church, at Montiagh,
some three miles away. Another church, St Mary's in
Bannagh, has been closed
for over 25 years.
The parish shares in the
mission of the Church to
bring Christ to its community and promotes a Christian spirit of peace, justice
and tolerance within the local church and outside the
parish community.
Remarking that the parish
council, known as `Parish
Together', was in place long
before he came to the parish
four years ago, Fr Gallagher
highlighted its great success
in the areas of the liturgy and
youth.
Committee
Fr Michael King, PP Galloon, and Canon Edward Murphy, PE, with plans of the new
extension to the Church of the Immaculate Conception.
alongside the parish priest,

Fr Michael King, in preparing
for the completion of all the
works at the Newtownbutler
Church. Parishioners are also
actively involved and have
taken part in many novel
fundraising activities over
the last few years to help
finance the ongoing work.
One of these is now the

annual sponsored parish
walk, which takes place in
September.
Other fundraising ideas
have included a Christmas
bazaar and loose change collection and, over the winter
months, it is hoped to draw
up a list of former parishi-
oners who will be contacted

to help with fundraising activities.
There is a parish website
up and running, www.galloonparish.com, which gives
everyone with an interest in
Galloon an opportunity to
keep up-to-date with the life
of the parish.
He explained that a very

creative committee meets
every 6-8 weeks to plan the
liturgy and that the youth
are involved in the John Paul
II Awards, as well as taking
part in World Youth Day and
the Diocesan Pilgrimage to
Lourdes, and that about 30
young people, aged 15-18
years, had taken part in a
Passion Play at Easter.
Recognising that the
youth are the future of the
parish faith community, a
culture of participation is
encouraged amongst the
young people with regards
all areas of the liturgy.
In all, there are six subgroups of `Parish Together',
namely Liturgy, Buildings,
Pastoral Care, Youth, Care of
the Church, and Protecting
Children and Vulnerable
People and, through each,

the intention is to give parishioners an opportunity to
take ownership of the parish
and become involved.
Fr Gallagher also highlighted the shared working
relationship the Ederney parish has with its neighbouring
parish, Pettigo: ``For six
months of the year we are
two separate parishes and
for the other six we are one,
operating with one priest
and a shared Mass schedule,
as Monsignor Richard Mohan
is the Prior of Lough Derg
and he is busy there when it
is open. I suppose it's an
example of clustering in the
area.''
Paying tribute to the various committees, particularly
the active fundraising committee, Fr Gallagher said:
`Òne of the positives here is
that people are willing to
take on organising things.
There has always been a
great sense of community
here and the Church is very
much at the heart of this
small rural area.''
One of the social highlights in the parish is the
monthly cup of tea, organised by the Pastoral Care
subgroup, in the parish centre after the 11am Sunday
Mass.
The Mass is broadcast to
the housebound via radio
link and the parish website
not only keeps parishioners
informed about activities,
but keeps those living away
from the parish in touch too.
As well as St Joseph's
Primary School, situated next
to St Joseph's Church, other
groups contributing to parish
life include the Legion of
Mary, the St Vincent de Paul,
the Pioneer Total Abstinence
Association, St Joseph's
Youth Club, GAA Club, Amateur Boxing Club, the Scouts,
Irish Dancing Group, Lourdes
Group, Ederney Golfing Society, the Bannagh Belles and
Ederney Community Development Trust.
FEATURE|
10|
FERMANAGH IN FOCUS
Clones support for

Mary's Meals
The children of St Muggaga
School in Liberia have an
increased chance of succeeding in their education thanks
to the generous and kindhearted parishioners of
Clones.
Introducing the charity,
Mary's Meals to the parish,
Fr Eoin Gorman is delighted
by the response of parishioners in helping to raise
funds.
Explaining that the charity provides school meals for
children in some of the poorest countries in the world, Fr
Gorman continued: `Ìt provides a child with one meal a
day in their place of education.''
Education
``Studies show that the best

way for people to get out of
poverty is through education. Children getting educated in third world
countries have low concen-
tration levels through lack of

food and tend to drop out.
``Mary's Meals feeds the
children in their place of
education and is currently
feeding half-a-million children throughout the world.
``The cost of feeding a
child, for example in Liberia,
is seven pounds per year,
which works out at two
pence per day, as the food is
sourced locally and made by
volunteers, usually the
mothers of the children.
``The consequences of this
are great, as there are more
children attending school,
their concentration levels
are higher and they are deciding to go on for higher
education.''
Saying that Mary's Meals
was a great charity to support, Fr Gorman said: ``You
are guaranteed that at least
93 per cent of money raised
goes directly to benefit the
child, while the rest goes on
necessary administration
costs.''
Committed to St Muggaga
School, the parishioners of St
Macartan's have been raising
funds for two years now to
help provide meals for the
few hundred students who
attend there and they hope
to continue fundraising activities for Mary's Meals.
`You are
guaranteed
that at least 93
per cent of
money raised
goes directly to
benefit the
child, while the
rest goes on
necessary
administration
costs.'
Strong desire to
get involved
Youth leader, Mrs Mary Donnelly, left, with John Paul II Award participants, Jarlath Mahon, Conor McGirr, Luke Collins,
Kevin McDonnell, James Duffy and youth leader, Malachy Quinn. Front, l/r, Anne Leonard, Terri-Louise Allen, Michaela
Molloy, Hannah Johnston, Andrea McKenna and Roisin McQuaid.
Youth target African drought

Actively involved in many
areas of Church life locally,
the young people of the
Devenish parish are also
keenly aware of pressing
world issues, such as the
drought problem in Africa
for which they are planning
to hold a collection to raise
funds.
Having raised 2,400stg
last year through a similar
collection for the victims of
the flooding in Pakistan, they
are hoping for another generous response from parishioners.
Fundraising for charity is
part of the social awareness
programme in the area for

the John Paul II Award,
which four young people
completed last year and 12
more are currently working
on.
Parish involvement and
social awareness are two
strands of the project and
the young people have embraced them wholeheartedly, becoming Ministers of
the Word and Eucharist,
joining the choir and doing
various displays, for example
pro-life, as well as taking
part in the Easter ceremonies
and helping out with the
Children's Liturgy group for
primary three and four children every Sunday morning.

For the social awareness
aspect, they are very active
in helping the local scout
leaders, the local Gaelic Athletic Club, and the underage
football teams.
Many of the young people
have also undertaken peer
mentoring for younger pupils in their schools and
some have visited the elderly
residents in local nursing
homes. During the summer,
three young people from the
parish have been helping to
build houses for people in
Malawi as part of a larger
group project from their

school, St Michael's College,
in Enniskillen.
On their return, they are
going to give a talk on their
experience at Sunday Mass,
which it is hoped will motivate other young people in
the parish to get involved in
similar projects in the future.
With another four young
people involved in World
Youth Day in Madrid, parishioners greatly appreciate
the support from the diocesan youth director, Matthew
McFadden and his team, in
helping encourage the youth
to get involved in parish life.
The thriving parish centre in

Enniskillen reflects the high
level of participation in parish life by the community.
As well as accommodating the busy parish office, the
centre also has a number of
rooms for groups, such as St
Joseph's Young Priest Society
and the John Paul II Award,
to meet in.
Sacramental preparation
for children attending
schools not affiliated with
the Church also takes place
in the centre and, last year, a
particularly successful Bible
Study group met there to
study St Matthew's Gospel.
There are plans to run the
Bible Study group again next
year to focus on one of the
other Gospels.
Delighted that people
want to take a more active
part in parish life, Fr Martin
O'Reilly, CC, remarked:
``There is a strong desire
amongst the people to be
more involved, which is right
and is welcomed.''
There are two churches in
the parish, St Michael's, in
Enniskillen, being the main
one, and the other is St
Mary's in Lisbellaw.
Fr O'Reilly praised the
great work being done by
various voluntary groups
within the parish, such as
Faith and Light and the Saint
Vincent de Paul Society,
which he remarked was very
strong in Enniskillen: ``The
support and help Saint Vincent de Paul give to people is
phenomenal, and the sup-
port they get from people in

donating clothing, etc, and
financial donations in particular, are great.''
The Order of the Knights
of Columbanus also has an
active council based in Enniskillen, which is comprised
of members from a number
of parishes in the Fermanagh
deanery of the Clogher diocese.
This council meets
monthly to support various
community initiatives, such
as the John Paul II Award
scheme and other charitable
activities.
Founded in Belfast in
1915 by James K Canon
O'Neill, the Order is made
up of Catholic laymen dedicated to the service of Christ
in daily life, in the work
place, market place, and city,
urban and provincial areas.
`The support
and help Saint
Vincent de Paul
give to people is
phenomenal,
and the support
they get from
people in
donating
clothing, etc,
and financial
donations in
particular, are
great.'
FEATURE|11
FERMANAGH IN FOCUS
School great boost

for St Macartan's
The children of St Muggaga School in Liberia

supported by Mary's
Meals.
The parishioners of St Macartan's in Clones are looking

forward to the completion of
a new primary school in the
area, which the curate at
Aghadrumsee, Fr Eoin Gorman believes will be `à great
unifier'' in the community.
The new-build will see
the amalgamation of Corranny Primary School and Cornagague Primary School, and
while they have 120 pupils
enrolled between them, St
Macartan's Primary School
will cater for up to 130
pupils. Noting that the amalgamation has been ``10 years
in the offing'',
Fr Gorman said that
everyone was delighted
when funding was finally
secured last year from the
Department of Education:
``We are very happy that
things are at this stage as
there were many years of
uncertainty over whether
we would get a new school,
but, thankfully, the go-ahead
was given.
`Ìt's the last school to be

built in Fermanagh for a
while because of the funding
cuts, so we are very grateful
that this project is going
ahead.''
The principal of the new
school will be the current
principal of Cornagague Primary, Mrs Deirdre Boyle and
there are plans to host an
open day in St Macartan's
Primary School in April 2012.
The community is currently fundraising for additional expenses not covered
by the capital funding for the
school project, including a
good surface for the playing
fields and stone cladding on
the wall at the front of the
building.
`Èvents organised locally
to help make up these costs
have been very well supported and we are on target
for meeting these additional
expenses for the new
school,'' said Fr Gorman,
thanking everyone for their
continued support.
Carn Rock Mass recalls

generations past
Carnmore, standing over

1,000 feet above sea level,
was the location for an outdoor Mass in the Fermanagh
side of Clones parish as part
of the celebrations to mark
the approach of the International Eucharistic Congress.
Responding to a call from
the diocesan office to do
something of relevance to
the Blessed Sacrament, parishioners turned out in large
numbers for the Mass at
Carn Rock, which lies within
the Sliabh Beagh mountain
range.
A popular viewpoint from
which nine counties are visible on a clear day, Carn Rock
is the legendary burial place

of Bith, son of Noah who,
according to legend, was denied a place on the ark as he
believed in a false god, and it
is from him that Sliabh
Beagh takes its name.
Meeting at Erresallagh
Cross, over 150 parishioners
processed up to the summit
behind a cross carried by
young people taking part in
the John Paul II Award, while
Fr Eoin Gorman led them in
reciting the Rosary. On
reaching a rocky outcrop,
everyone gathered around a
small altar table for the celebration of the Eucharist.
Recalling the occasion, Fr
Gorman said: `Ìt was a wonderful occasion which we

may well repeat in the future, either annually or biannually. It was a lovely
community event that got
people out of their comfort
zone and worshipping outdoors in a beautiful place
that reminded us of generations past.
`À lot of young people
attended the Mass, which
coincided with the Feast of
the Irish Martyrs and was
very much linked with the
sacrifice Irish men and women made in Penal times to
attend Mass in rocky, isolated places.''
Sinead sings praises

of Irvinestown choir
When country singer, Sinead
Quinn returns home to Irvinestown to spend time with
her family and friends, there
is one thing she looks forward to more than her
dream breakfast of Mallon's
sausages and potato bread
and that's singing with the
local choir.
The 31-year-old was still
savouring her favourite start
to the day when The Irish
Catholic caught up with her
in the family home to talk
about her singing gift, which
got widespread recognition
when she was a contestant
in the first televised series of
Fame Academy back in 2002,
and how this gift has added
to her enjoyment of Church
services. Especially enjoying Sinead Quinn.
the hymns sung at Christmas
and Easter, Sinead looks forward to singing the Psalm in say that I go to Mass every
the Sacred Heart Church, week but I get a lot of good
Irvinestown, on Christmas out of it when I do go.
``The local priests here
mornings.
have always been very good
The Choir
if you need to talk to them.
Even though she has been Anytime that I am troubled I
away from home for about find I get great relief by
12 years now, Gerry and lighting a candle and saying
Philomena Quinn's daughter a prayer, either in a church
always receives a warm wel- or at home. I have a holy
come from the choir when candle at home which I light
she returns, which she much when I am praying for peoappreciates.
ple.''
Singing the praises of the Delighted that youth are
choir she first joined as a first more involved in Church acyear pupil at secondary tivities, particularly the celeschool, she said: ``The Irvi- bration of Mass, she
nestown choir is one of the commented: `Ì have noticed
best and I just love singing in more young people doing the
it. It is very well respected readings and collecting the
and has a great variety of baskets at Mass, and I think
people singing in it, and the it's great to see girls serving
music is also so varied.
on the altar now, as when I
``The members rehearse was younger it was only
every week and work parti- boys.
cularly hard around Christ- ``However, with me being
mas and Easter, when they in the choir I was involved in
sing some Latin hymns, all Church celebrations and, I
which is very nice.''
suppose, it gave me an extra
Looking upon those in the
choir as an extension of her
family, Sinead was particularly moved by how much
they contributed to the funeral Mass for her younger
brother, Gerald, when he
passed away last year.
An album cover.
incentive to go to Mass as
music adds so much to the
ceremonies.''
Back in England, where
she now lives outside London with her drummer husband, Paul Stewart of The
Feeling, Sinead enjoys playing at various venues and
festivals with her country
band, Sinead and The Dawnbreakers, which has been
going since 2009.
Hoping to perform locally
in Enniskillen with her band
next summer, Sinead is also
looking forward to next
year's release of the album
they are currently recording.
Faith
Talking about her faith, Sinead said: `Ì like going to

chapel to light candles and
say a prayer, and I love going
to Mass here, in Irvinestown,
when I come home. I can't
Carn Rock Mass celebrated by Fr Eoin Gorman, Clones.
Ànytime that I
am troubled I
find I get great
relief by
lighting a
candle and
saying a prayer,
either in a
church or at
home.'
Recent winners:
April Winner: Patricia Bailey, Dublin

May Winner: Peggy Naughton, Roscommon
Special introductory pilgrimage package
260.00
FEATURE|
12|
FERMANAGH IN FOCUS
Centenary
quilt a link to
the past
The Devenish Parish, situated along Lough Erne, near

Enniskillen, is steeped in history and gets its name from
the Devenish Monastery
founded by St Molaise in
the 6th Century.
One of the two churches
in the parish, St Molaise at
Whitehill, is named after the
saint, and the other, Sacred
Heart in Irvinestown, celebrated its centenary just last
year.
The parishioners marked
the special occasion with a
week of celebrations co-ordinated by the Parish Pastoral Council, during which
Father Kevin Scallon and Sister Briege McKenna led a
three-day retreat.
Golden Jubilee
Reaching a milestone in his

own religious life, Fr Kevin
has recently celebrated the
Golden Jubilee of his ordination and during the mission
he presented an icon of the
Sacred Heart which was
written especially for Sacred

Heart Church.
During the centenary celebrations, Dr Ruth Patterson,
of Restoration Ministries, led
a cross community service,
which was followed by a day
for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Centenary Garden
The community also celebrated the opening of the

Centenary Garden of the Irish Saints, for which sculptures were carved by Jonas
Raiskas from Lithuania, and
the unveiling of a quilted,
wall-hanging featuring
townlands of the parish.
Initiated by the parish
priest, Fr Michael McGourty,
to mark the centenary celebrations, the unique parish
quilt was designed by a
group of local ladies with
the dual aim of promoting a
greater understanding, appreciation and knowledge of
townlands and local landmarks, and preserving the
past and forgotten geographical and historical landmarks and customs.

The centenary celebrations included an inspired
talk on the historical dimension by Dr Nollaig Ui Muirle
and a presentation of music
from the Irish and Latin
traditions of church music
by Norin Ni Riain, of AMEN.
The week of festivities
concluded with a family fun
day and Mass celebrated by
Bishop Liam MacDaid.
The parish has two
schools; St Paul's Primary,
with 230 pupils, and St
Mary's College, with 180 pupils. Both schools are very
much involved in parish activities and greatly enrich
parish life, with the primary
seven pupils presenting `The
Passion' play on Good Friday
and taking part in a special
children's Mass at Christmas
through drama and music,
while former primary school
pupils take part in the Pope
John Paul II Award.
Fr Michael McGourty and Fr Kevin Scallon with the Sacred Heart Icon.
St Paul's Primary School choir with music teacher, Mrs

Maria Doherty.
Youth active in their faith

The youth of Clones are very
much involved in parish life
thanks to the introduction of
the John Paul II Awards.
There are 20 young people currently undertaking
the award in the Clones
parish and they are actively
involved in the Mass; reading, collecting baskets, and
singing in the choir.
Meeting regularly, usually
on a Wednesday night, the
young people enjoy a time of
prayer together and view a
movie that has a good moral
storyline.
During the past few
months, they have been fundraising for a trip to Medjugorje, which they have just
returned from.
As well as organising table quizzes, they have put on
a very successful pantomime
which was enjoyed by the
local community.
Having finished his gold
award last year, 18-year-old
Caolan Faux is now working
towards getting the Papal
Cross and is one of the
leaders of the group this
year.
Highly recommending
young people to get involved, he added: `Ì have
got so much out of doing
the award and have met so
many people. Through the

youth leader, Sarah McCormick I also got involved in
the youth group, Clogher don
Oige, which organises everything to do with youth in the
Clogher Diocese.
`Ìt oversees the John Paul
II Award in the diocese and
organises all the youth pilgrimages.
``We are going to World
Youth Day in August, which I
am really excited about, and
we have been fundraising for
this from this time last year.''
Papal Award
Noting that participants can

gain up to Gold Award within the first year, depending
on the hours they put in,
Caolan explained that they
can then progress to the
Papal Award, which involves
spending up to 12 hours on
community projects, over
and above 26 hours dedicated to parish work, which
is usually centred on the
Mass, and 26 hours dedicated to community life,
such as fundraising or visiting residential homes. Being
involved in the award has
changed the direction Caolan
was planning to take in life:
`Ì always intended going on
for human resources man-
Caolan Faux, John Paul II Award recipient and leader, St

Macartan's, Clones.
agement when I left school,
but earlier this year I decided
I wanted to work with youth.
`Ì have now had a couple
of meetings with representatives of Youth Link Ireland
and hope to do a couple of
courses which will lead on to
university.''
Amazed at the effects of
the John Paul II Awards,
Caolan said: `Ìt really has

changed the attitudes of
young people to religion big
time.
``Before this, you would
not have got 20 people going
to Medjugorje and coming
back talking about it, but
that has happened and the
photos are on Facebook. It's
all changing rapidly!''
A source of hope
for the church
One of the most exciting
developments in parish life
in Enniskillen is the number
of young people now directly
involved, particularly in the
celebration of the Eucharist.
Curate, Fr Martin O'Reilly,
reckons that there are about
90 young people, aged from
10-18 years, taking part in
activities, as altar servers,
readers of Prayers of the
Faithful and the second
Readings, and Eucharistic
Ministers, with 20 of them
involved in the John Paul II
Award scheme.
Remarking that this gave
many people a sense of hope,
Fr O'Reilly added: `Ìt helps
them to see that all is not
lost, not just for the Church,
as there is a desire for God
and faith in God that, for
many, is expressed through
taking part in Church.''
Saying that involving
young people regularly gave
them a sense of belonging,
he explained: `Àfter primary
school, or sometimes after
first or second year, we
found the young altar servers
quit, either because they felt
that they were too big or
were conscious of getting
older, so, often there was
nothing for them to be involved in and they became

disconnected through being
disillusioned or bored.
``Then, when in their 20s
and out of practice for so
long, it was easy for them to
say `no' when they were
asked to do something in
the Church.
``Now we have the first
and second years doing the
Prayers of the Faithful and
the third years doing the
second Reading and, later,
they are asked to be Eucharistic Ministers.''
Rural diocese
With the rural nature of the

diocese, many young people
from the area go off to university in Belfast, Dublin or
England, and Fr O'Reilly accepts that it is in these places
they are likely to find work
and stay.
However, he pointed out:
`Àt least, wherever they go,
they will know what it is like
to be part of a faith community as they will have had
this experience here at
home, and this is important,
as they will always know
where home is and that they
are always welcome back.''
Five decades
of education
at St Mary's
GOLDEN Jubilee celebrations
for St Mary's College, in
Irvinestown, brought the
school year to a close on a
high for staff and pupils.
Located within the
grounds of Sacred Heart
Church, where a beautiful
Mass was celebrated to mark
the occasion, the college enjoys a special relationship
with the church, which has
been celebrating its 100th
anniversary.
The short walk from the
school to the church gave
those gathered for the college's 50th celebrations an
opportunity to renew old
friendships and forge new
relationships.
Concelebrated by Bishop
Liam MacDaid and the school
The parish volunteers who

worked on the centenary quilt
included, l/r, Mrs Mary Blake,
Mrs Sally Magee, Mrs Margaret Maguire, Mrs Mary Maguire,
Mrs Pauline McCrossan and
Mrs Denise Browne.
Ìt has
facilitated
pupils in
building a
personal
relationship
with Jesus'
chaplain, Fr Michael
McGourty, the anniversary
Mass was also attended by
clergy from neighbouring
parishes.
The strength of community relations and relationships within the college
during the last 50 years was
reflected in the attendance
and participation of the
wider community in the
Mass.
The highly acclaimed parish choir joined St Mary's
College choir to provide a
breath-taking musical experience.
Past pupils and parents
participated in the procession and presentation of
gifts, while former principals
and teachers were involved
in the readings and reflections.
A DVD of the celebrations
and a Book of Memories,
with contributions from past
teachers, pupils and principals, will long mark the occasion and provide an
opportunity for absent
friends to share in the memories of the day.
Blessed with having an
FEATURE|13
FERMANAGH IN FOCUS
The first principal of St Mary's College, Irvinestown, Mr Malachy Mahon (left), with
Bishop Liam MacDaid, Mrs Patricia Cooney, current principal, and Mr Eugene
McCullough, former principal.
oratory within the school,

the staff and pupils of St
Mary's College appreciate
the opportunity for placing
prayer as the focal point of
their daily school life and
visit the oratory before
school begins, as well as
during break and lunch
times.
The principal, Mrs Patricia

Cooney has found the oratory to be an invaluable
sanctuary for reflection for
the community in times of
trouble: `Ìt has facilitated
pupils in building a personal
relationship with Jesus and
this is particularly important
when they are experiencing
grief, stress during exams,

hurt and confusion when
friendship issues arise.''
The oratory is also used
by the college chaplain, Fr
McGourty to celebrate Mass
for each class. He celebrates
pre-school Mass there as
well for staff and pupils during the Lenten period.
Special times with special people

The Devenish Faith and Light
Group has been celebrating
25 years' membership of the
International Christian Association which was set up in
1968 for people with special
needs, their families and
friends. Now active in over
72 countries, the Faith and
Light Association, founded
by Jean Vanier before he
went on to found the L'Arche
Community, has in excess of
1,200 communities worldwide and the members of
the Devenish community
have found their lives greatly
enriched in being part of it.
The Devenish group was
joined by Bishop Liam MacDaid in marking its 25th
anniversary when he celebrated a special Mass for
the community in St Michael's Church, Enniskillen.
Long-term member, Ignatius Toye, who gave eight
years as a leader, explained
that the association currently has groups all over
Ireland: ``Faith and Light is a
religious organisation that
brings parents and their special needs children together
for some very special times.
``We enjoy outings together and our latest trip
was to Rossnowlagh. Once a
month we have a fiesta and

celebrate Mass together.
``The fiesta is a kind of
party and our Mass is very
special as we act out the
Gospel, for example, for the
Washing of the Feet we
would involve our special
needs children in this act.
So, the Gospel really comes
alive for us.
``We joined the group
when our special needs son
was very young, and I believe
Faith and Light is one of the
most important groups for
parents of children with special needs.''
Ì believe Faith
and Light is one
of the most
important
groups for
parents of
children with
special needs.'
Current area co-ordinator
for the Devenish group, one
of the strongest in the Northern region with up to 80
attending the monthly fiestas, Roley McIntyre has been
a member for four years and
described Faith and Light as
Bishop Liam MacDaid celebrating Mass for the 25th

anniversary of Devenish Faith and Light group, in St
Michael's Church, Enniskillen.
`à gift for everyone involved''.

He added: ``Personally,
the group means a lot to
me, both with my faith and
in dealing with a child with
special needs, and it's a great
privilege to be leading it.
Those who attend the
monthly gatherings get so
much out of it and it's really
a thrill to see them enjoying
themselves. We are just one,
big family.
``There is something so
loving and spiritual about
Faith and Light and our
group is blessed to have Fr
Brendan Gallagher as spiritual leader. The monthly
gatherings start off with
Mass, during which time is

taken to do whatever our
special needs children want
to do.
`Ìn return, they have so
much pure love for everyone.
They don't expect or demand
anything. During Mass, they
mime the Gospel and Bishop
MacDaid thought this was
unbelievable when they
mimed during the Silver Jubilee Mass.''
Saying that Faith and
Light was a social outlet for
people who had no other
means of getting together
with people with special
needs, Roley extended a
warm welcome to new
members.
The 25th anniversary cake for the Devenish group.
Offering the opportunity

to learn with those who are
often seen as needing care
without anything to give,
Faith and Light believe that
people with learning disabilities have important gifts to
offer which are to be encouraged and developed.
Expressing concern on its
website that in these times
of efficiency, competence
and productivity, people
with learning disabilities are
still too often marginalised,
Faith and Light highlights its
experience that `òur friends

with so-called learning disabilities have profound lessons to teach us.
``They may have `special
needs' but they also have
`special gifts' not least love
and compassion.''
Taking a break for the
summer, Devenish Faith and
Light group will resume its
monthly meetings in the
Scout Hall in September,
when the regional pilgrimage to Lough Derg will also
take place.
EVENTS|
14|
Out & About

ARMAGH
Eucharistic Adoration in St Ma-
KILDARE
Bishop raises the flag
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Suncroft Parish Church: Eu-
lachy's Church, Armagh daily
charistic Adoration each Wed
from 6am to midnight, and all
in the sacristy 10am to 6pm.
night on Wednesdays.
Adoration chapel, Edwards St,
Lurgan, adoration weekdays,
LAOIS
9am-9pm.
The relics of St Therese, the little
CARLOW
flower, come to Portlaoise on

Wednesday August 3: Divine
Mercy Mass will take place at
A Triduum in preparation for the
7:30pm at St Peter & Paul's
Feast of St Clare will take
Church, Portlaoise. Rosary
place in Saint Clare's Church,
will be said at 7pm followed by
Graiguecullen, Carlow on Au-
Mass. The relics of St Therese
gust 8, 9, 10 and 11.
and her parents along with the

St Faustina's relic will be there
CLARE
for Mass and blessings. All

are welcome.
St Michael's Church, Portarling-
The annual three-day parish
ton, adoration of the Blessed
pilgrimage to Lough Derg from
Sacrament every Tuesday
Ennis parish takes place from
from 10.30am-8.30pm.
Mon, Aug 1 to Wednesday

Aug 3. Details from parish
office at 065 6824043 or
LEITRIM
info@ennisparish.com
St Patrick's Church, Ballinamore,
DERRY
Eucharistic Adoration, each

Wed 9pm-10pm (side chapel
beside altar), each Fri
Dungiven Parish: Adoration of
9.30am-1.30pm (main altar).
the Blessed Sacrament, MonFri, 8am-noon and 3-9pm.
DONEGAL
LOUTH
The Legion of Mary Praesidium
in Ardee are seeking new
Youth Prayer Meeting, St Mary's
members. Meetings are held
Parish Centre, Stranorlar/
every Sun at 7.30pm in the
Ballybofey, every Tues 8pm-
Convent of Mercy.
9.30pm. Contact Kathy 087

1338533, Tony 086 223 9757.
DUBLIN
MAYO
Holy Souls Society Mon, August
1, Alexian Brothers Centre,
St. Cronan's Church, Brackenstown: 40-Hour Eucharistic
Knock, 4pm Mass, with forum

on the Mairan Age (1813).
Adoration commencing Fri,

July 29, at 10.30am through
Friday night concluding Sat,
SLIGO
July 30 at 9pm with Benediction. All welcome.

Special Healing Mass in honour
of God our Father in Disciples
The monthly Latin Mass in Cliffoney, Co. Sligo will take place
on Sunday, July 31 at 3pm.
of the Divine Master, White's

Cross, Stillorgan Rd on Sun,
Aug 7 at 2.30pm.
TYRONE
Monthly Children of Mary Devotions at Our Lady's Altar in St
Adoration Chapel, Pomeroy:
Joseph's Church, Berkeley
Eucharistic Adoration Mon-
Road, D7: Second Saturday
Tues 5-10pm, Wed-Thurs 6-
of each month at 11.30am,
10 pm, Fri 10am-10pm, Sat 1-
including Mass in the Tradi-
6pm, Sun 5-10pm.
tional Latin (Roman) Rite.
Legion of Mary (Bethlehem Curia), 28 Mountjoy Square invite
WATERFORD
you and your friends to a

discussion `The Power of
Pentecost'
on Wed, Aug 3, at
8pm.
St Mary's Community Centre,
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Church of the Sacred

Heart, Dunhill, each Wednesday after 10am-12 noon.A-
Rathmines, St Joseph's
doration of the Blessed
Young Priests Society, third
Sacrament, Church of the Im-
Wed of each month, 4.30pm.
maculate Conception, Fenor,
New members welcome.
each Friday after 10am. Mass
Church of Mary Immaculate,

Refuge of Sinners, Rath-
until 12 noon.
The Blessed Trinity Charismatic
mines, D6. Eucharistic Adora-
Prayer Group, every Tuesday,
tion, every First Fri, 10.30-
7.30pm-9pm, the Edmund
5.15pm. All welcome.
Rice Heritage Centre, Barrack
St Fintan's Church, Sutton.

Adoration of the Blessed Sa-
Fr James Kehoe, PP in Bannow, Co. Wexford recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of his ordination in Carrig on
Bannow with Bishop Denis Brennan, and family and friends. Photo: Ger Hoare
St, Waterford. All welcome.

Contact 087-2701311.
crament, Mon to Fri 8am 10am and 2pm - 4pm. Additional times Tues and Fri only,
WESTMEATH
7pm-8pm.
Mullingar: St Francis Medical
Centre. Divine Mercy devo-
KERRY
First Friday-first Saturday vigil of
reparation and adoration St
tions on the third Sunday of

month, 2.40pm. Mass 3pm.
WICKLOW
Michaels Church, Sneem.

First Fri Mass 8pm first Satur-
First Saturday Devotion in Wick-
day Mass 12.05pm, Divine
low Town 9.30am August 6,
Mercy 1.20am.
followed by Holy Mass.
Fr Aidan Walsh (Dublin) celebrated the 40th

anniversary of his ordination and Fr Felix
Kelly (Limerick) celebrated 60yrs with the
Friars and 55 years as a priest at a special Members of the Poor Clares' Order with the Eucharistic Congress Bell
during its stay in Galway this month.
Mass in Wexford. Photo: Ger Hoare
EVENTS|15
Edited By Mags Gargan

mags@irishcatholic.ie
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
INSHORT
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Books launched on churches
A series of books was launched at a Mass on Monday, July

25 at St Connell's Church in Glenties covering the topic of
seven Donegal churches designed by the architect Liam
McCormack. The author of the series of books Carole
Pollard gave a guided tour of St Connells Church after the
launch. Liam McCormack, who is known as ``the father of
modern Church architecture in Ireland'' by The Irish
Architectural Archive, designed more than 30 churches in
his life time and his design for St Aengus in Burt was
voted Building of the Millennium.
Garland weekend in Sligo

Jenny McGuire, Josie Cleary, Anna Culleton, Bronagh Hayes and William Davis, five of
nearly 50 young people from the Diocese of Ferns about to make the pilgrimage to the
World Youth Day. They made a `pilgrimage' from the Saint Anne's shrine in Tomhaggard
to Our Lady's Island for a pilgrimage Mass celebrated by Bishop Denis Brennan in
preparation for WYD next month.
A large number of pilgrims will be visiting Tobernalt

Holy Well in Co. Sligo this weekend for the Garland
Weekend Celebrations.
A full programme is planned by the Parish of Carroe
for the three day event. The theme for this year's
celebrations is `Vocation, a call to holiness'. Payers will
be taking place throughout the weekend. Visitors are
welcome to the outdoor Church and view the various
shrines and gardens. The event will begin on Friday, July
29 in the Carroe Church at 6pm for prayers in honour of
the holy well.
John Main Seminar

Bishop Kieran O'Reilly
raising the Green Flag at
the official opening ceremony of Dromakeenan
National School in Roscrea Co. Tipperary with
pupils and staff, including Fr Tom Hannon (past
pupil), Principal Brendan
Hanamy and Fr Tom Corbett PP.
Brother Denis Hooper, Shane McGrath, Conor O'Mahony, Fr William Fennelly, Brother
Martin Browne and Brother Matthew Corkery with the McCarthy Cup and the Cross of
Cashel under 21 trophy at Glenstal Abbey, Limerick.
The Irish Christian Meditation Community is hosting an

international John Main Seminar at University College
Cork on August 11-14.
The seminar Àlive in Christ' will be led by Timothy
Radcliffe, the former Master of the Dominican Order and
award-winning author. The annual event aims to broaden the teaching of Christian Meditation. The seminar is
named after the Benedictine monk John Main, who
promoted the practice of Christian Meditation in Britain,
America and Canada.
Meditators from around the world attend the event
each year and previous seminars have been led by
President Mary McAleese and the Dali Lama.
Reek Sunday
The National Pilgrimage to Croagh Patrick (Reek Sunday)

will be celebrated on the last Sunday of this month July
25.Tens of thousands are expected to line the traditional
pilgrim route to the top of the ancient pilgrimage site,
following in the footsteps of St Patrick. Masses will be
celebrated and Confessions will be heard in the Chapel at
the summit from Dawn to 2pm on Sunday afternoon.
For the third year in succession the Tuam Diocesan
Vocations Committee will organise a marquee at the foot
of the mountain to promote vocations and distribute
some of the new literature (www.onelifeonecalloneresponse.com). Some members of the Vocations Committee will be present, along with some of the Seminarians
and two member of the Diocesan Youth Council.
Padre Pio Mass

Members of the Rise and Shine Youth Group from St Saviours Parish in Ballybeg, Waterford during their annual
retreat to Mount Melleray Abbey. Photo: Marc Mbanda
A Mass will take place in Dublin on Friday, August 12 at

8pm to commemorate the ordination date of St Padre Pio
of Pietrelcina. St Padro Pio was ordained on August 10 in
1910 and it will be the 101st anniversary of St Padro Pio's
ordination. All are welcome to the Mass which will be led
by Reverend Michael Duggan CSSP in St Mary's Cathedral
on lower Marlborough Street, Dublin 1.
US Prof. for conference
Fr Tom Dunne, Provincial Secretary at the Salesian

Provincial Office in Dublin, celebrated his Golden Jubilee
Mass of Thanksgiving at Heywood Community School in
Ballinakill, Co. Laois where he formerly taught for 22
years.
Tommy and Peggy McKinley celebrated the 60th anniversary of their wedding in St Michan's Church in Halston
St, Dublin where they were presented with an icon. They
are pictured with Fr Bryan and Frank, John and Paddy,
co-workers in the church with Tommy.
Professor Janet E. Smith will be the main speaker at two

daylong seminars delivering numerous talks on marriage and family life in the Mount Errigal Hotel,
Letterkenny, Co. Donegal from August 11-12.
Prof. Smith is known internationally for speaking on
Catholic teaching, sexuality and bioethics and she will be
tackling a host of contentious and difficult questions
arising from Humanae Vitae. She is currently serving a
second term as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for
the Family and holds the `Father Michael J. McGivney
Chair of Life Ethics' at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in
Detroit.
Seminar for Priests: Thursday August 11. Seminar for
Laity: Friday August 12. For bookings or more information contact: 07491 21021/0879141606.
Email: raphoe2011@yahoo.ie
Worldreport
Pope decries terror
16|INTERNATIONAL NEWS|
Edited by Paul Keenan
Norwegian victims remembered
attacks in Norway
In
terror
As a further expression of
attacks in Norway that left at
the
wake
of
his condolences and prayers
least 76 people dead, Pope
for
the
Anders Behring Breivik, has
Benedict
for
affected
by
The
suspect,
32-year-old
an
attacks, the Pope sent a mes-
admitted to carrying out the
sage to Norway's King Harald
killings but has not admitted
that promote evil.
V saying he was praying for
any criminal wrongdoing. He
``We are all deeply sad-
all those affected by ``the acts
is believed to have links to
dened by the serious terror-
of senseless violence perpe-
far-right groups and to have
ist acts,'' the Pope said after
trated in Oslo and Utoya.''
produced materials espous-
the
called
those
land of Utoya.
end to hatred and ideologies
praying
XVI
two
Angelus
with
Explosives ripped through
pilgrims at the papal sum-
Norwegian
mer residence in Castel Gan-
headquarters
dolfo at the weekend.

The
appeal
Pope
``to
launched
abandon
government
in
Oslo
July
ing
anti-Muslim
immigration
22. Shortly after the bomb-
lution
ing, a man dressed as a police
ment in Norway.
once
officer shot at people attending a summer youth camp
lence and avoid principles of
run by the country's govern-
evil.''
ing Labour Party on the is-
anti-
and
desire to bring about a revo-
an
and for all the path of vio-
and
views,
against
the
govern-
INDIA
Leprosy nun
ordered to leave
A British nun who has spent
almost
30
years
caring
for
those suffering with leprosy

in Bengalura is being forced
to
give
up
her
work
and
leave the country after Indian
authorities
refused
to
renew her residency permit.

Sr
Jea n
M cEwan,
a lso
known as the Mother Teresa
The Work of the Pontifical Mission Societies
of Sumanahalli, runs a mobile
clinic
for
leprosy
pa-
tients. She has been ordered

to leave without explanation
by the Home Ministry.
`Ì work with leprosy patients in two city slums and a
nearby
village.
They're
old
and neurologically damaged,

and
suffer
from
ailments
such as cancer. I've spent a

long time with my people in
Bengaluru,
but
wherever
God wants me to be I won't

remain
Last year the Society of St Peter Apostle helped more

than 35,000 religious students answer their calling in
life. Your gift will help mission churches train their own
sisters, brothers and priests.
rXJMMLFFQBTUVEFOUGPSPOFNPOUI
rXJMMCVZBSFMJHJPVTTUVEFOUTCPPLT
r IFMQTGPVSTJTUFSTDPNQMFUFUIFJSUSBJOJOH
r FEVDBUFTBTUVEFOUQSJFTUUPPSEJOBUJPO
Yes, I want to help the Society of St Peter Apostle

I enclose %
Name
Address
Email
World Missions, Ireland
Fr Gary Howley SPS, National Director,

64 Lr Rathmines Road, Dublin 6, Ireland Tel +353 1 4972035
www.wmi.ie
Charity No. CHY2318
the
63-
in
India,
yet
130,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. Funds for

both
leprosy
charities
government
some
projects
have
pro-
has
been
Indian
speculated
authorities
embarrassed
at
Sr
Pakistan according to a new
marked increase in the level
Haram,
religious-freedom report.
of fear among Christians and
that has been waging a cam-
Hindus,
paign of terror in the north-
The
shut
down.
It
People pay their respects by a sea of floral tributes outside the Oslo cathedral in
Norway July 25 after two deadly terror attacks. Photo: CNS/Cathal McNaughton
and
leprosy
grammes have reduced, and
are
Jean's
light
on
problem
rather
they
consider
as
Christian
PAKISTAN
Christians
situation
and
other
of
non-
Muslims in the country.

``There
remains
an
Islamist
group
ern part of the nation.

Founded in Maiduguri in
``There
exist
deeply-
2002,
Boko
Haram
(the
rooted problems in the po-
words mean ``Western edu-
large
lice service, prisons, judiciary
cation
gulf between last year's ad-
and court system alike,'' the
imposition of Sharia law in
vances in government policy
report concludes.
Nigeria. Boko Haram's foun-
the
these
reality
groups
More Christians
flee country
There
tively
marked
num-
try.
worsening
and
greater
the
society,''
been
with
bers seeking to flee the coun-
towards religious minorities
solved.
has
Solidarity
Worldwide report highlights
work and worry that it sheds

would
said
Leprosy has officially been

eliminated
that
Please provide your support by donating what you can

and praying for our missionaries.
idle,''
year-old nun.
`Àt
the
present
of
in
life
Pakistani
report
the
for
notes.
state
is
neither preventing nor punishing
lawlessnesseffechanding
over
justice
der,
NIGERIA
late
seeks
Ustaz
the
Mo-
minent
preachers
stood that the present Western-style education is mixed
Conference
of
with issues that run contrary
President
to our beliefs in Islam. Like
to
among Christians with great-
influential parties in any gi-
Goodluck
take
rain. We believe it is a crea-
er numbers seeking to flee
ven region. There has been a
stronger action against Boko
tion of God rather than an
most
powerful
NUMBERS IN THE NEWS

77
or
percentage of British Hindus attend

higher education as opposed to 45pc of
Christians and 32pc pf people of no religion.
urging
Islamic
who have seen and under-
increase in the level of fear
the
is
the
sin'')
in 2009 that ``there are pro-
Bishops'
Nigeria
hammed Yusuf, told the BBC
Action urged
by bishops
The
is
Jonathan
17-40
to
The number of hours and minutes (17h

40m) Irish Muslims will fast from food on
August 1, the first day of Ramadan.
evaporation caused by the

sun that condenses and becomes rain''
Fifteen per cent of the
nation's 146.5 million people
are Catholic, according to
Vatican statistics. An estimated 50pc are Muslim,
25pc are Protestant, and
10pc retain indigenous beliefs.
SPAIN
WYD preps well

underway
With less than a month to go

before half a million young
Catholics descend on Madrid,
``there are an infinite number
of small problems to solve,''
said the executive director of
World Youth Day 2011.
Yago de la Cierva said that
he has ``seven tons of rosaries I have to bail out of
customs.'' The US-based Family Rosary Crusade had the
rosaries made in Ecuador
and sent to Madrid for distribution to participants at
World Youth Day, August 1621.
|INTERNATIONAL NEWS|17
But, Mr de la Cierva said,

it is a bit difficult to convince
customs agents that seven
tons of anything shipped
internationally is meant as a
gift and not a product to be
sold and, therefore, taxed.
A produce company has
promised to donate 25,000
pounds of bananas, but if
organisers accept the fruit,
``we have to find a way to
dispose of all those peels,'' he
told reporters at a news
conference in Madrid.
More importantly, he said,
the organisation is trying to
select and get security clearance for the 50 young people
who personally will welcome the Pope to Madrid
August 18, and organisers
also are deciding which five
young people will be chosen
to ask Pope Benedict XVI a
question during the vigil August 20.
With just a month left to
plan six days of activities for
the more than 420,000
young people who already
have registered for World
Youth Day and for the 1.2
million people expected at
the Pope's final Mass on

August 21, organisers estimate the event will cost
more than E48m. However,
they said they expect to
cover it all with registration
fees and donations, especially of supplies. The donated material includes the
bananas and other food for
participants, but also bigticket items like private security officers and the materials and labour for the
stages and altar platforms
for papal events.
CHINA
China criticises
Vatican
The Chinese government has

criticised the Vatican for excommunicating two bishops
who were ordained without
papal mandate.
The state-run Xinhua
News Agency published a
statement by the State Administration for Religious Affairs saying that the Vatican's
action was `èxtremely un-
reasonable and rude,'' reported the Asian Church

news agency UCA News.
`Ìf the Vatican has the
sincerity to improve relations, it should revoke the
excommunications and return to the right track of
dialogue in a practical manner,'' the Chinese news
a g en c y q u ot e d a SA R A
spokesman as saying.
The Vatican said Fr Joseph
Huang Bingzhang and Fr Paul
Lei Shiyin were automatically excommunicated when
they were ordained as
bishops July 14 and June 29,
respectively. The Vatican
also said it deplored the
way the Church was being
treated by Chinese officials
in carrying out the ordinations.
The Vatican has expressed
deepening concern over such
ordinations and emphasised
that willing participants in
such ceremonies face severe
penalties under Church law,
including automatic excommunication for the ordained
bishop and the consecrating
bishops.
NEW FROM
Tour Operator Licence
No. TO 037
VATICAN NEWS
Name change
Two Vatican officials have warned that the newly formed

International Catholics Organisation of the Media is simply a
new name for a group that lost its official recognition as a
Catholic organisation. Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, President of
the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and Archbishop Claudio
Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, issued a joint statement on the name change of the
International Catholic Union of the Press.
The statement, posted on the social communications
council's website this week said the new group has
``misappropriated the intellectual, economic and historical
patrimony'' of the former International Catholic Union of the
Press, known by its French initials, UCIP.
`Àfter many decades of effective service to evangelisation
through print media,'' the statement said, UCIP `ìn recent
years has experienced a progressive crisis management.''
``The Holy See has repeatedly expressed to the authorities
of UCIP its bewilderment at the unacceptable lack of
transparency and accuracy in the management of this
association, under the control of its secretary general. These
facts led the Pontifical Council for the Laity on March 23 to
revoke the canonical recognition of UCIP as a Catholic
association,'' the statement said.
In the meantime, the Pontifical Council for the Laity has
invited some Catholic journalists to the Vatican in late
September to discuss the possibility of forming a new
association recognised by the Vatican. In a letter to invitees,
Cardinal Rylko said, ``the Catholic apostolate within the media
continues to be a valid and most necessary mission.''
)RU)UHH&RORXU%URFKXUH
&DOOKU
ZZZSDEWRXUVFRP
VDOHV#SDEWRXUVFRP
Opening Times: Monday to Friday 9.30am
to 6.00pm, Saturday 10.00am to 5.00pm
3$% )257+(%(67,5,6+&2$&+7 2856
'81*$59$1
IU5
MAGNIFICAT
A monthly magazine offering the Mass readings,
gs,
divine ofce and spiritual reading in one
handy pocked-sized booklet.
The Irish Catholic, The Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12
Email ireland@magnicat.com or contact Elaine on 01 427 6486
www.magnicat.com
One year only 45
Subscription
orders
available now
Two years only 90

0
Name:_________________________________________
Address:____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Telephone no.: _________________________________
Pay by cheque/postal order payable to: The Irish Catholic
Pay by credit card: Visa
Mastercard
Card No: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Exp Date: _ _ / _ _
CID NO: _ _ _
Lazer
'21(*$/IU5
6WDU+RWHO
6th & 20th Aug - 7 days
6WDU+RWHO
8th Aug - 5 days
12th August- 4 days
Rossnowlagh, Franciscan
Mount Mellary
Centre for Peace &
Lismore
Reconciliation, Lough
Blarney Stone
Eask, Mullaghmore,
Kinsale
Ballybofey, Lough Finn,
Ballinspittle
The Glenties
Charles Fort
(11,6 &/$5(
/$.(62).,//$51(<
IU56WDU+RWHOV
6th & 8th Aug - 5 & 7 days

Ring Of Kerry, Ladies View, The
Bog Village, Crag Caves, Upper
& Middle, Lakes, Killorglin, Molls
Gap, Killarney Town, Lough
Leane, Killarney's Largest Lake,
Inch Strand, Tralee
%$175<%$<IU5
5,1*2).(55<
6WDU+RWHO
IU56WDU+RWHO
IU56WDU+RWHO
8th & 20th Aug - 7 & 5 days 15th & 29th Aug - 5 days 6th &27th August - 7 days
19th
Aug
4
days
Shannon Tour, Kilimer,
Skibbereen, Bantry, Beara
Ring Of Kerry, Kate
Tarbert, Glin Castle, Loop
Mountains,
Castletownsend,
Kearneys Cottage,
Head, Bunratty Castle,
Bantry Bay, Goughanne
Blennerville Windmill,
Corofin, Carran, Kinvara, Barra,
St. Finbars Mountain,
Carrigaholt, Foynes,
Geraldine Tralee,
Schull, Sherkin Island,
Galway Bay
Cahirciveen, Killarney
Union Hall, Baltimore
3$% )257+(%(675(/,*,28672856%< $,5

/285'(6 5th Sept, 17th Oct - 5 days Escorted fr5529
Return Flights, Full Board, Wine/Water & Tea with Meals, choice of 2 or 3
star Hotel minutes from the Sanctuary, Full Religious Programme led by
Spiritual Director, Fully Escorted by PAB Staff
.5$.2:323(-2+13$8/,,65)$867<1$ ',9,1(0(5&<
8th Sept, 25th Sept, 3rd Oct, 10th Oct - 5 days Escorted fr5599
3 Star Hotel HB, tour of the Shrine of Divine Mercy, Sightseeing tours
in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II, Krakow & his birthplace Wadowice, walking tour of Krakow, Wieliczka Salt Mine, English speaking guide
3$'5(3,2 22nd Sept, 06th Oct, 25th Oct - 5 Days Escorted fr5679
Full Board wine/water with meals, 4 Star Hotel minutes from shrine, Religious
Sites of St Pio, his Birthplace, Hospital, English Office, Cave of St Michael the
Archangel, Monastery of St James the Apostle with the blessing of the Oils.
3$%'XEOLQ
53 Middle Abbey St,
Ph: (01) 871 9840
3$%&RUN
18a Oliver Plunkett St
Ph: (021) 427 1932
3$%%HOIDVW
CALL. LO CALL
Ph: 0845 600 2778
Westminster
Abbey:
FEATURE|
18|
History &
symbolism
West front and Sanctuary

at Westminster Abbey.
Photo: Dean and Chapter
of Westminster
Rory
Fitzgerald
takes a look
inside
Westminster
Abbey, an
iconic symbol
of
Anglicanism
that betrays
earlier
Catholic roots
ESTMINSTER
Abbey recently provided the

backdrop to the biggest television event in history: two
billion people worldwide
watched the Royal wedding
that took place there last
April. This was, of course,

not the first historic event
the abbey has seen in its
thousand-year history.
Westminster Abbey has
been the church of coronation for British monarchs
since 1066 and seventeen
monarchs are buried there,
including the defiantly Protestant Queen Elizabeth I.
Since the Reformation, the
abbey has become deeply
associated with Britain's Protestant royalty and the
Church of England. However,
because the abbey dates
back to at least the 10th
Century, it was in fact a
Roman Catholic church for
most of its history.
More specifically, it was
the Pope's church. From
1222 until the Reformation,
Westminster Abbey was a
'Papal peculiar', meaning
that it was outside the control of the Bishop of London
and the Archbishop of Canterbury. It only became a
`Royal peculiar' in 1533
when British monarch took
over the Pope's jurisdiction

over the abbey. There was
therefore no small historic
resonance last September
17 when the Pope celebrated
an ecumenical service of
Evening Prayer at the abbey.
12
monks
Around 960AD the then
bishop of London, Dunstan,

established a small monastic
community of 12 monks at
the site of the current abbey,
which was at the time a
small marshy island on the
banks of the Thames, known
as Thorney Island. A century
later, King Edward built his
palace on the island and
richly endowed the monastery, granting lands to the
abbey and commencing the
construction of a large stone
church.
At that time, England's
monastic churches were
known as `ministers'. Edward's new church was
known as the West Minister,
to distinguish it from the
East Minister, now St Paul's
Cathedral, which lay further

eastward along the Thames.
This is how Westminster got
its name.
Edward's new church was
dedicated in December 1065.
Little did Edward know that
he would die the next
month, and his death would
provoke a battle between his
successor Harold and another claimant to the throne,
William, Duke of Normandy.
William would be crowned
King of England in that very
church the following year,
Harold himself having been
killed by the Norman forces
at the Battle of Hastings.
The Bayeux Tapestry even
depicts the coronation of
William taking place in
Westminster Abbey, showing the hand of God himself
reaching down and anointing
the new Norman king. Edward was later canonised in
1161, and became known as
St Edward the Confessor.
After the Norman conquest of England, the abbey
continued as a thriving and
prominent Benedictine monastery. It is hard to imagine

now, but the abbey was once
surrounded by fields, orchards and vineyards, which
ran down to the Thames
where the Houses of Parliament now stand. The Abbey's
monks often dined on fish
and fowl from that river.
The only remnants of
those green acres are the
abbey's private gardens,
which claim to be the oldest
gardens in England. These
peaceful well-tended oases
in central London play host
to garden parties each summer and are surrounded by
the apartments and houses
of Anglican clergy.
London's Covent Garden
(`Convent Garden') was in
fact the abbey's vegetable
garden up until Henry VIII
acquired it from the abbey,
before suppressing the monasteries.
The current church was
begun by Henry III in 1245
and is one of the most significant Gothic buildings in
Britain. A shrine to a medieval Anglo-Saxon saint still
lies at its heart. Many of the
most well-known people in
British history are commemorated here. Amongst the
many illustrious names on
its many plaques and tombs
are Winston Churchill, Glad-
stone, Disraeli and William

Wilberforce, the man who
successfully campaigned for
the abolition of slavery.
Other plaques might fall foul
of modern sensibilities about
race and ethnicity, such as
the one which commemorates, ``the members of the
British race who served in
Malaya''.
Irish
remembered
Not all of those commemo-
rated are British, however,

and the Irish do get their
oar in occasionally: For example, one stone plaque dated 1762 is dedicated to the
memory of an Irishman,
Arthur O'Keeffe, ``lineally
descended form the Kings of
Ireland, the best of husbands
and the worthiest of men,
deceit and guile he knew
not.''
Another, from 1709,
marks the resting place of
``John Coleman esq., borne in
the Parish Kilconnell in the
County of Galway in the
Kingdome of Ireland'' (sic.)
In `Poet's Corner' there is a
commemoration to Dublinborn poet Oscar Wilde alongside memorials to Wordsworth, Shelly and Keats.
One of the more poignant,
and best-known, memorials
is the Tomb of the Unknown
Warrior. In the wake of the
A plaque to an Irish subject in the abbey.
FEATURE|19
Treasures of Heaven
Rory
Fitzgerald
West front and Sanctuary

at Westminster Abbey.
Photo: Dean and Chapter
of Westminster
devastation of the First
World War the remains of a
single unknown soldier was
buried in the abbey on November 11, 1920, two years
after the Armistice. Simultaneously, the remains of an
unknown French soldier
were interred at the Arc de
Triomphe in Paris.
The body for the Westminster tomb was selected
in such a way that it could be
from any regiment or battlefield. Indeed, given that
some 35,000 Irish soldiers
died in the Great War, the
unknown soldier may even
be an Irishman. Upon his
burial, a medieval crusader's
sword was affixed to the
casket and he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour
and the Victoria Cross.
Unknown Warrior
While the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a tasteful

and moving memorial, consisting of a simple slab of
black marble, other memorials are quite militaristic and
even include statues of soldiers standing with machine
guns, along with regimental
colours.
Westminster Abbey embodies the division, and the
continuity, of faith in Britain
over the past 1,000 years.
The abbey's joint Catholic
and Protestant heritage is
perhaps best encapsulated
in a single tomb. The tomb
of the Protestant queen, Elizabeth I, is shared with her
Catholic predecessor and
half-sister, Mary I, Queen of
Scots. When Mary succeeded
to the throne in 1533, she
restored England's religious
loyalty to Rome, and also reestablished a Benedictine
monastery at Westminster,
it having been dissolved by
her father, Henry VIII. Yet,
after only five years, Mary's
reign ended and she was
replaced by Elizabeth, who
ensured that Britain would
become a Protestant country.
The Latin inscription on
their shared tomb poignantly
reads: ``Partners both in
throne and in grave, here
rest we two sisters, Elizabeth
and Mary, in the hope of one
Resurrection.''
visits a
British
exhibition of
sacred
objects from
the Middle
Ages
HIS summer, Lon-
don is hosting the

greatest collection
of relics and reliquaries to be seen on English
soil since the Reformation.
The British Museum's summer exhibition `Treasures of
Heaven' features some of the
most sacred objects of the
Middle Ages.
The tradition of the veneration relics goes back to
the early Church. In the Middle Ages, a whole art form
grew up around them: the
best craftsmen of the age
fashioned gold, enamelled
and bejewelled reliquaries
worthy to hold these sacred
objects.
Arriving at the exhibition,
you leave behind the frantic
tumult of city centre London,
and enter a hushed, cool,
dimly-lit space where some
of the most sacred items in
history await you. Amongst
the relics here are shards of
wood said to be from the
true cross, vials of saintly
blood, martyr's body parts
and thorns from the crown
of thorns.
Pilgrimage
You are greeted by richly

carved stone sarcophagi
which would have held the
remains of saints. In the
Middle Ages, people would
have walked hundreds of
miles in pilgrimage to touch
these caskets.
Indeed, so powerful was
the draw of these icons that
many historians believe that
one of the principle motives
behind the Crusaders attack
of Constantinople in 1204
was to gain access to the
Byzantine Emperor's most
precious collection of sacred
relics. Kings exchanged them
for favours and for the
services of their armies. They
were believed to confer protection on the holder and
even on whole nations.
The veneration of relics
goes back to the very earliest
days of the Church: When
Clockwise: main picture: Holy Thorn Reliquary. Paris, France, c. 1390-1397. Photo: The Trustees of the British
Museum. St Demetrios reliquary pendant: Gold, silver, silver-gilt and enamel reliquary pendant of St Demetrios with
St George. Byzantine, 12th-13th Century. Photo: The Trustees of the British Museum. Altarpiece reliquary painted by
Lippo Vanni. Siena, Italy, c. 1350-1359. Photo: The Walters Art Museum Baltimore.
Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna
in Turkey, was martyred in
156AD his followers collected his bones, considering
them to be ``more valuable
than precious stones and
finer than refined gold.''
Many of the most sacred
relics came from martyred
saints. The word `martyr'
derives form the Greek word
for `witness'. In the third
century, when Roman persecution of Christians was
widespread, the potency of
such witness unto death
prompted Tertullian's defiant letter to the Roman governors in which he said: ``we
multiply the more we are
mown down by you: the
blood of Christians is seed.''
Of course, the very first to
have died for the Faith was
Christ himself. Relics of
Christ were considered by
far the most precious. Emperor Contantine's mother,
St Helena is said to have
found the true cross of
Christ while on a pilgrimage
to the Holy Land 326-8 AD. It
was brought back to Constantinople where over
the centuries parts of it
were distributed to European
kings, cities and monasteries
as favours. Many of the
pieces of the cross shown at
the exhibition are said to
have come from the cross
brought to Constantinople
by St Helena.
The veneration of relics
continues to the present
day. In 2009, when the relics

of St Therese of Lisieux, were
shown at Westminster Cathedral in London over
100,000 people queued to
see them in just four days.
However, the custom is not
approved of by many Protestant churches.
Indeed, during the Reformation, a wave of iconoclasm spread throughout
England: sacred objects were
destroyed, saints' bodies
were burned and the ashes
scattered, while altars containing sacred objects were
smashed.
Dispute
However, even in the early

Middle Ages, the practise of
keeping relics was a matter
of some theological dispute.
The Church forbade the trade
in relics long before Calvin's
famous comment that there
were enough relics of the
true cross in Europe to fill a
ship.
The opposition to relics
played a role in the Reformation. Martin Luther is believed to have attended
Frederick the Wise's display
of relics in the early 1500s.
The veneration of these and
the system of indulgences
that accompanied them are
believed to have increased
Luther's zeal for reform.
One of the most impressive and rarely-seen relics at
the exhibition is on loan
from one of the Pope's pri-
vate chapels in Rome. The

Mandylion, or `holy towel' of
Edessa is reputed to be
amongst the earliest images
of Jesus. It was said that King
Abgar of Edessa commissioned a portrait for Christ
but that the artist could not
look at his face, such was the
brightness emanating from
it. Instead, Jesus wiped his
face on a towel and this
image appeared. The image
is said to have cured the king
of leprosy.
The St Eustace head is one
of the most striking reliquaries in that it forms èye
contact' with the viewer. It
contains fragments of the
skull of St Eustace and dates
from about 1200AD. Such
`speaking reliquaries' often
contained the body parts of
saints and became popular
from about 1100 onward.
Other items on display include the portable altar of St
Cuthbert, who is said to have
lived from 634 to 687. One of
the more unusual reliquaries
was said to have contained
the breastmilk of the Virgin
Mary.
When, during the Fourth
Crusade (1202-1204), the
crusaders turned on their
Byzantine allies and looted
Constantinople, many of the
most precious relics were
taken from Byzantium to
Venice and from there to
Western Europe's great cities
and monasteries. From that
time, the kings and monas-
teries of Europe competed

with each other to have the
most impressive collection of
relics. Cynics said such relics
were `good for business' in
that they would draw pilgrims and their donations
to cathedrals and
churches.
Artefacts
It was unusual to see so

many sacred objects gathered in the secular space of
a museum. While many of
the museum's visitors
viewed them as mere artefacts, others clearly saw
them as sacred things and
some even discretely prayed
before the relics.
One of the most intriguing
objects was a single thorn,
believed to originate from
the crown of thorns received
by the King of France in 1239
from the Byzantine Emperor.
This single thorn is set in an
small pendant reliquary, and
is clearly visible, about an
inch and a half long, with an
evidently bloodstained tip.
Few could seen it so close
without wondering: could
this be the real thing?
*The Treasures of Heaven
Exhibition includes over
150 objects from over 40
institutions including the
Vatican, European Church
treasuries, as well as European and American Museums. The exhibition runs
until October 9 and entry
costs 12.
20|OPINION|
Letters
Cloyne
fall-out
Dear Editor, The question
keeps coming up is there a

way forward for the Church?
The answer is yes, yes, yes.
That is for the ordinary,
decent people to follow
Christian teachers. But for
some priests and many
bishops there is no future in
our Church.
After Cloyne there was
less shock than after Ferns
and Dublin. People now
know that some of our priests
and many of our bishops are
guilty of terrible crimes.
Some bishops have used
the words `ìnappropriate
behaviour'' to describe what
happened. There really are no
correct words to describe the
rape of children by practising
priests, but cruel, obscene,
criminal would start to describe this behaviour.
For the bishops who protected criminal priests and
for those who are sadly the
majority who stayed silent,
the same words apply, but we
must add the word cowardly.
The way forward is for
every Church leader who is
guilty must now resign and
go away. It is said that evil
people can only succeed if
good people stay silent.
When they are gone our
one I only see one strong,
Christian bishop in Ireland
leader can lead us back to our
origin, to the teachings of
Jesus.
Christianity has survived
evil Popes, cardinals, bishops,

priests and lay people for 20
centuries.
``Behold, I am always with
you,'' Jesus promised.
Yours etc.,
S Flanagan,
Carrickmore,
Co. Tyrone.
Dear Editor, It's crystal clear

once again with the revelation in the report into the
Diocese of Cloyne that the
institutional Church's secrecy
and methods of operation are
dysfunctional.
This method of operation
continued with apparent inability to act with human and
Christian propriety despite
all their promises and good
intentions. The problem goes
deeper than just the guidelines for protecting children;
it goes to the structure within
the institutional Church
where we see bishops and
priests sworn to secrecies
concealing the truth from
their fellow bishops, priests
and even civil authorities.
This was highlighted when
Cardinal Sean Brady and
(a man of integrity who
seems to be standing alone
during these dark times for
our Church) went to Rome
concerning revelations on
clerical child sexual abuse in
the Archdiocese of Dublin.
After they had returned news
was breaking on a clerical
Managing Editor: Garry O'Sullivan,

editor@irishcatholic.ie
Deputy Editor: Michael Kelly, michael@irishcatholic.ie
Foreign Editor: Paul Keenan, paul@irishcatholic.ie
Reporters: Mags Gargan, Rory Fitzgerald
news@irishcatholic.ie 01 4276482.
Sub-editors: Liam Scott, Regina Horan, Brian Murphy
Advertising: Catherine McCartney,
catherine@irishcatholic.ie 01 4276485
Accounts & Circulation: Elaine McNamee,
elaine@irishcatholic.ie 01 4276486. Fax 4276450
Business Development:
Gerard Crowley, gerard@irishcatholic.ie
Seamus McCormack, seamus@irishcatholic.ie
Books Editor: Peter Costello, books@irishcatholic.ie
Annual Subscription Rates: Ireland E110; UK Airmail E135;

EU Airmail E135; Rest of World Airmail E135.
ISSN 1393 - 6832 - Published by The Irish Catholic,

Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12.
Printed by The Irish Times, Tara St, Dublin.
Ireland's rate of newsprint recycling is now up to 79%.

Keep reading, keep recycling and thank you.
sexual abuse case that Cardinal Brady had investigated

some 30 years earlier and
was now coming to light.
When the press asked Archbishop Martin if the cardinal
had discussed this with him,
his reply was no it's the first
he heard about it.
Bishop Magee can still do
us all some service if he
returns and gives a truthful
account to the victims, their
families, his diocese, his fellow bishops, clergy, the people of Ireland and the civil
authorities.
He will learn that by acting with propriety now, even
at this late stage, he may
experience Christian principles of compassion which
were all too scarce as revealed in the Murphy reports
into the dioceses of Cloyne
and Dublin. For too long
bishops have let us all down
by upholding these dysfunctional procedures. It's time
now to say stop to all this
dysfunctional behaviour and
let Rome know we have had
enough of excuses without
taking responsibility. Apologies sound insincere and
hollow now as its change we
need that's rooted in our
Christianity.
Yours etc.,
Willie Keane,
Nenagh,
Co. Tipperary.
East African drought

The River Kerio dried-up completely in 2010, leaving thousands of people in Lodwar,
northern Kenya, without their main source of water. People here now dig large holes
into where the river once flowed in order to squeeze out the last drops of water from the
earth. Over 13 million people throughout East Africa are in need of emergency relief.
Trocaire is using donations from Irish people to bring food, water and medical care to
affected communities. Photo: Eoghan Rice / Trocaire
Dear Editor, Given the cur-
rent need to begin rebuilding

our Church in Ireland, is it not
time that reality was faced
and that we postpone `the
moving of chairs on the
Titanic' exercise about to be
undertaken with the introduction of the new missal.
Or is there a single man
amongst the hierarchy who
can provide some leadership? Shepherds of Gods
flock? Not really, more like
headless chickens.
Yours etc.,
Shane Ambrose,
Shanagolden,
Co. Limerick.
Dear Editor, The forthcoming Eucharistic Congress

presents both an opportunity
and a challenge to the by now
thoroughly discredited leadership of our Church to
regain some modicum of selfrespect following the publication of the Cloyne Report.
Let the hierarchy (particularly any representatives
from the Vatican) attend the
Congress, not as celebrants
but as penitents among the
rest of the people. No need for
fancy robes, mitres or crosiers simple clerical garb
will suffice. (I would also
reserve a special penitential
`corral' for the canon lawyers
and those who hide behind
them.)
The ceremonial aspects of
the Congress should be left to
a representative sample of
the ordinary hard-working
priests of Ireland the foot
soldiers of the Church who
have been so badly let down
by their officer class.
Finally, the entire congress should be conducted in
a spirit of simplicity, repentance and reparation for the
abject failures of the institutional Church, which are only
too evident for all to see. Any
attempt at triumphalism a la
1932 would be both ludicrous and offensive.
Actions speak louder than
words. The challenge and the
opportunity are there. Will
they be taken up?
Yours etc.,
Seamus Kelly,
Stranorlar
Co. Donegal.
Dear Editor, We have been
told by Alan Shatter, Minister

for Justice and by Frances
Fitzgerald, Minister for Children that they are to draw up
legislation to prosecute
priests who do not divulge
the sin of child abuse told to
them in the confessional,
something that rarely, if ever,
happens.
The Seal of Confession is
based on the Natural Law,
Positive Divine Law and Canon Law. This is the Universal
Law of the Church and is
inviolable. We have always
believed that a priest has
vowed to protect the confessional seal with his blood.

This has been accepted as
fact, respected and evidenced
in history, song, novel and
film. The 250 years of persecutions until the Edict of
Milan in 314, The Croppy Boy
and Father Greene, An
Coimhthoch translated into
many languages and the well
known film I Confess.
Can a doctor or psychiatrist, bound by the Hippocratic Oath, be compelled to
reveal a professional secret?
Will a lawyer or a person in a
position of confidence be
forced to break a client's
trust?
``Hard cases make bad
law''
Yours etc.,
(Rev.) Patrick Marron,
Fintona,
Co. Tyrone.
Dear Editor, On page one of
your latest edition you feature a call from Vincent

Toomey for all bishops appointed before 2003 to resign
so that the present Pope
``would have a free hand'' in
re-making the Irish Church.
Then on an inside page you
have a feature on John Paul II
`òf blessed memory''.
John Paul is the person
who appointed the bishops
(including John Magee) who
are now being called on to
step down. And he did so
with a free hand, as in other
countries, disdaining to consult with clergy and people in

order to arrive at a suitable
candidates. That was John
Paul's gift to the Irish Church.
Should not The Irish
Catholic now be calling for
wide consultation in the selection of bishops. Isn't it
obvious that giving Popes a
free hand is the last thing that
should be happening?
Yours etc.,
S Macken,
Dublin 15.
Dear Editor, Your outrageous
headline of July 21 prompts

me to write concerning the
Cloyne Report. Having read
the report I consider that
Msgr O'Callaghan acted reasonably in the circumstances
of the cases he was dealing
with, as did Bishop Magee.
What I did not find reasonable was the running commentary of criticism by the
commission. They seemed to
have set out to find fault and
if they could not find it under
one heading, they would find
it under another. The animus
was palpable. To me they
come across as prosecutors.
These men were arraigned
before the commission, had
their name blackened and
were handed over to the mob.
I do not minimise the hurt of
those who were abused. If
this report is some comfort to
them, that is something.
OPINION
|21
Readers are requested to keep letters as short as possible

(a maximum of 300 words) and to include full address and a
day-time telephone number. Letters should be addressed to:
The Editor, The Irish Catholic, The Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, D12
Email: letters@irishcatholic.ie
claims that our State is a

wronged republic, somehow
corrupted by a foreign invader, in the form of the Vatican
bombasts, might serve to
settle our conscience as a
nation in the short term, but
will do nothing to deliver on
the historical debt we owe to
all the betrayed generations.
As a gesture of contrition, and
as a signal to future generations that doing the right
thing should not be a retrospective activity, this State
should establish the `Noel
Brown Institute for Public
Administration', for the
training of Irish people in the
true tradition of moral republicanism.
Yours etc.,
Declan Doyle,
Lisdowney,
Kilkenny.
Our Taoiseach
Enda Kenny TD is charged
with responsibility of representing all of the people of
Ireland, but his sweeping
attack on the Vatican has
caused offence to many citizens who cherish their allegiance to the Roman Catholic
Church.
The Taoiseach's speech
was greeted with unconfined
glee by particular elements in
the media hostile to the
Church and the Vatican. One
has to reflect on the poor
media coverage given by
most of the Irish media to the
papal visit to Britain last
September. But there has always been a pocket of anticlericalism in Irish society
prior to the eruption of the
sexual abuse scandals.
The least we expect from
our public representatives
when they take to the podium to deliver a rebuke to
any institution is balance.
Apportion blame where it is
merited as occurred in the
Dioceses of Cloyne, Ferns and
Dublin, but not to put the
entire Roman Catholic
Church in the dock.
When I rang the Taoiseach's office to enquire who
wrote the speech delivered in
the Dail (a question also
raised by Senator Ronan
Mullen), I was asked to put
my question in writing.
While not doubting that
the sentiments in the Taoiseach's speech are his own,
he might well be advised that
future Church State speeches
should be entirely drafted
personally.
Yours etc.,
Dear Editor,
However two wrongs do not

make a right. I consider that
Msgr O'Callaghan and Bishop
Magee are unfairly treated in
this report.
Further, I question the
manner in which, by dividing
the number of priests in the
Diocese of Cloyne in 1996 by
the number of priests complained of and presumably
still living, a ratio of 7.6 per
cent is given, with the implication that 7.6 per cent of
clergy are offenders. This is
spurious. The offences occurred over several decades
and the number of offenders
should be compared to the
clergy body at the time in
which the offence occurred to
get a true proportion.
One offence with a minor
is alleged in the period covered by the report when we
are told there were 163
clergy.
Yours etc.,
national failures.
Enda Kenny rightly condemned the behaviour of the
Vatican, but in doing so cited
ours as a sovereign republic.
This is where sincere moral
outrage begins to break
down. This has never been a
republic in any true sense of
the word, but instead, has
always been a conservative
and reactionary theocracy.
Too many generations of
politicians actively colluded
with the mocking of the true
principles of republicanism,
by delivering the people to
the doctrinal fascism of an
arrogant church.
The State, for example, in
the guise of its courts, jailed
every one of the prisoners of
industrial schools, who were
then subjected to `legitimate'
detention in their sometimes
torture camps. It was the
State that allowed the
Catholic Church dominate
Fr Patrick Daly, the education sector for
Cooleragh, decades. Let us never forget,
Co. Kildare. in this time of very belated
assertion of independence
against the Catholic Church,
Dear Editor, When will it be that Noel Brown, easily the
safe to defend the Catholic
only ever republican cabinet
Church? Not anytime soon, minister (when being an Irish
given the behaviour of the
republican was deeply unVatican `cannons' of faux
popular) was politically and
virtue. But perhaps it is time professionally crucified for
for the Irish State to stop
daring to question the power
whistling past the graveyard of the Vatican to usurp this
that is our collective, histor- State.
ical deference to Rome, and
It is never too late to right
truly begin to face up to our a wrong. But by making
Catholic country and this

does sadden me.
I am in the Legion of Mary
in Dublin and our main work
is visitation, from our work
we have found so many don't
go to Mass due to the child
abuse in the Church.
Today is a sad time for the
Church, but we have to remain strong and faithful and
trust in God, Our Lady, the
Saints, and especially our
Guardian Angel, all of this
was supposed to happen so
that we would have a clean
Church for the future and one
that we can all love and
cherish all again, so lets all
remain faithful to the Gospel
and trust in God.
I was an altar boy for 11
years and I loved every single
minute of it. I made some
wonderful priests friends
during my time and I thank
God for this too.
Faith is needed in our
Church today and so much
more.
Yours etc.,
Aidan Pidgeon,
Clondalkin,
Dublin.
Enda Kenny's
vicious attack on the Vatican
etc. was dramatic but unwise
for any politician.
By attacking the Catholic
Church, is it not reasonable to
assume that the Government
has lost the Catholic vote?
We'll know next election.
Yours etc.,
Dear Editor,
D.F. O'Callaghan,
Monfieldstown,
Co. Cork.
In the wake of
the Cloyne Report the Seal of
the Confessional issue,
though evoking some negative comment, provided enlightening information, too.
If Justice Minister Alan
Shatter brings forward legislation whereby a confessor
could be convicted for not
revealing specific confessional secrecy, it will make us
the only country in the western world with such a law.
An untenable situation
would be created for decent
hardworking clergy whereby
they face jail threat under
Civil Law and the risk of
excommunication under Canon Law if they falter on
confessional secrecy.
With a dwindling number
of Catholics availing of the
confession box, maybe there
is a serious case for General
Confession and absolution.
Frank Burke, With the co-operation, helpTerenure, ful advice and guidance of the
Dublin. celebrant, this could be incorporated in the Mass for all
Dear Editor, I did not hear
parishes on the last weekend
the Taoiseach Enda Kenny's of each month. Apart from
speech on the child abuse in lightening the mental burden
Cloyne, but what I saw from on the confessor, it would
the headlines and from what revive and strengthen the
I read, it does not surprise
Sacrament of Penance.
me. Ireland is an atheist
Yours etc.,
country from what we can
James Gleeson,
see today and we are slowly
Thurles,
dying as a Christian and as a
Co. Tipperary.
Dear Editor,
There is more
to the Jesuits
Dear Editor, With reluctance
in taking issue with Fr Bruce

Bradley and his article The
Jesuits: Charting a worthy
history (Irish Catholic July 14),
I feel I must make some
salient points.
The definitive work on the
order can best be realised in
Louis McRedmond's fine
book To the Greater Glory, A
History of the Irish Jesuits, first
published in 1991. No doubt
Fr Bradley is not trying to
compete with it in any way
with his thumbnail sketch
yet his somewhat rosy account leaves one with a
certain sense of emptiness.
The article seems to emphasise the all important fact
that for the order, that the
jewel in the crown is and
always has been Clongowes
Wood College. To look after
the educational needs of the
richest scions of the nation is
what the Jesuits take the
maximum amount of delight
in. The fact that their first
school in the country was
founded in Limerick in the
1560's is perhaps not important at all yet the demise
of the Crescent College was
truly disgraceful.
This in no way is intended
as a slight on the very fine coeducational college that replaced it, yet the Jesuit ethos
of educating young boys was
totally lost, and the fabric
was completely altered. Indeed Crescent and all the
other Jesuit colleges in the
land were very much seen as
second string establishments.
The eventual fate of
Mungret, Crescent College,
Hatch Hall and other properties owned and controlled

by the order would tend to
make one think the Jesuits
who had worked so hard to
achieve what they had in
McRedmond's book were
followed on by a much different breed of men.
When I asked Fr Peter
McVeery SJ why the order
had not given him Hatch Hall
to house those he felt in need
of shelter his answer was
rather vague and less than
convincing.
The fact that so many
thousand upon thousand of
boys have passed through the
hands of the J's over the past
half century and they in turn
have failed to attract even a
minimal amount of vocations
makes one realise that either
the product they are promoting or the salesmen they
have in charge are somehow
not getting it right. The defence of the papacy, a cornerstone of their founder's
great crusade has also
somehow or other slipped
from its pride of place and the
orthodox intellectual prowess of Jesuit preaching are
no longer being aired.
Today as never before
when the Church in Ireland
finds itself in such great need
of heroics it is now the time
for this premier order to
prove its worth in real terms
and get serious. It is for this
reason and this reason alone I
have responded to Fr Bradley's article.
Yours etc.,
John Herriott,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co. Dublin.
Man's lost
integrity
FEATURE|
22|
Dr Jeff Mirus
examines the
consequence
of Original Sin
and the Fall
T has always been difficult, I think to find a

worldview that makes
perfect sense. For example, if we believe the universe is created and
governed by an all-loving
God, we have trouble explaining natural and moral
evils. But if we believe we
are not created and there is
no God, we have trouble
explaining our own sense of
right and wrong, our innate
fear of judgment, and our
yearning for something that
transcends nature and endures beyond it.
In Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton wrote that he accepted the traditional claims
of Orthodox Christian doctrine because that doctrine
fit perfectly into all the openings, chasms, protrusions
and fissures he found in
examining the world. It all
interlocks, he said, like a vast
and exquisitely designed
machine. Only when coupled
with Christian doctrine does
the universe make a complete and intelligible whole.
These ideas led him into the
Catholic Church.
The great John Henry
Newman also reflected on
his own experience of the
world. To him, it was impossible to explain the constant
conflict between human aspirations and human failures
the deep sense everyone
has that there is a great deal
G.K. Chesterton: Only when coupled with Christian

doctrine does the universe make a complete and
intelligible whole.
wrong which ought to be
right unless man is somehow fallen from an ideal
state which is still embedded
in his consciousness. Newman too became a Catholic.
For both Chesterton and
Newman, then, Catholicism
presented a worldview
which fit reality. Catholicism
required them neither to
deny their deepest aspirations (as does secularism),
nor to make a monster out
of God (as do Deism and
Islam).
Rather, Catholic teaching
takes things as they really
are, including taking ourselves as we most deeply
perceive ourselves to be
(when we aren't engaging in
special pleading to satisfy
John Henry Newman: For Newman, Catholicism presented a worldview which fit reality.
our flesh or our egos), and

then Catholic teaching explains exactly what is right
and what is wrong, and why,
through the doctrine of Original Sin. The Church teaches
that we were created for God
and designed to live in close
union with Him. But through
rebellion against him, we
have lost the perfect integrity that comes from living in
that unity.
The results are plain to
see all around us. This is an
explanation that makes consummate sense.
Reality
Happily, this Fall was not
sufficient to thwart our destiny. Rather, it stimulates us

to a sort of divinely inspired
frustration with our weaknesses and limitations, and a
divinely inspired dissatisfaction with all the natural and
moral problems in the world.
Our sense of frustration and
dissatisfaction causes us to
look again to God for the
means to restore our unity
with Hima means that we
can find only in Jesus Christ.
There is a sort of inescapable logic in this account of
fall and redemption. It may
not always speak perfectly to
what we'd like to believe or
like to do at any given moment, but it does speak perfectly to what we most
deeply perceive of reality
when we're being honest
with ourselves.
To Deists and some simplistic Christian sects, because the hand of
Providence guides things
perfectly, it follows that
whatever is right; those
who fail to accept this are

justly doomed. To secularists, by contrast, whatever is
is wrong; insofar as we can
engineer something better,
especially to ensure our
own temporal satisfaction,
we must do so; those who
stand in the way must be
coerced or thrust aside. It is
not surprising that many
secularists regard religious
people as a threat, because
religious people don't place
much confidence in man's
ideas about how to make a
perfect world. They are likely
to keep trying to help others,
one by one, out of love; they
are not likely to trust programmes to end all programmes, or wars to end all
wars.
The goal
For the deeply religious person, and in particular the
person who has tuned in to
the Catholic vision of reality,
everything is right with God
but human sin has mucked
up the world pretty badly.
Sin alone is sufficient to
It makes sense
to the Catholic
to seek first the
Kingdom of God,
and to expect
that everything
else will follow.
explain all of our trials,

struggles, disasters and sorrows. Christian doctrine fits
what we see of the universe
as a hand fits a glove, or as
the hand of God fits the
world He created. Therefore,
it makes sense to the Catholic to seek first the Kingdom
of God, and to expect that
everything else will follow
(Mt 6:33).
At bottom, in the recesses
of our hearts, I suspect all of
us know we need something
more to save us than the
plans of the intelligent, the
rich, the famous and the
powerful. This is because
we know we need someone
to save us not just from this
or that situation but from
ourselves. Initially we per-
Why I am a Catholic
FEATURE|23
Faith is about
hope for the
future
Christopher
Berkeley tells
Aoife
Hegarty
OME
people can
wait years for that
so-called life defining moment, a decision or action that takes
their lives in a particular
direction, but for Dubliner
Christopher Berkeley that
crossroads came at just seven years of age and has
subsequently shaped the values and beliefs he's held
close ever since.
`Ì have alopecia,'' 22year-old Christopher offers
frankly, pointing to his bald
head. `Ì was bullied at primary school until two of my
friends approached a teacher
and told her all about it. I'm
still to this day amazed at
the efforts of those friends of
mine at such a young age.
`Àfter that I was given the
opportunity to talk to the
class and tell them about
my condition. The positive
effect that had on the class
was amazing, it was never
talked of again and I was just
accepted. That was the first
time I felt like God was doing
something for me. I was
young but it was one of the
most significant events in
my life I felt like I wasn't
on my own.''
Confident
ceive the goal but dimly,

because we are fallen, but
that we are fallen becomes
increasingly obvious as we
mature.
The fundamental mission,
the only mission that will
work, is to restore man's lost
integrity. This integrity can
exist only in union with God,
without Whom perfection is
impossible. But if the problem is that we are fallen,
then who can lift us up? Only
the Son can draw us back to
union with the Father. Only
Jesus Christ can restore our
integrity, and with it the
integrity of the entire universe. Only Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, can honestly say
the words we most yearn to
hear: ``Behold, I make all
things new'' (Rv 21:5).
Now a trained primary teacher, who's enjoying the

summer holidays after his
first year at the top of the
classroom, Christopher is a
confident and happy adult
who openly expresses a
pride in his faith.
`Ì grew up in a Catholic
family so my faith has been
around me all my life. My
parents are involved in the
Church, they read on occasion and my mam is involved
in the Family Mass and the
Do this in Memory Mass.
Having grown up through
that, I'm now also involved
in parish groups,'' Christopher says, adding that having
learned the piano from the
age of five, he often contributes to Church life through
his musical talents. `Ì play
the keyboard and sing so I'm
often involved in the Family
Mass and Co nf irmat io n
Groups like Youth 2000 show that there are young people `òut there who actually believe''.
Christopher Berkeley.
Masses etc. I received my
faith from my parents but
it's very much become my
faith over time.'' Those positive familial encounters with
faith have left lasting impressions and Christopher is
only too pleased to share
some of his precious childhood memories.
`Ì remember my First
Holy Communion and Confirmation days as lovely family experiences, not just
my own but those of my
three younger brothers too.
There was the church ceremony and then it was back
to our house where we had
lots of relations around for a
celebration. It was always
very much focused on the
importance of what happened though and as regular
Church goers we were aware
of what we were doing.''

As perfect as Christopher's spiritual upbringing
sounds, his understanding
of realities within the Church
of today is far from rose
tinted. As a teenager, he
quickly learned that not
everyone approaches faith
from the same viewpoint.
No tolerance
``The first secondary school I

attended had absolutely no
tolerance of faith at all, in
fact some attitudes there
were very hurtful and antiCatholic but, in a way, being
challenged made me dig a bit
deeper so I could defend my
faith,'' he says. `Ì later transferred to the King's Hospital,
a Church of Ireland co-educational school and it was
the best decision I ever
made. It was my first experience of meeting other people

like me and my first experience of ecumenism where I
came into contact with other
faiths. I guess I found out
about other faiths and they
found out about me there
was an openness there.''
Having prepared his
young students for First Holy
Communion this year, Christopher also recognises the
wider problems within the
Catholic Church: `Òf the 45
or so children that were
making their Holy Communion, only five came from
families who regularly go to
Mass. In fact I did my final
year thesis on parental attitudes to First Holy Communion and I found a similar
pattern with a high proportion of people placing a big
emphasis on the clothes, the
parties all the non ceremonial things.
`Ìn that respect it might
be better to have First Holy
Communion as more of a
parish thing because at the
minute parents know the
Church and schools are doing
all the preparation so they
tend to leave it to them. We
need to get parents more
involved,'' Christopher adds
by way of a solution.
Despite those challenges
however, Christopher hasn't
lost hope. Quite the opposite
in fact.
``We do need a reform of
some sort and an education
around our faith but I do
believe there's a future. Just
over two years ago, I got
involved with Youth 2000

and initially it was a case of
`wow, there are other people
out there who are interested'
because there are times
when it can get disheartening but I've made friends for
life through their events.''
Openness
``Youth 2000 is proof that at

the younger end, from 15 to
17-year-olds, there are a lot
of young people coming in. It
proves there are people out
there who actually believe
and at Youth 2000 events
that comes across more
clearly because young people
aren't afraid to hold it in.
That openness means those
people are happy because
they're able to share their
faith,'' he says.
During the last year,
Christopher has taken up
duties as an alter server in
the Pro Cathedral. In addition
to his involvement in the
Church locally as a musician,
he admits it's a commitment
but he's resolute in his opinion that it's a commitment
well worth making.
`Ì enjoy being involved,
especially at busy times like
Christmas and Easter when it
can be a bit crazy but it's a
chance to put in your best
performance!,'' Christopher
smiles. ``The feeling afterwards is great and there's a
sense you're doing good for
everyone else. I feel that
whatever gifts I've been given I should try to give back.
It's about trying to make a
difference.''
FEATURE|
24|
All smiles joy reaches a marginalised Ethiopian community with the arrival of a clean
drinking source provided by Habitat for Humanity.
A local Ethiopian lady prepares dinner in her makeshift shelter.
Building God's kingdom

Aoife
Hegarty
chats with a
volunteer
priest as he
sets off on
one of his
many trips
with Habitat
for Humanity
now University of Ulster (UU)

chaplain Fr Raymond McCullagh
is probably knee deep in
mud and building supplies.
He and the up to 20 other
members of his Global VilIGHT
lage team (all UU students)

are no doubt sweating heavily as they construct houses
in the searing heat of Ethiopia's unrelenting climate.
And yet it's a gruelling mission for which they've all
volunteered and for which
they've spent the best part
of a year busily fundraising
in order to help the efforts of
the Christian organisation,
Habitat for Humanity (HFH).
`Ìt's the highlight of my
year when we actually set off
and I see the students making connections. It's not a
holiday, it's really hard work
but it's good for the students
to get an insight into different cultures, joys, hardships
etc. When I see them building friendships and working
together, it's a wonderful
experience. It's a unique opportunity to help build God's
kingdom.''
`Humble'
Wise words from a man who

Habitat for Humanity Northern Ireland (HFHNI) credits
as a ``humble'' leader whose
``passion, commitment and
energy'' has inspired much
support for their work with
some of the world's most
marginalised communities.
Happiness personified an Ethiopian family pose for

the camera at the entrance to their new Habitat home.
still providing a house that is

clean and safe. But it's just
not a house and Habitat also
makes sure the infrastructure is there around them
too.
`Ìt's a two-way thing it
changes their lives and it
changes ours. There's a great
sense of satisfaction for the
students and while they're
tired at the end of the trip,
they've greatly enjoyed it. It's
very emotional too, it's hard
to leave the people after
getting to know them but it's
a humbling experience and
as Christians, we're called to
do God's work.''
Fr Raymond McCullagh dances with the locals.

Having been appointed chaplain in the University of
Ulster a few years previous,
Fr Raymond led the first
Global Village team from
the college to Ethiopia in
2005. The trip was to mark
a special HFH partnership
that over the next three
years would see the delivery
of 150 homes in the poorest
regions of the famine stricken country.
``With Habitat it's important that we first visit poverty housing so we see the
people's current positions
people who are literally living in trees. These people,
many of whom suffer from
leprosy, live in atrocious conditions and they've no standing in society or source of
income. On visiting them, I'm
always reminded of the biblical stories of the leper and
in many ways it hasn't changed, the rest of the community are afraid of these
people and so they end up
on the bottom rung,'' Fr
Raymond explains.
``We work with vulnerable groups who we help to
integrate back into society
and when we go back it's
lovely to see them living side
by side with other members
of the community.''
It is that bursting selflessness to be at the heart of
such crucial change, that ear-
lier this year, earned Fr Raymond the honour of a special

award, presented to him by
the Northern Ireland Assembly in recognition for his
outstanding contribution to
international development.
It's praise, however, doesn't
sit easily with the modest
cleric: `Ì was a bit embarrassed about it,'' he says.
``While it was nice to be
nominated, it's not just
about me. I feel privileged
as a chaplain to be able to do
this work but this is about
raising the profile of our
partnership with Ethiopia
and about the people who've
got houses because of the
generosity of people here at
home.''
Poorly built
And for those people, everyday life is so very different

from the Irish experience. In
the urban regions of Ethiopia
the vast majority of people
live in poorly built, old
cramped houses. The realities of such poverty housing
are further compounded by
the widespread existence of
leprosy meaning that many
groups cannot afford to rent
adequate shelter and often
live in makeshift shacks
made of plastic.
``These people are literally
pushed to the edge of villages. There are so many
Partnership
stories but I remember one
house in particular that we
visited. It had a puddle of
water in the middle of the
floor and one of the team
slipped and put her foot in
the water and the woman of
the house came and cleaned
her feet. It reminded me of
the parable of the washing of
the feet,'' Fr Raymond says,
with a real sense of having
been touched by the kind
gesture.
``We also met a woman
who was living in a hut with
just a plastic bag for a roof.
When I asked her what it
would be like to get a Habitat
house, she said it would be
like walking through the
gates of Heaven. When we
went back to see her in her
`Habitat heaven' her life had
totally changed. Now she has
a future and that's really
unbelievable.''
HFH has a self-build approach that requires the benefiting families to give their
time towards building their
own houses and the volunteers practise the principle of
a hand-up and not a handout. Fr Raymond says their
work in Ethiopia is much
bigger than building houses
- fundamentally it's about
restoring human dignity.
``By working on the project the local people learn to
work within budgets while
This year, Fr Raymond's

group is the 250th Global
Village team to travel on
behalf of HFHNI. They form
part of a renewed commitment to maintain a longterm partnership with HFH
Ethiopia.
Over the next three years,
teams will help another
1,000 families, empowering
them to break the cycle of
poverty. Seeing that change
take place first hand, Fr Raymond says, gives the students an invaluable life
experience: `Às a chaplain,
it's great to see God walking
in people's lives. The rush of
college and striving towards
a career is one thing, but
these trips make the students believe in themselves
and that they can do something to help change. And
each student is changed
they see faith in action and
while it's a cliche, you do get
more from it than you could
ever give.
`Ì don't have to preach to
them the students see
God's love in the families
they help and that's extremely powerful. We have this
joke about suffering from
`Habitatis' while it's terminal, it's a good disease because on a Habitat trip, you
can't but be affected by what
you see. Life choices can
have a greater effect than
you think.''
Arts&Crafts
FEATURE|25
Producing
art from
iron
Clona Byrne
meets with
two of
Ireland's
blacksmiths
music
with its triumphed beat
flows from the entrance of Michael Calnan and
Gunvor Anhj's forge on the
grounds of Russborough
house in Co. Wicklow. The
sun shines and illuminates
the beauty of the grounds
and the forge inside an old
stone outhouse.
Two miniature blacksmith's anvils greet the curious visitor to the forge;
these anvils belong to the
young children of Michael
and Gunvor who like to work
on their own projects alongside their parents. Inside the
forge belonging to the expert
blacksmiths are walls lined
with hammers, rusted
thongs, finished projects, anvils, a coal fire and an antique power hammer.
The work of Michael and
Gunvor ranges from the artistic to the tradition and
aesthetic to functional. The
couple have distinctive styles
of long thin strips of metal
incorporated with larger
curved pieces. Their work
ranges from birdbaths, gates,
benches and sculpture. One
interesting piece is the sculpture In Memory, this piece of
artwork was made in remembrance of a friend who
passed away, the art work
features the spiral shape of
an apple's skin and its seed
being removed by a fork. The
grounds of Russborough
House holds the workshops
of other artists such as a
jeweller, candle maker and
LASSICAL
Gunvor hammering a heated iron rod.
Michael working in the forge at Russbourough House.
tool through the soil.

This experience sparked
inspiration to enter the
blacksmithing trade. Whilst
learning the craft in Herefordshire, England, Gunvor's
eyes were opened. ``The position of the
blacksmith is
in itself creative, as the
blacksmith is
not casting but
forging, the work
is freehand composition. Moving
between fire, anvil
and tools in an ongoing rhythm, heating, hammering, reheating, re-hammering, a constant negotiation between
worker and material,''
she says.
Before moving to Ireland the couple temporaPlough broke
rily moved away from
Gunvor entered the craft by having a career in blackviewing the need for neces- smithing, Gunvor worked
sity while working on a farm as a post woman and Mifor six months in Norway.
Gunvor was ploughing the Death
earth by using the old fash- Angel, a
ioned method of a horse sculpture
pulling a one furrow plough. by Michael
The tip of the plough broke and
and it could not be repaired Gunvor.
or replaced, the horse had to
continue pulling the blunt
chael worked on a horse

farm. ``We weren't happy,
we asked ourselves what we
were doing and decided to
return to blacksmithing,''
bog oak cutter. Art works by

the collection of artists are
sometimes combined to create wall art and candle
holders.
Michael stumbled across
the trade which would later
become his passion. Michael
originally worked with the
glass artist Dale Chihuly in
Seattle before coming to Ireland for a holiday. During his
holiday he saw an advertisement for a blacksmiths class
in Co. Mayo. Michael attended the class for a week
and was quickly hooked. ``To
realise that metal turns to
clay when you heat it, is a
revaluation really, I went
back to America and
searched for blacksmiths
classes. I volunteered to
learn and eventually went
to college and that's where I
met Gunvor,'' he says.
says Michael. The couple

once worked in the National
Waterway museum in England for six years before
moving to Ireland.
Michael gives a tour
around the forge and demonstrates how to use
the Massey Ferguson
power hammer. The
large green antique runs
the same as a sewing
machine, a pedal ran by
the foot controls the
hammer's speed which
bounces up and down
similar to a sewing machines needle. Michael
then opens a box of example pieces, one example in
the process taken to make a
fossil shape out of iron, a
piece of iron is twisted, then
curled up like a snail's shell
and sandwiched between
two pieces of iron and hammered together to create a
fossil shaped indent.
Mass-produced
The craft of blacksmithing

has always been a fundamental trade in Ireland. The
blacksmith worked alongside
other crafters such as stone
masons, carpenters and farriers. There was always work
for a blacksmith but in the
60s and 70s items that were
traditionally made by black-
smiths began to be massproduced and sold for cheaper. Blacksmiths lost employment and stopped taking on
apprentices but recently
there has been a revival in
the craft and working with
metal has also taken a more
artistic approach. `Ì feel
lucky that I have found this,
we exercise creativity, there
is so much learning, it's so
vast and broad, and if money
motivated me I wouldn't be a
blacksmith,'' says Michael.
Classes are given in the
forge and are available for
the curious, inexperienced
and children are also welcome to attend classes with
parents or grandparents.
There are 15 different projects to choose from such as
making an Iron Age Knife,
candle holder, barbeque
utensils and even a pendular
brooch.
Four pieces of Gunvor and
Michael's artwork will be
displayed this week as part
of the RDS National Craft
show competition finals
from July 28-29. Art work of
theirs can also be seen in the
Ballintubbert house and gardens in Athy, Co. Kildare and
the couple will be giving a
demonstration at the Hollywood Fair, Co. Wicklow on
August 21.
FEATURE|
Family&Life
26|
Resources for
HEALTH
MATTERS
The
online
family
DR ANDREA FITZGERALD
Internet
addiction
love the internet. In recent years it has served me well

when
booking
flights,
ordering
Christmas
presents,
looking up train times, keeping in touch with friends

and relatives living abroad and much else. `To google' is
a term so common it is now officially a verb in the Oxford
English dictionary.
Studies have shown that judicious use of the internet by
doctors can enhance their practice. Indeed, we often look up

journal articles or trusted websites to help us diagnose and
treat illnesses, especially when dealing with rare symptoms
or less-seen medications. It is much more difficult for the
general public to be certain that the medical information they
access on the internet is accurate and safe, so please, before
following any medical advice found on websites, discuss
them with a health professional.

Yet there is a darker side to the internet. Certain websites
and forums promote antisocial behaviours, and `spyware' can
be a problem, with goodness knows who is able to access
what should be private information in our email accounts,
desktops and even our bank details.
Serious problem
Almost as soon as use of the world-wide-web became as
widespread as the name suggests, another, equally serious
problem
manifests
was
identified:
itself
as
an
Internet
addiction
to
addiction.
specific
This
sites
often
such
as
are grouped into forums ac-
gaming or gambling sites, or online `chatrooms'. American
cording
psychologist
and
Dr
Kimberley
Young
is
one
of
the
leading
to
so
their
they
due
all
date,
follow
the
NATIONAL PARENTS
COUNCIL
parents and families.
FOR PARENTS
eumom.ie
The National Parents Council
researchers into this condition, and has devised an `ìnternet
same
addiction diagnostic questionnaire''. If you can answer `yes' to
ire from Cork, a 31-yearMa
This award-winning website
voice'' in the broader educa-
five or more of the following questions, you may have an
old mother of two, says of
offers mothers and prospec-
tion system. Parents of sec-
internet addiction:
her
roller-
tive mothers advice on topics
ondary school children will
Do you feel preoccupied with the internet (thinking
coaster.ie, `Ì found it really
ranging from family finances
find information at
npcpp.ie
about a previous online session or anticipating the next one)?
great to be able to ask the
to nutrition.
and
primary
1.
2.
Do you feel the need to use the internet for increasing
periods of time in order to achieve satisfaction?
3.
Have
you
made
repeated,
unsuccessful
attempts
to
reduce or stop internet use?
4. Do you feel restless, moody, depressed or irritable when
trying to reduce internet use?
5. Do you stay online longer than originally intended?

6. Have you jeopardised or risked the loss of a relationship,
job,
educational
or
career
opportunity
because
of
the
internet?
7.
Have you lied to family, friends or others about the
extent of your internet use?
8.
Do you use the internet as a way of escaping from, or
Rory
Fitzgerald
trajectory
experience
questions
looks at
websites that
offer support
on family
issues
together.
on
that
was
too
aims
www.bump2babe.ie
` `to
g ive
parents
school
pare nts
of
children
npc.ie
should
see
scared to ask my doctor or
This site aims to give parents
midwife
accurate, concise, jargon-free
The National Congress of
thought,
Ì
eve ryone
information on the process of
Catholic Schools Parents As-
having a new baby.
sociations is
the
This popular site says ``hav-
The Irish Multiple Births as-
of
ing a baby and parenting can
sociation website helps par-
all bring you to the heights of
ents
``There were lots of wo-
joy and the depths of despair
challenges posed by multiple
men who did know the an-
all within the space of a
births.
swers and gave such lovely
few minutes!'' It offers active
helpful and encouraging re-
helpful forums and advice.
knows
things
bet
about
this
that
except
me'. It was such a relief to

find
out
only
that
one
who
wasn't
had
lots
`silly' questions.
www.cspa.ie
imba.ie
rollercoaster.ie
survive
the
extra
Other websites help parents
cope
with
tragic
loss,
research published earlier this month suggested that teen-
you needed advice on a par-
new mum, but it isn't always
agers' brains could be altered by excessive internet use. The
ticular topic, you would have
easy to get out and about to
more chronic the excessive internet use was, the greater the
to go to a library or consult
do that. I feel like I have a
Dads
damage to the brain's grey matter. People have died from
an
support
which
blood
there is a wealth of informa-
even when I can't leave the
signed website all the more
This
computer. In Korea someone was even murdered because of
tion
house, and it's free!''
interesting. It features con-
resources and forums, parti-
an online game.
line.
forums
tributions by experts as well
cularly
ha ve
as blogs from dads on the
for state exams.
coping with difficult life situations or low mood?
A sympton
Some feel that internet addiction is a psychological condition
in itself, while others maintain that it is a symptom of other
problems such as depression, anxiety, social phobia or certain
personality disorders. Either way, it is a serious problem
clots
following
excessive
time
spent
sitting
at
Treatments for internet addiction, include talking thera-
tion.
HE
like
stickyfingerstravel.com
like
miscarriage.ie
As the name suggests, this
Irish
support network, and some
site
Association
forever
of us even meet up in person
travelling with children.
offers
advice
for
those
magicmum.com
Sudden
and the
Infant
Death
isida.ie
EDUCATIONAL WEBSITES
scoilnet.ie
on
access
friends with babies is really
This is a popular forum for
important
mums to connect and chat
This
with each other.
tion funded website offers an
20
expert,
informa-
years
but
available
ago
well
if
nowadays
instantly
information,
as
on-
offering
online
re-
regular
gained
teract
media
warrants. Therapies are directed at the addiction itself and
same
any underlying causes.
chatting with others,
others
situation
as
the
you.
available
internet
huge
political
traction
in
and
Britain,
dad.ie
Department
of
Educa-
array of advice, games and
rarely
get
makes
this
look
in,
well-de-
ground.
mumsnet.com
information.
skoool.ie
site
offers
for
those
range
of
preparing
exploratorium.edu
This
is
an entertaining
but
with senior politicians court-
This website has shown the
educational
ing them come election time.
power
science, art, and human per-
of
online
parenting
``m u s e u m
of
The problem is often that
en-
there are now so many on-
general
you think you, or a loved one, is suffering from an addiction
ables expectant mothers to
line resources that it's hard
courted by British politicians
This US government hosted
please talk to your GP, or your parish priest, who may be able
follow each other's progress
to find to good ones. So here
and
site offers a huge range of
to point you in the direction of appropriate therapy services.
and stay in touch right up to
is a distillation of some of the
political and media actor.
and after the birth. Mothers
better websites in Ireland for
website
the
By
you're
Irish
person's life very quickly, and can be incredibly damaging. If
example,
in
when
Having
mumsnet.com
sources provide ways to inwith
basis!
network
Similar
l ik e
and intensive residential courses of treatment if the situation
For
feel
you've made friends, a lovely
pies as an individual or in groups, medication in some cases,
Addiction, in whatever form it takes, can take over a
really
how we live and
Until
As
You
has
internet
changed
plies.
rollercoaster.ie
forums.
is
In
the
last
election
seen
as
British
it
was
powerful
ception''.
kids.gov
learning
games.
activities
and
R1
NEXT WEEK
FEATURE|27
How do we like to be beside the seaside?

From bathing huts to surfing: How Ireland's
relationship with the seaside has changed
Keeping kids safe online
* Only use child-friendly
Rory Fitzgerald
The internet offers children
educational opportunities
and the ability to keep in
touch with friends and
loved-ones. Familiarity with
its use is increasingly considered a basic skill in the
modern world like reading
and writing. Yet it is not
without its risks. In an increasingly wired-up world it
is very important to keep
children safe online.
There are essentially two
concurrent approaches: The
first is to use technical solutions such as software that
filters inappropriate content.
The other is to educate yourself and your child as to
internet safety and to create
clear rules for your children
regarding internet use.
tional child safety measures.

Software that filters internet access such as netnanny.ie or kidsafe.ie offer
increased levels of protection.
Computers, games consoles

and mobile phones almost
always have parental controls which let you block
certain websites and email
addresses, set time limits for
use and prevent your child
from searching certain
words.
Your internet service provider (ISP) or mobile phone
operator may also offer addi-
Cyberbullying involves bullying via digital technologies

like mobile phones and computers. It is different to òldfashioned' bullying and can
be harder to spot and more
difficult to stop. It can also be
more sinister and threatening. It can involve prank calls
to your child's mobile phone
or the sending of inappropriate images to their email
Parental control
HEALTH AND NUTRITION

irishhealth.com
This Irish site providing a lot

of information on a variety of
health topics.
hse.ie
The HSE website gives information on how to access

services as well as general
information on specific topics.
littlesteps.eu
This is an Irish site that

promotes healthy eating
and getting active for children and adults.
irishheart.ie
The Irish Heart Foundation's

website offers lots of info
about heart conditions and
healthy living.
with visual impairment.

Through voice recognition,
computers can type the spoken word for those who have
difficulty typing.
ncbi.ie
The National Council for the

Blind of Ireland website offers excellent resources and
support for those coping
with blindness or failing vision.
add.org
The Attention Deficit Disorder Association web page of

an American parents' support group. Provides lots of
information.
autismireland.ie
childrenfirst.nhs.uk
The Irish Autism Alliance

website `èxplains what Autism is and how it affects
people''. It offers a call back
service for parents seeking
help.
generalpediatrics.com
The Irish Cancer Society site

provides a wealth of information on cancer treatment
and prevention, including its
SunSmart programme and
assistance in quitting smoking.
This website, put together by

Great Ormond Street Hospital, is designed for children
and adults and gives detailed
and clear information about
child health.
This is an American site
which offers detailed child
health information for parents and professionals.
Dealing with illness, disability and developmental
challenges
The internet comes in to
its own when providing support for people coping with
disabilities and rare medical
conditions. It can bring together communities of people in similar situations from
all over the world. Computers can also read aloud text
from the screen for those
cancer.ie
Getting online
The above are just a flavour

of the many family-friendly
sites now available. If you
are new to using the internet, or wish to learn more
about it, Ireland's libraries
run the `Life Steps' programme, which assists people to use the internet in lifeenhancing ways. For more
see lifesteps.ie or contact
your local library.
Cyberbullying
NEWS
DIGEST
Contraception
proposal
The Law Reform Commission

has recommended that 16 and
17-year-olds should be permitted to refuse medical treatment and to buy contraceptives.
In its report `Children and
Internet safety experts advise setting of clear rules

and procedures for children
such as:
* Keeping internet-connected computer in a family room with the screen
facing outward so it can be
supervised
For more information, see

internetsafety.ie
on, children love to make a

secret den. The parent supplies the construction materials, such as large cardboard
boxes, bamboo canes, blankets and sheets of wood. Let
them get on with it; they
won't notice if it's messy.
For real camping, a trial
run in the garden is advisa-
kip down for a night with the

owner's permission, (2) A
stay in an organised campsite with other kids to play
with and communal facilities
and (3) for the comfort-loving, a luxury tent already set
up.
Bring wellies, waterproofs
and warm clothes and a
torch. For cooking, consider
bringing a cool box with
frozen meals, or try a disposable barbecue. Sitting
around the campfire, cosily
wrapped in sleeping bags,
having some cocoa and listening to stories is an unforgettable experience for
children.
the Law: Medical Treatment'

the commission proposed that
16-year-olds should be allowed buy condoms without
their parents' knowledge in
`èxceptional circumstances''
after healthcare professionals
first assessed the patient's
maturity.
Fianna Fail spokesman on
children, Charlie McConalogue noted a legal anomaly in
allowing 16-year-olds access
to contraception, as the legal
age of consent in Ireland is 17
years.
He said: ``The object of
government policy has to be to
try and encourage young people not to engage in sexual
activity until they're ready for it

and not before the legal age of
consent.''
The commission also called
for legislation allowing those
aged 16 and 17 to make ``living
wills'' which would enable
them to make critical decisions
as to their own healthcare.
This could include a direction
to doctors not to resuscitate
them.
However the commission
said that where a person under 18 refuses life-sustaining
treatment, the High Court must
approve their decision after
assessing the young person's
capacity to make such decisions.
Households
face new
E100 charge
ANNE O'CONNELL
Camping can be a wonderful

experience for children of all
ages. Toddlers love a back
garden tent as a space to
hide in. From pre-school age
Rules
ble, with simple borrowed

kit to see if it works for the
family.
Light a campfire, with an
adult in attendance always,
have supper out of doors and
rediscover board games,
puzzles and stargazing. Then
cuddle up together. Even a
rainy night under canvas can
be magical, with the drops
falling only a few inches
from your face. We learn
quickly to keep all bedding
away from the sides of the
tent!
The next stage is a trip
away from home. There are 3
main options; (1) a trip to a
suitable local area where you
FAMILY
ACTIVITIES
Kids under
canvas
address. It can occur day or

night and the audience to the
bullying can be very large,
and so it can involve public
humiliation for the victim.
Key advice is that children
should never be afraid to tell
you about scary or bullying
messages they receive.
search engines like kids.yahoo.com and askkids.com

* Asking your child to tell
you if they accidentally visit unsuitable website, so
you can block it.
* Letting them know that it's
never OK to use or receive
abusive or threatening language in an online forum.
* Children must take breaks
from the computer every 30
minutes.
* Telling them never to
download unknown files
from the internet without
your permission.
* Never to give out person
information
* Never respond to unsolicited messages
* Never arrange to meet an
online friend in person
without your knowledge
and permission.
* Not to give out information
as to age and gender, or any
personal information especially address, registration
details and bank details.
* Never visit online chatrooms that are not fully
moderated and supervised.
* Parents should report any
potentially illegal content
to hotline.ie
Irish households will be lumbered with a new E100 service

charge announced by the
Government this week.
The new charge is expected to bring in over E150m
in annual revenue to the State's coffers.
It will affect some 1.8 million
households, but there will be a
number of exemptions for the
lower paid.
It is expected that the
charge will come into force in
the next year.
COMMENT
28|
Family&Life
Kids will always say it as they see it

truth. Even older children are
has left many Catholics reel-
we happen to hail from Cork;
pretty intolerant of lies and
ing.
if we're honest with our-
deceit.
For Catholic parents,
selves and our children, we
there's the added issue of
may have to face up to the
capable of twisting the truth,
how to deal with the damage
fact that a rousing rant, no
but if they detect any sort of
that has been inflicted on the
matter how populist or well
similar behaviour in their
tender trusting nature of
delivered is not worth the
parents or in those they look
their children. The victims of
paper it's written on if it
up to, they'll be quick to
abuse have been damaged,
lacks the essence of truth.
point it out. Most adults
often beyond repair, but,
There's a saying that ``Truth
understand that there's an
truth has been another major
stands on one side and ease
have, on occasion, been
accepted social language
victim in the whole sorry
on the other''. It can seem
embarrassed by the
which is utilised in situations
saga. Truth, has to be upheld,
easy to brush over the truth,
honesty and lack of
like dealing with unwelcome
no matter how painful or
to let untruths go unchal-
duplicity of their young
or unexpected callers, either
unpalatable that truth ap-
lenged. When some extreme
children. Older children have
on the phone or to the door.
pears to be. We can't confuse
views suggest that the
usually developed a measure
It's a language that small
our former love or loyalty
Catholic Church should be
of tact and are more tuned in
children don't speak and in-
and refuse to face up to
kicked out of Ireland, when
to the obvious difference
structing them to indicate
reality. Another concern for
our older children read the
between presenting the un-
that ``My mother's not in''
parents is what to tell our
most obscene insults about
varnished truth or elucidat-
will lead to loudly voiced
children when they ask us
Pope Benedict with no at-
ing the facts in a kinder, less
protestations.
why bishops, those who are
tempt to portray a true im-
Of course, children are
Maria Byrne
think most parents
forthright, manner. Smaller
I've found it much simpler
In The Emperor's New Clothes, it is an innocent child,

that blurts out the truth.
dren are being bombarded
possible values in their pub-
meant to lead with love and
age of his endless efforts to

stamp out abuse, it can seem
children are inclined to say it
to be strictly honest in saying
with on a daily basis, telling
lic and private lives? Recent
loyalty to the Christian mes-
as they see it, much to the
that I'm not available to deal
them to present a perfect
occurrences have lead us to
sage, have acted in a most
simpler to just keep out of
discomfort of their mortified
with a particular person or
picture to the world, with a
seriously question the depth
un-Christlike fashion. Yet
the firing line.
parents.
of that concern.
again, we have to turn to the
problem and the children
focus on outward appear-
However, there's some-
don't feel obliged to yell out
ances more than any inner
thing refreshing and appeal-
loudly `Àre you here or not,
beauty or lasting values. It's
ing about this direct
mum?'' I've discovered that,
the lasting values that we
The Emperor's
New Clothes, it is an innocent
approach. Maybe, we've be-
especially when you have
want to promote in our
come so accustomed to a
children, honesty is defi-
certain level of casual de-
nitely the best policy.
ception or misrepresentation
It's often quoted that ``the
In reality, we do our chil-
truth ``the truth shall set
dren no favours by main-
you free''. In terms suited to
taining a stony silence. If we
the understanding of the
taught them that we value
child, too young to under-
child, we have to spell out
truth, we must use every
children and we often look to
stand the perceived desir-
that some of our leaders
opportunity to speak hon-
our religious or political lea-
ability of keeping up the
failed to lead; that those we
estly, even in the face of
ders to provide good exam-
pretence, that blurts out the
looked up to and who were
unfair and ferocious attacks.
In the Hans Christian An-
dersen tale,
that we appreciate the star-
truth will set you free''. It
ples of how to be men or
truth. As adults, we can be-
entrusted to shepherd the
If politicians and public fig-
tling honesty of children and
isn't just the truth that sets
women of truth, integrity
come very attached to our
flock, left the sheep to the
ures are lacking, parents are
their disconcerting ability to
us free, it is knowing the
and sincerity. Is it totally
vision of truth. We don't
mercy of the wolves.
still in a unique position to
cut to the chase. Their un-
truth and applying it that
unrealistic to hope that those
want to admit that, perhaps,
ashamed simplicity can
leads to real freedom. There's
who seek to lead us should
the emperor isn't wearing
truth, uninfluenced by old
of the real truth, a truth that
teach us a thing or two about
a huge absence of truth in
be scrupulously concerned
any clothes. The shocking
`tribal' loyalties. We can't
has been somewhat diluted
the importance of valuing
the messages that our chil-
about upholding the highest
reality of the Cloyne Report
defend a Cork man because
in recent days and weeks.
We have to tell the whole
press forward in the pursuit
Dad's Diary Rory Fitzgerald

Does anyone write long, well thought out
letters to their loved ones any more? In
almost every attic in Ireland sit boxes of
dusty letters received from loved ones near
and far. These often only come to light after
an elderly relative passes away. They
document, in beautiful handwriting, the
everyday lives and happenings of people
long passed.
In the era before telephones, letters
would be sent to relatives and friends only
10 or 20 miles away. Those sent to the
distant shores of America or Australia
would take weeks to arrive. The writer
knew they were communicating into the
future. Before thoughts were committed to
paper, they were carefully considered. The
voice used in writing, even to close
relatives, was a semi-formal one. The
speech used was not careless or hurried
and the copperplate handwriting lent the
pages an intimacy and an easy beauty.
Such letters speak of a more genteel era,
when people's everyday lives contained
more time, more quiet, and nobody was
harried by the bombardment of text messages and emails.
There is something beautifully theatrical
about the process of letter writing. It was
even sensual: before starting, you had to
select the best writing paper, the right

shade of ink, and fit a newly-cleaned brass
nib to the fountain pen. All of these
combined to produce the satisfying scratch
of pen on paper. The high-risk process of
writing required real concentration, as
disastrous ink blots or spelling mistakes
could strike at any moment. There was no
electronic àuto-correct.'
Forgotten art form
To a younger generation, letter writing is a

forgotten art form. I just caught the tail end
of it, my earliest teenage romances having
taken place just before the advent of email
and cheap international calls. I knew the
thrill of picking up, in trembling anticipation,
a perfume-scented letter which just days
before was held by the very soft hands I
longed to hold. The letter, you see, was a
physical relic of the one you loved: it
offered a real and physical link to them one that email can never replace.
Letters provide a lasting record of
thoughts, lives and loves. Our text messages are not worth saving, and our emails
are but carelessly strewn phrases and
acronyms. The way we most often communicate nowadays is by phone. Yet as
soon as we put the phone down, our
conversations just disappear into the ether

without trace. In letters, we have eloquent
records of our grandparents' lives. We will
have plenty photographs and video footage
to leave our grandchildren, which do
provide a wonderful visual record. Yet
letters provide impressions of something
more important: our innermost thoughts,
our very souls. They still speak about what
was most deeply precious to those long
gone.
All this absurd nostalgia for letters was
provoked by staying up late the past few
nights reading, O Beloved Kids, a collection of Rudyard Kipling's letters to his
children. Amusing and poetic by turn, they
trace his fond relationship with his children
through the first years of the 20th Century including the tragic loss of his son John in
the First World War at the age of just 18.
Above all, they underline the intimate sort
of communication that only the handwritten word can provide.
As someone who is fascinated by
and regularly uses the latest communications technologies, from videophones,
to cloud computing, to instant messaging,
Kipling's missives have put me in mind to
make yet another technological purchase: I
think I'm going to buy a fountain pen.
FEATURE|29
For information on how to join the Special Olympics team as

an athlete, coach or volunteer check out:
www.specialolympics.ie
The chance of a lifetime
we managed both of those

things.
``When we were out there
we were meeting other Irish
players and because a lot of
the other teams were winning medals the pressure
was on, but for me the
medals are just a bonus,'' he
says, referring to his own
athletes who came home
with one gold, two silver and
three bronze medals.
Michael's involvement
with the Special Olympics
stretches back many years.
When a notice went up in his
local golf club in Doneraile
12 years ago looking for
volunteers, it was the start of
a willing commitment that
would see him turn up for
coaching sessions every
week since.
``Four years ago I became
a golf co-ordinator for Munster and from that I put my
name in for Athens. I was
selected at the end of last
year, as were the athletes
and we had monthly training
sessions throughout the
winter. As well as that, all
the athletes were getting
weekly sessions with their
own coaches.''
For the
recently
returned
Team Ireland,
life after the
Special
Olympics
World Games
is about so
much more
than winning
medals,
writes Aoife
Hegarty
AURA Mangan's
friend list on Facebook has swollen
tenfold. A member
of the successful Team Ireland who returned home
earlier this month to a rapturous welcome with 107
medals in toe, a wider circle
of friends is just one of the
added benefits 24-year-old
Laura takes away from representing Ireland at the
2011 Special Olympics
World Summer Games in
Athens, Greece.
``Laura is on Facebook
every evening staying in
touch with the friends she's
made and she's made lots of
them,'' laughs her mother
Mary, who along with
Laura's father, travelled to
Athens to provide support
during the Games. ``She's still
living off the high of it all and
the celebrity status it has
given her!''
Really proud
A silver medallist in the

basketball competition, Dubliner Laura beams that `Ì
felt really proud to put on
the green jersey and represent my country''. However,
as a dedicated member of
her local club, Prosper Fingal
Ltd and someone who has an
interest in a wide variety of
sports, Laura's involvement
with the Special Olympics
over the last four years, has
taught her it's not all about
winning.
Four-year cycle
Ann Marie Cooney and Laura Mangan (right) celebrate victory at the Special Olympics World Games. Photo: Sportsfile
Members of the aquatics team all raring to go en route to

the World Games in Athens. Photo: Sportsfile
``These were my first finals to take part in and it was

brilliant but I just love playing and having a bit of fun.
As a team we all got along
really well,'' Laura says, referring to the camaraderie
she enjoys with her sporting
friends.
As an experience Laura
boosts that she'll ``definitely
remember it forever'', as will
her proud parents.
`Ìt was a fantastic occa-
sion and it was so moving to

see the faces of the whole
team when they won because they really did play as
a team and from their first
game you could see their
standard improving,'' Mary
says, explaining that Laura
and her team mates were
piped at the post for gold,
having been beaten by just
four points by the home
team.
``They really deserved it,
Team Ireland's table tennis stars. Photo: Sportsfile
they worked really hard and

played exceptionally well.
We're so proud of her.''
Hardworking
It's worth remembering that

sense of a job well done
extends beyond the participants and their families. Behind every athlete is an
equally hardworking coach
and they too take much from
the Special Olympics experience.
`Ì get tremendous satisfaction from it and there's

the realisation of what's a
problem and what's not,''
says North Cork man and
golf coach, Michael Forde.
``From my point of view, it
was the most enjoyable
thing I've ever done. It wasn't
easy, there was a lot of
responsibility involved but
we went away with two
aims to have a good time
and to come back safely and
And with the World Games

now completed, Michael
says the four-year cycle begins anew. Next year there
are the Area Games, from
which the winners will progress to the Regional Games
before partaking in the Ireland Games and qualifying
for the World Summer
Games again in 2015.
`Ì've already started
drawing up next year's
schedule. There's no let off,''
Michael laughs, adding that
now, in his retirement, the
Special Olympics have given
him `àn outlet'' he wouldn't
change for the world.
`Ònly so many athletes go
to the World Games but it's
what goes on on a weekly
basis throughout the country
that's important. The enjoyment they get out of it is
immense it's not like other
players in a golf club who are
only concerned with winning or minding their handicap and that's what makes it
so special.
`Ì'd absolutely encourage
people to get involved. I'm
always laughing with the
athletes, there is so much
natural goodness in them,
they really appreciate the
time you give them and that
leaves my work very easy.
The Special Olympics gives
them the opportunity to do
great things and they get the
chance of a lifetime.''
COMMENT
30|
FrRolheiser
www.ronrolheiser.com
Struggling to understand suicide

R
ECENTLY a friend
attended the funeral of a man who
had taken his own
life. At the end of the service
the deceased man's brother
spoke to the congregation.
After highlighting his brother's generosity and sensitivity and sharing some
anecdotes that helped celebrate his life he went on to
say something about the
manner of his death. Here, in
effect, are his words:
When someone is stricken
with cancer, one of three
things can happen: Sometimes doctors can treat the
disease and, in essence, cure
it.
Sometimes the medical
professionals cannot cure the
disease but can control it
enough so that the person
suffering from cancer can
live with the disease for the
rest of his or her life. Sometimes, however, the cancer is
of a kind that cannot be
treated. All the medicine and
treatments in the world are
powerless and the person
dies.
Certain kinds of emotional depression work the
same way: Sometimes they
can be treated so that, in
effect, the person is cured.
Sometimes they cannot ever
really be cured, but they can
be treated in such a way that
the person can live with the
disease for his or her whole
life. And sometimes, just as
with certain kinds of cancer,
the disease is untreatable,
unstoppable, no intervention
by anyone or anything can
halt its advance. Eventually
it kills the person and there
is nothing anyone can do. My
brother's depression was of
that kind, the terminal kind.
This can be helpful, I believe, for any of us who have
suffered the loss of a loved
one to suicide. All death
unsettles us, but suicide
leaves us with a very particular series of emotional,
moral, and religious scars. It
brings with it an ache, a
chaos, a darkness, and a
stigma that has to be experienced to be believed.
Sometimes we deny it, but

it's always there, irrespective
of our religious and moral
beliefs.
Indeed, as part of its
darkness and stigma, suicide
not only takes our loved ones
away from us, it also takes
away our true memory of
them. The gift that they
brought into our lives is now
no longer celebrated. We
never again speak with pride
about their lives. Their pictures come off the wall,
photos of them get buried
deep inside drawers that we

never open again, their
names are less and less
mentioned in conversation,
and of the manner of their
death we rarely speak. Suicide takes our loved ones
away from us in more ways
than we sometimes admit.
And there is no easy answer for how to reverse that,
though a better understanding of suicide can be a start.
Not all suicides are of the
same kind. Some suicides
come about because the
person is too arrogant and
too hard-of-heart to want to
live in this world. But that, I
As human
submit, is the exception not
beings we are
the norm.
neither pure
Most suicides, certainly
angels nor pure all the cases that I have
animals, but are known, come about for the
opposite reason, namely, the
always both
person is too bruised and
body and soul,
over-sensitive to have the
one psychoresiliency needed to consomatic whole. tinue to cope with life. In
And either part these cases, and that is the
majority of suicides, the
can break down. vast
cause of death can pretty
accurately be termed as
cancer, emotional cancer.

Just as with physical cancer,
the person dying of suicide is
taken out of this life against
his or her will. Death by
suicide is the emotional
equivalent of cancer, a
stroke, or a heart attack.
Thus, its patterns are the
same as those of cancer,
strokes, and heart attacks.
Death can happen suddenly
or it can be the end-product
of a long struggle that slowly
wears a person down. Either
way, it's involuntary.
As human beings we are
neither pure angels nor pure
animals, but are always both
body and soul, one psychosomatic whole. And either
part can break down.
This can be helpful in
understanding suicide,
though a better understanding will not necessarily mean
that the darkness and stigma
that surround it will simply
go away. We will still feel
many of the same things we
felt before in the face of
suicide: We will still feel
awful. We will still feel con-
flicted and be given over to

guilt-feelings and secondguessing. We will still feel
uneasy about how this person died and will still feel a
certain disease in talking
about the manner of his or
her death. We will still feel a
certain hesitancy in celebrating that person's life in
the manner we would have
had the death been by natural causes. We will still go
to our own graves with a
black hole in our hearts. The
pain of a suicide leaves its
own indelible mark on the
soul.
But at a different level of
understanding something
else will break through that
will help us better deal with
all those conflicted feelings,
namely, empathy for and
understanding of someone
whose emotional immune
system has broken down.
And that understanding will
also bring with it the concomitant consolation that
God's empathy and understanding far exceeds our
own.
been an integral part of

many parishioners' week;
there are presently over 150
people attending Adoration
on a weekly basis, a tremendous success for such a rural
mountain village. The community of Pomeroy has
heard several talks delivered
in relation to Adoration,
most notably from John Howard and Mickey Harte, who
spoke about the fruits of
regular Adoration. As an appropriate gesture of solidarity and compassion,
members of the community
offered an hour of Adoration

for the Harte Family in the
weeks after Michaela's
death. Undoubtedly Adoration is the bedrock of our
faith; spending time with
Jesus is an excellent way of
nurturing our inner yearning
for God.
The county of Tyrone is
certainly aflame with Adoration; the communities of
Dungannon, Cookstown and
Coalisland also have daily
Adoration.
Indeed, in the west of the
county Dunemanagh and
Gortin have established a
weekly Adoration rota, a
clear sign that the Spirit has
been working through many
to reach even the remotest of
places. Adoration encapsulates the Kingdom of God as
we know it here on earth,
starting as a very small
`mustard seed' and growing
into something truly special
that has brought joy and
happiness to both believers
and non-believers alike. As
Adoration becomes increasingly a feature of community
life in parishes throughout
Ireland, it seems that, no
matter how much else
changes in our chaotic world,
many people still find the
time to spend a weekly hour
with Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament.
Eucharistic
Adoration
increasing
Eucharistic
Adoration is
increasingly
becoming a
feature of
community
life in
parishes
throughout
Ireland,
writes Enda
vocation to promoting
Adoration and the worship of
the Blessed Sacrament; such
was Sister Margaret Mary's
dedication that she said, `Ì
desire but this one grace, and
long to be consumed like a
burning candle in his holy
presence every moment of
the life that remains to me''.
Traditionally in our native
country Eucharistic Adoration would have been an
infrequent occurrence, a privilege reserved for special
feast days and holy seasons
such as Christmas and Easter. However in our world,
where Jesus is often regarded
as absent, attendance at Eucharistic Adoration has
greatly accelerated in recent
years.
HE exposition of
One parish in Country
the Blessed Sacra- Tyrone, Pomeroy, has seen
ment has long
Eucharistic Adoration implebeen a devotion
mented into a structured
venerated by Catholics
weekly observance. Since
throughout history. As
2003 the community of PoCatholics we believe that
meroy have enjoyed the
Jesus is truly present, physi- sacred atmosphere of the
cally and spiritually, `ìn
Blessed Sacrament Chapel
body, blood, soul and divifor 40 hours a week. Along
nity'' in the sacred host.
with some dedicated parThe biblical roots of
ishioners, Father Martin
Adoration originate in Jesus' McVeigh achieved a monucommand at the Last Supper, mental success in the estab``This is my body given for
lishment of the weekly 40you''. Many of the saints,
hour devotion of Eucharistic
most notably Saint Margaret Adoration, attended reguMary, dedicated their life's
larly by a large group in the
Murphy
local community. For many

in such a rural community
Adoration has been a source
of comfort, healing and
strength. Parishioners there
flock into the beautiful,
newly-constructed Adoration Chapel and meditate in
the quiet, reflective and
sacred atmosphere. Indeed
such is the communal love
for Adoration that frequent
40- hour devotions and
prayer meetings are held.
One parishioner comments:
`Àdoration for me is spiritual
therapy. I talk to Jesus and
let go of my burdens and

anxieties; I feel lighter and
more spiritual after attending Adoration''.
The current Adoration
Chapel in Pomeroy was built
in 2007/8 and officially
opened by Bishop Gerard
Clifford, following the blessing, five years earlier, by
Cardinal Sean Brady of the
temporary space used in the
main Assumption Church.
These were significant moments in the growth of the
devotion within Pomeroy.
Since 2003 Adoration has
REVIEWS
Film
Aubrey Malone
|31
Mysterious visitor to Ohio
Super 8 (12A)
AKE a pinch of M Night Shyamalan,

mix it up with slices of King Kong
and The Blob, then add a sprinkle
of Enid Blyton. What have you got
when you take it out of the microwave?
Super 8, that's what.
The name of Steven Spielberg can't be too
far away from this ``Secret Seven Meets E.T.''
confection set in 1979, and indeed he pops
up as co-Executive Producer in the end
credits. These go on for so long a testament
to the profusion of high-tech visual effects on
view there's even time for a B-moviewithin-a-movie as they roll down the right
hand half of the screen.
There is, in fact, much of the B-movie
about Super 8 in general. Think of a kind of
reconstructed The Thing From Outer Space and
you're half way there. The motif of homegrown zombie movies on the part of the
teens in the cast copperfasten this mood, as
does the presence of our central hero, the
kind of straight-up dependable he-man I
used to see in Westerns when I was a child.
Kyle Chandler, who plays him, seems like
a latterday Fess Parker or Stuart Whitman.

He doesn't even need to act. That handsome
smalltown trust-me face does all the work
for him.
I don't want to reveal too much of the plot
because a lot of the entertainment value in
this tremendously entertaining adventure
rests on the fact that for the first half of it we
haven't really the foggiest idea what's going
on.
One night when the aforementioned kids
are shooting one of their painfully amateurish zombie flicks, a train is heard approaching. The director, Charles (Riley Griffiths
playing the token overweight charmer)
shouts ``Production values!'' and decides to
bring the train in on the shot. But when said
train crashes into a truck on the track,
spewing steel and metal over what seems to
be half of Ohio, things get serious.
For the next hour or so we're in the throes
of everything from mysteriously disappearing bodies (some of this is scary, younger
viewers be warned) to a possible military
conspiracy spearheaded by the ruthless Colonel Nelec (Noah Emmerich). Director/
screenwriter J.J. Abrams even finds time for a
TV
&
Radio
Brendan O'Regan
budding teen romance between angel-faced

Joe (Joel Courtney) and dreamy Alice (Elle
Fanning).
It all begins when Joe's mother dies in a
factory accident. (His loyal guarding of a
locket she gave him forms a touching sidebar
theme).
Could this have anything to do with Joe's
biology teacher (Glynn Turman) falling foul
of the Air Force top brass vis-a-vis the
appearance of a gigantic extra-terrestrial on
our planet? Or the subsequent phenomenon
of dogs disappearing, domestic appliances
being whisked up into the stratosphere, and
the devastation of the town's electrical
supply, plunging everyone into darkness?
There's also an evacuation along the lines
of The Day After Tomorrow, and more twists
and turns than the road to Boris-in-Ossory.
It's toe-curlingly exciting fare but the finale
does stretch credibility a bit. Still, by that
stage we're so far from kitchen sink drama
anyway that your credibility is well and truly
suspended.
This should pack 'em in right through the
summer and make Mr Spielberg even more
obscenely rich than he already is.
Reactions, controversy after Cloyne
HE Cloyne Report
controversy was
still intense when
Taoiseach Enda
Kenny launched his firework
at the Vatican on Wednesday
of last week.
I was not impressed
watching Kenny deliver his
speech. I agreed with much
of it, especially after reading
the full speech, but it seemed
to me overstated, overly
theatrical, overly crafted,
historically and theologically
dodgy in spots, ultimately
polarising and strikingly inadequate in its assessment of
the State's failings. And the
more it was all that, the less
it came across as sincere and
heartfelt. Where did he get
all these flourishes like the
``swish of a soutane, the
swing of a thurible''? And
what the heck is ``the gimlet
eye of the canon lawyer''?
Admittedly the speech
has been well received at
least by most of those allowed a hearing in the media. It galled me to hear media
commentators hailing this as
a `line in the sand', a `crossing of the rubicon', the `sign
of a new Republic', a `declaration of sovereignty'!
(Have they read the IMF
Miriam O'Callaghan
deal?) I was surprised to

hear several priests in the
media enthusing over Kenny's speech.
Later that Wednesday
evening Archbishop Diarmuid Martin was interviewed on the Six-One
News. His contribution came
across as sincere and genuine, he said he was impressed by Mr Kenny's
emotion, though thought he
should have apologised for
the State's failures. His frustration at the abuses and
failures in Cloyne was palpable (`àngry, ashamed and
appalled''), and his reference

to a ``cabal'' in the Church
undermining official Church
guidelines on child protection was much quoted for
the rest of the week. He
didn't want to be cast as the
lone bishop, and didn't think
he was being marginalised,
as some had suggested.
On Thursday's Morning
Ireland Senator Ronan Mullen was more inclined to
admire Archbishop Martin's
contribution than Kenny's.
He referred to `àlmost the
venom'' in Kenny's speech.
Mullen, along with David
Quinn and Breda O'Brien in
particular have been articulate and courteous, not so
much defending the Church
(they have been unambiguous in slating abuses and
failures) as trying to inject
some balance and a broader
justice when it hasn't been
popular in media circles. This
has been all the more important considering the frequent and incomprehensible
unavailability of official
Church spokespersons.
On last Thursday's The
Last Word Gerard O'Connell,
Vatican correspondent of The
Universe tried to offer his
understanding and rebalan-
cing of the issue but Colm

O'Gorman didn't like it, referring to ``this kind of guff''
and ``that kind of rubbish''.
He is well informed and
passionate on these issues,
but some respect for people
who disagree with him
would be in order.
I had mixed feelings about
Fr Brian D'arcy's appearance
on Saturday Night with
Miriam (RTE 1 last Saturday). I certainly couldn't relate to his description of
Enda's speech as ``beautiful''.
Fr D'arcy echoed a lot of
what Archbishop Martin had
said, for example his frustration with Cloyne, and his

sense that the lay child protection volunteers in particular had been let down. I
thought he was OTT when he
declared he didn't give `à
tuppeny damn'' for institutions, State or Church, but
later said with passion that
he loved the Church and
loved being a priest, though
wasn't interested in clericalism (is there anybody left
who does?). He said ``we
clerics have to let go of the
power'', and I was thinking
how much smoother and
A PROFILE IN COURAGE
EWTN Mon, Aug 1 9pm
PICK OF
THE WEEK
THE JEWISH PEOPLE: A
STORY OF SURVIVAL
RTE 2 Mon, Aug 1, 7.55pm
Story of Fr John F. Harvey,

the founding director of the
Catholic ministry, `Courage'
ministering to persons with
same-sex attraction.
Exploring how a small group
4thought.tv
Channel 4 Mon, Aug 1
11.35pm
who started as desert no-
Asking seven comics
mads overcame countless
whether religion should be
obstacles to survive to the
off-limits when it comes to
present day.
comedy.
more positive it would have

been if that had happened
years ago, before it pretty
much had to happen.
All this controversy had a
backdrop throughout last
week Liveline featured,
again, harrowing stories told
by survivors of the industrial
schools and the Magdalene
Laundries. On Wednesday
night, TG4 broadcast Stephen
O'Riordan's film on the
Magdalenes, The Forgotten
Maggies. Weak on a technical
level, it packed an emotional
punch one of so many
punches the Church has been
raining down on the Church,
some of it deserved and
some of it unfair and vindictive. I felt primarily for the
victims and survivors but
also for those priests and
nuns who were compassionate, moral and dedicated
particularly on Friday's Liveline there was a tendency to
paint all with the same
brush, to inculcate a fear of
'the collar' as such. Another
injustice added to the burdens so many people have to
carry thanks to the cruelties,
often casual and thoughtless,
of others.
boregan@hotmail.com
REVIEWS
32|
BookReviews
Edited by Peter Costello
Recent books in brief
By the Book Editor
Test Everything: Hold Fast to What is Good, by Cardinal
George Pell (Quartet Books, 25/E28.29 approx.)
Cardinal Pell is the influential Archbishop of Sydney.

Seen as a close ally of Benedict XVI, it is likely that he will
be a figure who the wider world will hear a great deal more
of. This in itself would be no bad thing: the dominance of
Anglo-American opinion over our ideas certainly needs
tempering. The cardinal is not adverse to controversy. In this
collection of essays, commentaries and addresses, he deals
with matters of first principal, defying modern reductionism
with an appreciation of how it is ``more reasonable'' to
believe in God than not to.
His opinions are clear and trenchant. To those at the
World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008, he observed:
``Following Christ is not cost free, not always easy, because
it requires struggling against what St Paul call `the flesh', our
fat relentless egos, old fashioned selfishness. It is always a
battle, even for old people like me!.'
Old or not, even as a newspaper columnist the cardinal
makes his influence felt. When he speaks on religious affairs
this is well and good. But on other matters, such a global
warming (on the existence of which he has doubts), where
his opinions are only as good as a layman's, he must expect
vigorous comment in reply. His Antipodean countrymen are
not shy about speaking out, even in debate with a cardinal.
Two earlier books by Cardinal Pell will be of interest to
readers: God and Caesar (Catholic University of America
Press, 26.95) and Ratzinger's Faith: The Theology of
Pope Benedict XVI (OUP, US$17.95).
Living Cells: Vision and Practicalities of Small Christian

Communities and Groups, by James O'Halloran (E15.99
pb)
This is the revised and much updated edition of a book
first published in 1980. With parish life as it was once known
under threat from all sides, Fr O'Halloran offers another
vision of working together to revitalise not just the Church
but society as a whole. Though, of course, the central notion
of the book is the creation of spiritual groups, what he has to
say will be of great value to all of those who band together to
promote alternative ideas for the common good to those that
dominate modern Western society, ideas that have proved
in recent years increasingly damaging to mind, body and
spirit. The value of this book lies, as the subtitle rightly
suggests, in the author's practicality. He recognises that
getting people working together in a common cause can
often be a difficult affair, human nature being what it is. But
the results of success can be transforming.
My Book of Kells Colouring Book, designed by Owen

O'Brien (O'Brien Press, E6.99 pb)
Children are never too young to be introduced to the

glorious treasures of our Christian past. The exhibition at
Trinity College Dublin, though not free like the National
Museum, makes a very worthwhile family summer outing.
This book is aimed at the youngest kind of audience,
encouraging understanding by happy imitation. Also available is the Oscar nominated DVD The Secret of Kells
E14.99), from which Eithne Massey has derived an
entertaining children's book (E7.99). For an older audience
there is Exploring the Books of Kells, by the late George
Otto Sims, a recognised expert on the making of the
illuminated manuscript (E9.99)
Correction: due to an editorial oversight in the review of Sir
Colin Humphrey's book The Mystery of the Last Supper
(Irish Catholic, July 14), Ash Wednesday was referred to as
of ``Spy Wednesday''. Comments and corrections always
welcome: books@irishcatholic.ie
TARA SHOP
6 AVENUE PEYRAMALE
65100 LOURDES
TEL 00 33 5 62 94 05 81
We look forward to seeing you again

during your Pilgrimage in 2011
When Fenian
fever swept
the country
``The Fenians were
dreadful men'': The
1867 Rising
By Padraig O
Concubhair
(Mercier Press, E19.99)
J. Anthony Gaughan
A ME S S t e p h e n s
velled throughout Ireland

and as a result of their efforts
thousands of the disaffected
and dispossessed became
sworn members of IRB. Stephens and William Moore
Stack even successfully persuaded soldiers serving in
Irish regiments to join the
organisation.
founded the Irish

Republican Brotherhood in March
1858. John O'Mahony established the Fenian Brotherhood, a parallel organisation, in the US a year later.
When the organisations
fused their members became
known as ``the Fenians'' in
popular parlance. In his new
book Padraig O Concubhair
provides a comprehensive
account of the development
of the movement and its
chaotic and confused Rising
in the early months of 1867.
In the early 1960s James
Stephens and others tra-
Serious threat
From Big Bang to Big

Mystery: Human
Origins in the light of
Creation and Evolution
By Brendan Purcell (Veritas, E19.99)
leading academics and by at

least one scientific journalist.
It is full of gems of information and of fascinating
propositions. Above all it
approaches the whole matter
of its topic from the point of
view of `philosophy' in the
narrow but very widely accepted sense of that word.
This in itself may be a problem.
The movement was seen as

posing a serious threat by
the British authorities particularly when, following the
US civil war, large numbers
of Irish-born veterans of the
Union and Confederate armies volunteered to join a
Rising in Ireland. To deal
with the threat the British
Administration in Dublin
Castle succeeded in placing
informers at the highest levels of the Fenian organisation. From his extensive
research O Concubhair
names them and describes
how after they had testified

against their former comrades in court they and their
families were settled in the
colonies.
The Rising was fixed for
March 5, 1867. Three weeks
earlier the Fenians of the
Cahirciveen area ``went
out''. They were quickly
rounded up and jailed. Subsequently there were outbreaks of violence in
Counties Cork, Kilkenny,
Laois, Limerick, Louth and
Tipperary.
The most significant muster of Fenians occurred in
Dublin, where a thousand
men gathered and marched
out of the city to the village
of Tallaght, capturing some
police-barracks as they went.
They were quickly dispersed
by the police and military. To
make the Fenian Rising still
more hopeless there followed twelve days and
nights of snowstorms, mak-
ing impossible a guerrilla

war from the hills.
The author records the
other Fenian exploits which
were to become part of the
Irish folk-memory. There
world award doctorates in

philosophy to people working in just about all disciplines because the word
means ``love of wisdom''.
Natural science and theology
are subdivisions of philosophy and should not be treated as parallel disciplines.
Later in the book, when he
is referring to the work of
that outstanding communicator of science Stephen J
Gould, Father Purcell writes
``Typically, these types of
investigation are naturalscientific and religious
surprisingly philosophic investigation never seems to
be given the same attention''.
There is nothing surprising about this. Scientific and
religious studies are philosophic investigations. What
the author may mean is that
these two depend on observation of material phenomena or on records of religious
traditions and experience,
while philosophy in his interpretation is reasoning in
some way separated from
these. And this really is a
problem when writing of

cosmology and transcendental ideas.
Philosophy, if it is to have
any true validity, cannot separate itself from the two
subdivisions that he names
nor from any of such
others as mathematics.
And this is tied up in an
underlying message of the
book. Father Purcell is striving to bring together the
supposedly separate topics
of science and religion. He is
one of many writers to do so
and for this he deserves the
highest praise But, although
the subject of endless argument, the division in itself is
artificial. A great, though uncounted, number of scientists and theologians do not
accept the reality of the
division and never did.
As a natural scientist,
rather than what the author
would call a ``philosopher'',
reading this book, a number
of observations come to
mind.
One is the degree to
which interpretations rather
The deepening mystery
Christopher Moriarty
ATHER Brendan
Purcell is Adjunct
Professor in the
School of Philosophy at Notre Dame University, Sydney. A graduate of
University College Dublin he
studied also at Leuven and in
the Pontifical Lateran University. Ordained in 1967,
he served in Dublin and is
now assistant priest at St
Mary's Cathedral, Sydney.
He has travelled widely,
pursued his philosophical
studies in a number of colleges worldwide and might
well be said to be a man of
sufficient erudition to tackle
the huge subject of this book.
Its sub-title is ``Human origins in the light of creation
and evolution''. The book has
been highly praised both by
Extreme care
All philosophers need to take

extreme care in the use of
words because words are the
essential tools in disseminating ideas and now and again
the reader comes up against
possible infelicities by the
author. He mentions, for example, ``biology and zoology''. The word `ànd''
implies that the two are
separate. Zoology in fact is
one of the many subdivisions
of biology.
More serious in this context is his reference to ``natural science, philosophy and
theology''. English-speaking
universities throughout the
REVIEWS
Fenians on trial after the

Battle of Tallaght
preparations for violent revolution, they were only too

well aware of the multiple
injustices visited on Catholic
people.
Cardinal
Cullen
and
Bishop David Moriarty were

particularly strong in their
denunciation of the leaders
of the Fenian Movement.
Moriarty's condemnation of
the Fenian Rising in Kerry
became notorious because of
its
intemperate
language
which he subsequently regretted.

However the main concern for most bishops and
priests was the safety of the
people. Thus Fr Foley, parish
priest of Tarbert, just before
a police raid rushed to a
house where there were incriminating Fenian records
and destroyed them.
Despite
the
shambolic
nature of the 1867 Rising

there remained a significant
residue of sympathy for the
Fenians in areas where they
had been active. One indication of this is the delightful
story that not long after 1867
Bishop Moriarty when conferring Confirmation in Listowel
was
somewhat
startled by a small boy who,

to the question ``Who are the
Martyrs?'', replied `Àllen,
Larkin and O'Brien''.
At a deeper level the ``diewas the attempt by the Erin's
associated with the `Manche-
from a prison van in that
hards''
Hope to land much-needed
ster Marytrs', Allen, Larkin
city.
men'' of 1867 kept alive the
arms from the US and the
and O'Brien, hanged for their
rescue of Fenians from Cler-
involvement in the death of
difficult
the
future generations to con-
kenwell Prison in London.
Sergeant Brett, while effect-
Catholic bishops and priests.
tinue the fight for Irish in-
The Movement will be ever
ing the escape of comrades
While opposed to the Fenian
dependence.
The Fenians presented a

dilemma
of the universe
than basics are called into
understanding man and his
play. The author gives a great
position in the universe and
deal of space to the views of
d ivi ne
the philosopher and prolific
more than most, they effec-
writer Eric Voegelin. He also
tively bridged the supposed
has much good to say on
chasm between science and
Charles Darwin and clearly
religion.
t ho ugh t
b e c a us e,
has read key works by the
One of the reasons that
man whose writings truly
the task of explaining
brought about a revolution
rather than just describing
in how people regard the
``human origins in the light
universe. But a great deal of
of creation and evolution'' is
his treatment of Darwin is
that neither the fossil record
quotations from what other
nor the present knowledge of
people wrote about the man
the nature of God are suffi-
rather than what the man
cient to support categorical
himself wrote and thought.
conclusions on the origins of
The omissions are also
anything. Nevertheless, this
quite surprising. There is no
open-ended search deserves
mention, good or bad, of that
to be continued and is very
great Jesuit Pierre Teilhard
rewarding for all who em-
de Chardin whose posthu-
bark on it.
mous book
Humain
Le Phe nome ne
(The
Human Phenomenon
(1955), an exposi-
by Pierre Teihard de Chardin,
tion of the theory of evolu-
first published in English in
tion,
book,
1959, is currently available
beloved by biologists and
from Sussex University Press
is
brilliant
E22.35 pb / E65.95 hb. The
highly germane to Father
at
Purcell's thesis. Isaac Newton
original French version, Le
gets a footnote and a couple
nome
ne Humain, is availPhe
of passing references. Both
a bl e
re Teilhard and Newton

Pe
Points Essais / Seuil at
are of particular interest in
pb.)
in
paperback
from
E8.00
Orion Nebula
to
and
the
``hillside
Fenian ideal, which inspired
|33
The World of Books

By the Book Editor
Readers living in Dublin will be aware of the very odd signage
which Dublin Bus attaches to their bus stops. Aside from
giving the departure times of the buses, these also list places
along the routes. Yet these names are printed only in Gaelic.
Given that many buses now depart into areas that were green
fields twenty years ago, these names pose a mystery not only
for locals, but for tourists. While every encouragement should
be given to the use of Irish, this is an odd one.
Place names have always been controversial in Ireland.
Currently running at the Abbey Theatre, the new production of
Brian Friel's play Translations (Faber & Faber, E11.85)
revolves around the interlinguistic confusions of British military
and local people over place names during the Ordnance
Survey mapping in Co. Derry in the 1820s.
In point of historical fact, the play is misleading. The
military men certainly made the maps which carry versions of
the names then current, dealt with in a different way, it has to
be admitted, from what was done in Scotland. The Scots were
allowed their ``Bens'', we Irish got only our ``Pins''.
What the play does not make clear is that the research into
the names of Irish places was in the hands of some preeminent Irish scholars of the day whose knowledge of the Irish
language, ancient and modern, was of the profoundest kind.
One of these was John O'Donovan (1806-1861).
``The late Dr O'Donovan, while engaged in the Ordnance
Survey, travelled over a great part of Ireland, collecting
information on the traditions, topography, and antiquities of the
country. The result of these investigations he embodied in a
series of letters, which are now deposited in the Royal Irish
Academy, bound up in volumes; and they form the most
valuable body of information on Irish topography in existence.''
These are words of Patrick Weston Joyce, of whom more
in a moment. The Ordnance Survey intended to publish a
series of county memoirs incorporating what had been
gleaned. The one for Derry was in fact published. The
government took fright about the light the researches cast on
land holdings and suspended publication.
The letters cover 29 of the 32 counties of Ireland, the
exceptions being Antrim, Tyrone and Cork. In the 1930s
O'Donovan's letters were painstakingly typed out at the
direction of Fr Michael Flanagan, and copies distributed to
libraries around the country. Today, with new technology,
some 12 county volumes have been printed, mostly by The
Four Masters Press.
O'Donovan's letters were the result of field research. P. W.
Joyce again: ``His usual plan was to seek out the oldest and
most intelligent of the Irish-speaking peasantry in each
locality, many of whom are named in his letters; and besides
numberless other inquiries, he caused them to pronounce the
townland and other names, and used their assistance in
interpreting them''.
No-one seems to have thought O'Donovan worthy of a
play. In contrast to the reality of his researches, Translations is
merely political theatre of a modern kind.
The quoted above are taken from P. W. Joyce's Irish
Names of Places, published in three volumes between 1869
and 1913 (now reprinted by De Burca Books, 3 vols., E165).
This is one of those books which are eminently browsable, for
no matter where it is opened some curious stories and
information will be found.
It represents the labour of a life time, but was only one of a
large number of publications culminating in A Social History of
Ancient Ireland in 1913. Joyce's work has, inevitably, come in
for some disparaging comments from modern scholars, but
none of these have hastened to replace his work. Anyone
interested in the use of language in Ireland, should be
acquainted also with English as We Speak It in Ireland (1910)
What emerges from O'Donovan and Joyce's researches is
a feeling of the great antiquity of Irish place names. Nowadays
far more daunting is the thought that the Gaelic names they
record are not in fact the first names of places in Ireland, nor
will they be the last. The most ancient names, from 8000
years ago are lost. But new names appear all the time.
One of the buses that passes my door goes, according to
its destination display, to Ongar, which I always thought in my
simplicity was somewhere in darkest Essex. However much
Dublin Bus tries to enforce Irish names, developers around
Dublin seem ever-inclined to attach the oddest of English-type
name, like Ongar, to their new estates. So the battle over what
our places are called, dramatised by Brian Friel, continues in
another mode.
ANALYSIS
The Cloyne Report:

34|
Some key issues and lessons
Prof Ray Kinsella
HE protection, and
nurturing, of children is fundamental to the integrity

of any country. The Cloyne
Report has set-out catastrophic deficiencies in upholding this imperative
within that Diocese. It has
generated an anguished response within, and outside
of, the Church.
However, the interests of
children require an informed
and even-handed national
debate on the report. David
Quinn, in an article in the
Irish Independent, highlights
the lack of balance to date
and he is absolutely right. No
political party has a mandate
to highjack balanced and
even-handed debate on an
issue of such sensitivity;
one in which the good faith
of all, not excluding the Pope,
should be the starting point.
Balance
The need for balance is very

clear in reflecting on events
in the UK, our nearest neighbour, in the week in which
the Cloyne Report was published. The News of the World/
News Corp. debacle has generated a crisis that threatened to engulf not alone
the media, but the government and even the police.
This debacle is all about a
lack of responsibility and a
collapse of trust. But it would
be wholly wrong to say that
there are not politicians or
journalists or police of unimpeachable integrity, Of
course there are.
Here in Ireland, it is right
to require of the most passionate critic of the `Cloyne
Syndrome' the same evenhanded approach that might
be expected in addressing
institutional failures in all
other fields of civil society.
In the case of the Church,
such an approach begins and
ends with Christ. His Church
was founded on very fallible
individuals. One of the
twelve betrayed Him; one
denied Him. They foolishly
contended for power and
influence àt His right hand':
they presumed to `draw
down fire' on those whom
they believed to oppose His
teaching. They sought to exclude those who were not
followers but who spoke
well of Jesus; they sought to
hold back the children from
Him.
In all these things, He
instructed them by His
words and even more by
example how to see things
differently. He sent the Holy
Spirit to confer the doctrinal
infallibility that has preserved the Church from error
but not personal or institutional failings. There must

be a reason why He chose
such a frail and fallible
bunch. Perhaps because
every generation since then
sees in the Church a mirror
image good and bad of
itself and the need to continually look to Him.
Still this Church He
founded, for all its frailties,
has animated human history
over the last 2,000 years. It
has lit up Irish history and
since the time of St. Columbanus in the 6th-Century
(acknowledged by Robert
Schuman as one of the giants
who shaped European history).
At its best, it is a Church
rooted in the humility which
Our Blessed Lady exemplified `Humility with fierce
resolve', in the words of a
celebrated Harvard Business
Review article on leadership;
the heart of what true leadership is, whether in the
Church , in business and
also in politics.
`Judge Not'
Christ warned His followers

against judging others. In
judging the institutional
church, with all of its failings, the State leaves itself
wide open to being judged in
relation to its own duty of
care down the years.
The case has been made
that the State, too, has failed
in its duty of care to children
and, indeed, that the
Church's guidelines are even
more rigorous than those of
the State. Maybe so; but that
is no reason for the Church to
delay fundamental reforms
to rebuild trust.
But what this does do is to
reinforce the argument that
neither Church nor State
should claim a monopoly of
that most treacherous of all
locations the `high moral
ground'.
If, in fact, we really believe that it is the interests of
the child that matter most,
then both Church and State
Christ warned
His followers
against judging
others. In
judging the
institutional
Church, with all
of its failings,
the State leaves
itself wide open
to being judged
in relation to its
own duty of care
down the years.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks...Great reverence for life.

need to come together,
through gritted teeth if necessary, to learn the lessons
of their respective failings
and, more important, to
share their own distinctive
values, experiences and insights, in the protection and
nurturing of our children. A
culture of antagonism or expediency or legalism should
have no place in such an
important dialogue.
Issues
In the wake of the Cloyne

debacle, there are a number
of fundamental issues which
the Church should focus.
*It should acknowledge its
institutional failings as a
cross that it must carry
and, at the same time,
commit itself to renewal
building on all that it has
done (much of it unacknowledged); that is what
each of us are required to
do in our own lives.
*The issue of mandatory reporting has been addressed
by the Church. Over and
above such reporting in
the normal course of
events, there has also been
talk of legislation which
would, in effect, seek to
set-aside the absolute seal
of sacramental confession
in the case of individuals
confessing to the abuse of
children.
Such legislation would
simply deter those guilty
of a heinous sin, and a
crime, from reconciling

themselves with God. It
would also fatally undermine the integrity of sacrament which is the beating
heart of Christ's redemptive
mission. There is also an
underlying presumption in
the belief that it is alright
for us to seek forgiveness
for our particular sins, but
that Christ's mercy is not to
be extending to every single person who seeks, with
real intent and purpose, to
transform their lives. Some,
foolishly, may seek a kind
of confrontation on this
issue. Others may be led to
believe that legislating for
mandatory reporting of
such sins and crimes, actually confessed to a Priest in
the confessional, will resolve this most difficult of
societal problems. It won't.
For Catholics, the Church
stands, or falls, by its conviction that, until we draw
our last breath, forgiveness
and reconciliation is open
to us. In our history, many
priests have faced execution to uphold this conviction.
*The Church should seek, so
far as possible, to remove
itself from a culture of
power. The British philosopher Alistair McIntyre, on a
visit to Ireland a few years
ago, spoke of how we see
more clearly `from the margins'. This is because the
centre is always contended
by those seeking `power'. It

is enough that members of
the Church seek, as best
they can, to have Christ at
the centre of their lives
and to understand that
Christ Himself lived, and
healed, and was crucified,
àt the margins'.
*There are compelling reasons to simplify the
Church's ecclesiastical
structures. Some years ago,
Professor Vincent Twomey
SVD argued persuasively
for the need of an overhaul
in the whole diocesan
structure in Ireland. Such
an overall would make it
easier to ensure more effective leadership and oversight, as well as the
implementation of `best
practice' in those areas of
social responsibility that
are at the heart of the
Church's ministry of witness.
*At a yet deeper level, the
Church needs to move
away from the whole definition of its institutional
identity as `Hierarchy'. This
is one of those words, like
`human resources', that
speak to the values of this
world and not of the Gospel. The Church is about
`service' and responsibility,
not `hierarchy a term
which, to be fair, does not
do justice to the vocation
actually lived out by
Bishops, and by religious
congregations.
*The Church in Ireland needs

desperately to embrace its
own intrinsic goodness. The
Christian faith has shaped
Ireland's history and, also,
that of Europe. It is that
same faith that animates
many voluntary Communities and organisation
within parishes and across
the country and which provide irreplaceable support
to the whole of society at a
time of national crisis. In
addressing its failings, the
Church needs more than
ever to be conscious of this
intrinsic goodness, which
transcends such institutional failings.
*The Church needs to continue to reach out to, and
learn from, the very best in
other faith traditions. The
invitation in 1997 extended
by Pope John Paul II to all
faith traditions to meet and
pray at Assisi was an inflection point. At one level, the
Church could learn from
the way that crises and
institutional failings are
dealt with in other faith
traditions.
*But there is an equally important reason. Over and
above justified criticisms
of its institutional failings,
there is vein of hostility to
the Church that reflects
secularism wholly intolerant of the transcendent of
the human person.
The Catholic Church happens to loom largest in its
sights, but there should be
little doubt that this secular
fundamentalism would, given the opportunity, set
aside the values and all that
is best in every faith tradition. There is enormous reassurance for Christians in
the Jewish understanding of
the faithfulness of the Covenant of God with His people.
The pervasive importance of
prayer within Islam reinforces the importance of a
mind-set that is in danger of
being lost sight of.
Across the whole Judaic
and Islamic tradition, the
reverence for life and for
family and for the exercise
of care for those of our
brothers and sisters, call us
to a unity whose importance
could not be overstated at a
time when Ireland faces into
headwinds that threaten to
diminish us as a people. To
see exactly what is meant by
this try reading the latest
book by Britain's Chief Rabbi
Jonathan Sacks Celebrating
Life an enormously insightful and humourous
example.
Prof.
Ray
Faculty
of
Kinsella
the
is
UCD
School of Business
on
the
Smurfit
|CLASSIFIEDS|35
The Irish Catholic July 28, 2011
Classifieds
Contact the Classifieds Team on 01 427 6485

or email advertising@irishcatholic.ie
Every week the generosity of our readers is reected in

the number of Donations we receive for various charities
and organisations. Payments sent to The Irish Catholic are
forwarded to the nominated charities every month.
We make no charge for this service
DIRECT
CONCERN
P. McG
100.00
No further donations will be accepted for the

Sr. Frances of Lourdes fund as the group has ceased fundraising.
EVENTS
COMING EVENTS
Divine Mercy and Holy Angels Retreats by

Fr. Piotr Prusakiewicz, CSMA, Poland
Thurs Aug 11th:
Fri Aug 12th:
Sat Aug 13th:
Mon Aug 15th:
MIRACLE PRAYER
VOCATIONS
DONATIONS
The Drummond Hotel, Ballykelly, Co. Derry

3pm-8.30pm
Salesian House, 45 St. Teresas Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12-7.30pm
Newgrange Hotel, Navan, Co Meath
11.30am-6pm
Castlecourt Hotel, Westport, Co. Mayo
4pm-8pm
For details, contact Antoinette at 086 382 5069
The Sisters of St Paul de Chartres (SPC), is an international missionary Congregation engaged in

Education, Health Care and Pastoral Ministry, working in 5 continents and 28 countries all over the
world. We invite mature, generous, committed, dedicated and enthusiastic young women to join and be
one with us in the Lord's vineyard.
Listen and Respond to God's Voice

Calling You ~ If you are interested
Write: Sisters of St Paul de Chartres,
6 Garville Avenue, Rathgar,
Dublin 6, Ireland.
Tel:
(01) 497 5381
Email: sistersspc@eircom.net
Visit: www.paulinianglobal.com
Invitation to
single women age 20-40!

Are you seeking a
deeper intimacy with Jesus?
Come and taste life as a
Disciple of the Divine Master.
Live, pray and serve in
a contemplative/apostolic
community for a month or so
with us in Dublin or Athlone.
Take the risk and contact:

Florence@pddm.org
or log onto
www.pddm.org/ireland
HOLIDAYS/ACCOM
3 BEDROOM COUNTRY HOUSE Near
Knock Village, sleeps 6. All mod
cons. Linen supplied, near all
amenities. Very reasonable rates. Tel
No: 0862017848/0949631338.
LUXURY 2 BEDROOM house in
Knock village. Sleeps 5, weekly or
weekend rates. All mod cons, linen
supplied. near shrine, bus stops and
shops. 086 3410294
MEMORIAM CARDS LEGACIES
PILGRIMAGES
10 DAY PILGRIMAGE to the Holy
Will the MSC Missions
Land with Spiritual Director. 19 - 28

Oct 2011. Direct from Dublin. 10
Days
1,145 p.p.s incl. H/B accom
& all taxes. Further information Mary

Fallon 0906628187
FRIENDS OF ST THERESE Divine

Mercy, Krakow 26th June and 18th
E494.
Sept. 5 days 499/
E629
E489
599/
459/
7 Days
Medjugorje 15th May

Both Ex Dublin/Belfast
Tel Danny 02890245547 or

weekends 048 21772108. (ROI 048)
LOURDES
22nd - 27th
SEPTEMBER, 2011
Direct flight from Cork
Fully Escorted Pilgrimage
Carmelite Nuns
Tallow, Co. Waterford
Memoriam &
Acknowledgement
Cards
058 56401
Tues-Sat: (2.30-4.30p.m.)
email: carmeltallow@eircom.net
www.carmelitetallow.org
Remembering you & your deceased

loved ones in our prayer.
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart work in poor parishes

in Africa, Russia and Venezuela
Please remember them in your Will

Contact:
Mission Support Centre, Western Road, Cork.

Tel: 021 - 4543988
www.mscireland.com
RETREATS
PREMIER TRAVEL
The Sanctuary
FATIMA
Excellent Facilities
in Self catering
apartment
2 Grand Parade,
Daunts Square, Cork
Tel. 021-4277700
10th - 17th
OCTOBER, 2011
Direct flight from Cork
Fully Escorted pilgrimage
PREMIER TRAVEL
2 Grand Parade,
Daunts Square, Cork
Tel. 021-4277700
A place for relaxation

and reflection
in Idyllic Coastal setting
Fethard-On-Sea
Co Wexford
Contact: Philomena Nolan
Mobile: (086) 3947 224

philomenamnolan@gmail.com
To advertise in The Irish Catholic contact Catherine McCartney

Tel: 01 427 6485 Email: catherine@irishcatholic.ie
The Miracle Prayer
The Miracle Prayer
Dear Heart of Jesus,

in the past I have asked
for many favours.
This time I ask for a special one.
(mention here)
Take it dear Heart of Jesus and place
it within your own broken Heart
where your Father sees it.
Then, in His merciful eyes it will
become Your favour not mine. Amen
Say this prayer for three days.
Thanksgiving for favour received
and promised publication.

for many favours.
(mention here)
P.W.
D.K.
The Miracle Prayer
The Miracle Prayer

for many favours.
(mention here)

for many favours.
(mention here)
P.Mc.N
E.D
SERVICES
ALL UNWANTED home waste
The Miracle Prayer

for many favours.
(mention here)
M.O.D
removed. Cookers, fridges, beds,

suites, wardrobes, carpets etc.
Removed and disposed of in a
proper manner. No job too small or
big. Contact: Tommy 087 6406015
CATHOLIC
CONNECTIONS
CARING GENTLEMAN, Active, 63,
single, no children, seeks similar
lady to share life, love, laughter,
travel, candlelight evenings, sunny
smiles, mutual support, constant
suprises and positive outlook.Box
No. 5831
LONELY Join the Catholic

Unattached Directory. For FREE info
pack tel: 01 2837888 or visit:
www.cathud.com
For Sale
Brand New Excel Lightweight
Wheelchair.
(extremely lightweight)
Easily folded.
Bargain price
E200 ono
Bought
E299
Contact
086 266 1592
LITTLE WAY
EAST AFRICA CRISIS
APPEAL
More than 12 million people in Ethiopia,
Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan are in desperate
need of food, water and emergency healthcare
"My deeds,
my little
sufferings can
make God loved
all over
Millions of people across East Africa are facing severe hunger amid the
the world."
worst humanitarian disaster in 60 years. A prolonged drought has caused - St Therese
widespread crop failures, killed thousands of cattle and kept food prices
high, leaving much of the population facing starvation. Vast numbers of families have
been trekking barefooted for days across parched scrubland, without food or water, in
search of aid - many malnourished and sick children dying along the way in the
oppressive heat.
Funds are urgently needed to provide food,

safe drinking water and emergency
medical supplies.
PLEASE SEND A DONATION TODAY
AND HELP SAVE LIVES
Your gift will be forwarded by THE LITTLE WAY ASSOCIATION,
WITHOUT DEDUCTION, to provide food, clean water, shelter and
medical supplies for the East African drought victims.
Crossed POs & cheques should be sent & made payable to:
THE LITTLE WAY ASSOCIATION, IC/07/14

119 Cedars Road, Clapham Common, London SW4 OPR
(Registered Charity No. 235703) Tel: 0044-20-7622-0466
I enclose E............... to be allocated for:
E............ EAST AFRICA CRISIS APPEAL

E............ MASS STIPENDS (please state no.
)
E............ LITTLE WAY ADMINISTRATION EXPENSES
DONATIONS FOR THE MISSIONS ARE SENT WITHOUT
DEDUCTION FOR ANY EXPENSES.
Name (Rev, Mr, Mrs, Miss). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(Block letters please)
Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.......................................... ..... .........
FATIMA
PILGRIMAGES
5 & 8 days by air
to commemorate Our Ladys

apparitions and to obtain her
intercession for the Missions.
7 - 14 September
20 - 24 September
11 - 18 October
Scheduled Air Portugal flight.
Own accommodation.
from E425 (half board)

Telephone Maria on
004420 7622 0466
for booking forms.
LITTLE WAY
GUEST HOUSES
B & B accommodation is
a v a i l a b l e a t o ur h o m e l y
Theresian guest houses in
Walsingham and Knock. For
reservations please telephone:
WALSINGHAM: 0044 1328 820 222
KNOCK: 094 93 88406
COMMENT
The Irish Catho

36|
Notebook
Michael Kelly
Why was Rome

the Taoiseach's
sole target?
AOISEACH
Enda
Kenny won fairly
widespread acclaim last week
for his unprecedented attack
on the Vatican. It was strong
stuff and, according to Mr
Kenny, he has received a
huge amount of letters and
emails congratulating him
on the remarks. He stressed
that many of the good
wishes he received were
from clerics telling him it
was `àbout time'' someone
stood up to Rome.
Undoubtedly the Taoiseach's remarks fed into a wider
public exasperation at the
Church's consistent failures
to get to grips with the
proper handling of clerical
sexual abuse. The Vatican
would also do well to take
heed of reaction to the
speech and their evident failure to communicate the fact
that huge strides have been
taken in recent years on the
issue.
It's strange, however, that
Mr Kenny chose to focus
exclusively on the Vatican
leaving all the blame for this
crisis at the door of Rome in
the light of four judicial reports in this country that
have shown it was senior
Irish clerics who have been
guilty of the most egregious
cover-up and mishandling of
clerical sexual abuse.
Blame must surely be laid
at the door of the Vatican for
what can only be described
as (at best) an ambivalent
attitude towards the issue of
clerical abuse in Ireland particularly in the 1990s. In the
Cloyne Report Judge Yvonne
Murphy describes a Vatican

letter of 1997 as being `èntirely unhelpful'' and offering
support to those within the
Irish Church who did not
want to implement proper
child safeguarding procedures. The letter dismissed
the Irish bishops' 1996
guidelines as ``merely a
study document''.
Difference
There is, however, a world

away of difference between
being unhelpful and ambivalent to ordering a cover-up of
abuse as some senior politicians (who ought to know
better) have alleged. This is
not to absolve the Vatican of
the huge responsibility it
undoubtedly has, but it still
begs the question as to why
Mr Kenny decided to exclusively focus on the Holy See.
Some senior people I have
spoken to in Government
claimed that the Taoiseach
did not have enough time to
deal with the issue of the
culpability of Irish bishops.
This is despite the fact that
Mr Kenny used only 12 minutes of his allocated 15.
Surely there was room to
widen his remarks if the will
was there?
The whole thing got me to
thinking to who must've
been involved in the drafting
of the Taoiseach's speech. It's
hardly credible, to me at
least, that the mandarins
and Fine Gael apparatchiks
in Government Buildings
could've come up with the
text by themselves. Quite
apart from the content the
lack of focus on Irish bishops'
A right to be heard
The Vatican expressed `surprise' this week at some of

the excessive reactions to the
Cloyne Report and was dutifully criticised for objecting to
some of the criticism.
Surely the Vatican has a
right to be heard? The Gov-
ernment has asked for a

response and the Vatican is
preparing one.
Fair hearing
I don't expect it to get a fair

hearing. Fine Gael's Charlie
Flanagan, for example, was
responsibility for this crisis

chimes very easily with a
line that many people within
the Church here have been
pushing for quite a while.
More than one senior Irish
bishop has told me that they
did all they could to handle
this problem and were constantly thwarted by Rome.
This is certainly not borne
out by the facts. Another
Irish bishop, who incidentally had to resign over his
own mishandling of abuse,
has been trying to feed the
same anti-Roman line to
anyone who will listen.
The same line sits very
easily with some people
within the Church in Ireland
who are opposed to the
influence of Rome for quite
different reasons. There has
long been a strong Gallicanist trend within Irish Catholicism, that is to say a push
by some particularly some
clerics to increase the
power of the local Irish
Church at the expense of
Rome.
The influence of Rome,
the argument goes, is oppressive. Of course, that
doesn't explain why we in
Ireland have in recent centuries had a terribly narrow
and dreary strand of Catholicism that is refreshingly abs e n t i n ot h e r C a t h ol i c
countries that have been
heavily influenced by Rome.
In solely targeting the
Vatican the Taoiseach risks
giving succour to those within the Church in Ireland who
are still trying to absolve
themselves of responsibility
for this crisis.
calling for the Papal Nuncio to

be expelled even before the
Nuncio could be heard. A
case of `shoot first, ask
questions later' if ever there
was one. It hardly inspires
hope of a rational and reasoned debate.
Omnia vincit amor

The reaction in Norway to
the weekend attacks that left
dozens of people dead have
been inspirational. The constant refrain has been the
need to defeat hatred with

love.
Some will surely argue
that this is nave. But, central
to the Christian message is
God's decision to contrast

the noisy and ostentatious
power of this world with the
defenceless power of love in
the Incarnation.

John Waters Article

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

John Waters Article

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

TheIrishCatholic

Thursday, July 28, 2011 E1.30/stg1

The Taoiseach's speech, while unfair in some

our new Catholic idyll. Those who said otherwise

of the detail, was an emotional roar from much

is very much in the past, the memories of the

The Pope, in his

rights and wrongs of the Taoiseach's

abuse of power remain and many are estranged

reform but it is coming too slowly. Not only that,

speech. For now, it is diplomats who

from the Church now because of lingering hurt.

there is a `cabal' to use Archbishop Martin's term,

will have to repair the strained but

of bishops actively trying to push the blame for

The Taoiseach's speech equally resonated with a

is an amazing revisionism and even were it true,

Catholic Church outside of public scandals. In

many ways, the speech was a plea from a

Four Easters ago, this paper called on the Irish

Catholic leader to the Church leadership in the

badly let down by an institutional Catholicism

Vatican to quickly and with finality, put an end

to the ongoing scandal surrounding abuse in the

ways betrayed 14 centuries of unbroken and life-

have had to be dragged to the courts and

giving Christian tradition. Instead of fond mem-

tribunals of inquiry to admit gross errors. In

ories of a nurturing Church, most remember an

1996 we were told that the bishops had been on

arrogant authoritarian Irish Church and a privi-

a learning curve. Then came Ferns. Then the

leged clerical caste that obsessed over sexuality

Ryan Report. Then the Murphy Report and now

and hell fire and neglected the tender compas-

the Cloyne Report. All along, they tried to hide

behind lawyers, spending millions of euro in

whether it was young unmarried mothers to a

operating with their own National Board and are

reluctant to allow reports into their dioceses to

be published. Ordinary people, including clergy,

The Irish Catholic

forms of abuse of power by the Church in Irish

the Catholic Church and apologised to all those

Uncovering the Catholic

bishops to collectively seek forgiveness for all

II in the Jubilee year faced the historical sins of

holy for Church or State was expelled from sight,

it ignores the primacy of conscience even over

tured the anger of a generation that has been

What wasn't narrowly viewed as pure and

The recommended retail price for The Irish

399 PLUS 75 TAX (INSURANCE OPTIONAL)

Letter to Irish Catholics, promised

their inaction on child abuse back on Rome. This

younger generation who have never known the

are sick and tired of this.

were ignored or not believed. While this Church

``Le catholicisme du type Irlandais'' in many

Nuncio will help the Vatican understand that

Catholic idealism. All would be nice and pure in

Why the Irish Government

The Irish Catholic, July 28, 2011