The Irish Catholic, Issue 41 by Melanie Gardner

THE YEAR OF FAITH: Derry gathers in celebration – Page 17

www.irishcatholic.ie

Thursday, October 18, 2012 €1.50/stg £1.20

Mission Sunday Celebrating the legacy of missionary pioneers in an 8-page special Pages 9-16

Push for honour for heroic Irish priest Garry O’Sullivan Pressure is growing for official State recognition for a heroic Irish priest who has already been honoured by several other countries for his wartime exploits saving the lives of thousands of Jews and allied Prisoners of War. Kerryman Msgr Hugh O’Flaherty – often described as the Vatican’s Scarlet Pimpernel – ran an elaborate network of ‘safe houses’ in Rome during the Nazi occupation of the Eternal City. Following the end of World War II, he was created a Commander of the British Empire and awarded the US Congressional Medal of Freedom for his efforts which are estimated to have saved thousands from the horrors of the Nazi death camps. Msgr O’Flaherty, aided by a secretive network, hid people in religious houses scattered across the city of Rome and further afield in the hills around the city. Now, Taoiseach Enda Kenny as well as Apostolic Nuncio The Irish Catholic

4 2

to Ireland Archbishop Charles Brown and Britain’s Ambassador to Ireland Dominick Chilcott will attend a special commemorative weekend in the priest’s native Kerry next month. Organisers of the 5th Annual Hugh O’Flaherty Memorial Weekend hope that the presence of the Taoiseach will highlight the lack of official recognition given in his homeland to the heroic priest. The weekend is organised each year to raise awareness for the humanitarian deeds of Msgr O’Flaherty and his colleagues in the Rome ‘escape line’, which directly saved over 6,500 prisoners of war, Jews and Italian anti-Nazis from arrest or re-capture and almost certain death, during the German occupation of Rome. The organising committee, some of whom were in Rome recently with 60 others from Kerry to retrace the footsteps of Msgr O’Flaherty, are fundraising to build a permanent memorial.

Continued on Page 4

771393

Paul Keenan The Capuchin Day Centre in Dublin has witnessed a tripling of the number receiving its weekly food parcels since the start of the year, the centre’s head has told The Irish Catholic. Speaking to this newspaper as a new study commissioned by the Department of Social Protection revealed that 10 per cent of Irish people now live in ‘food poverty’, Brother Kevin Crowley revealed that numbers visiting the Day Centre have reached an all-time high. “In mid-August the numbers passed 1,000 for the first time,” he explained, “up on the regular 300 or 400. The latest record for a single day was 1,582 people queuing just to receive parcels.” Worryingly, Br Kevin reports that many of the new numbers are not homeless, but families and others struggling to keep their homes amid ever mounting financial pressures.

Msgr O’Flaherty, pictured in St Peter’s Square as he greets US General Mark W. Clark who led American troops in liberating Rome in 1944.

Continued on Page 2

NualaO’Loan

DavidQuinn

SarahCarey

Page 5t

Page 6

Page 8

The Year of Faith is an opportunity 9

Charity food centre numbers have tripled

No excuse for Church silence

Entrepreneurship is a good thing

683057

The recommended retail price for The Irish Catholic €1.50/stg £1.20

EARLY BOOKING OFFERS AVAILABLE

Joe Walsh Tours

www.joewalshtours.ie info@joewalshtours.ie 01 241 0800

2 | NEWS ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Bishop calls for renewed commitment to EU Cathal Barry Speaking at a major conference organised by Mary Immaculate College, Bishop Noel Treanor of Down & Connor has said: “The sources of the unique project that is Europe are to be found in both human reason and religious faith.” The conference, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council examined some contemporary issues affecting the relationship between religion and society in Ireland and Europe, and also looked at the current relevance of Vatican II’s Declaration on Religious Freedom. Dr Patrick Connolly, conference convenor, opened the conference on Wednesday evening noting the defining impact of Vatican II on the Catholic Church and the wider world, for believers and non-believers alike. He also commented however, that the world of the 1960s was quite different from that of today. Dr Connolly, a senior lec-

the European Union in the future, Bishop Treanor said “as Vatican II has suggested... (Christians) need to learn the art of expressing and articulating their faith.” Issues of Irish topical interest were also under scrutiny at the conference. Journalist Mary Kenny spoke about people, media, faith and Vatican II while Fr Eamon Martin of Derry addressed the topic ‘Knowing our Place in the Public Square - A View from the North’.

turer at Mary Immaculate College, alluded to new tensions in Western societies, over the meaning and practical implications of religious freedom. Dr Connolly cited such reasons for the selection of ‘Religion and the Public Good’ as the symposium theme. Cardinal Cormac MurphyO’Connor, key-note speaker at the conference, then addressed the enduring legacy of Vatican II. He spoke from a personal perspective on what the council meant for him.

Civic identity

Ecumenism

Cardinal O’Connor, Emeritus Archbishop of Westminster, said that the Second Vatican Council changed his approach to ecumenism on a pastoral level. The cardinal stated that “the work of ecumenism is not just our work, but God’s work,” and likened ecumenism to a road with no exit; “there is no going back,” he said. Speaking at the conference on Thursday morning, Bishop Noel Treanor explored

Dr Amalee Meehan (CEIST), Prof. Mathijs Lamberigts (Belgium), Bishop Noel Treanor (Down and Connor), Prof. Myriam Wijlens (Germany) and Dr. Patrick Connolly (Mary Immaculate College), at a conference in Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. the controverted place of religion in the evolving European Project. Bishop Treanor reminded

those attending the conference that there was no reference to churches, faiths or religions in the original primary

law of the European Union, until the Lisbon Treaty. Regarding the relationship between Christians and

In Ireland, the relationship between religion and civic identity continues to be of importance, and so Kevin Williams from Mater Dei Institute of Education discussed the gradual disappearance of religion in the understanding of citizenship. Participants at the conference included priests, nuns and laity, among others. Discussions and reflections were facilitated throughout the day allowing participants the opportunity to engage with the speakers and with each other.

Next week in The Irish Catholic

Abortion group report delayed

Renowned biblical scholar Fr Jerome Murphy O’Connor OP on the legacy of Vatican II

Staff Reporter

Continued from Page 1

Charity food centre numbers have tripled The latest visitor figure has placed extra strain on the Day Centre, which also continues to feed at least 200 people at breakfast-time and, in another increase, over 600 people for daily dinners. Yet, while the centre’s operating costs have now passed €1.5 million annually, there has been no

increase in the Government’s €450,000 grant to the charity. “We have more and more people on the poverty line,” Br Kevin said, “and more and more coming to us all the time.”

www.homeless.ie/Capuchin_ Day_Centre

FATIMA 2013

EARLY BOOKING OFFER FATIMA | FATIMA & LISBON COAST * If paid in full by 14 December 2012 Departures from Dublin

€150

€

OFF*

Health Minister James Reilly was expected to be given a controversial report from an Expert Group on abortion early last week. However, it appears the report is now further delayed. According to reports, the setting up of a panel of medical experts to consider

applications for abortions in limited circumstances will be recommended by a group looking at the contentious issue. The plan would reportedly see the minister setting out the grounds in regulations, instead of being specified in laws voted on by TDs in the Dáil. It is still unclear exactly

when Dr Reilly expects the report. According to a spokesperson for the Department of Health: “The group is due to report back to the Minister for Health shortly. “The Minister will consider the group’s report and subsequently submit it to Government,” the spokesperson said. The Government set up the group in January to examine an abortion ruling from the European Court of Human Rights. Two years ago, the Stras-

bourg Court ruled that there was no automatic right for women to have an abortion in a case brought by three women who had travelled to Britain to terminate their pregnancies. However, the ECHR court ruled that Ireland had to clarify laws on the issue. Minister Reilly has come under fire after telling Fine Gael TDs the ruling meant he was obliged to introduce abortion. However, the ECHR created no such obligation.

| NEWS ||3

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Sean Quinn locals angry at the media says priest

Raising the cup in Killybegs

This week in The Irish Catholic John Allen

Paul Keenan The priest who led prayers at the recent rally in Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, in support of Seán Quinn and his family has said people there are angry at what they see as a vilification of the family. Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week, Fr Gerry Comiskey said people remained “concerned” about the media coverage, which he said “appears to have a preoccupation with Seán Quinn Jnr’s wife and what she’s wearing. These are not the core questions, and yet the peripheral stuff seems to make the headlines.”

Tradition

Asked to account for the level of support that continues to be shown for the Quinns – at least 7,000 people attended the October 14 rally - Fr Comiskey described a “long tradition” of parishes along the border being “deeply rooted in community building and helping people in a crisis”. This, he said, remained true for the Quinns, despite all that has been communicated about them in some quarters of the media. “In spite of their huge success,” Fr Comiskey explained, “the Quinns have not become haughty and have remained open to their community. The whole family has shown such humility throughout.” The local community’s appreciation for this was shown at the Ballyconnell

Video on Islam rocks the house Page 23

Family &Life

Children helping children

Fr Gerry Comiskey. rally last Sunday, when various speakers, including Tyrone County manager Mickey Harte, voiced their continuing support for the Quinns and, as Fr Comiskey offered a prayer for the still-imprisoned Seán Quinn Jnr, the thousands gathered joined him in that prayer. Asked to sum up an overriding concern for the people who had made up the Ballyconnell rally, Fr Comiskey said it would have to be the lengthy proceedings still facing the Quinn family. “Each and every one has asked why it has had to be such a protracted legal case?” he said. “Is there any hope now of mediation or a resolution to a situation that still sees someone in prison?”

Pages 26-27

Donegal All-Ireland star, Mark McHugh, holds up the Sam Maguire cup at a Mass to celebrate the €3m restoration of the Church of St Mary of the Visitation, Killybegs, Co. Donegal celebrated by Bishop Philip Boyce of Raphoe (l), Fr Colm Ó Gallchóir PP (r) and a number of priests from the area. Afterwards, a buffet for all parishioners and guests was held in the Tara Hotel.

Dioceses launch Year of Faith projects Mags Gargan Dioceses across the country celebrated the Pope’s launch of the Year of Faith last week, and bishops are encouraging the faithful to take the opportunity to nourish their faith by getting involved with diocesan events being planned throughout the year. Bishop Noel Treanor has asked that every parish in the Diocese of Down & Connor run a programme from Lent to Pentecost for the Year of Faith, and the diocese is also organising a Diocesan Congress for 2013. Fr Brendan Leahy was guest homilist at Evening

Prayer in Carlow Cathedral on October 11 in the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin, where upcoming events include a Diocesan Congress in Carlow next March.

Celebration

In Galway, Bishop Martin Drennan inaugurated the diocesan celebration at a special Mass in Galway Cathedral last Sunday, where he called for renewed and active participation by all in the life and work of the Church. During a special Mass in the Diocese of Waterford & Lismore on Sunday, Bishop William Lee encouraged Parish Pastoral Councils to ex-

LOURDES HOLY WEEK PILGRIMAGE

€

499

€

pps + tax

28 March | 4 nights 4 nts Lourdes FB

FATIMA ANNIVERSARY OF SISTER LUCIA February | 4 nights 4 nts Fatima FB

€

399

Books

Where did Newman really stand? Page 32

YEAR OF FAITH PILGRIMAGES

SHRINES OF FRANCE LOURDES, ROCAMADOUR, NEVERS, PARIS & LISIEUX

€

749

€

pps + tax

SHRINES OF EUROPE LOURDES, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA & FATIMA

€

699

€

pps + tax

6 April | 7 nights

6 April | 9 nights

3 nts Lourdes FB | 1 nt Rocamadour HB |

3 nts Lourdes FB | 1 nt Santander HB |

1 nt Nevers HB | 1 nt Paris HB | 1 nt Lisieux HB

2 nts Santiago de Compostela HB | 3 nts Fatima FB

€

pps + tax

plore ways in which people could study one of the major documents of Vatican II. Bishop Michael Smith of Meath is leading a diocesan pilgrimage of 100 pilgrims to the Holy Land this week, organised to mark the Year of Faith, where 40 married couples will renew their vows in Cana. The calendar of events in Archdiocese of Tuam begins with a special celebration of marriage anniversaries next Sunday in the cathedral in Tuam led by Archbishop Michael Neary. While a diocesan launch of the Year of Faith in Dublin will be held on November 14 in St Mary’s Pro Cathedral.

LED BY A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR

4 | NEWS ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Ecumenical conference calls it a day Michael Kelly The country’s longest-running ecumenical conference is to call it a day after almost 50 years, admitting that the event has “run its course”. Lack of interest and an inability to attract funding were cited as major reasons for bringing the Greenhills Ecumenical Conference to an end. Launched in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Coun-

cil, the event has been held in Drogheda for the past 47 years and was regularly attended by high-profile figures from within the Church and other Christian traditions and denominations. However, the event has struggled in recent years. In a statement this week the organising committee admitted that while it had “served a very important and valuable” purpose in the past,

MIC announce Gathering 2013 plans Cathal Barry The Mary Immaculate College Foundation was officially launched in America last week at a prestigious event held at the Metropolitan Club on 5th Avenue, New York. The event was attended by several bishops and other clergy as well as high ranking educators from the New York area and members of the transatlantic community. The Mary Immaculate College Foundation was established in order to facilitate the college’s pursuit of the advancement of education and knowledge. This will be achieved by improving, developing, maintaining and operating the physical environment and the amenities and facilities of the College and supporting its activities. At the launch, Prof. Mi-

“interest in the conference has gradually waned over the past number of years”.

Publicity

They said that it has become increasingly difficult to get publicity for the event and that the financial crisis has also contributed to the demise of the event. “Even during the Celtic Tiger years it was difficult to find sponsorship for the conference from

the private or corporate sectors. “With a downturn in the economy such sponsorship had ceased,” the statement added. The committee said that, having consulted with Church leaders, and “proud of its achievements” it has “come to the conclusion that it has run its course!” The Greenhills conference was traditionally held during

the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January. The Irish Catholic understands that while Church leaders were reluctant to see the event vanish from Ireland’s ecumenical calendar, there was an increasing awareness that interest had waned considerably in recent years as the organisers struggled to get high-profile speakers and attract attendees. The statement from the

organising committee said that the event “served a very important and valuable purpose in helping people and clergy to meet one another across what were denominational barriers, fostering relationships and greater understanding between Churches in Ireland”. The success of the peace process has also contributed to a lack of urgency around ecumenical matters.

Armagh clergy take on ‘Bann to Boyne’ challenge

chael Hayes, President of Mary Immaculate College, announced details of the role that MIC will play in The Gathering Ireland 2013, an initiative of the Irish Government. This initiative is aimed at mobilising communities and organisations at home and abroad with the goal of bringing an additional 325,000 visitors to Ireland next year. Prof. Hayes said: “The Gathering will be a chance for Ireland’s global family and indeed anyone who feels a sense of connection to Ireland to come and take part in a year-long celebration of Ireland and all things Irish. “For us, it will be an opportunity to showcase the things we are most proud of to the people we know overseas by inviting them to see our work for themselves,” he said.

Continued from Page 1 It will depict the 6’ 3” priest striding along a replica of St Peter’s Square which they hope will be a “place of inspiration and contemplation for generations to come.” The 50th anniversary of the cleric’s death occurs next year and it is hoped to have the memorial unveiled by next November. During the occupation, Msgr O’Flaherty – who was an official in the Holy Office –

became a master of disguises evading capture by the Nazis on several occasions when he left the confines of Vatican City to check on the clandestine operation. Due to ill-health, he retired to Kerry in 1960 and died just three years later on October 30, 1963. His death was mounred throughout the world including a front page tribute in The New York Times.

A number of priests from the Archdiocese of Armagh are set to take on a new challenge in the coming weeks to raise funds for the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children. ‘The Bann to the Boyne’ challenge will see a number of clerics walking

2013

ligious orders in Ireland who work to present religious life, apostolic, missionary and contemplative, as a life choice.

Opportunity

§e exploreAway programme provides an opportunity

Autumn Breaks at Knock House Hotel

EARLY BOOKING OFFER Departures from Dublin, Cork, Shannon & Knock * If paid in full by 14 December 2012 **Terms and Conditions apply

OCTOBER

€150

€

OFF*

passed away in early September of this year. Sponsor cards are available from Fr Gerry Campbell at 0429333482. For further details, see www.armagharchdiocese.org. Present at the launch held at the SMA Fathers, Droman-

tine was Cardinal Sean Brady in the company of (from left) Lloyd Byrne (ISPCC Director of Fundraising), CiarÃ¡n Whelan (Allianz Religious Education Manager) with competitors, Fr Gerry Campbell and Fr Patrick Akekpe with Mary and Therese McNally.

‘exploreAway’ vocations programme launched Vocations Ireland has announced the launch of exploreAway for 2012 – 2013, a programme of exploration for those discerning a call to religious vocation. Vocations Ireland is an association of the vocation directors of the Catholic re-

MEDJUGORJE

or running the length of the diocese, from the River Bann at the most northern end to the River Boyne at the most southern end. The event has also been organised in memory of Fr Andrew McNally, a young priest from Magherafelt who

*No extra charge for Single Room

2 Nights Bed and Breakfast & Dinner each night €148 3 Nights Bed and Breakfast & Dinner each night €198 4 Nights Bed and Breakfast & Dinner each night €240 1st NOVEMBER- 22ND DECEMBER

*No extra charge for Single Room

2 Nights Bed and Breakfast & Dinner each night €118 3 Nights Bed and Breakfast & Dinner each night €159 4 Nights Bed and Breakfast & Dinner each night €198 Knock, Co. Mayo Phone 0949388 088

Email: info@knockhousehotel.ie Website: www.knockhousehotel.ie

for young, single, men and women between the ages of 21-40, who are interested in exploring religious life and the priesthood in a reflective and prayerful environment. The programme involves five residential weekends based in Dublin from Novem-

ber 30 – December 2, and the weekends will provide input on vocation call, discernment, prayer and religious life – its core values and the various ways it is lived.

For more information see www.exploreaway.net

A Day of Atonement

In Emmanuel House of Providence Clonfert, Ballinasloe, Co Galway On Saturday 10th November from 10am to 4.30pm

Guest Speaker Francis Hogan Please bring packed lunch, Tea and biscuits will be provided

All are Welcome

Year of Faith can be opportunity to grow

Cardinal Seán Brady, Primate of All-Ireland arrives with other senior Churchmen for the opening Mass of the Year of Faith with Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter’s Square on October 11. Photo CNS

Freedom

N N UI Q

’s en dr hil :C

s ht rig

ck bla

ta no

g kin ta

d an

e hit w

e su is

–

ge Pa

lu & 7 vo ges 6

12 20the C ing IEHonounrteers

w.ir

hca

.ie

olic

A GA

’–

lls hi

ts t ee m no r 22 on s ise ge pi wa ath Pa lin am – ub io p ch ge h , not D nc symly le en tt all Nu A op Da Veigd IRA Li ch IR h c reate oec Mc e th Fr isrule n Bis

s he is ar :P

LI Y& IL

bi ch

o sh

es ro he

.ie olic th hca is .ir

ar M

es ais pr

er ay pr

s es ln fu

rs cu

hn Jo

s as eM tin en id Tr of

‘A

, 20

1 g£ st 0/ .3 €1

e ch Ro

US CL EX

h ia m re Je Fr

ge Pa

s’ er e ck id ro l s h ua Irispirit s

&L ily

m Fa

ife

.m w

on . D ry Co ar B ny, : en oto

n ge

e ag m ri ce lg ea Pi f p o

2 01 r2 be cto 9O

e on

hts Nig |9

a in rd y Ca rad B

€

ww @jo 01 info

l s peght te ro ni st Eu r 7 ive 0 rie ES n fo lus 400 AG er er inc 08 M st mblly ) 7 RI Ea epte fu (065 LG f f S 975 n 12 PI s o o or € in o0870 N e 4 f l 7 IA h he 2kow gh 65) AR urcn t Kra ’Loun (0 h o nd O ki

n e ti ic ec n u ha Jo sign irby to “b es le th nw ed rout aln fe ra Li ecla co issu or eth n ti o ”. o ideaStmaarch fromDrowynis loinangrto nn e an et O’S iest hop re K ests e- d as scen list Co C n en tion d uch is g ab e e ism ofa “It L rt pect m g th in th wee rv or rk arry pr Bis ouldBishoppri selfn-dan ribered” a loya urch baing th inng outsw : n & ve ay es a in ush se b et in te d ab g o. Th itic M G ublinthat rt shg to sive his ee desc hat ng st ch ho re or id t s u d K ri D p nfu s an A ers nfe rrin ab an ul ha ian du elfa d, w ick’hsenhatplasocnJuhly ro12ngclcrTrtea, wnhoe.tosaPstaopt andpadistsr.foster alfrleeanurcd h, ip co o n ic al cy fm go Clo fe of es Pa iest ctar sed is B han tr S ti ed nan 9 of ee Pa w iveof Re ing rish pr se es h d. n m eg md sis- st aoe or rm ran e fory chworsh ch, A nt itn st ken a ov pa l Sh St Roa ocatem sic tN Con ceFti le of th e to pr 7 pa ee ch ta e w at lo ov z m ew u n rsin e intoays tim ligionevere of mar han heant r h arch w icl al pr CCom m ok , n es ur e to o ch eg ds t s lay eo th l w t is re r ac n.” her ee had m th o M se f ut ur d fu “I of fo d pl ptio ot Sh ct nta – Fr pre Dton bansirade p c at P ch ag t to ro ch an at Fr as thr om ec e an ce an 29, nta rese er the k -P a e ingVai Pa ot singe k’s ed th . d w ch ex ng n ic rd ce sp en – p c co i g eonp arch fied der earach Patr add olen mar e at Fr re mpl out faci ber at re O by ur er in D m ly deon orPeirlmst St as “sthe vi d the ve then,” k. “It y te with Nowptemed th e byOranorgerifiedhavioarch. ting Se al ad e h si th pa w by nie lie sm ee la be m ou ee a er m on ve m th lly nt ul re-r Sh y t as em he d” pa be nd w disp th e Li re een of ua rece ef t ,” Fr erel ou e th id ifie m not ba is t tici ay’ b ves y eq s’ peac abou de “m r ab th sa rr acco uld the t th atan ” ga th par rd lly ra t, fo t ti an er a n’t ho ad co of ld bl d. op ve sh uto t re ere tu ua nm arch ds is a pa ou ect pas h “I e al ga hbi th ’s d an mos hat w ck Sa h us nte m war his ing d sp rds h s h es Arc en urc on. nu to “T nn nte re ya titu ee the ian nds ‘Bla hic e co . list w th Sh as ctar ba e ba poi of 0 th on of ason Loya ream of an ish Tinmthatss thane Chabortito ththe is or an tion 20 w se e in ti d se sc rt le

Ir io as le t thsing er bes en es tt ri ss w ou e Th pre n ab oppo a le sc repr im arti c n in e de mis s. h us M asti paig er, y ew

urs h To urs.ie als shto urs.ie 0 e W al to 86 Jo w.joew ewalsh 241 0

9 15 ts 88 h ig ) 87 n 1 3 (0 -1 n o n li us ub ll D a C x. -E e12 lin 20 n O r be ok o ct - Bo l .ie n

o lim ay g us am M o p M otsg to er ct d ‘S je h o 12 RLiearnintogeth 20 setst rae tc e e us liv is es ES ru ph toPri w AG C & E y s M d h re t RI an lem l a n LG rc Ca PI oly rus N e h ou u IA - H , J ra AR ul em m Ch M Pa leh Sa . e f St eth f o o, B ur l o ps ir ss va te Ca

d or w

n sio va y in ac 25 ul iv y df pr ge nn ea ’s Pa Ke – dr te y m A f Ka ar do o M is o w of Als s

i’s tin ar M al din ar :C KS O

’– an M

ps ho bis g ble in ta ld un Ho cco a

y ht ig M

–

S ’ e o Pr m he ipt on T cr t ti re D S e a AN OL 79 rg m OP 10 ET AG ta or f RIM ILG rs in ce YP e ch n is ERC ur rna M gn m INE n Ch ve ‘ i DIV tio go ga pa n re ng m tio co ls Ca bor a g y in ar

G N

RI BE EM

rk h w w te . P w per Let blin ’s e m u ar am fro , D te rs en e 2, lin ye be ” he th e m pla has k, er ru of , ag C e it ee nd ty ud th d w e u un tsy ay n, ro ce. an al co gu urr re t p an t of ea ion e th e M hild bu rm lo e ar ot er hol eir ew C fo “A th em o w w th th k e e of at ic th hly ay th M rS r al fromhig “M d ud .” d, fo e ow al fo a id. an pro ce te ci to at id th sh it sa ogs ry an ex of ball . sa tdo as d ve m ey osp 5 w bish r ry g ot er ac H ng ou d is rfor ve elin fo th k ho rch leba pl L y’s pe bei to an is ge an iis w fe s st A su a it l to Th un d 4 er rs am . e, e Ca Kar ad ity d al e. rt an d rL s ye te rse” ov h th (a ayo ion loss m po un ch An s an Ou ge pra ayo cu osgr wit eary l M rish e m su s. t u l ga op , old from is e t ht, to m is es t M ged C e l N ya pa th Pa e co ere ern ough tifu ea ther ay been h en rig t le Fr m ea lo at d at th d th te ga th th br au e gr ge m ev tem over s, visi id oth st e ich a ge at a be th to tto t ci all th M e ansaid oin nesng , sa n ju th is for me Bri a, bu e ex es p rs as ’s as op ativ er) as y uin uri ce It od co Fr di th sh ye “h e, it at h the n rt isap w nn cG d ri Boy ’s G to g.” In in use pla nce rs th n M p po e d p nty ll pa at Ke ith w si cu ty un a in p of to on ili u ba m Cu 51 r h gs ar u s ? Ji e yo eral t lt in . d ie s of 19 in h a in do W nda g w ne PP ath an Ph e co foot t fo lt e a w it th nty er uir K ugh g fe nty sm ten il le ish w e u e, C gh en hop th d os icu th E oin ho ag ag E ca in u ia in homPeop e Ir dec- t ov h ou of ck of do thos e co Ke Bis ed elan ul bo diff ty an M FIL d is p 3 gr e Iris en be e co us ests eir m Th o grea m la g to of th un S ul al’s ib ll-Ir rf in e a th h age Cos Th er al SamRT co re op in e ued th pri in th illia told er twe is t a lit rePa eg escr e A onde nty e at e e P d on ag s”. hn told e w th team ish ic: neg th PO th th llEn me win Fr W wn “aft ther oughn the .” Hech Donas at th “a w cou B hol d pl ar Jo ar, her Do al, g/S y. To at g br So e e , h in as1 ole nd on A se ye Fr eb “t ee ther at ot fromth ph Cat g an ills eg reg th nda egal th tin as tw2 ge e st u w nalg£ h m “n to tl at le curs r la ca ed ng as m ish in e h C Su on olic wai It h bee wea the ld fi0/st e w ”. Cas ic th A a thei , be pass ow .3 th mes eaki k triu e Ir grow th D ath of on. peag e g ou ple into dis e ol GA d ter 51 s sh re €1 C es ti hoPd th sin e w peo m that ti Sp wee in Th s a ck in al.” n, th : ce 19 bu t en d e 12 ad bila t of an , u e, h g sias ing ssed ol pla af in ’s hou be is ed ld ar ba eg io of said in u th pa t am ju bi n at pl th rn to ye m on “vis y” ow r , 20 , on An es te in am it as ce án te h w w tle ssio th am urg enth e as 2) tu oyce ty Sa of D e acit ce s h fo 20 pri ayo d the al t, (8 dh n Pea ce ded ex in ch e on se h B wen ave s g th n Boy n u ng not n ber M elan lt ner spec Ao bee ki & ad an y” u “th l el rig “T e h glen n d te p m s Ir e fe fu re to ow wor did o ca ner o Fr ad as sh m h, al te w d aisi es an h e e y a h h uld ep be t as fait en an Pr ne Bis e sh in an s ag e be H ten ats s oe, he M by g du ,S iv pu eir wh av ce m th th ty.” ge in k re iou pli , in ngl id ic th sts ci am h ran at mon for un in rg day M Th lig dom Du sa la te hey ve l th 16 ion co k e on ople e. Fo urs re ee 17 In on “T erse ea in uit ole wor liv pe m e ve, Th n ill e ti w s id ve fr wh ’s p fr age Lo Can f an lie e to e am l “w l th ng at ar P o th te na al lo th ye be m a fi it as co it of the e y of r ieve 20 ir w ss ef id to th or fo bel her sp y St jo acro sa ng em egal l ot in e ur ’s , Fr o ti e m on e al e an n n st ce hes io ti th D w av rick ie ew at en h of Boy is en Car e pr ”, rm id par R fi Nowon’t ait.” op e Tr of elit ic God e on th w w ish in ol hol rish arm h to B d . f C of pa a C Cat e frome w t o es hoe al h e en te y. ec oneg th tto, ish m “t m o d D In Bri e Ir s co at ra dev Brio ie th hn Th Sac ed n Jo ldhas ctor ded e d h toe vi to Jo r th en : er “atll d atad fo mm oto th gh e 28 s h m re at u an as co P th bro so ensu ep ge th M op 7. st er by g h e ’ Pa ned re d to ld m ot ar u ar l rin bis Pag ps le ss bo ve ou sumld n du ch re d le w t ho ts ar See has p the ne ot ex ou es he t. ar po d bis od lic een on derElli n t w le s pri . T is b ar ehol r so ing an ld g nd char is yn CEO trac be ar M al n in th m eS st ke Eu sh at n as co . has grow or shou this si ee e N t d ed To om 3 th his ed r a s as e w th e dow d new pape is su liot b an icat R by th te an re is ere sen r El jo un d. Pag d at bra be Th th n M e mm ar ke lin le co at th co bo re , an b ce at l u fl th tica th e in en the Du ey an ss and ts iv li uth nu be to si eet, h th € pre l at s ull So nti has ly g tica an op s tin Str hic al ’S co in li l h ar n 1 ew O al M ton h w vi form g£ ow al po st bis atio ny g it st in e 3 uid rin w arr or is grenti s to ish eg t’s coews0/ g G it .3 Ir gr rm ar ce e a n €1 Ed ere influ gurethe con Elliot is n tax Dia h, H re th Pfi 12 p 75 Th om h by ous Ian er, th ve of fe e ho urc re +€ Sa th ) , 20 in fr hurc t gi m . is Ch e pp 13 A C mp reli new m al CEOfo r in CC s hb ’s r th pe re t su ve is te d SC d ie s’ BY L ber re n Po n Arc evin s fo m an ot to nex n ott ard re (NB b o op e no te K as LED ITUA R n act r ca li B o ild h g sh nce ep M Th eba 17 IR tr pe r El al Ch urc ri n e bi re ori) ,S SP ECTO L age pa M n g Ch so th onfe (C Un d y io in day P on e C at d c DIR es N ar oli sp s ar the elanonar urs Ir si qu the gu ath se der , Th r r ne th t ot’s C h o fun nce s in Mis on ou li er w d re iou h ne Din er m ab El m re an nfe ig Iris m t r Din & inn al co Rel the U). this ised M su reti us & st n ra of next es e of d M r st kfa & D nateior nst tm e h ativ an (I rlie e n fa ai t er n a n n in s e io Ea w atio yond reacgisl e ex i -lif ak re in ag s u be t le th rd m pro t re | B akfa &gnD ias n tion nti ract liot d s of , Ca | B a Bre fasptai TÉ b ern s en co nt r Electe on tion w as kmfR ov it m w in co M p ti or aw ho | aca G eep mit o e – e ex enda ab ars c ne Binreaces er ” at k om on th er th ed th m p W sto pa | É c id soev on der pe. ht Cze ako owRT stan to com grou ti n sa re rt k g g in Z nig ht e hat la te e Po d to in as ic w ecu pe le . • 1 ig ts Knrag n n es th h ri has th u ar Off le m Bo to s uth g spby n to hed t ye • 1 nig ch htsal e gla co r tr n 5 n ea k it tion o nti Kir atio is sc nex • 2 ’nisig “th io ‘H ee at ge “n ou op gn by er at d is w wh s of e 5 lls ar • es ce -lif m ish si Kir ctob cu g Pa cl calle th er Sid it ca B is re op O 2 de p ed ov stan pro ed n d se hat in e is ou ch h ish in ge as bei ve e ai t oth hat 7. “t “r ar Th gr un RTÉ ing th -b ie th B tire e Pa d tion , rB w e th not bel to to d st tion s ew la ge ar nst an or way al re Se of ea r ag s a n des’ len e gl ai an ab y m im noo as er ‘H ove P m an ersa nes a ay e w th love h d s ee ai s Si al “th ag ir n an om of an ti ”. S M fa er op nv ra h ed m ap es n r lle w ch lls bias ”. n”. is ired t en ud e e a io , in es ic ca ap on”. ca TÉ tion grou aren e coce of ouatio Th said l bu h insp of ibit fect y of om incl al ex ok un hav as e up sp ti R si e aw du n y at st g sp m s from al te ya w at lif roh af ilit t w h on d obere ro ew osi er se g a om Th po it ic n n ti in e b g lo n er n ra ic it p th l ab C th e p not la nan wh na gy an th nce an gn atio ater or bl g ov e tial ti sh e dis at h t. hile, ic did th oes avai preg p, and lo that fere es new loca -lif pu lon t th par dcas u th hurc k ou nw hol at al arg mpai clar m t abeces hA d pro p ou l co ed if nec that e d e to a ou im oa ec G th ly ng C ea ea Cat an e ca a de ts on ir ly n mot in br se n s th re e gr iona nae at l d d ts lif ab d ns tial you my e sp M e “d al a as th io ag ca Th at gy so st ta , an en the ch er an onal ho tio ely is oten n or , to th a su ss en on tm rn r th M o-life med exp that ic e of ed bi sue. an ti ‘T or os r ve if lo ti te on al fo ed dec p re ed ge ing e e . in rts cs, dam or ea sa e al s Pr co g re m lif is is e at on b e p tr n d e ic el en m s th d ild r n a ic pe etri fun n ab al t to even th ild w adin hca not th crit th m ium ubba ev ch har o lo hol in ce D e ve e on n ca os st a ee ic ou , s in ch le ealt is n pu onfu eth ctio ad or her be e be ip on Pea is tw med ied her sult rn h on to sa hav te atio mp d in m low furt to ar to ersh c e in en y m or & be ry rr mot re nbo ti ry d ba ar Sy hel s al w le ey n ad Ea ss etu t th ist e ar sa e ca e sa ” an ic de cl nal lth nd. r fe es ns lo eop th so le ure ai ro st at er bl e de io ea ke d etw ess al tio n.’ Seán to ar th tmenof her en p ind per of ch s p ob th n s nat Hal iv of ea e t n pu Th at H l u d b c m e n io al io id is al io rn al wee ic fu t y .” rg th avid te n e nce erit an sa d it cy by righosit thhey ne ed rve or ardinfaith equ and - tr of lif an in Fo In ater th re n an on D . gy p huerc n g m te ab C the the her in g M at onfe r, em lo way co n on io 1 ty Fr go at ed ld ve, Cus tin on lin C ye co Gal r preg orti at-2s in ve a, ld f th lv ou ur- e ab in nd onth on fend ot rt to rin Lo fo c w nae I th flou issi ofof nai hili shou elie invo s sh co ey ab form20nd th a st m lled de a m effo Refer e g ob as on d O’D gy NU en t topi ed in s ou th of ” the m ed op e Pr e itun si ar ed h y La ca “to of any ”. of cs, tm ec er misgeab e th is seht g. to om c, on as cl pa id m o w deci an au C si spir th ed dy are life st tion lig ivin e Yo w dri ea as sid et athis e of n sa t is wh ch ace ec in ce on es uur , th s, ra its Bra ep to ain or tr ch con “y toP ”. n of m er nd e pi “I op su gr .elBl e re diti rad m pa of n te lle elco th ou os y pr ght ag ab su ot ors, rd on olved te er ia sh g e gnw er ad Pa ri ild uce n ct ga ba Cu n w ng rr th el svo n from sult ctar on bi akin th resi w In e ion ew as ch od do re ic de uth ig sayi su se rpos ncth ctRens in Vo lu ht a re se k’s ew m ave to M by on ecau pu isti ry tr in bl r R pa y ic dr op ig an ld Kir of stru nd h e h d d sa in tr as dl tr pu D Cam tion fusi “b la in e ba ay ou e ge Pa also Bis an g lliv s to hn . ’s ag on al es s

ust ug ,A day

u Th

ge Pa

hn rs Jo ate9 W

nd te at

t p ar nd St eco ool ck edgos, s ch ta ctoulcdribearian s at jep ssthdes‘sect th ’s reishPorieelfasted’ ai e gf te h B B hatr nc in it rc ie as Sc cre bb hu in Ra C t he Pa n t s ics o p an e lym Th ra pl es Pa h up is s ar op sh aw s p bi ch n dr les Ar w o Br ch st ur rie Ch r p ng D fo avi AN OL Le 79 OP a 10 ET AG ri RIM ILG Sy ’ YP es RC ME ar in ion INE Cl DIV or ns ct Po ia in st ext

le ro

da an Ug

–

ge Pa

n E re IV ild US ch st CL n ne EX he e W y th ﬂ

s le tit nt ce re of

1 g£ st 0/ .3 €1

up dun ro

, 20

ps ho k bis c n sa he he W et t g

’L

g£

0/ .3

€1

’s ch ur Ch

he :T IV H

u ug ,A day

urs Th

at re s th itie g n in mu ow m gr co e ith Th fa 16-17 to es

g Pa

id ra h es to Th g pa op st e en ing sa d qu 0 ch.” ot pe m tin de dis e 15 ur pa mon th arch han g an e n ng ch de arks m ee rin os udi eful y “Th , ed m ous Sh oa st th cl ac an s. st ry ti Fr “r n in pe st k’

ore s,

er is he ol

R Fr

h hic

r ie es lh Ro Fr

an om

st w e o l la im ad m tro cr le ich ch h at Am n ed e lth ur w h d co at Ch ks r w hen s. an n el ud ea or ee fo w as s gu n-r ni w s o M ted , ttit w un er gu se g n d y er G ct of r a rds to in pla n sa pec ev of in stri e d m t ca te co ou s st to e ex ow t orOu wa 23 nta ng at H gh la e b ou si a sp to age cu s in set ner prie ill le. ei en at a M r P er ill hio no w ro ns, y be rdin of y pas te w aris is ple ad co ad -o ce ck rt af d p ere eo a le ea re co sen Ro ppo ws ge r d al so e er , D th yp ke e ab th su la em lin give La ta ried hav ill al e at s cter to to ar w th has ub ot n en icanstri m hom ed, s in it of D d n nu e in e se er r e ic th as op di a w in ie is m u ar s da turg . mes sh tin for serv at e f A vo s an to n ish li iest co hbi Mar riﬂ ty o ey fa op pl day s pr It Arc d sionunio par er ne, l ult ori th lly ish new n as ui is en O y sa at aj m m Ke c b l d Su ple uni- t st io usua in , as m s sa el oli dica hol eo m ou 1e th iarmper com klow to li Rad as ass en 4 h M im lic hip fun ha ath ra to laypcom with0-2Th e D his a Wic g TÉ ved M , w li t ic d. to a sl ho ad ds d M e C ing uphes d by ore leftsti2me. om ed le Co. n din R arri ing er a re en et at ec e e m ows f C en an a eeke ccor on s en ev p, pres om A Th aw aris le m beag rst b es us ar st o Pal w A ne ner ev How u as a h om Fri ith 22 BY L dr r p ices d t toP e fi so sh ts ie li A y sh s – ed w ed y C al ri es pr an fa age fo ve io day . th ri se rv l ve ird . e LED ITUA R Li rish n gton turn ho ch Hol t. P se ore are for wil pa l p on es ests d th w ea d esen pa r Su in t er ra ly ch ri IR m es st p an y rg fo less ries ster , pr te pr SP ECTO 2 gl h ti prie lem la seve on ur of e p si gy bu e e B ri a rob e as g ith l ch r lin sin rc DIR no ous liturdist thos Pag p ut avin ft w vera mbe dec ea Chu to st cr gi d a d to ac h g le se nu on in , rced ju e le an ion e e to le fo at av to in ed rv ily un be se s th es h an rofi ng th ld h nu m p ei on ed e to A nu it nti ou nti w e e b ti w e. firm th a Co co ced ag ar al ac o bl n at at in fa lder ers dic s ag inka e co ic th d o ad ra ar th av ol usse rchy ‘dis r.ie life ye un h h sc ra A ci le ke at olic an d ta few ed es h C di hie er. be th m cre a em urc Iris be e ob will hca se So e is to th Oct t’ Hu sa is Th ter g of in men is w.ir w at n th cu w m eeti noo do m ay ion M ss cu

’ lic e ho t b at us C 5 m lly -2 e a 24 s ur tic ut en ge ‘F uth Pa – a ge 7

ust

ug ,A day urs Th

s ar ye ice 0 rv 80 f se 3 o ge 1

e tiv ra bo lla co

to ke ee rn r,” w tu to ce st e ur ra fa yo llabo ns l la nc had e be co stia tiva ate iole e th ill a ri sh k an w d Ch Fes im v at ea ri e it dere at er ult to th sp e Sy d th mm si th ”. , to th e er hen n m w co ing ion sted d to efen lt co ew e Su Th nsw 23 be arn ct insi elan on d e fe vi th g is a age Ir ti not sh her en rin w xtin e no P “e Sh e to rela d id , in ev fe ents ac ns d of m in an e sa as e ev s nm iera m h co uth ict, Sh so ia an er of em of Clo K 18 tr nfl e. do ed s w re se an n co wit g e e & ld rise p , co gim d to m ion ictu th in an arg ia d sin ito or 3 at : A re lle tern Nat p w the to said 1 en G rist face pri es ny oto pe es ed ed eEU lrn g Ke gs t Ch a is e u of Pr nti te in ce she th r jo h W nit tort aeg te to g co es ag ri th e ul a fo P M en in en P 1. U o ” g p dis ria. W ur nin ci Sy as m ad Pa nd a Sy he co viol me, l “t de din it is m -1 ar k by y a e an y in n regi Ass ju 10 in “T en n gi pea rovi n se ship k w ee an e s it e Th un ctio th ar al . ar w m th be ia re ap p d fu au d er ages e ce th ll to ctar the an to an bec har m tin nst h sen e st this e so flee es as sh nte P Pea ca se le g not ms ts ng ex ai Bas or th lin lik to m s to s lu ee ” e & e, vo . S p din US , ar en si ag nt w was ub as, ed co fort her ts ce s , th lon ad d ce rg crea de s to is D h rc y. It ef ot 00 ple es es sti re ve g al 20 eo ai de pin an en insu in ue Th in ho fo tr up d . en s Pri r ju 2 n w en un d an is secure,” in p óc iv lig e tly s. u a uth g ve Tr seas ep s ng fo age rg th ea chao ve gi nun s, ben co eppe gees cris d in tu , n Yo un e, er st er vi to P Fo gr d ea a her or st fu the an o fu iam nu d yo hil ov is tn sa an “L ded. nw ’s cy, par life- ce ot ar-t aire to re by ar n ar ic ol e ve, ch d 8 an 5 w óc d d is fe e is M hol ngh th n Lo ea ea ur agen ith er st e f si pl M w Tr ai ce e er 95 at ro of holiv t Ch es o C Pag ) h ent rts de as ge spla her t th gn l st t Cat to it Iris m fo to ian on di “T bu A reek be wes ish aled to 28 ir , er G e re e Ir pe not at op ef non ar sp ed (0 th up ba anit . rity oth te th th The e ap t g tua- n nu ur t o Le um es nti M elki d in s in ld Sh men nin si ia as h fuge Co M se om to k. rn war the rist th ew es re lf ba H try ee ve ls e Ch en ti R ci d of un is w go be ak e e Be ro nsi Sr co th rn re m r th at co s, ow en g lic este the ld fo 59 e or m rria o f os at t kn w m wou se 81 th or n’ nst hy ma g ar is wor y. ai 8 W ar th on it k in on llab do ag 87 ti inor ea ted co ou fe ut m Sp mit be : “Y bo 1) 6 m to said (0 st co ed n gu er gnes Au A li

e Th

Iri

ar M

R Fr

er is he ol

Iris e 0 4 for Th .30 0 €1 3 8 l priced is 6 tai lan re Ire d of de p en Re

P ts a Se

ife &L ily m

• 1 nig hts • 3 nig •3

ar hC

& Fa DO TON RO ts NI 7 Nigh VAN012 | GIOmber 2 SA2N0 Septe

€

75 +€

€

tax

75 +€

tax

€ ISI ASS 784 €

w @ info

urs ie h To urs. ie als shto urs. 0 e W al to 86 Jo w.joew ewalsh 241 0 w jo 1

w @ info

urs ie h To urs. ie als shto urs. 6 e W al to 81 Jo w.joew ewalsh 241 0 w jo 1

r s be rbe em Ta pt to ce Se in ri f y ES nP o ctl ia e AG ar 27 dir M M RI 12 theing ine 51 LG 20 o fly l 100 PI es 2 tber k On m N d o IA ur theepte Bo AR Lo om 7 S .ie M fr he an n n t ri a ru e o es abl w.m ag il ww m va her ub ri a of D g w ner il no in ey w

’ Jo Ch ce th ie ‘fa ng at re K st n us y pio io ion lig ss m Re pre is am re h od c ‘G ays s

N TI BA M CO

M M

s h it si ve , a n ic si m ev er vo vi r e ai bbrch dign h it ca ow spap ie his te er ag rade ing agai tr e in es is in Pa h lv w g” nd H 49 9 isch Lo hu e hic ra r pa ak in t, is in C th w e rt on St ,” se new “m ” of M me h e sa toolic on life esenbby fowill h th de rati for tors em as tion lly s co ter th €6 59 un st ect stra th ta ou Ke ion as af of abor ge htCath itionman to pr d lo and wit . ed on sp at h m t id t n el m € on t n er th re em ai Righe r pos y hu righ nd anuare t bu sa hile, a ra ha unic itte iticis righ ainst em o d estr ic ar “T ea er y fe sq ec op 9 ulf r w of eof M h M mm abb p cr the y ag ons “r W rt cl ev er de ic sp bish ean tte urch S d Iris is R si n ea by x fr ber 815 ev ie bl re ui si ar o ly of Co t bi e h m ch H r Ch d E on lobb divi ns ed r rm Th ng sion has onal e pu ith e arr il, Rab e the Pa r sh t. r to h Can red as afte e 8 th on ti th w th aFá r fo tack ch es en p Dia sed enti es di Te fr nm ith Sac rch est in so y,” b a d M on ned . an id at ur cu es pr Car e. AGPeac be tem ) 87 w e sa u n m on it do aro Ch on as er isho ac repr e im ith issu Rab th rs the n p Pri A: an se ck so ti es n cln Fi cu atta poi or ok er TD of aign ti Gov rchb also is th w e r Mess & an y 1 ac n p nee on bee ig er ab sp em p d m ve ds th M s in A as io n re as sive has nd s leh ctio m th EN h of gi od on nd lan Bra b by y ct g as ve RrIgiven 12 pt st Se n (0 of tin mes s to is at rady ke p al loilit Au ld si h h So shsdiviwhicteh aroue paBrtily’ly Ke’els rejet to“wcaas ecneitful”.ts mwayith OV Ti ew he B wee ed din to b ion e ey so hic g 4. o LGe, Fo 20 h Se 1 vi at án e icis Car h a uct on e w Kin age N 1 th al Se t th it by rcis od ccpaignab- e ba Thealth abbitts righ ed respmmenwell s, theyan- s Ro p th city e P g£ cr st n A PoIf Lov es 7t e 2 l us h u intr of u k st th ee d CD 0/ CK suCamMr0mR-2id1at ate t h MrCRhurcthh’ e inissued norhis codownactivionst ly otousarrnecd tlyarte ce ey ing eric hri t. S .3 e h bit oun th e th o ife sed 2ti deb gh O €1 ile l earn putt im f C can on stra h ent rty ed th l co , as dy, n r nst . t -L cu es in e e ri 12 ANspirit rd he t al ra re “W w Pa serv y il on Bra t as fo ai tion Pro ac agg to th th roat K ocq in Lute o g va KN , 20 an w siti al ec Co e e r e ag or e as P n of of -nt P eb rch it lyin m o 23 av u n hav le RI our u t n - C st h u in L h po ab Th ) h tryi out sue o f bo hav e din resp so ld ro mo n ew o ust Ch e In s o e La ill nis s w eir Car e A er ou e mu e c poi LC of s l is ug th ar th w go her th by sam sp w ly th om blic (P tte olic vita es ,A M Ren L o le in ye ta ot at d e e.” id bi h e oke : “I rt C pu un in . e” ed e b sa l 2 d of el th te th voic g Cat th e. sp id pa for age t issu day er e k l a sa as r ur an n fe cula rves er hrer ccee ph on lif C ee urs w Pag w ti se h eltlee su mos to PL lock t it iste co rt Th O ab il n is in en po de ot K o y at er gh r as l an Mric“h the Sh ou y M s to im l th ed i va ok ia tr g th an ion e on nu itor of at rs nti va a o t siste nin ed nic scou Co a w ran di an so -B su two In w ts o e new ost h s n n.i . A alm do r S a ra o N ig t lo t – : C n gh ari Co cen hoto r, i ke per S. P n w.m Par 62 U in ut e

M RE

M FA

D VI DA

SHRINES OF FRANCE SU

2013

as erc d m m n ce Oly in or uin d is odun ar no ce n Q w ho m ed an to w le al e sti ea is th , a ro reve g th sJu r S 7 e pa atie as le, din hri re sh fo age . her y, K en op ea to C befo as e” se P ld n lif On or ly g pe s “r ing od or y gl ng ve un ve en iP W m in a pic easi r yo e lo list my Hea on cr fo sh d on to be God nd el at an gs t ut ts rs. Lo ap g n sh al in th ible son ts”. ldn’ ho d te 12 fast ouri ore r ed er po eu B an gh ou wit . an m th n or R ti y fi w on id e 20are tp m ei e w c an yl to: pi pu ou d th th le m “I pi sa th es Ta o en rry m as s do e , or an te e am sh ll ub g to ’s ie Ph aj e Ke Ba Oly h cces . in Ch e,” vera c Gam m or stra efor ity. con s tro Kat ul al ant ylor su . wer tain ra m on b un lif O pi n nas ia fort Pa th Ta ng od in fs m Bri ea od m as as io ph Jo ed ef em e am ie p Ca m ie boxi in G ter poing 26-yk G my a rs Oly g up ith s d bel com m the ex ar iu at y am h s, on af , in fa te s nal ld’s Tr t K ng ith af at the an e’s er ge 1 ch as th H ev of hle ou io or s on lete voti and ts is rilli fa king be , na -2 ic Nat 20 p e at ligi at e w cu ath de re evenen ly th her ea by nas just ory, ield ” day d m ’s Te ages r re tern s th fo on us fo or o p of to Sp nal a Jo “I ct sh ng. on ce ly in fi h : d er vi y O rita M n p P in A s to pi io be aj ne e t m e ri of nou su d lig ed m rs an r p B th as id ue d te e am ea o th h Din tin ch of re ptur th et it lves thei . Nat d sa gr h an in sult an Iris stra hen 2 & es e of es g ca t of p se r ol r a gt ep re was d on w eavr h of pl in os m em fo Gam fo ren I st e t te em als h ne unc Pag co rs th e be st me s th bou igh d ti nt ayer y. rm Din t, L on te it h sing rayeat th ti A t’s del atie en poi pr ctor not & h e w os g p ce K cred to r a vi s is om h fas ued cr rin an nig or rs, h en te her es w orld d tin nc ak n fe rm bef orte fait se d ut for succ ow w ie t Lu re Co fo p er was an ng c kl ng sh ou st, | B r h e ard vi mpi Wic xi er ab in e fa o inne in sh w ksgi ly e e bo nev ng ith ngl y ak d e ki fa si m en an t O th Th as re ton & D tu ea n e in th Bu g to d. h | B i Ro st sp stia th g vir x in hea n s in n kfa e do go ’s pio om Chri “it’ th nto n 1 Th ara 23 an am fr p at nt ve va rea 3 ch ay dee th ta p age ne Gio B aw er g por P Be n i | h stin t im ht Sa sis si os ic ol nig hts As m th

Joe Walsh Tours | 01 241 0822 | info@joewalshtours.ie www.joewalshtours.ie | 143 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2

Bonded and Licensed as a Tour Operator and Travel Agent T.O. 052 | T.A. 0689 | ATOL 5163

Post to The Irish Catholic, St Mary’s, Bloomfield Avenue, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Or Phone: 01 687 4020 to place your order by credit card.

**Terms and Conditions apply

Phone Number

* If paid in full by 14 December 2012

OFF*

Departures from Dublin

€150

€

EARLY BOOKING OFFER

Name Address

52 Weeks € 120 € 145

Duration Ireland Rest of World

Politicians were told that the only thing the Church asks of politicians is freedom – “the liberty to believe and to preach her faith, the freedom to love her God and serve him, the freedom to live and to bring to men her message of life. Do not fear her. Allow Christ to exercise his purifying action on society. Do not crucify him anew.” Scientists, philosophers and theologians were asked to develop “a deep understanding between real science and real faith, mutual servants of one another in the one truth...Have confidence in We are constantly seeking the face of God. Sometimes, like the women on Easter Sunday we do not know him when we see him. He reveals himself to us in so many ways. We meet him in others who walk the journey of life with us, relations, friends, those who make our world work, and who make it safer for us to live in; and we meet him in other ways and at other times.

Card Number ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Expiry Date ☐ ☐ / ☐ ☐ /☐ ☐ CID No. ☐ ☐ ☐

(Please note that all prices are quoted in euros and inclusive of postage and packing)

Subscription Rates 2012

Workers were told that the Church appreciates their service and their “courage, dedication, professional conscience, love of justice”. The sick and the vulnerable were told “Know that you are not alone, separated, abandoned or useless. You have been called by Christ and are his living and transparent image”. Young people were asked to dedicate their energy to those in need. “Fight against all egoism. Refuse to give in to...violence and hatred which beget wars and all their train of miseries. Be generous, pure, respectful and sincere, and build in enthusiasm a better world than your elders had.” These messages from Vatican II are as relevant today as they were 50 years ago. They speak to us of the issues which the Council saw as profoundly important.

Vatican II, Pope Paul VI presented seven messages from the Council to seven different groups of people. Pope Benedict gave those same messages to representatives of those groups on October 11.

may wonder: Can it really be true that he holds us in the palm of his hand, as we were taught as little children? That is what the Year of Faith is about. The Pope said this, launching the Year of Faith: “Today...what is important and essential is to take the ray of God’s love into the heart and life of each man and woman, and to bring the men and women of all places and times to God”. If we are to do that we must first make sure, as best we can, that our community whether it be in our homes, our parish church, our diocese, our country, our world, is a community founded in love, a community in which everyone can thrive, in which everyone is cherished. Jesus showed us how to do this. He did not see anyone as an outsider! In 1965, at the end of Martin Luther wrote “Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in scripture alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” We will see that promise, too, in the glorious colours of the autumn leaves, and in the consciousness of the coming of Advent and the birth of the Christ Child. We must strive too, to see his face in everyone we meet, and it can be a solemn thought to look on all the people whom we meet during the ordinary events of the day, and acknowledge this reality. Christ is there. It is for us to recognise him. There will be times in our lives when we feel that we know why God made us. At other times it may be different. We may feel so distanced from God that we may come to wonder whether he really exists, and if he does exist, we

Seeking

I enclose a cheque/postal order for €........................ Please charge my credit card: Mastercard ☐ Visa ☐ Lasercard ☐ for €.............................

Dedication

There seems to me to be an uncertainty about the Year of Faith, just as there was about the Eucharistic Congress. Those who engage with it will grow in their faith. Others will hardly know it has happened. The question I have been asking myself is what are we to do during this Year of Faith? What will look different in 2013 because we have lived a Year of Faith? Will anything? Will we even know that the Year of Faith has happened? Will we “know him more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly”? A year is a long time. Much could be achieved. It will take commitment, and determination. It must be done in the context of all that comprises our Church and our belief: sacraments, scripture, liturgy, care for one other, education and buildings. So maybe the question for each of us is what role will I play? Each diocese, its priests and its people, will have to work together. There will be new opportunities for faith formation, for prayer. Will we be there? Perhaps, too, the Year of Faith will bring a greater understanding that we really are all called to holiness, a renewed passion for the great gift of the sacrament of the Eucharist, and an enhanced experience of the Sacrament of Confession as a very personal opportunity to come into the presence of God in sorrow, to know his love and to be healed of what is wrong in our lives, so that we can more fully live his two great commands – that we should love God and love one another as he has loved us - because we have encountered God again and again. faith, this great friend of intelligence.” Artists were told that the world “needs beauty in order not to sink into despair” that they are “the guardians of beauty”. Women were told that now “the vocation of woman is being achieved in its fullness, the hour in which woman acquires in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved”. “Our technology runs the risk of becoming inhuman. Reconcile men with life and above all, we beseech you, watch carefully over the future of our race. Hold back the hand of man who, in a moment of folly, might attempt to destroy human civilisation”. t Paul wrote “When I was a child I spoke like a child, thought like a child, understood like a child, but when I became a man I put away childish things” (I Corinthians 13:11). As children we were taught our Faith in a very structured way using very particular language. We learned to worship God with all our being, to pray daily, morning and night, using prayers which we learned off by heart. We learned the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, hymns, Latin and English. We learned to take our troubles to the chapel and to light a candle and to pray. I am not sure that we all continued to grow in our understanding though, as St Paul says we should. Sometimes we can feel stuck somewhere in the ritual and language of our childhood prayers and sacraments. The Year of Faith gives us an opportunity to grow beyond our current understanding. The psalmist wrote “Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me” (Psalm 27).

| COMMENT ||5 The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

NualaO’Loan The View

6 | COMMENT ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

No excuse for Church silence Northern bishops must be more outspoken in face of secular agenda writes David Quinn

Parliament Buildings, Belfast. Home to the Northern Assembly. enough to put a stop to the clinic. The Minister for Health, Edwin Poots, has said the clinic will be monitored to make sure it complies with the law, but he hasn’t signalled any move to prevent it from opening altogether. So, why has it proved easier to open an abortion clinic in the North this time when it failed last time? One reason certainly is that social attitudes towards abortion have softened. This isn’t to say the North no longer has a very strong pro-life constituency when it clearly does. But in the past it was strong enough to make a move like this virtually unthinkable. Now it is not unthinkable.

he opening of a Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast, offering abortions to women north and south of the border under certain conditions, would have been unthinkable a few short years ago. On Saturday on RTÉ, Goretti Horgan, a lecturer at the University of Ulster who backs the opening of the clinic, said that when this was previously attempted the resistance was so great the plan had to be cancelled. This, time, however, there appears to be much less resistance. A handful of politicians have spoken out against it and pro-life groups are doing what they can to stop it and will protest outside the clinic. Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor, in whose diocese the clinic will be based, issued a statement expressing “great concern and dismay” about the development, but at the time of writing none of this has been

Online poll

Indeed, an online poll (not the most reliable kind of poll admittedly) in the Belfast Telegraph showed public opinion fairly evenly divided on the matter with only a small majority opposed to the move. It doesn’t help, of course,

MAP Travel

G IN 013 M 2 CO ON Pilgrimages SO

& Escorted Tours

Holy Land, Rome Assisi

Peru, Jordan, Argentina

The Camino De Santiago Walks for all ages and levels of fitness F ro m 5 D a y s To 3 2 D a y s !

Students Organised walks along the Camino for school groups Tours of Galicia 7 nights based in Santiago with day trips and optional short walk on the Camino In the Footsteps of .... St. Paul - Greece and Turkey St. Gallen - Switzerland St. Columbanus - France, Austria, Italy

Planning a Parish Holiday/Pilgrimage? We are the experts - talk to us first! MAP Travel

(01) 8783111 www.maptravel.ie

that the media tend towards the liberal position in these matters and are moving opinion in the North increasingly in their direction. It also doesn’t help that the Catholic Church has to date not been as vigorous as it should be in opposing these developments. At least Bishop Treanor issued a statement opposed to the opening of the clinic. Why wasn’t there a joint statement from the Northern bishops, and why wasn’t there a promise of action? Perhaps there is more going on behind the scenes then we know about, but publicly the bishops should call on Catholics to contact their politicians to express their strong opposition to the move. They will need to lobby politicians, to call them, to meet them personally to state their position, to show how seriously they are taking matters. A few weeks ago there was another sign of how fast things are moving in the North on social issues. A private member’s mo-

tion was put down in the Assembly in favour of gay marriage. It was only narrowly defeated thanks almost entirely to the Unionist parties.

Catholic politicians in the North received no guidance from their bishops. Not a single Catholic politician voted against the motion. Sinn Féin was in favour. Nine SDLP Assembly members voted in favour and five either abstained or were not present for the vote. The Presbyterian Church contacted politicians to state its opposition to the motion, but the Catholic Church appears to have done nothing at all. No bishop spoke against the motion. In other words, Catholic politicians in the North received no guidance from their bishops. Of course, even if they did receive guidance there is no

guarantee the Catholic politicians would have paid it any attention. In fact, some would probably have taken pride in showing their ‘independence’ from the bishops (which is to say, they would have showed their dependence on liberal, secular opinion).

Concern

Nonetheless, the silence of the Catholic Church on the matter certainly sends out a signal that the bishops aren’t overly concerned about either the substance of the same-sex marriage issue or with its immense religious freedom implications. What are politicians supposed to make of this? Indeed, what are ordinary Catholics supposed to make of this? Perhaps one reason for the relative silence of the bishops is that they feel their credibility has been destroyed by the scandals. However, the damage has not been as great as it has been south of the border. The Church in England and Scotland has also been dam-

aged by the scandals and yet there the bishops are far more outspoken in these matters than here. For example, Scottish cardinal Dr Keith O’Brien is very vocal as is Dr Philip Tartaglia (a naturally mild-mannered man), the new Archbishop of Glasgow. The Scottish bishops are outspoken about the issue of same-sex marriage even though the odds are hugely against them politically. They speak out because they know they have a duty to do so. In the North, however, the odds are still much more in the Church’s favour despite the scandals and despite the drift of public opinion. Both the abortion issue and the issue of same-sex marriage are eminently winnable if only the Catholic Church there, in tandem with the other Churches, will actually fight in a way that looks like it means it. If it does not do this, it will only have itself to blame if both issues are needlessly lost.

Massive rally to oppose Belfast abortion clinic Pro-life campaigners have warned that the controversial opening of an abortion clinic in Belfast this week will have ramifications across the island of Ireland. Precious Life has organised a massive prayer rally scheduled to coincide with the clinic’s opening today (Thursday) on Belfast’s Great Victoria Street.

Urgent

Spokesperson for Precious Life Bernie Smyth warned that “at this most urgent and critical time we must take action and fight for the lives of our unborn children”. She appealed to people to contact

their politicians and assert their opposition to abortion as well as attending the Belfast rally. Marie Stopes international – one of the world’s largest providers of abortion – announced last week that they were opening the clinic which they say will provide medial abortions to women pregnant up to nine weeks. Bishop of Down and Connor Dr Noel Treanor said he is dismayed by the clinic’s opening. Bishop Treanor said “the opening of this facility further undermines the sanctity and dignity of human life in our society where the most

vulnerable and defenceless human beings are already under threat”. He said: “It is with great concern and dismay that I, like many fellow citizens who value and seek to protect human life, received news of the decision”.

Strict control

Abortions are not illegal in the North, but are very strictly controlled. Abortions can be carried out only to preserve the life of the mother or if continuing the pregnancy would have other serious, permanent physical or mental health effects. There is strict assessment regarding

any impact on mental wellbeing and the woman must consult with two doctors. The Northern Ireland Assembly has passed motions on two occasions opposing moves to extend Britain’s abortion laws to Northern Ireland. Mrs Smyth said the move “shows the desperation of the pro-abortion movement who are attempting to bypass our government and legal system and perform abortions in Northern Ireland. They are riding rough-shod over the views of the vast majority of people here; over our Assembly; and over the authority of our courts,” she said.

AMDG+

Time is running out for Ireland’s unborn children Dear Irish Catholic Reader, On Thursday 18th October 2012, one of the world’s largest abortion organisations - Marie Stopes International - plan to set up in Northern Ireland and start carrying out illegal abortions and kill our unborn children. At this most urgent and critical time we must take action and fight for the lives of Irish unborn babies. Their blatant arrogance has taken everyone by surprise. They are boasting of their “world-class medical centre” in Belfast - but this centre is where they plan to kill God’s precious little ones.

This will not only affect Belfast - unborn children on the whole island of Ireland are now under attack. Marie Stopes International have the audacity to claim they “operate within the law” and they are spreading the lie that it is legal to kill unborn babies up to 9 weeks old. They have pro-abortion media lapdogs regurgitating their every lie as truth and fact. However, Precious Life have exposed their lies by posting a video on YouTube and Facebook. The video shows a clip of one of their Directors caught on camera admitting that Marie Stopes International break the law and perform illegal abortions all around the world (view the video at www.PreciousLife.com). Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland! However, the law in Northern Ireland that protects unborn children, does not prevent doctors from providing any genuine life-saving medical treatment to pregnant women, even in tragic cases when the unborn child may unintentionally die as a result of that treatment. What Marie Stopes International plan to do in Northern Ireland is a tactic they use around the world. They arrogantly railroad into countries that have laws protecting unborn children ...appoint local pro-abortionists as their spokespersons ...then they blatantly manipulate and break the law and start killing unborn children, in the hope of pushing the boundaries further to change the law ..all without the support or consent of the majority of the people in that country. Irish unborn children must be protected from Marie Stopes International, who make millions of pounds every year from abortion. Last year they aborted over 4.5 million babies. Now they want to add Ireland to their list of countries where they can make even more money from their evil industry.

We must not allow Marie Stopes International to get a foothold in Northern Ireland. We must ‘Close the Door’ to Marie Stopes!!! That is why I have launched the STOP MARIE STOPES CAMPAIGN, which is supported by Doctors, Lawyers, and other Interested Groups. I have assembled a team of top legal experts and we are exhausting every legal option available to stop Marie Stopes International killing unborn babies in Ireland. I have also organised an intensive lobby campaign to rally political support. Precious Life will hold a massive Prayer Rally on Great Victoria Street in Belfast on the day this evil ‘clinic’ opens. Above all, the most important thing I ask of you is to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!! and ‘storm heaven’ with prayer asking God to intervene and stop this abortion ‘clinic’ in its tracks. Please rush me an urgent donation TODAY to help our legal fund and protect Ireland from the scourge of abortion. Fill in the coupon below or make an online donation at www.PreciousLife.com If you require any further information please contact me on 048 90278484 (RoI) / 02890278484 (NI) Yours in Christ,

Bernadette Smyth, Director STOPES C IE A R A

Yes Bernadette, I want to help you ‘Close the Door’ to Marie Stopes and STOP them killing our unborn children from abortion. I’m sending you my gift of : (please tick ¸)

or o n M AR

£50

£250

£500

£1000

my chosen gift £ _______

ES •

£100

Address...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

£25

Name....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

os • Cl

ed clos

£10

( Please send cheque / postal order payable to “PRECIOUS LIFE” )

IG PA

STOP M

............................................................................................................................................................. Tel:............................................................................................

Please return completed coupon to: PRECIOUS LIFE

• PO BOX 425 • BELFAST • BT1 4YF

STOP MARIE STOPES CAMPAIGN Tel: 028 9027 8484 • Email: info@preciouslife.com • Website: www.preciouslife.com

8 | COMMENT ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Using our talents Greed is not good, but entrepreneurship can be, says Sarah Carey

’ve never understood that parable about the talents. And I think we really need to understand it. People are emerging from the shock of the financial crisis and accepting that we need to find a new way to live. Mostly, that means learning to live on less money. But we also need to re-evaluate money itself. How much is enough? How do you draw a line between legitimately trying to improve your fam-

ily’s circumstances and simply craving for cash? Where does ambition end and greed begin? Jesus was pretty clear on the subject of money in last week’s Gospel: let go of riches. But the story of the talents is at the very least, a tad confusing. I know it’s supposed to be a metaphor and there are several charming interpretations identifying possible meanings. One of the most inspiring I’ve heard was from then Deacon, now Fr Thomas McHugh, who assisted in our parish last year.

Opportunities

He suggested the ‘talents’ represented opportunities for random acts of kindness. Some he had seized – like striking up a friendly conversation with a colleague with whom he had a frosty relationship. Sometimes he had hesitated and missed his chance – like offering his umbrella to a woman getting soaked in the rain. His regret made him determined not to miss the next opportunity to be kind to friend or stranger. That’s an investment that yields a great

dividend. But perhaps we’d have been better off if Jesus had stuck to agricultural themes like seeds instead of money. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to resist the temptation to see the parable of the talents as a straightforward endorsement of capitalism. Saving is bad. Investment is good.

Contentment.

It’s easy to dismiss the idea, particularly in the light of Jesus’ comments on rich men. Gurus from all traditions, Christian to Buddhist will tell you – rightly – that learning to stop wanting things is essential to contentment. But what kind of world would we live in if nobody bothered to better themselves? The ‘poor but happy’ view of world history is a bit tenuous. If starting up a business or investing your savings wisely means your family can move from struggle to comfort, why should there be anything wrong with that? Is there anything wrong with dreaming of an old age of ease instead of worry? If you don’t have a job, getting one can seem like a gift from God. So creating them must have

How Will You Be Remembered? The recession is biting hard. And now the hardest hit are coming to Merchants Quay Ireland for help and a hot meal in ever greater numbers ... more than 200 men and women each day. With an ethos rooted in the 800-year-old Franciscan tradition of compassion and respect, since 1969 MQI have kept our promise to care for Ireland's poorest and most forgotten. By leaving a gift to Merchants Quay Ireland in your Will, you can help us make a tremendous difference to people’s lives here in Ireland for the future too. And for your kindness, we will always remember you. For details ring Belinda Kearns on 01 524 0965 or complete and return the reply coupon below.

“For it is in giving that we receive.” ve — St. Francis of Assisi

✄

PLEASE CUT, COMPLETE AND RETURN

✄

Yes, I want to make a lasting difference for Ireland’s homeless and hungry. Please send my free information on Will making to: Your Name: Address:

Post to: Merchants Quay Ireland, P.O. Box 11958, 28 Winetavern St, Dublin 8. Charity No. CHY10311, Fr Hugh McKenna, OFM, Board Chairman. www.mqi.ie

Tom Monaghan, a Catholic philanthropist and founder of Domino’s Pizza who, after selling the company, has dedicated his time to supporting Catholic charities and other good causes. Photo: CNS some inherent value. Inventions and innovations that have transformed our world for the better were born out of ambition. It can’t be bad to dream the big dream. But look at all the misery those dreams have caused. Last week I was listening to

one friend recount his financial troubles. Like many people I know he had a perfectly good job, but got excited during the boom. He borrowed money to buy houses to rent out. Then he’d borrowed more for a sure-thing investment scheme. Needless to say the sure-thing turned out not to be so sure and between the jigs and reels, he owes a lot of money. I wanted to ask him: “Why wasn’t your job enough? Why couldn’t you be happy with what you had?” I didn’t, because asking those questions doesn’t help. What’s done is done and a bit of sympathy and encouragement is what he needed now. But his story is not remotely unique. Good people, who thought they were staring an opportunity in the face, thought they’d be mad not to seize it. It happened on all scales from homeowners who wanted a second home to the Sean Quinn’s who wanted another billion. They made a financial mistake but where should morality have entered the equation? When should they have said “I have enough.”?

Greed is the inordinate desire for wealth with the intention of keeping it for oneself. But people tell themselves they are doing it for their family or to create jobs or they’ll give some money to charity.

Bravery

I backed off asking my friend to explain his thinking, but perhaps we need to be braver about confronting the issue. We’re in a slump now, but the wheel will turn. Now, I’m like the servant who buries the talents. I squirrel away my savings and have a terror of debt, so the longed for growth won’t come from the likes of me. We need people like the servant who invested his talents. The ambitious; those who are brave and borrow money and create jobs for those of us with smaller dreams. If they do that, then is fair to turn around to them then and say they are guilty of greed? Greed is not good, but entrepreneurship can’t be bad. We tend to judge people on whether they succeed or fail, but is simply trying right or wrong?

Caring for the most forgotten In 1969 the Franciscan Friars started the Tea Rooms with an open door, a warm welcome and a hot cup of tea and for 43 years, through good times and bad, through thick and thin, we’ve cared for the poorest, most forgotten people. Today Merchant’s Quay Ireland continues the work begun by the Franciscan Friars. Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) is a registered charity providing a wide range of services to people who are strug-

NEWS DIGEST Oldest Spiritan passes away The death has occurred of Tim O’Driscoll CSSp, who was the oldest member of the Irish Province of the Spiritans (Holy Ghost Fathers) at the age of 102. Born on Valentia Island, Co. Kerry in 1910, Fr O’Driscoll left home to do his secondary schooling at Blackrock College where he was a boarder. As a student he made the school’s inter-provincial rugby team for two years, and would later return as president of the college in the mid-1960s.

gling with poverty, homelessness and addiction. The devastating effects of the economic downturn can clearly be seen in the numbers of men and women turning to MQI’s Homeless Services. Our free meals service, especially, increased dramatically – climbing from almost 59,000 meals served in 2010 to over 73,000 in 2011. Similarly, our Primary Healthcare Service reflected the harsh physical realities of homelessness and life on the streets, with an over 20 per

cent rise in G.P. interventions that encompassed everything from wound care to chronic illness treatment. As the recession continues, history tells us that more people will fall into poverty. In turn, demand for MQI’s homeless and drug services will increase. Your help and support will enable us to continue providing our vital services to Irelands poorest, and most vulnerable. To find out more about MQI visit our website www. mqi.ie

Fr O’Driscoll was ordained in 1938 and spent more than four decades of his long ministry in Rockwell College, Cashel, Co. Tipperary. He was the Spiritan provincial in Ireland for nine years from 1956. Fr O’Driscoll moved to the Spiritan Nursing Home in Kimmage Manor in 2008. He died on Wednesday, October 10 and after a funeral Mass in Kimmage, he was buried in the Spiritan cemetery in Rockwell on Friday, October 12. May he rest in peace.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, is representing the Irish Episcopal Conference at the Synod of Bishops currently taking place in Rome until the end of the month. The bishop writes of the daily activities at the synod, giving a summary of interesting talks and discussions, and even the menu from a lunch hosted by Pope Benedict to honour the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II. “The first week of the synod is drawing to a close and we have listened over these days to fascinating perspectives of the Church from around the world,” Bishop O’Reilly says in his latest post. “Each continent and country presents its own reality. The synod is a unique gathering from the vast panorama of a world Church.” To read the blog see www. killaloediocese.ie/bishopsblog/

Bishop blogs from synod Embracing social media as a way to communicate with the masses, Bishop Kieran O’Reilly from the Diocese of Killaloe has been writing a weekly blog on his diocesan website reporting from the Synod of Bishops. Bishop O’Reilly, along with

| MISSION ||9

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Growing in Communion Fr Gary Howley explains the story behind this year’s Mission Sunday poster

aving celebrated the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, we continue ‘Growing in Communion’ – our theme for Mission Month this year – and we do it with extra joy as we begin the Year of Faith.

We celebrate our gift of faith this mission month. Our poster this year features Aisling Foley, a native of Cork and a lay missionary with Viatores Christi, who works in South Africa. Aisling is one of the 1,700 missionaries who work in 84 countries. They, and all missionaries, are supported by your prayers, sacrifices and material help. “It had always been a dream of mine to work abroad doing voluntary work,” Aisling says. “From a young age I regularly raised money for local causes, was affected by injustices in the world and always had a social conscience which I inherited from both my parents who worked voluntarily in the community. About seven years ago my mum told me about Viatores Christi, an organisation that ran courses for people who wanted to volunteer overseas. I joined one of the courses and that planted the seed, even though it took a few years to flower.” During those years, while the seed was germinating

and Aisling began her career as a solicitor in Dublin, she continued her work with the Clarendon Street Conference of St Vincent de Paul on Wednesday evenings. “After my three hours visiting people, I felt so grateful that I could hop into my car and drive home to a warm house,” she says. “The time of year that I loved in SVP was Christmas. Every year we did a food drive and the week before Christmas we would deliver food hampers. It was such a wonderful thing to do and so amazing to see faces light up, and not just the children but the old people who had no family or friends, and who knew for that one day they could enjoy food and treats that the rest of us take for granted.”

Aisling Foley, a native of Cork and a Viatores Christi volunteer, with Neo in her office in South Africa.

Fortunate

“I often felt that this was the most productive thing I did during the week,” Aisling says. “Seeing how fortunate I was compared to others always made me feel grounded and grateful. I always had food to eat, a roof over my head and a warm bed to sleep in. I suppose this is where I began my mission of voluntary work. “Four years later, in 2008, I came to South Africa to work for six weeks as a volunteer in Home of Hope, a project that provides accommodation and foster care for children at risk. My reason for doing voluntary work has always been very straightforward. For me, if you are lucky to have been born into a great family, get educated, and have good health then it comes with a responsibility to help those who have not been so fortunate.”

Obstacles

“When I went back to Ireland I continued to work for a further year but I felt I had left my heart in Africa. The recession hit Ireland badly that year so I took redundancy and decided to return to South Africa with Viatores Christi for a year. As someone who had a good job and career and a big mortgage, there were a lot of obstacles in my way. Going to another country to start a new job in a place where you don’t have family or friends can be challenging or even scary. “I chose South Africa because I had been there before, knew the organisation I would be working with and, because they spoke English, I knew I wouldn’t have the further isolation of not being able to speak the language. There is never a perfect time to up sticks and move but I suppose some times are better than others and, for me, with the recession in Ireland, my health and the health of my family being ok, I felt that I had to carpe diem and go for it,” Aisling explains. “When I started work with Home of Hope I began work-

Children and staff at the Amathemba School in the Western Cape, South Africa. ing with children who had Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders – brain damage caused by pre-natal exposure to alcohol. Initially, I started to research how to care for these children and compiled what I had learned in a handbook. “That was not the end of the story though, as we soon discovered that children with these disorders could not survive in main-stream schooling. So we started the first school in the world, called Amathemba (‘Our Hope’ in the Xhosa language), for these children and I am the project manager of this school here in the Western Cape.

Love

“Despite all the work so far, we are only at the tip of the iceberg in dealing with this problem in South Africa. I truly believe that I was guided to work in Home of Hope and that my mission is to stay here until God tells me that my work is done. Every day these amazing children I work with teach me so much about tolerance, patience and love and these lessons will stay with me for life.” “I think the overall love I received from the children told me I was in the right

place”, Aisling concludes. “I don’t have children myself and so it was amazing to see the children running out to the gate shouting your name and beaming with those beautiful white teeth that they have that made me feel wanted and needed. I have learned so much from them and they are the real heroes in this story. “My parents have been here twice to visit and my 91-year-old gran came to visit with them earlier this year. I couldn’t be here without their support, I know it is hard for them to have their youngest child living so far away but at the same time they know I am happy and I know they are proud of what I do here. They love hearing about the children and in some way have gained 20 more grandchildren!”

Tradition

We have a long and esteemed tradition in Ireland of working on behalf of the missions and we celebrate that solidarity during Mission Month, especially on Mission Sunday. During this time we reach out to the younger Churches in the spirit of Pauline Jaricot. Pauline was the foundress of

the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, which organises Mission Sunday. It is also the largest aid agency for the missions in the entire history of the Catholic Church.

Wisdom

It was Pauline’s wisdom that all should be helped, none should be neglected, especially the most needy. In his message for Mission Sunday this year, Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “I thank the Pontifical Mission Societies, instruments for cooperation in the universal mission of the Church across the world. Through their action, the proclamation of the Gospel not only bears witness to Christ but also becomes an intervention on behalf of one’s neighbour, justice for the poorest, the possibility of education in the most remote villages, medical aid in isolated places, emancipation from poverty, the rehabilitation of the marginalised, support for the development of peoples, overcoming ethnic divisions, and respect for life in all its stages.”

Fr Gary Howley is National Director of World Missions Ireland.

R10

| MISSION ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Celebrating different faces Mags Gargan All the continents were represented in Kimmage Manor parish in Dublin last Sunday, when over 150 international missionaries and friends gathered for a celebration of the Eucharist. The Mass was organised by the Irish Missionary Union (IMU) as part of the mission month calendar of events, under the direction of Ronan Barry and Sr Lumay of the Mission Alive office. Described as a “participatory and joyful” celebration by the celebrant, Fr Hugh McMahon, Executive Secretary of the IMU, the ceremony involved children from the parish, the parish choir, students of the religious formation ministry programme in Lo-

reto House and missionaries of different nationalities taking part in music, drama and dance to enhance the liturgy. Traditional food from different parts of the world was provided for the congregation after Mass, prepared and served by Br Barry Noel (Novice Master) and novices from the Presentation Brothers based in Killarney, Co. Kerry. A ‘Gathering of Missionaries’, for both lay and religious, will take place in St Michael’s Parish Inchicore, Dublin on Sunday, October 21 (Mission Sunday) with Mass at 11am followed by a social, and in the SMA Parish Wilton, Cork at 10.30am. There will also be a live broadcast Mass on Mission Sunday from the RTÉ studios hosted by Magis Ireland, Jesuit Young Adult Centre.

Fr Hugh McMahon (Executive Secretary of the IMU), Sr Helen Anthony Dhasan (Franciscan Missionaries of Mary) and Ronan Barry (Mission Alive Co-ordinator).

Students of the religious formation programme in Loreto House perform a dramatisation of the Gospel at a celebration of the Eucharist in Kimmage Manor parish, Dublin for international missionaries serving in Ireland. Photos: John McElroy

“Ready to risk all for the Lord”!!!!

WOMEN IN COMMUNION

The Sisters Of Our Lady of Apostles an international group of women religious dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel through the witness of their lives

The Ola Way

We were founded especially for Africa. Today we work in nineteen countries around the world Our works are varied. We strive to meet the needs of people where ever we are. Promoting women and the marginalized is a priority in our apostolates

Which ‘Way’ for you? Is God inviting you to join us?

Contact: Sr Gabrielle Labyrinth@olaireland.ie Would you like to become a Volunteer?

Contact: Sr Eileen Volunteering@olaireland.ie Is God inviting you to join our lay missionary movement?

Contact: Sr Patricia llm@olaireland.ie

A close call! Two close calls!! In one day!!! Not what I had in mind when I journeyed to Africa to tell people of God’s great love for us. I’m loved and I couldn’t but let others know, whether they wanted to or not. And one day, a reality struck! A baby scorpion looking very dead, until it pranged my sandal! Thank you Lord for the inventor of 1 inch soles! Then, leaving the operating theatre, where I spent most of my days and nights, a baby cobra blocked my path and proceeded to spit at me ferociously! I, of course, knowing it couldn’t do me any damage, admired this wonder of creation until I realized…Baby!...mother wouldn’t be too far away, so I got far away. Then, years later, a truly heart-stopping moment. A patient asked me “Who is your God? You care so much for us who are not your race or tribe?” I had never mentioned the Lord. I’d just listened to this suffering child of God and done what I was trained to do – practise medicine. A Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Apostles, I learnt lots that day. Seven hundred of us, world-wide, in a multitude of ministries. Medicine, education, parish work, development, inter-religious dialogue, justice and peace, mission awareness. Attentive to the hopes and searchings of the peoples we live among, we strive to meet their needs and witness the Good News of Jesus Christ especially to those who have never heard God’s Word. An essential part of our OLA identity is a special focus on the care of women and children. We aim, through Mission Awareness, to re-awakening among all the baptised, the importance of the Missionary dimension of being Christian. The fruits of this work are very visible in OLA Volunteering. Many people spend time working overseas with us. Others become part of our Lay Mission Movement, uniting themselves in Ireland to our work. Started with cobras and scorpions and end with another memory. First Christmas in Africa. Midnight Mass. Sign of Peace. Walked along the pew, giving and receiving Peace from at least 20 people. Returned to my seat, filled with wonder, awe and the question, “Who is the missionary to whom here?” Of the 20 people, I was the only Catholic! Sister Eithna Synnott

| MISSION ||R11

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

of mission

Srs Barbara, Veronica, Odilia and Lucyna from the Missionary Sisters of St Peter Claver. Some of the children of the parish performed a doxology reďŹ&#x201A;ection and then performed actions alongside a recital of the Our Father in song.

Sr Lumay (L) from the IMU helps to serve food and refreshments after Mass.

Fr John Amoma (Missionaries of Africa), Sr Carmel Flynn (Society of the Sacred Heart) and Fr Oscar Padilla (Missionaries of Africa).

Sisters of Holy Faith Prepare for Mission in Year of Faith Every year 11th October is a big day for the Holy Faith Sisters, the day we celebrate our Foundress, Margaret Aylward, but this year is special, it is the beginning of the Year of Faith. And with a name like ours, we have to do something special!

Srs Eknutosi (Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary), Angela (Franciscan Missionary Sisters For Africa), Carmen Lee (Servants of the Holy Spirit) and Chinyeaka Ezeani (Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary).

Year of Faith Projects Riwoto South Sudan New Centre Glasnevin

Concerning the Year of Faith, Pope Benedict XVI talked about those who have first claim on our attention, and coincidentally, John Steiner, a layman and collaborator in our early days, wrote that the poorest of the poor have first claim on us. We asked ourselves who now has first claim on Holy Faith? One answer is the people of South Sudan. In January 2013, three sisters will go to Riwoto, South Sudan, to start a primary school in a very remote area. South Sudan is the newest and poorest country in the world. Only 2% of the population has completed primary school education. The local people need us, the local authorities are keen to have us and the Kiltegan Fathers have invited us.

Pray for us, Think of Joining us as a Sister, Donate to New Project

We are an ageing Congregation and taking on this project is a risk for us but whatever we can do to help the people of South Sudan build their own nation will mean that they are better placed than they are now. When the project is established, we will probably seek lay volunteers to help in Riwoto. Our second exciting project is in Ireland at our main house in Glasnevin just north of the city centre. We are building a new centre in our beautiful grounds overlooking the Botanic Gardens. It is our way of encouraging people to appreciate their faith, to deepen it, and to share it with others.

Contact: Aylward House, Holy Faith Convent, Glasnevin, Dublin, 11 Phone 01 8371426 email: aylward@eircom.net

The centre will be available to faith groups and the local community. It will offer a mix of talks and short programmes but will provide a space for individuals and groups who want some quiet time for prayer and reflection in tranquil surroundings. In response to a changing Ireland, we hope that the centre will become a place for inter-religious dialogue. Building a centre based on faith is a risk but it is also a witness to our conviction that God loved the world so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, we want to help people know and believe in the love God has for them. We need you! We need your prayers! We would appreciate your financial support for these projects. Interested? Want to be Involved? Want to Contribute? Contact: Aylward House, Holy Faith Convent, Glasnevin, Dublin 11 Phone (01) 8371426 email: aylward@eircom.net

Sisters of the Holy Faith is an eligible charity for tax relief.

12 | MISSION ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Pope’s message for World Mi T his year the celebration of World Mission Day has a very special meaning. The 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council and of the opening of the Year of Faith and of the Synod of Bishops on the theme of the New Evangelisation contribute to reaffirming the Church’s desire to engage with greater courage and zeal in the missio ad gentes so that the Gospel may reach the very ends of the earth. The Second Vatican Council, with the participation of Catholic bishops from all the corners of the earth, was a truly luminous sign of the Church’s universality, welcoming for the first time such a large number of Council Fathers from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. Scattered among non-Christian peoples, missionary bishops and indigenous bishops, pastors from communities brought to the Council the image of a Church present on all the continents and interpreted the complex realities of what was then called the ‘Third World’. Enriched by their experience of being pastors of Churches, young and in the process of formation, moti-

vated by passion for spreading the Kingdom of God, they contributed significantly to reaffirming the need and urgency of the evangelisation ad gentes, and hence to placing the Church’s missionary nature at the centre of ecclesiology.

Reflection

Today this vision is still valid, indeed, it has experienced a fruitful theological and pastoral reflection and, at the same time, is presented with new urgency because the number of those who do not know Christ has grown.

One of the obstacles to the impetus of evangelisation is the crisis of faith, not only in the Western world, but among most of humanity. In fact, one of the obstacles to the impetus of evangelisation is the crisis of faith, not only in the Western world, but among most of humanity, which, however, is hungering and thirsting for God and must be invited and brought

to the bread of life and the living water. The encounter with Christ as a living person, who satisfies the thirst of the heart, cannot but lead to the desire to share with others the joy of this presence and to make him known, so that all may experience this joy. It is necessary to renew the enthusiasm of communicating the faith to promote a new evangelisation of the communities and countries with a long-standing Christian tradition which are losing their reference to God so that they may rediscover the joy of believing.

Awareness

The concern to evangelise must never remain on the margins of ecclesial activity and of the personal life of Christians. Rather, it must strongly characterise it, in the awareness that they are those for whom the Gospel is intended and, at the same time, missionaries of the Gospel. The core of the proclamation always remains the same: the Kerygma of Christ who died and rose for the world’s salvation, the Kerygma of God’s absolute and total love for every man and every woman, which culminated in his sending the eternal and

Pope Benedict XVI. Only-Begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, who did not scorn to take on the poverty of our human nature, loving it and redeeming it from sin and death through the offering of himself on the Cross. Faith in God, in this project of love brought about

in Christ, is first and foremost a gift and a mystery which must be welcomed in the heart and in life, and for which we must always thank the Lord. However, faith is a gift that is given to us to be shared; it is a talent received so that it may bear fruit; it is a

light that must never be hidden, but must illuminate the whole house. It is the most important gift which has been made to us in our lives and which we cannot keep to ourselves. “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!”, said the

Mission at heart of who we are Sr Louise O’Sullivan, IBVM

We are a group of women dedicated to God with a passion for mission in five continents Website: www.loreto.ie

Contact: angelapowell@eircom.net or loretonewmemberoffice@eircom.net

he theme of this Mission Sunday is ‘Growing in Communion’. Growing suggests something that is incomplete, constantly evolving, open to possibility and which is changing contours, shapes and colours all the time. Growth can be a painful process of letting go, of welcoming the new, and accommodating what is best from the past like a harvest of learning and of good things. Communion, in its essence, is a beautiful term which evokes images of inclusion and gathering, receiving and giving, in a tidal-like movement of life and love.

Engagement

Growing in communion does not mean that we grow in isolation from the world around us. It demands engagement and profound respect for the other, whoever that is, from whatever culture or country, language, creed or sexual orientation. We try, sometimes failing, to walk in the shoes of another by learning the language, familiarising ourselves with the culture and customs, and

immersing ourselves in the reality of people’s lives. And we are shaped and re-shaped by the other as we listen and genuinely take their reality on board.

Humanity

We realise our own fragile humanity, our own brokenness, which seeks to respect where others are at and, at the same time, to find a way through situations together in a mutual companionship of mission. In the context of Mission Sunday, the theme ‘Growing in Communion’ is particularly apposite. The idea of mission is a constant but the means are always changing according to the needs of our times, developments in cultural perspectives, and even in our understanding of God. Our openness to other traditions and cultures must extend us, expand our parochial mentalities, challenge our assumptions, and embrace the possibility of looking at life in other ways. The shared graced insights of genuine dialogue that is open and free are both deep and enriching, and cause us to “widen the space of our tents” (Is. 54:2). The kernel of mission

as the proclamation of the Kingdom and Reign of God is a Gospel imperative, not an additional extra of our lives. Commitment to the God of love, hope, justice, and joy is more requisite in our world than ever before; a world that is becoming more deeply polarised and fragmented and yet which yearns for relevant meaning in all of life’s contexts.

Contemplation

As Sisters of Loreto/Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “mission is at the heart of who we are, and love is the driving force that urges us on” (IBVM Constitutions). We are present in all five continents across the world. Our service in mission is rooted in contemplation and it is expressed in a diversity of ways, but primarily through the care of faith and education. Of particular concern to us are injustices that prevent women and men from becoming fully and freely the human persons God created them to be. In our world, in what we do and who we are, we seek to be signs of hope, of life, of compassion and love. Our hope is to work together with others for a better and more just world.

| MISSION ||13

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

ission Sunday even though they themselves are still in need of missionaries. Many priests, men and women religious from every part of the world, numerous lay people and even entire families leave their countries and their local communities and go to other Churches to bear witness to and to proclaim the Name of Christ, in which humanity finds salvation.

Faith is a gift that is given to us to be shared; it is a talent received so that it may bear fruit; it is a light that must never be hidden, but must illuminate the whole house.

Apostle Paul (1 Cor 9:16). This word has a strong resonance for every Christian and for every Christian community on all the continents. Mission awareness has also become a connatural dimension for the Churches in mission lands, the majority of which are young,

It is an expression of profound communion, sharing and charity among the Churches, so that every man and woman may hear or listen again to the saving proclamation and approach the sacraments, source of true life. Together with this lofty sign of faith that is transformed into love, I remember and thank the Pontifical Mis-

sion Societies, instruments for cooperation in the universal mission of the Church across the world.

Justice

Through their action, the proclamation of the Gospel also becomes an intervention on behalf of one’s neighbour, justice for the poorest, the possibility of education in the most remote villages, medical aid in isolated places, emancipation from poverty, the rehabilitation of the marginalised, support for the development of peoples, overcoming ethnic divisions, and respect for life in all its stages. Dear brothers and sisters, I invoke on the mission of evangelisation ad gentes and, in particular, on its workers, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so that God’s grace may enable it to advance firmly in the history of the world. Together with Bl. John Henry Newman I would like to pray: O Lord, accompany your missionaries in the lands to be evangelised, put the right words on their lips and make their labours fruitful”. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and Star of Evangelisation, accompany all Gospel missionaries. This is an edited version of Pope Benedict’s message for World Mission Sunday.

Presentation Sisters Around the World Ireland

Canada

Mexico

New Zealand Philippines

Answering the need for healing Sr Carol Breslin, MMM The story of the Medical Missionaries of Mary begins with Marie Helena Martin, born in Dublin in 1892. A woman from a privileged background, she became aware of suffering in the wider world from her own experience. She saw the horrors of the First World War while nursing soldiers in Malta and France. Later she assisted her local doctor in Dublin during the influenza epidemic in 1918. Around this time there was a growing interest in forming societies of women dedicated to medical missionary work overseas. Though Marie initially considered going to China, changing circumstances provided the opportunity for her to go instead to Nigeria. There she was moved by the health needs and the situation of women in childbirth. There were high maternal and child mortality rates and she wanted to respond in a practical way. Marie believed that this was her call from God and dreamed of drawing together a group of women who would commit themselves to this ministry. There were many obstacles to over-

come, not the least of which was the Church’s prohibition of women religious practicing obstetrics, and as recently as 1917, practicing surgery. Marie was to tread many a less-travelled path before MMM was finally established. At one stage, thinking that medical missionary life was not for her, she considered joining the Carmelites, only to be told by the inspired prioress that her call lay elsewhere. Years of searching and setbacks brought her once again to Nigeria. From an inauspicious beginning, lying in a hospital bed in 1937, she began a service that would bring health and healing to places of great human need. “If it were not for the great gift of faith and love God has given me I would die of anxiety at my own nothingness,” she said. While initially much of the health provision was hospital-based with outstations to more remote areas, services have evolved over the past 75 years to meet emerging needs. MMMs have been leaders and innovators in work for the poor and marginalised, e.g. in primary health care, for those affect-

FIRE WITH THE H EALING L OVE OF G OD

Pakistan

Thailand

England

India

USA

Slovakia

Zambia

Guatemala

Ecuador

Bolivia

Zimbabwe

Nicaragua

Cele7br5oanting

Rooted and founded in Love

Chile

Australia

Peru

ed by HIV and trafficking, for women with obstetric fistulae, and in palliative care. Sisters have also responded to emergency situations of famine in Ethiopia and Chad; natural disasters in Haiti and Honduras; and of conflict in Rwanda. In some cases they have established a more permanent presence in these countries. Three MMMs from different countries are now on their way to a new mission in South Sudan. What underlies the mystery of the call still felt by women to join the Medical Missionaries of Mary? What distinguishes this life from other opportunities in medicine and development work, so necessary in today’s world? This is the challenge facing MMMs for the 21st Century. On Mission Sunday it seems appropriate to recall the experience of one of our MMMs, who some years ago was treating the infected wounds of a woman with Hansen’s disease (leprosy), now thankfully curable. When the difficult task was completed, the woman looked up at Sister Therese and said: “Now we know that God loves us.”

New Guinea Sister Bridie Canavan with a healthy mother and baby in Mukuru, Kenya

Years ission

The Medical Missionaries of Mary are an international congregation of women religious, founded by Mother Mary Martin, in Nigeria, in 1937. Desiring to share Christ’s healing love, they bring health services to people of different cultures where human need is great.

“If I could be of service in saving souls in any part of the globe, I would willingly do all in my power.” Nano Nagle

Sr Kathleen 086 4014058

MMMs are found in 14 countries around the world, including their newest mission to South Sudan. Sisters come from 20 countries and are trained in a variety of health-related professions. Pondering the Word of God with Mary as their model, their special concern is the care of mother and child and the fostering of family life. If you are interested in sharing in this challenging ministry contact us at: info@mmmworldwide.org Vocation enquiries: Sister Rita Kelly Share our spirit as MMM Associates Donate Online at:

www.mmmworldwide.org

14 | MISSION ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Missionaries still have a lot to offer Mags Gargan talks to the Fr Hugh McMahon, the new Executive Secretary of the IMU

issionaries are used to being thrown into the deep end during their work, and so it was for Fr Hugh McMahon, who took up the appointment of Executive Secretary of the Irish Missionary Union (IMU) in September, just a few weeks before the launch of Mission Month. Originally from a family of five in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Fr Hugh can’t quite explain how three of the children ended up in religious life, himself and two of his sisters, as “we weren’t a particularly holy family”. Fr Hugh was doing his Leaving Cert when Bishop Edward Galvin, the Cork man who founded the Missionary Society of St Columban, died

back in Ireland in 1956. The order received a lot of publicity at the time about their work in China, and Fr Hugh thinks that may have influenced his decision to join the Columbans. His first posting was in Korea, for six years. “We were the first of the jet age to go by plane. Everyone up to that point had gone out by boat and it would take six weeks or more to get there,” he says.

Korean War

Arriving into the country just after the Korean War, Fr Hugh said it was “a different world” and there was a certain amount of culture shock, but he and his five colleagues supported each other. “Looking back on it I was always interested in other countries and cultures, and then I found something in the Koreans. They are called the ‘Irish of the Orient’, not just because they like drinking,” he jokes, “there was something in the culture which interested me. They were very hospitable, very welcoming and it was a very interesting society, very orderly and yet plenty of heart in it. “I thought to myself where did this come from? They are not Christians, their culture does not go back to Christianity, and I got interested in Confucianism. It was something that I took to naturally and it is still one of my hobbies.” Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. “In

The Sisters of Mercy were founded in 1831 by Catherine McAuley. The foundation of the congregation was Catherine’s practical response to the immediate needs of women and children in the Dublin area. Poverty was all around her and she sought to respond to that need. Today the congregation has spread all over the world where the sisters continue to offer hope, healing and compassion. In July 2012, we recommitted ourselves and looked anew as to how we might continue to respond, in hope, to our call to be a compassionate presence of God in the world. We have a representative working at the United Nations where, from her global perspective, she continues to influence policy making and inform decision making on behalf of the poor all over the world. As Sisters of Mercy we live among the people in local parishes and communities and we aim to offer support and solidarity in peoples living situations bringing God’s tender mercy and compassion. We continue to minister in many areas of great need such as with prisoners and their families, counselling, chaplaincy in schools and hospitals, spiritual direction, retreat work, supporting children who suffer loss and in many other areas with people on the margins of society. Today the call to serve in Mercy is as clear and as urgent as ever. There is a great need for healing and compassion in our society.

Sr. Phyllis Moynihan For further information on the Sisters of Mercy contact: www.sistersofmercy.ie

Fr Hugh McMahon. Ireland the basic thing is community and family, and putting them before yourself. Confucius was a man who lived 3,000 years ago, who almost institutionalised that. He spelt it out, in terms of compassion towards others and order in society, especially in relationships in the family and duty towards others. He worked it out in a very practical way.”

Language

Fr Hugh and his colleagues had no Korean when they first arrived and spent 6-8 months with a tutor before going out into parishes for two years “without speaking a word”. “We probably learned most of our language by mixing with people and working in the parish,” he says, although Fr Hugh must have had a good grasp of the language as he was chosen to work as a secretary in the Apostolic Nun-

ciature in Seoul for two years. After Vatican II, Fr Hugh saw changes on the horizon and decided to go to Ottawa to study a masters degree in mission science. “I came back full of zeal at a time when urbanisation was spreading in Seoul so I got a completely new parish where I started with two people I knew, and we spent our time contacting people and setting it up,” he says. “Within a year we were self-supporting. I was living down the market place over a drycleaners in a temporary place that became a billiard hall later on, and from there we got a bit of land and built a church. When I left about five years later we had over 2,000 Catholics and it was a really buzzing parish.” Fr Hugh came back to Ireland for six years in the 1980s as part of the Columban’s central administration in Dublin and then went back to Korea. “By about 1995, Korea had changed a lot and developed so much with parishes and strong local clergy and religious. I was 30 years in Korea at the time and I was thinking what next? I decided to go to China to see what I could do for the next 30 years!” he says. “I went to Hong Kong and did a bit of Chinese language and worked for an organisation called AITECE (Association for International Teaching and Curriculum Exchange). It sends volunteer English teachers to Chinese universities. In China today you can’t evangelise openly so they go in as service, and

Missionary Sisters, Servants of the Holy Spirit world wide congregation working in 50 countries in 5 continents. www.worldssps.org www.ssps-english-irish.org Contact: “Sr. Ewa Pliszczak” on email: sistereva@ssps.org.uk

the teachers are all paid for by the government. “Over 400-500 teachers have gone to China through this organisation since 1988 (mainly from Ireland and Australia) and they have come in contact with hundreds of students, so maybe its sounds a little bit farfetched to say we are doing our bit for world peace but through them we have touched the lives of maybe 40,000-50,000 Chinese young people and that is missionary work in a sense.”

‘We have touched the lives of maybe 40,000-50,000 Chinese young people and that is missionary work in a sense.’ Fr Hugh was the manager in AITECE for over 12 years, visiting universities and the teachers throughout China. During the last three or four years he has come back to Ireland for the summer to escape the heat of Hong Kong and he says he felt like a tourist, and still struggles now making his way across Dublin in public transport on his commute to the IMU offices. He says the “whole Church scene has changed” in Ireland and he can see how the abuse scandals have hurt innocent Irish clergy and religious who have been tarred with the same brush. “I think the missionaries feel it a lot, as they have been out representing Irish Catholicism and have come back to find all this be-

ing poured on them,” he says. When asked what he thinks about Ireland now being a mission territory for other countries, Fr Hugh is conscious of the dangers of seeing this as a solution to the Irish vocations crisis.

Enthusiasm

“In a way I think other countries have a lot to give us. I’ve seen a lot of international priests and religious here and I think what they can give us is their enthusiasm. But I think ultimately any country has to be self-sufficient, and if the Irish Church is dependent on foreign clergy or sisters, that means it is in very bad shape. It has to change itself and it can’t keep the structures that were there before by importing people to fill it.” However, Fr Hugh has a hopeful outlook on the future and one of his main priorities now as IMU’s Executive Secretary is to communicate and honour the legacy of Irish missionaries. “I think where missionaries, and maybe the whole Church, have failed is in expressing what we are all about, and one of my hopes is that we can set up a National Mission Interpretative Centre. We have nothing like that to describe mission over the years, going back to the Celtic Church through to modern times. What motivated those people? What did they do? And now today, what should we be doing? “Missionaries have a lot to share - a lot of offer from their experience of other cultures,” he says.

| MISSION ||15

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Children send a message of prayer Mags Gargan Next year the Society of Missionary Children celebrates 170 years of encouraging children to help their brothers and sisters across the world who live in more difficult circumstances then themselves. The Society of Missionary Children was founded in 1843 in France by Bishop Charles de Forbin Janson. He was particularly disturbed by the plight of newborn babies in China abandoned on the streets and left to die. He decided to ask French children to help these babies by doing two things – saying a prayer each day for the children and donating a coin to help them. Within 10 years of its foundation, the society was active in more than 100 countries,

including Ireland. In 1922 Pope Pius XI gave the society his blessing and it became one of the pontifical charities. Jackie Pallas, National Secretary of the Society of Missionary Children in Ireland, says that long ago in this country the society was fondly known as ‘the black babies’, but “this title was quite undeserved as the society supported children all over the world”. Its motto is ‘Children Helping Children’ and this has been adopted by children as the unofficial name of Missionary Children.

Charity

The society is now the official children’s charity of the Catholic Church around the world, and it made €165,000 available to the Universal Solidarity Fund for allocation

Children from St Agnes’ Primary School, Crumlin singing ‘Children Helping Children’ at the end of the National Day of Prayer for Children celebration in Rathmines, Dublin. during 2012. At the start of mission month the society launched a new school/parish resource for children called ‘Ratters and Friends’. In a DVD Ratters tells the story of the society since its founding in 1843 to its present date, and he shows practical ways for children to become more active members in the society. The DVD also contains the ‘Children Helping Children’ song and ‘Our Mission Prayer’, and it will be distributed in each diocese through school volunteers,

Augustinians “One Mind, One Heart”

Serving the Church in Ireland and Abroad for 800 years. The Augustinians are a religious order of men who live in community and serve the needs of the Church. For over 800 years we have worked in Ireland serving the needs of the people through our two schools, parish work, devotional churches, community work, retreat work, adult faith formation and a wide range of other ministries. The Irish Augustinians have also a strong missionary tradition with friars working in Nigeria, Kenya, Ecuador, Australia, North America, the Uk and Italy.

religious advisors and the diocesan mission directors.

Awareness

Last Friday, the society celebrated the sixth National Day of Prayer for Children in Ireland with a service in the Church of Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners in Rathmines, Dublin. The day of prayer aims to raise awareness among school children of the power of prayer in their lives and to encourage them to be informed about how other children live in the developing world.

Children from St Louis High School, Senior School and Junior School and St Mary’s College for Boys in Rathmines were joined by pupils from St Agnes National School in Crumlin who sing the ‘Children Helping Children’ song on the ‘Ratters’ DVD. The service involved song, prayer and drama, and at the end the children released balloons representing all the different parts of the globe, which carried a message of prayer for the children who live there.

Leanne Fahy, 3rd Class, St Agnes’ Primary School at the launch of the ‘Ratters and Friends’ DVD.

Missioned to... A simple but profound life and work done with great love and joy by the

Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood

Contact: Fr. Colm O’ Mahony osa 086 - 8845747 Email: augustinianvocations@hotmail.com

Srs Florence Wong and Barbara Pereira Sr Helen Scully fmdm with her with FMDM Associates in Singapore ‘special children’ in Lusaka Zambia

www.fmdminternational.co.uk Ballinasloe, Co Galway, Killarney, Co Kerry, Drogheda, Co Louth, Rathfarnham, Co Dublin Contact: Sister Anne O’ Brien, Email: anneobrienfmdm@gmail.com

16 | MISSION ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Spiritans celebrate Youth Day Mags Gargan Over 550 transition year students from six secondary schools around Ireland attended the second annual Spiritan (Holy Ghost Fathers) Youth Day in Kimmage Manor, Dublin last week. Organised by Des Places Educational Association (Spiritan School Trust) and the Mission Alive office of the IMU as part of the Mission Month calendar of events, the day saw a mix of music, drama, prayer, liturgy, talks and discussion sessions under the theme ‘One Heart, One Spirit’. The aim of the day is to allow students in Spiritan schools to come together as one community and to encourage them to believe in themselves and develop a personal relationship with Jesus.

The students came from Blackrock College, Holy Family Community School, Rockwell College, St Mary’s College, St Michael’s College and Templeogue College. Guest speakers included Jack Meade CSSp, Baroness Nuala O’Loan, Greg Fromholz (Director of 3Rock Youth) and Rory Halpin and Miriam Omoro from Spirasi. Spirasi is an NGO set up by the Spiritans to support asylum seekers and refugees, particularly those who are victims of torture. Rory Halpin introduced their work and Miriam Omoro, a client of Spirasi originally from Uganda, spoke from first-hand experience about what it is like to have to leave one’s native country for fear of persecution and the challenges of trying to make a new life in a foreign land.

Transition year students taking part in a group discussion during the Spiritan Youth Day in Dublin last week.

One of the musical acts that performed during the day.

Fr Jack Meade was one of the key note speakers.

Presentation Brothers “Relaxed but really informative”

“A chance to switch off”

“Answered a lot of my questions”

TIME OUT

“Great presentations”

“Wish I’d done this years ago”

“Really helped me get my head clear about the future”

Over the last few years many men who are thinking about a religious vocation have come to our Time Out weekend of information and reflection.

Why not come to our next one in Dublin? 11am Sat. 24th Nov. – 2pm Sun. 25th Nov. Find us on Facebook!

Called to proclaim the love of the Sacred Heart in 27 countries throughout the world.

Could our mot to : “May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved” inspire You to join us as we try to carry out this mission entrusted to us?

Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Do you feel called to continue JESUS’ MISSION of living and proclaiming God’s Compassionate Love, with us, throughout the World? IF YOU DO For more information contact : Sr. Kathleen Mc Quillan OLSH Convent , Ballybay Co. Monaghan Email: olshprov@eircom.net Websites: www.olshgen.org www.cornovum.com www.olshaustralia.org www.fdnsc-sp.com.br

For full details contact: Brother Anthony at 021-4304975 or email vocation@PresentationBrothers.org www.PresentationBrothers.org

De La Salle Brothers Irish Association for the Lasallian Mission Enquiries: email: pjmcurran1@gmail.com

Have you thought of offering yourself to the service of God’s world as a sister, brother, priest, nun or monk? exploreAway provides the input, support and accompaniment to single men and women between the ages of 21-40 who are discerning God’s call in their life. We invite you to embark on a journey of exploration in the company of others who are also searching. Consider joining us from 30th November – 2nd December 2012 and over a number of other residential weekends to experience and explore where God is calling you to.

Check us at www.exploreaway.net

Belfast and South Africa 86 Glen Road, Belfast BT11 8BH Tel: 44 2890614631

God wants all to live, to lead a full and meaningful life. Our charisn is a commitment to promote life in the midst of the limitations and needs of our world. Through the Cross and death comes Resurrection and new life.

| EVENTS ||17

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Derry delegates to spread joy of faith Mary O’Donnell The story of the Catholic Church is not finished in Ireland, but is going forward with great joy, the papal nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown declared during the Derry diocesan conference to celebrate the start of the Year of Faith. The archbishop was one of three key speakers at the conference in Thornhill College last Saturday, entitled ‘The Door of Faith is Open’, and he asked the gathering of over 500 people from various parishes to pray that they can be witnesses of their Faith in the world. “The doom and gloom in the media about our Faith is not the case,” he said. “We need to be inoculated against the spirit of the world, like our forefathers who lived their faith in times of persecution. “Our Catholic Faith is the most precious thing we have and we have to let the infectious joy of our Faith spread to others” Archbishop Brown said. Referring to Vatican II, Baroness Nuala O’Loan highlighted the seven special mes-

sages that had emerged from this for politicians, scientists, artists, women, workers, the sick and vulnerable, and young people, and said that they were as relevant today as they were 50 years ago. Fr Michael Drumm, chairman of the Catholic Schools Partnership, spoke of the need for a partnership between the home, school and parish with regards to evangelising and for the focus to be kept on Christ. During the conference there were a variety of workshops for delegates to take part in, such as community prayer, Vatican II, baptism, music, art and youth, as well as opportunities for discussion and feedback on a future plan for handing on the Faith in the Derry diocese, entitled ‘Put out into the deep’. Encouraged by the great response to the conference, which was organised by the diocesan catechetical team led by Fr Paul Farren, Msgr Eamon Martin, administrator of the Derry diocese, said that the event had helped people to focus on the joy of faith as well as on the challenges and opportunities that are facing the Church at this time.

The young people who took part in the Derry diocesan Year of Faith conference: Back: Seainin Keenan, Lauren Hegarty, Niamh McCauley and Daniel Gallen. Front: Amy Evans, Colleen-Anne Ferns, Nikita Harkin and Sarah Flanagan.

Sandra Doherty, Waterside, with Fr Michael Drumm, chair of the Catholic Schools Partnership.

Bishop Edward Daly and Bishop Francis Lagan in procession at Mass.

Greenlough delegates, Joe Clarke, Pat Madden and Martin Kearney.

Delegates from the Dungiven parish, Mary O’Kane, Lucy McCloskey, Betty-Ann McNicholl and her daughter, Carol McNicholl, and Theresa Donaghy.

Eva Doyle and Niamh Wilson, of the Foyle Harp School, who shared their musical gifts during the conference

Archbishop Charles Brown with the Derry catechetical team, Liam McVeigh, Fr Paul Farren, Anne-Marie Hickey and Terese Ferry, and Msgr Eamon Martin, administrator of the Derry diocese.

18 | EVENTS ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Out & About Team Hope Christmas appeal

The Khulula Swaziland Children’s Choir, a 20-strong group of African orphans aged between 7 to 18 years old at the launch of the Team Hope Christmas appeal with Niall Barry, Team Hope Executive Director and Carol Hennessey, Team Hope National Manager of the Christmas Shoebox Appeal.

At the launch of the new parish website in Newry, Co. Down are: Roslyn Pearse and Dara Cosgrove, website volunteers, with Canon Francis Brown.

Past and present students of Mount Carmel Secondary School, King’s Inn St, at a special Mass to celebrate 200 years of providing education in Dublin city centre in St Saviour’s Church, Dominick St, last week. Photo: John McElroy

INSHORT

Cork homeless support marks 40 years “Poverty is much more than not having a house,” said RTÉ personality Marian Finucane, speaking at the 40th anniversary event of the Good Shepherd Services at the Millennium Hall, Cork. Founded in 1972 by Sr Colette Hickey, the service provides accommodation and support to women and children who are homeless or vulnerable to homelessness in Cork. “The plight of women and children who find themselves homeless is bleak indeed and the numbers involved may come as a surprise to many,” said Tony O’Riordan, Chief Executive. “In 2011, 716 women and children were supported by Good Shepherd Services and 481 of these stayed for varying lengths of time in our emergency accommodation units.” The anniversary event was attended by Bishop John Buckley, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr John Buttimer and the Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Barbara Murray. The service was staffed primarily by volunteers for about the first 20 years of its exist-

ence, and presentations were made to seven long serving staff members and three long serving volunteers in appreciation of their dedication and commitment. There was also a presentation to former Chairman of the Board, Mr Pat Foley, who retired last year and had served as a volunteer for 30 years.

Newry parish re-vamps website Newry parish has launched a new-look website to coincide with the start of the Year of Faith. The revamped website www.newrycathedralparish.org contains a wealth of useful information for parishioners of the four churches of the parish - the Cathedral of St Patrick and St Colman, St Brigid’s, St Catherine’s and St Mary’s. “We are constantly looking for new ways of reaching out to our parishioners and keeping in touch with those who have moved to other parts of the world,” said Canon Francis Brown. “The website is updated regularly by a team of volunteers with details of news and events happening across the parish. We encourage all our parishioners to log on and check it out.” In addition to the history of the parish, contact information

and the parish bulletin, parishioners can find daily readings, reflections and prayers, link to the Vatican website or read about the Saint of the Day on the new website.

Team Hope launches Christmas appeal This year the annual Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal is aiming to deliver 195,000 gift-filled shoeboxes into the hands of needy children whose families typically live on less than €1 per day. Team Hope is Ireland’s leading Christian development charity working with needy children in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and Africa.The appeal is asking people to root out a spare shoebox, wrap it with Christmas paper and fill it with gifts for a child to write (items for school), wash (small hygiene items), wear (small clothing items) or wow (a treat). You can attach €4 to cover transport costs and bring it to any of the 200 drop off points across the country before November 11. For more information on how to get involved go to www.teamhope.ie.

| EVENTS ||19

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Edited by Mags Gargan mags@irishcatholic.ie

Events deadline is the Friday before publication

ARMAGH Eucharistic Adoration in St Malachy’s Church, Armagh, daily from 6am to midnight, and all night on Wednesdays. Adoration chapel, Edwards St, Lurgan, adoration weekdays, 9am-9pm.

CAVAN

Fr Paddy Mooney PP with some of the over 150 secondary school children who took part in a very well attended Harvest Mass in St Patrick’s Church, Glenamaddy, Co. Galway.

Eucharistic Adoration at Holy Trinity Abbey, Kilnacrott, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan each week Tuesday 6pm-midnight, Wednesday 10am, all day and all night, Thursday, all day until midnight.

CORK. The alliance of the two hearts first Fri/first Sat vigil of reparation and adoration. South Presentation Convent Chapel, Douglas Street. Rosary 10pm, first Friday Mass 10.30pm and first Saturday Mass 6am. Pro-Life Mass on last Fri of month, Poor Clares Monastery, College Rd, 7.30pm.

Bishop Bill Murphy with the first applicants in training for the permanent diaconate in the Diocese of Kerry: Jean Yves Letanneur, Sneem and Conor Bradley, Milltown. The applicants began their programme at the Dominican’s Ennismore Conference Centre in Cork. Photo: Valerie O’Sullivan

Canon Brendan Kilcoyne, Francis Stockwell, Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam and Francis Purcell at the opening of the new gym in the Purcell-Stockwell memorial hall, in St Jarlath’s college, Tuam.

Marking the Year of Faith, a series of talks on the Creed – will be held on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month at 8.15pm presented by Fr McCarthy in Cobh Parish Centre adjacent to St Colman’s Cathedral. Mass to commemorate the Servant of God Frank Duff will be celebrated at 4pm on Saturday, November 10 in St Augustine’s Church, Cork. All welcome.

DERRY Dungiven parish: adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, MonFri, 8am-noon and 3-9pm.

DONEGAL Eucharistic Adoration in St Mary’s Church, Derrybeg in the Diocese of Raphoe weekly between 7.30pm on Tuesdays until 8pm on Wednesdays.

DUBLIN

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Good Shepherd Services at City Hall, Cork were: Sr Jane Murphy GSS, Sr Noreen O’Shea GSS, Sr Colette Hickey, Founder of Good Shepherd Services, Marian Finucane, RTÉ (Special Guest) and Tony O’Riordan, CEO, Good Shepherd Services Ltd. Photo: Tony O’Connell

Graduates from Notre Dame University in the United States along with new Ministers of the Eucharist were commissioned at Mass in Clonard parish, Co. Wexford last week.

At a Golden Jubilee celebration in Shanagolden church, Co. Limerick are: Fr John Joe Madigan (retired Archdiocese of Washington), Fr John Ambrose MHM (golden jubilarian, serving for 49 years in the Philippines), Fr Jim Noonan SPS (golden jubilarian, served for 47 years in Nigeria, currently curate in parish of Shanagolden/ Foynes/Robertstown), Canon Anthony O’Keefe (PP Shanagolden/Foynes/Robertstown).

St Fintan’s Church, Sutton. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Monday to Friday 8am-10am and 2pm-4pm. Additional times Tuesday and Friday only, 7pm-8pm. Agape Charismatic prayer meeting in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, Tuesdays, 8pm (Mass last Tues of the month), Disciples of the Divine Master Oratory, Junction of Newtownpark Av./Stillorgan Rd, Co. Dublin. Bus: 46a/c/d or 58c. Tel: 0876509465. Our Lady of Knock 9th anniversary prayer group meeting on Thursday, Oct 25 commencing with Mass at 7.15pm, followed by prayer group meeting at 8pm in St Gabriel’s Nursing Home, Glenayle Rd, Raheny, D5. All welcome. Holy Hour, Mission Sunday, Oct. 21, 7.30pm-8.30pm, St John the Baptist Church, Clontarf, with Fr Martin Hogan. ‘The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.’

KERRY First Friday – first Saturday vigil of reparation and adoration in St Michael’s Church, Sneem, Fri 8pm, Sat 12.05, Divine Mercy 1.20am. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Castlegregory parish every Tuesday in St Brendan’s Church, Cloghane 10am to 8pm and in St Mary’s Church, Castlegregory every Wednesday 10am to 10pm.

KILKENNY First Saturday Devotions, Adoration Rosary, Divine Mercy and Prayer for Healing 7-9pm in St Fiacre’s Church, Loughboy.

LAOIS St Michael’s Church, Portarlington, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament every Tuesday from 10.30am-8.30pm

LEITRIM Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament each Mon after 7pm Mass in St Mary’s Annaduff and each Fri after 7pm Mass in The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Drumsna.

MAYO. Regular monthly Latin Mass in Knock organised by the Latin Mass Society of Ireland on the second Sunday of the month in the Church of St John the Baptist at 6pm.

MONAGHAN Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, every Wednesday, 7-8pm St Patricks Chruch, Bawn.

WICKLOW Healing Mass for all generations in St Kevin’s Church, Glencree (near hostel) 3pm first Sat of every month. Celebrant: Fr Cathal Price CC (music Ceol-na-Cree). Rosary-homily-Mass and Benediction. Tel: 01-2853326. Mob:085-144-1747. All welcome.

OFFALY Eucharistic Adoration in the Oratory, Church of the Immaculate Conception, Ferbane, 5am-1am daily.

ROSCOMMON Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St Croan’s Church, Ballymoe, every Mon 10-11am and Thurs 8-10pm. Also at St Bride’s Church, Ballintubber, every Wed 7.308.30pm. Eucharistic Adoration in Church of Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary, Keadue every Monday from 9am to 10pm. Eucharistic Adoration in Church of Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary, Keadue, every Monday from 9am to 10 pm.

TYRONE Adoration Chapel, Pomeroy: Eucharistic adoration, MonTues 5-10pm, Wed-Thurs 6-10pm, Fri 10am-10pm, Sat 1-6pm, Sun 5-10pm.

20 | INTERNATIONAL NEWS ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

WorldReport Edited by Paul Keenan

Iran detains hundreds of Christians

Vatican news Paul VI beatification There is speculation in Rome that the beatification of the late Pope Paul VI could come in 2013. According to veteran Vatican Insider journalist Andrea Tornielli, theologians with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints have voted in favour of the former Pope’s beatification. The result paves the way for a vote among the congregation’s cardinals and bishops on December 11, which, if passed, allows Pope Benedict to officially recognise the heroic virtue of Pope Paul during an expected consistory before Christmas. A reported miracle linked to the late Pope’s intercession has already been put forward by Paul’s postulator, Antonio Mazzaro.

Arabic audience For the first time, the Pope’s Wednesday general audience has included Arabic language translation of his words. Beginning on October 10, and in the wake of a triumphant trip to Lebanon, an Arabic translator joined the ranks of those who offer a language-specific summary of the Pontiff’s catechesis at the end of the weekly audience.

In an apparent drive against Christians, Iranian authorities have begun to detain hundreds of known members of the community. According to representatives of the evangelical Protestant Church, “as many as 400 people have been detained” so far since the beginning of October, while there are reports that authorities have raided services of worship in the capital Tehran and other cities across the country. “It has become clear that Protestant Christians are now viewed as enemy number one of the state,” Firouz Khandjani, a council member of the Church of Iran house church movement, told the BosNewsLife online Christian news agency.

John Paul I’s cause

Legion sabbatical The Legion of Christ has announced that its general director, Fr Alvaro Corcuera, is to take a sabbatical for the good of his personal health. The move has been backed by Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, the Pope’s delegate to both the troubled Legion and Regnum Christi, who has agreed

Raids

Youcef Nadarkhani. Khandjani, who is currently in hiding in the country, further alleged that some

of the documents passed to him by Grabriele, called on the Pontiff to pardon Gabriele for his actions.

ITALY

John Paul I was definitely “not killed” the postulator of the late Pontiff’s cause for sainthood has said. Ahead of his official delivery to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints of documents related to the heroic virtue of John Paul I, Msgr Enrico Dal Covolo, who is also rector of the Pontifical Lateran University said: “Some interesting new facts have come to light regarding Pope Luciani’s state of health, thanks to the testimonies and medical documents collected. These sources definitively confirm that he was not killed.” Pope John Paul I died after just 33 days as Pontiff and his passing subsequently became the centre of conspiracy theories. October 17 was the centenary of his birth.

of the detained have been told that they must give an undertaking not to attend church services if they wish to regain their freedom. There was no official statement on the raids and detentions from the Iranian authorities as The Irish Catholic went to press this week.

CHAD

Bishop expelled

Pope John Paul I. to the temporary appointment of the Legion’s current Vicar General, Fr Sylvester Heereman in Fr Corcuera’s place. According to Cardinal De Paolis: “[Fr Corcuera’s] efforts, carried out in a climate that was frequently one of suffering and misunderstanding, have weakened his energies to the point of causing us to fear that if he continued his efforts, especially in this year leading up to the General Chapter we might have compromised his health.”

Vatileaks journalist The journalist at the heart of the Vatileaks revelations has written in defence of the ac-

tions of former papal butler Paolo Gabriele. Reacting to news of the conviction and sentencing of Gabriele, Gianluigi Nuzzi insisted that, just as the butler had claimed, the man’s actions had been prompted by genuine concern for the Church and from a desire to protect the Pope, whom he described as being surrounded by “wolves”. “Little by little Paolo Gabriele became the confidant of those who, among the bishops and cardinals, were like him torn between their sincere admiration for the Pope and concern over behind-the-scenes manoeuvring,” Nuzzi writes. The journalist, who released a book on the strength

A Catholic bishop has been expelled from the African nation. Italian-born Bishop Michele Russo apparently fell foul of the government for his public criticism of its handling of oil revenues. Having spent 36 years as a missionary in Chad, Bishop Russo has ministered for the past 23 years in the oil-rich southern province of Doba. He has championed the rights of the people to benefit to a greater degree from the resource extracted there. Authorities reportedly used the text of a sermon delivered by the bishop to accuse him of engaging in activities likely to upset public harmony and ordered his removal from Doba.

CHILE

Bishop resigns Pope Benedict has accepted the resignation of Bishop Marco Antonio Ordenes of Iquique. Last week The Irish Catholic reported that Bishop Ordenes had become the subject of an investigation related to sexual abuse. He

Meanwhile, five Christian converts who have been held in detention since earlier this year were put on trial for their ‘activities’ as the raids got underway. According to Mohabat News, an agency run by Christian rights groups in Iran, after eight months behind bars, Mojtaba Hosseini, Mohammad-Reza Partoei Kourosh, was, at that time, receiving medical treatment in Peru for a serious kidney ailment. The Vatican has now accepted his resignation under canon law “because of ill health or some other grave cause”.

AUSTRALIA

Church probe Police in the state of Victoria have accused the Church of deliberately stymieing an official investigation into child abuse in the diocese there. As part of a submission to an official parliamentary inquiry into the diocese’s handling of abuse cases, police accuse Church authorities of many of the activities that have marked Church responses to abuse cases in other jurisdictions, including tipping off those accused, moving offenders to different parishes, and, through its legal representative, dissuading alleged victims from proceeding with their charges. Meanwhile, Cardinal George Pell of Sydney has been forced to defend himself against an allegation before the inquiry that he was made aware of but ignored a child’s allegation of abuse in the 1960s when a priest in Victoria. The allegation referred to a Christian Brother now serving a long sentence for abuse of 11 boys. Counsel for Cardinal Pell has pointed out that in the period cited by the cardinal’s accuser, then-Fr

Vahid Hakkani, Homayoun Shokouhi and his wife Fariba Nazemian were brought before the revolutionary court in the south-western city of Shiraz on October 15 to answer charges of “participating in house church services” and “defaming Islamic holy figures through Christian evangelising”. The fresh drive against the Christian community comes just over a month after the release of Christian convert Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who had faced the death penalty for abandoning Islam. His case garnered international attention and brought an unwanted light to bear on Iran’s judicial system in dealing with its discomfort with the growth of Christianity in the Pell was studying in Oxford in England.

Oldest teacher A Jesuit priest has entered the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest working teacher. As he approaches his 100th birthday, Fr Geoffrey Schneider is still employed as a teacher and chaplain at St Aloysius College Junior School in Sydney, posts he has held for 47 years. He has previously taught at schools in Melbourne and Perth. Dismissing any notion of retirement, Fr Schneider said: “It just doesn’t appeal to me. I just feel I can be more useful here.”

UNITED STATES

Suicide vote Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston has urged voters to reject a proposal for doctorassisted suicide in the state of Massachusetts in a forthcoming vote. In an article penned on the subject, Cardinal O’Malley writes: “Please join me to stop assisted suicide by voting ‘No’ on Election Day.” On the proposal, known as ‘Question 2’, the cardinal poses the question on how the state can justify offering suicide as a viable option. How, he asks, “can a state effectively both try to minimise suicide in some situations and promote it as a legal alternative in other situations?”

Numbers in the news The number of final candidates now chosen by the Coptic Orthodox Church’s Nominations Committee for the forthcoming papal election. Two of those named are bishops, while three are monks. The final five will be put forward for the papal election on November 24, where the list will be reduced to three candidates. The new Pope to succeed the late Pope Shenouda III will be chosen on December 2 by altar ballot.

In percentage terms the increase in euthanasia cases in the Netherlands in 2011. The figure has been revealed by a monitoring group which found that 3,695 people availed of euthanasia last year, a doubling of the figure for 2006. Among these were 13 psychiatric patients and 49 elderly patients with early dementia, increases on two and 25 cases respectively for 2010. Today, euthanasia accounts for 2.8pc of all deaths in The Netherlands.

The number of former priests in the state of Washington, USA, who have voiced public support for a drive (known as R-74) to legalise same-sex marriage there. In opposition to the state’s four bishops, the group issued a joint statement: “We want to support the 71 per cent of Catholics who support civil marriage for gays as a valid Catholic position.” Washington will vote on the measure on November 6.

cou

| INTERNATIONAL NEWS ||21

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

US study reveals vocations potential

Prayers for Malala

untry.

A portrait of Malala Yousafzai, who was shot on October 9 by the Taliban, is displayed during a prayer service at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore, Pakistan. See story below. Photo: CNS Both the American Medical Association and the Massachusetts Medical Society oppose doctor-assisted suicide as incompatible with the physician’s role as a healer. Further, the American Medical Association has warned that such an initiative would be impossible to control and poses “serious societal risks”.

Biden criticism Vice President Joe Biden has been criticised by the country’s Catholic bishops for his assertions on the controversial Health and Human Services mandate during his live debate with vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan. In a statement following the conclusion of the October 11 televised debate, the bishops’ conference described as “inaccurate” a statement made on the night that that Catholic hospitals and institutions will not be forced to provide contraception coverage to employees. Mr Biden was not named in the statement, but it was he who made the claim and stressed that there was no assault by the Obama administration on the Catholic Church. This latter comment prompted Mr Ryan to wonder aloud why the Church would keep suing the administration if this was indeed true.

The televised debate was historic in being the first where two avowed Catholics debated for the vice presidential role in the November elections.

Theft sentence A former employee of the Archdiocese of New York has been sentenced to fourand-a-half years in prison for stealing $1 million from her employers. Anita Collins, who is 69, had been employed by the Church as a ‘second chance’ after she had faced charges in 1999 of stealing from another employer. Having learned the system for the allocation of archdiocesan cheques, Collins began to pay herself various amounts over the years until her 450-cheque, $1million embezzlement, was uncovered. Among items purchased by her with her proceeds was a large collection of expensive dolls, which has now been seized and will be auctioned in an attempt to recoup some of the lost money.

FRANCE

Lourdes miracle A reported cure at the Lourdes shrine has been officially declared the 68th miracle linked

with the famous grotto. The miracle in question involves the unexplained curing of an Italian Salesian nun, Sr Luigina Traverso, who in July 1965 travelled to Lourdes hoping for a miracle that would restore motion to her lower limbs, which were paralysed due to a medical condition in her spine. During celebrations at the shrine on July 23, Sr Luigina reported a warmth and feeling of wellbeing as a monstrance passed the stretcher where she lay and she began to walk. The event has been fully examined, and on October 11, Bishop Alceste Catella of Casale Monferrato in Italy , where Sr Luigina now resides, announced that her case was the latest miracle associated with Lourdes.

PAKISTAN

Yousafzai prayers Christians across Pakistan have been asked to pray for the recovery of Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old whose shooting by the Taliban has caused international outrage. As The Irish Catholic went ot press this week, Malala was being flown from her country to receive specialist treatment in Britain for

the serious wounds inflicted when she was singled out by gunmen wishing to kill her for her outspoken stance on the rights of girls to education in tribal regions of Pakistan. Catholics in the country have joined in both condemning the shooting and organising a candlelit vigil for the girl. On behalf of the Catholic community, Bishop Rufin Anthony of Islamabad condemned the shooting as “a vile and cowardly act” which could only be viewed as a sign of the Taliban’s “profound weakness and fear”.

SYRIA

Historic mosque It has been reported that the embattled President Bashar al Assad has ordered urgent repairs to a historic mosque in the city of Aleppo amid fears that damage caused to it during heavy fighting could enrage Muslims against his regime. The famed 12th Century Umayyad mosque, a UNESCO World Heritage site, had previously been seized as a base by troops loyal to al Assad. Last weekend, rebels moved to dislodge them and the ensuing battle started a fierce fire which damaged the struc-

A study undertaken on behalf of the American bishops’ conference has revealed that large numbers of never-married men and women have given serious thought to religious life. The surprise findings of the ‘Consideration of Priesthood and Religious Life Among Never-Married US Catholics’ study indicate that some three percent of men and 2pc of women have seriously considered a religious vocation and would still do so given greater encouragement. The percentages translate as 350,000 never-married men and 250,000 never-married women, offering food for thought for the bishops in terms of vocations. The report further found, among males, those who attended a Catholic secondary school were six times more likely to have considered a vocation, while participation in a parish youth group also had a major impact on vocation consideration. For women, participation in a youth group meant they were nine times more likely to consider becoming a religious sister. According to the report auture. Both sides have pointed the finger of blame, but it is the regime which has most to lose as Muslim anger rises, increased by video reportedly taken by rebels of the fire burning fiercely within the structure. The damage to the mosque is reportedly the worst since an earthquake of 1830 shook the building.

COLOMBIA

Bishop resigns A bishop who was sued by one of his own priests for slander has submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict as authorities prepare to bring their own charges in the case. Bishop Carlos Prada Sanmiguel of Duitama-Sogamoso, 72, had accused Father Edward Perez of an inappropriate relationship with a woman and suspended him, spurring the slander case. However, when the case came to court, the bishop refused to attend or testify, arguing that the matter should be dealt with under canon law. Authorities have now indicated they will prosecute the bishop for his refusal to answer a court summons. Bishop Sanmiguel’s resignation has been accepted under Canon 401-2, which al-

Georgetown University. thors: “Shepherding more of these individuals on the path to seeking a vocation would likely require a combination of greater outreach from the Church, encouragement from others, assistance in obtaining educational prerequisites, and dealing with other issues such as student loan debt and citizenship status.” The study was conducted by the Georgetown University-based Centre for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) and can be viewed at www.usccb.org/beliefs-andteachings/vocations/surveyof-youth-and-young-adultson-vocations.cfm lows a bishop to retire due to illness or “other grave cause”.

ARGENTINA

Abortion protest Catholics staging a peaceful counter demonstration as pro-abortion activists tried to storm a cathedral have been attacked. The incident, which took place outside the Cathedral of Posadas on October 7, saw activists, who had earlier gathered in the city for the annual National Meeting of Women in Argentina, turn their protest against a gathering of young Catholics who were praying the rosary and barring access to the cathedral. The activists reportedly hurled paint over those praying and spat on them as they levelled verbal abuse against them for their faith. Following the incident, Bishop Juan Martinez of Posadas demanded that police bring the attackers to justice. “This goes beyond religious discrimination,” the bishop said. “If this had been done to a synagogue, everyone would have condemned it as anti-Semitism. They do this against Catholics and many people look the other way.”

22 | INTERNATIONAL NEWS ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Europe ‘needs evangelising’ - Cardinal Paul Keenan looks at the highlights of the synod of bishops’ first week

“Europe must be evangelised. It needs it.”These were the insistent words of Cardinal Peter Erdo as he addressed the first afternoon session of the Synod of Bishops on October 8. Along with four other presidents of continent-wide groups of episcopal conferences, Cardinal Erdo, as head of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences, was offering a report on the steady spread of secularisation in his region. “In the majority of the continent, there is a spreading of ignorance about the Christian faith,” he warned. “Many of the mass media broadcast a presentation of the Christian faith and history that is full of lies, misinforming the public

Cardinal Peter Erdo. as to the content of our faith as well as to what makes up the reality of the Church.” This, in turn, the cardinal added was leading to the manifestations of discrimination so evident across Europe.

Look to Church Fathers – priest’s message Cardinal Peter Erdo’s October 8 accusations against the mass media were taken up by the synod fathers on October 11 when media bias against faith was among topics discussed. Addressing prelates, Father Robert Prevost (right), Prior General of the Order of St Augustine, described as “extraordinarily effective” the media’s ability to champion practices at odds with the Gospel. “The sympathy for antiChristian lifestyle choices that mass media fosters is so brilliantly and artfully engrained in the viewing public,” he said, “that when people hear the Christian message it often inevitably seems ideologi-

cal and emotionally cruel by contrast to the ostensible humaneness of the antiChristian perspective.” However, Fr Prevost pointed out that the Church contained its own effective personalities whose example could equal modern media messages. “The Fathers of the Church, including Saint Augustine,” he said, “can provide eminent guidance for the Church in this aspect of the New Evangelisation, precisely because they were masters of the art of rhetoric. Their

evangelising was successful in great part because they understood the foundations of social communication appropriate to the world in which they lived.”

Dolan lauds penance in evangelisation

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York talks with Coadjutor Archbishop Nicholas Mang Thang of Mandalay, Myanmar, as they leave a meeting of the Synod of Bishops October 10. Photo: CNS Cardinal Timothy Dolan has stressed the importance of the Sacrament of Penance in evangelisation in his October 9 address to the synod. “The Sacrament of Reconciliation evangelises the

evangelisers, as it brings us sacramentally into contact with Jesus, who calls us to conversion of heart, and inspires us to answer His invitation to repentance,” the cardinal explained. However,

he went on to point out that: “The Second Vatican Council called for a renewal of the Sacrament of Penance but what we got instead, sadly, in many places, was the disappearance of the sacrament.”

“De-Christianisation is accompanied by repeated juridical, as well as physical, attacks against the visible presence of the manifestations of faith. The vast majority of cases of violence and of discrimination because of religious belief are acted out against Christians, especially Catholics, in Europe.” Cardinal Erdo’s words echoed the message of Cardinal Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the synod’s relator-general, who, in his relatio ante disceptationem (report before the discussion), spoke of a “tsunami of secularisation” making the new evangelisation vital. “This current situation is rooted in the upheavals of the 1970s and 80s,” he explained, “decades in which there was

manifest poor catechesis or miscatechesis at so many levels of education.

‘Many of the mass media broadcast a presentation of the Christian faith and history that is full of lies, misinforming the public as to the content of our faith’ “We faced the hermeneutic of discontinuity that permeated so much of the milieu of centres of higher education and was also reflected in aberrational liturgical practice.

Entire generations have become disassociated from the support systems that facilitated the transmission of faith. “It is as if a tsunami of secular influence has swept across the cultural landscape, taking with it such societal markers as marriage, family, the concept of the common good and objective right and wrong. He concluded: “The missionaries in the first evangelisation covered immense geographic distances to spread the Good News. “We, the missionaries of the New Evangelisation, must surmount ideological distances just as immense, oftentimes before we ever journey beyond our own neighborhood or family.”

Archbishop of Canterbury addresses synod On October 10, Dr Rowan Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury spoke before the synod, and described contemplation as key in evangelising others. “To be contemplative as Christ is contemplative is to be open to all the fullness that the Father wishes to pour into our hearts,” he said. “With our minds made still and ready to receive, with our self-generated fantasies about God and ourselves reduced to silence, we are at last at the point where we may begin to grow. “To put it boldly, contemplation is the only ultimate answer to the unreal and insane world that our financial systems and our advertising culture and our chaotic and unexamined emotions en-

Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, talks with Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, after the archbishop’s address to the synod. Photo: CNS courage us to inhabit.” The Archbishop urged his Catholic hosts to seriously examine how shared ecumenical contemplative practices

State schools ‘de-Christianise’ – Bishop Any new evangelisation must be aware of the “de-Christianisation of the West” through state-controlled education, a bishop told the synod on October 12. Bishop Enrico Dal Covolo, rector of the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome described as a “Trojan horse” the state’s control of education. “Schools and universities even the Catholic ones - are ever more submitted to the direct control of States,” he said. “The contents of teaching [are] imposed by the state, not only t h ro u g h the so called programmes but also by means of textbooks. In fact in this way a

Bishop Brian J. Dunn.

cultural vision distant from Christian faith or even explicitly contrary to it, is insinuated in the minds of the young. “The Trojan horse through which states appropriates the intelligence of students is the formation of professors. In many countries professors are trained solely in the state universities and in any case those who wish to teach must have the state qualification conferred in accordance with the training course established by the states and by state examination. The progressive deChristianisation of the West has occurred in this way through the de-Christianisation of schools and universities.”

can assist in evangelising not only lapsed Christians but, as he put it, “a post-Christian” world.

Evangelisation must acknowledge abuse issue The very real subject of clerical sexual abuse must be acknowledged within any new drive to evangelise, a Canadian bishop has stated. Addressing the synod on October 12, Bishop Brian J. Dunn of Antigonish, Nova Scotia (left), whose own diocese was rocked by abuse scandals during the tenure of his predecessor, pointed out that as the scandals have rocked the faith of previously devout Catholics, it was incumbent on the Church to recognise the need to be ever mindful of abuse within a framework of new evangelisation. This, he explained, meant discovering ways to “evangelise those who have been deeply hurt by clergy who have been involved in sexual abuse”. A valid starting point in this, Bishop Dunn asserted, was for dioceses to create structures so that the voices of victims could first be heard and the Church could truly appreciate “the depth of hurt, anger and disillusionment associated with this scandal”.

| INTERNATIONAL NEWS ||23

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

LetterfromRome

Video on Islam rocks the house

Fertility rates

Since the video first appeared three years ago, experts have questioned many of its assertions - noting, for example, that fertility rates are actually dropping rapidly in the Middle East, and that most projections over the next 50 years do not show Islam surpassing Christianity in total population.

Turkson, the cardinal who showed the ﬁlm, comes from Ghana, where roughly 70 percent of the population is Christian and 15pc Muslim, The BBC also quoted an official from Germany’s statistics bureau denying that any government report refers to the country becoming an Islamic state. Basilian Fr Thomas Rosica, CEO of the Salt and Light Catholic media network in Canada, who’s serving as the Vatican briefer for Englishlanguage reporters during the synod, said that the film produced “the most animated”

debate of the synod so far. An American cardinal speaking on Monday morning echoed that point, saying many bishops “not only wondered where some of the facts [in the video] came from, but they also wanted to know, since when can somebody just get up and show a movie?” Another Western prelate, however, had a more positive take: “At least it got us talking about something more important than what order confirmation and first communion ought to be in.”

Projections

In a Vatican briefing Monday, Rosica said several bishops Saturday afternoon rose to question the film’s statistics, with one European prelate promising to provide recent projections prepared by the European bishops’ conference that suggest a less imminent threat of an Islamic takeover. Another prelate, according to Rosica, said the synod ought to be more concerned with the 200 dioceses that have been suppressed in recent years, reflecting a decline in the faith in those regions, rather than an Islamic menace. Other bishops, however, stressed the difficulties of the relationship with Islam -- noting, for instance, that in many majority Muslim nations, conversions to Christianity have to occur in secret for fear of persecution and even martyrdom. Several bishops from the Middle East and other regions with a strong Islamic presence offered their personal experience of engaging Muslims. Some objected to unfairly negative caricatures of the faith, while others stressed the danger of a progressive “Islamicisation” of the societies in which they live. As it happens, this unplanned discussion of Islam was interspersed with a debate over the order of the sacraments of initiation, meaning baptism, first com-

munion and confirmation. Some bishops argued that logically speaking, confirmation should come before first communion, and therefore should not be delayed until the teen years. Other bishops argued that pastorally speaking, offering confirmation in adolescence sometimes provides teens a motive for remaining in cat-

echetical and formation programs longer than they otherwise might.

Ghana

Turkson, the cardinal who showed the film, comes from Ghana, where roughly 70 percent of the population is Christian and 15pc Muslim, concentrated mostly in the country’s north.

John Allen Jnr is senior correspondent with the National Catholic Reporter.

M M

agnificat agnificat

Your Daily Mass Your Daily Mass Your Daily Mass and Prayer Companion. and Prayer Companion. and Prayer Companion. Every Month in the Post. Every Month Every Month in in the the Post. Post. Every offers: Every Month, Month, M Magnificat agnificat offers: Every Month, M agnificat offers: ❖ Daily Mass readings

❖ Daily Mass readings ❖ Daily ❖ Daily meditations Mass readings ❖ Daily meditations ❖ New ❖ Daily meditations Order of Mass ❖ New Order of Mass ❖ ❖ Lives New Order of Mass of the saints ❖ Lives of the saints ❖ Prayers ❖ Lives of the saints and evening for morning ❖ Prayers for morning and evening ❖ Commentaries ❖ Prayers for morning and evening on sacred art ❖ Commentaries on sacred art ❖ Commentaries on sacred art

S SSubScribe ubScribe ubScribe

now now for for only only now for only

6 3 6 63 3

a a month month ! ! a month !

Yes, Yes, II would would like like to to subscribe subscribe to to Magnificat Magnificat Yes, I would to subscribe to Magnificat 3One months forlike €10(only One year for €36 (Only €3 a month) ☐ year for 45 3.75 a month) 3 months for €10 3 months for €10 title title itle n ame ltaSt l aSt n ame l aSt n ame addreSS addreSS aity ddreSS c city ity number Pchone Phone number Phone number

y yinformation information mm ym information

• Soon, 40 percent of the Russian army will be made up of Muslims. • Report of the German government concedes that the country “will be a Muslim state” by 2050. • There are nine million Muslims in the United States, and Muslim leaders are quietly planning to “evangelise America ... through journalism, politics and education”. • In five to seven years, “Islam will be the dominant religion of the world”. The film concludes on this note: “The world is changing ... it’s time to wake up,” and it calls on Christians to “share the Gospel message with the world”.

One year for €36 (Only €3 a month) One year for €36 (Only €3 a month)

firSt name firSt name firSt name

email email email

county county county

PleasePay make cheques/postal payable The Irish Catholic. by cheque / postal order, orders payable to The Irishto Catholic.

method ethod mm ethod PPayment ayment ofof Pofayment

hen Pope Benedict XVI introduced the custom of taking two hours every afternoon for free discussion in the Synod of Bishops, this probably wasn’t exactly what he had in mind - somebody deciding to show a YouTube video about Islam that produced the most raucous back-and-forth most synod veterans have ever witnessed. The video was not, to be clear, the fictionalised portrayal of Muhammad uploaded on YouTube that recently produced a firestorm of protest across the Islamic world, but an older documentarystyle video from 2009. On Saturday afternoon, Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, decided to use his contribution during the free discussion period to show his fellow bishops a video. Screens in the synod hall proceeded to play a sevenminute film titled Muslim Demographics, which created an Internet sensation in 2009 by offering alarmist projections of a future Muslim conquest of Europe, and even Canada and the United States, fuelled by immigration and high birth rates. On background, officials stressed that showing the video was Turkson’s personal idea, rather than being an official decision by the synod or the Vatican. Among other claims in the film: • Forty-five percent of all Frenchmen under 30 are now Muslim, and sometime in the near future, “France will be an Islamic republic”. • In the United Kingdom there are now 1,000 mosques, “many of them former churches”. • By 2015, half of all Dutchmen will be Muslims.

Cardinal Peter Turkson.

Pay by cheque / postal order, payable to The Irish Catholic. Pay by by credit cheque / postal order, to The Irish Catholic. Pay card: VisapayableMasterCard Lasercard Pay by credit card: Visa MasterCard Lasercard Visa MasterCard Lasercard no:Pay by credit card: no: enxPo.: date: exP. date: exP. date:

/ / /

cid no: cid no: cid no:

Offer valid in Ireland only, Offer in Ireland only, untilvalid September 2012 untilvalid September 2012 Offer in Ireland only, until September 2012

Return this subscription form to: Magnificat – The Irish Catholic Return this subscription form to: Magnificat – The Irish Catholic

StReturn Mary’s, Bloomfield Avenue, Morehampton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin IRELAND this subscription form to: Magnificat – The Irish4, St Mary’s, Bloomfield Avenue, Morehampton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4,Catholic IRELAND 01Bloomfield 687 4020 Avenue, - Email: Morehampton ireland@magnificat.com or visit: www.magnificat.ie StPhone: Mary’s, Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, IRELAND Phone: 01 687 4020 - Email: ireland@magnificat.com or visit: www.magnificat.ie Phone: 01 687 4020 - Email: ireland@magnificat.com or visit: www.magnificat.ie

✂ ✂ ✂

A YouTube video provoked a ‘most animated debate’, writes John L. Allen Jr

He’s seen as representative of a number of African bishops who feel the Church sometimes takes too soft a line on Islam, partly because it’s influenced by the situation in the Middle East, where Christians sometimes tolerate a kind of second-class citizenship as the price of survival. Over the years, Turkson has said bluntly that theological dialogue with Muslims is basically impossible, so it’s better to concentrate on solving social problems. During a 2010 Vatican Synod for the Middle East, Turkson also was among the voices calling for a stronger challenge to Islamic governments to respect the rights of religious minorities. Although Turkson didn’t exactly explain what his motives were for showing the YouTube video Saturday night, if his hope was simply to provoke a discussion, it would seem he certainly did that.

24 | OPINION ||

Your faith in your hands

Christian Brothers’ legacy

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Letters Caption competition winner

undreds of former pupils from Christian Brothers’ schools will gather in Dublin at the weekend to celebrate and remember the legacy of that congregations’ commitment to education throughout the island of Ireland. Of course, it is a legacy that is mixed. The horrors revealed in the Ryan Report into institutional abuse besmirched the pioneering vision of their founder Edmund Rice and the wonderful work of the many brothers who gave their lives in the service of poor and vulnerable communities. It is fitting in this 250th anniversary of the birth of such a heroic Irishman as Edmund Rice – beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1993 – that the lasting legacy of the Christian Brothers is recalled.

Community life

In an era where the State has stretched into every area of community life, it is worth remembering that the Christian Brothers built a culture where education was the right of the many rather than the preserve of the few. At a time when a laissezfaire state saw little or no benefit in educating children from a challenging background, the Christian Brothers erected schools in areas of great need and deprivation. Through their network of schools, the Christian Brothers transformed the prospects of hundreds of thousands of young people on all five continents.

Suffering

In recalling the history of the Christian Brothers it is appropriate – necessary in fact – to hear the voices of those who had negative experiences and to work to ease their suffering. This is a fact that has been acknowledged by the leadership of the congregation and, in fact, the Christian Brothers have been praised as “an excellent example to be followed by the Church” in dealing with the historic legacy of abuse by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC). But, just as the history of the congregation wasn’t all positive, evidently it wasn’t all negative either. Saturday’s event at the Convention Centre will be an opportunity for those who have had good experiences to share those experiences and the deep impact a CBS education has had on their lives. Equally, it will be an opportunity for the vast majority of brothers – many in the twilight of their years – to have their tireless and selfless efforts acknowledged and celebrated. This weekend will also be an opportunity to look to the future. While the Christian Brothers are no longer involved in education, the legacy of Blessed Edmund Rice continues through the network of 100-plus schools around the country now managed by committed laywomen and men.

Editor: Michael Kelly, editor@irishcatholic.ie Foreign Editor: Paul Keenan, paul@irishcatholic.ie Lifestyle Editor: Mags Gargan, mags@irishcatholic.ie Reporter: Cathal Barry, cathal@irishcatholic.ie Newsroom: news@irishcatholic.ie 01 6874020 Graphic Designer: Mel Gardner Advertising: Seamus McCormack seamus@irishcatholic.ie 01 6874025 Accounts: Elaine McNamee, elaine@irishcatholic.ie 01 6874020 Business Development: Gerard Crowley, gerard@irishcatholic.ie Books Editor: Peter Costello, books@irishcatholic.ie

Annual Subscription Rates: Ireland €120; EU Airmail €145; Rest of World Airmail €145. ISSN 1393 - 6832 - Published by The Irish Catholic, St Mary’s, Bloomfeild Avenue, Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Printed by The Irish Times, Tara Street, Dublin.

Irelands rate of newsprint recycling is now up to 80% Keep reading, keep recycling - and thankyou

The winner of our Enda Kenny Caption competition is Tony Curran of Firhouse in Dublin 24 who suggested: “If that’s Gilmore tell him I’m not here, I’ve just agreed to re-open the Vatican Embassy.” Congratulations, Tony, arrangements are being made for a year’s free subscription to The Irish Catholic newspaper.

Defending the right to life Dear Editor, Why is abortion legal and acceptable in many countries today? One could also ask why was slavery legal and acceptable by some of these same countries for a great number of years? In the 18th and 19th Centuries millions of black people were enslaved, tortured and killed in socalled civilised countries. These poor people were categorised as ‘non persons’ as unborn children are so categorised to-day to justify their being killed. The cruel, horrific attitude embedded in the slavery of

black people was accepted by millions of nice, good church-going people in England and America simply because it was ‘legal’. It took honest and brave politicians like William Wilberforce in England and Abraham Lincoln in America to turn the tide against the evil of slavery. Legalising slavery did not make it right, legalising abortion does not make it right. Yours etc. Fr Con McGillicuddy, Raheny, Dublin 5.

Dear Editor, A beautiful child’s life will be worth only stg£450 in Northern Ireland’s first abortion clinic to open in Belfast. Fancy words such as ‘Choice Ireland’ and ‘termination’ mask the ugly truth about abortion and what takes place inside abortion clinics. Most people in society know that abortion is harmful. No parent, as they sit with their children discussing CAO offers, will be considering abortion as a career option for their son or

daughter. A nursery tale about abortion is a heartless story that no parent would dare tell their young children as a bedtime story. I know that women sometimes caught up in the moment of pregnancy make some very foolish decisions. Nevertheless abortion is an act of violence. Each and every human being is a miracle from God. Yours etc., Bill Curtin. Carrigaline, Co. Cork.

Dear Editor, The abortion debate focuses too narrowly on a woman’s right to choose. Pregnancy requires the input of two people, a man and a woman. If the woman has sole rights over the unborn baby, this means that the man’s responsibilities end at conception. You cannot say his rights and responsibilities take a temporary lapse during pregnancy and he acquires them again at birth. And if a woman has sole responsibility for a baby during

pregnancy then this sole responsibility continues on after birth. Any input to the child’s upbringing by the father, either financially or emotionally, is voluntarilly and by the consent of the mother. This new social order has already been recognised with the individualisation of the tax system where the family unit has been abolished and children are linked to one parent only. That is the reason why we cannot reduce the child benefit to wealthy families.

(It has also meant that struggling families cannot avail of each other’s tax credits when one becomes unemployed.) Our recent census showed that 25 per cent of families are now single parent households. In England, this figure is over 40pc and accounts for the lion’s share of the 70pc of taxpayers’ money spent on social welfare. While technically the single parent unit can be headed by either father or mother, the reality is almost all are mothers and where

the mother is not working, the taxpayer is the primary supporter. So the proper title of the current abortion debate should be “Do we wish to legislate to end man’s responsibilities for his children at conception and give sole rights and responsibilities for the child to the mother, including abortion if she so wishes?” Yours etc., Maureen Sherlock, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny.

Dear Editor, Dr O’Reilly’s Executive group are currently researching legislation and facts about abortion. I wish to emphasise some important facts as a qualified health professional. Firstly, Ireland is one of the safest countries in the world to have a baby and there is a very low, one per cent, mortality rate here in Ireland Secondly, abortion is not a required medical procedure or what would appear to some a required and emergency medical procedure that

is necessary to carry out. Statistics show that most women who want an abortion is not because it was for an emergency medical reason but a personal crisis situation and in fact require counselling not an abortion. At some point in a women’s life 10 or few years down the road, abortion and its mental side effects will always remain. The leading medical journals such as the British and American Medical Journals have clearly documented the

harmful effects of an abortion on a women’s life. The solution in Ireland is clearly not abortion, we need to educate and not provide an easy quick-fix solution of disposing of another life just because it doesn’t fit in with the agenda of some women. In so far as health care is concerned, abortion should never be placed as an ordered and elective medical procedure. Clinical nurses and doctors should never encourage a procedure that would

clearly cause more damage to a women’s health and her baby. More recently an international symposium on maternal healthcare in Dublin concluded that abortion is never medically necessary to save the life of a mother. The evidence now shows abortion is not the answer. Yours etc., Karen Ann Nolan, RGN H dip Health Education/ ICM/ Management, Raheny, Dublin 5.

| OPINION ||25

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

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, St Mary’s, Bloomfield Avenue, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Email: letters@irishcatholic.ie The Irish Catholic does not publish anonymous submissions

Crossword puzzle

Do we cherish new life? Dear Editor, Ireland has always been a welcoming country. Our children are precious to us. New life must be welcomed and given the best possible chance. Mothers need support, prayer and care as they carry the living expression of God’s love. Our maternity hospitals are centres of excellence, let us entrust mothers to their expert care. We are ranked by the UN as

world leaders in maternal care. We have lower maternal mortality rates here than in countries where abortion is widely available, e.g. Britain (report on Maternal Mortality, World Health Organisation, UNICEF, UNFPA, (2007, 2010)). We don’t need an abortion service. It is possible that those children who have been aborted in other countries could have been

the scientists we need to develop cures for cancer, motor neuron and many of the others problems facing our society. Please support women and babies now. Next month, a report on abortion by an Expert Group set up by Minister for Health James Reilly will be published. Do we cherish new life? Make your voice hear

contact your local TD. Do you choose life or death? “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”. The unborn child is alive and human and has rights. We must defend these rights. Yours etc., Leonie Gallagher, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.

The Children’s Rights Referendum Dear Editor, I am writing in response to a letter published on October 4 from Mr David Kelly about the upcoming referendum on Article 42A. In this letter Mr Kelly writes that the proposed amendment would “give too much power to the State”. A State which he claims “has been attacking and undermining the family”. Mr Kelly goes on to suggest that if the State re-

ally cared for children they would do all they could to support the family. Firstly, it is important to note that should the proposed amendment pass on November 10 it will not affect Article 41 which deals with the rights of the family. Rather Article 42A seeks to give voice to a group who have been overlooked by our Constitution for too long. Secondly, the family is not weakened by affirming the

individual rights of children, rather it is strengthened. This amendment seeks to support families and will empower parents advocating for their children by legally recognising their position in society. Presently, courts interpret the legal status of individuals on the basis of the weight given to their rights under the Constitution. Thus, by passing Article 42A we ensure children’s rights will

be given equal importance in court decisions. Finally, we only enhance our family and in turn our society by recognising all individuals, their rights and their need for protection under the Constitution. Therefore I will be voting yes in the upcoming referendum. Yours etc., Maria O’Keeffe. Leixlip, Co. Kildare.

The Vatican II supplement Dear Editor, Congratulations on the supplement on the Second Vatican Council. There were many signs of hope for the Catholic Church in Ireland, which I did not

mention in my article. The most obvious is the affection people feel for priests (secular and religious) as well as the sisters and brothers, who educated them and

tended to their sick. The fact that in the Church in Ireland pastoral care is taken for granted is the best of all tributes. We in Ireland have many

grounds for hope.

Yours etc., D.Vincent Twomey SVD, Maynooth, Co. Kildare.

Cardinal Brady’s successor

A request from India

Dear Editor, Recent press speculation on possible successors to Cardinal Brady make for interesting reading. Surely the time is ripe for a major change in the organisation of the Irish hierarchy with the replacement of the system of primacy by an elected president and vice president of the episcopal conference as happens in many other countries such as England and Wales and the United States. The speculation that a coadjutor bishop is likely to be selected from outside the country is also quite appealing. Among the acknowledged

Dear Editor, Good morning. Prayers and greetings to you in the sweet name of Jesus and Mary our holy mother from India. I am Fr Thomas Manickam, working in the diocese of Salem, in south India. I am the head of the St Antony’s Higher Secondary School, run by the diocese. There are 1,007 students with 36 teachers. Both boys and girls are in the 11 to 16 age group. There are many Hindus, Muslims and Catholics studying here. May I request your goodness to help my mission. May I appeal to your readers

successful Irish-born bishops with excellent pastoral records serving abroad are Michael Campbell (Larne) of Lancaster, Seamus Cunningham (Castlebar) of Hexham and Newcastle, George Stack (Cork) of Cardiff and Kevin Farrell (Drimnagh) of Dallas. The Irish Church needs bishops with proven track records as pastoral leaders and there are almost certainly several more very worthy candidates in addition to the four aforementioned. Yours etc., Alan Whelan, Beaufort, Co. Kerry.

to assist my poor students by sending used pens, pencils, holy rosaries, holy pictures, medals, used stamps, and any other writing materials; in turn, they will pray for them in their humble prayers. May I request you to spare a little space in your paper. Thanking you. Fr Thomas Manickam, St Antony’s Higher Secondary School, Tiruchengode P.O., Namakal Dt. Pin: 637 211, South India.

Science ‘versus’ faith Dear Editor, In his reply to my letter claiming the Darwinian Theory of Evolution to be false and degrading of our divinely imbued greatest potentials, Colm Culleton deduces that I consider “science to be the enemy of Catholicism”. In fact my premise is that the theory fails scientific

scrutiny; this too being the stated opinions of both Fritz Schumacher and Karl Stern. Both of these eminent thinkers were devoted Catholics and anything but enemies of science. In the same vein, psychologist Viktor Frankl deplored the intrusion of scientists into areas outside their remit:

“The present danger does not really lie in the loss of universality on the part of the scientist, but rather in his pretence and claim of totality…What we have to deplore therefore is not so much the fact that specialists are specialising but rather that they are generalising.” That generalising de-

means our humanity as it ignores all that is truly magnificent, albeit wounded, and spiritually endowing in our God given statuses all. Yours etc., Colm Ó Tórna, Artane, Dublin 5.

Gordius No. 34 5

11 13

18 19 21

20 22

Across 1 Part of a tennis match (3) 3 The world’s most famous one is at Stonehenge (5,6) 8 Does the artist depend on this? Not often (6) 9 Haughty (8) 10 Versatile Mediterranean fruit (5) 11 Pry when the Cardinal has no work (5) 13 Prophet who was advised to take two tablets (5) 15 School (7) 16 Tread on the part Mel broke (7) 20 Taking legal action (5) 21 Neck-warmer (5) 23 Hot breakfast made with fish aloft (3-2) 24 Such a monument might be the cause of more mail (8) 25 Fiddle (6) 26 Factual programme (11) 27 Article found in an absinthe bottle (3)

Down 1 Stone coffin (11) 2 Mexican pancake made by a tall trio (8) 3 Ointment (5) 4 This is the closest earnest letters can get (7) 5 Golf clubs used by actor Jeremy? (5) 6 Colouring stick made by 100 with material (6) 7 Amphibian (3) 12 One may have had recent peeps at contributions for the Pope (6,5) 13 Write Mother a postscript about illness (5) 14 Get to grips with a piece of foliage (5) 17 One who can speak several languages (8) 18 Vest for an unwed character (7) 19 Road surfacing material (6) 22 Ancient Roman marketplace (5) 23 Peter Pan’s Tinker Bell, for example (5) 24 Insane (3)

Gordius - Irish Catholic No 60 11/10/2012 Solution Across 1 Aid 3 Crystal ball 8 Abroad 9 Fast food 10 Stole 11 Scamp 13 Straw 15 Eyebrow 16 Antibes 20 Ditch 21 Chair 23 Tenon 24. Lucidity 25 Cymbal 26. Antioxidant 27 Say Down 1 Anaesthetic 2 Dormouse 3 Crave 4 Suffers 5 Lotus 6 Amoral 7 Lad 12 Passion play 13 Stood 14 Winch 17 Barnabas 18 Strayed 19 Mascot 22 Rodeo 23 Tryst 24 Lea

R 26

| FEATURE ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Family&Life Children helping HEALTH MATTERS

DR JONATHAN O’KEEFFE

Looking towards parenthood

s one Peter Krause put it “Parenthood...It’s about guiding the next generation, and forgiving the last”. In one month I will take on a new role in my life, possibly the most important for me to date. At 38 I am a mid to late bloomer by some people’s standards, but I am looking forward to becoming a dad. To become a ‘father’ sounds a bit stern, full of responsibility and duty. In my mind becoming a ‘dad’ is friendlier. Perhaps this reveals a little nervous anticipation on my part, a little subconscious unease at the changes I need to embrace before I truly grow up and look after someone else’s needs almost completely for the first time (I concede my good wife Sally will play a very central role).

Dedication

Many people find themselves parents with little effort and sometimes no forethought. Others give the decision careful attention and mark out the time and things they want to put right before bringing a child into the world. I was somewhere in between. You would imagine such an important life event would benefit from careful consideration, but I’m not certain you need an awful lot more than a loving environment for a child to grow and flourish. In my opinion, that environment can be provided by anyone who cares enough to dedicate themselves to the wellbeing of a new arrival whatever their circumstances. It is this dedication, I believe, that is key to being a good dad or father. I will soon find out if I have enough of it to do the job well.

Concerns

My wife and I are really looking forward to meeting our baby, to the new person who will arrive to share our world in November. We are not sure about the labour itself. There are lots of stories from friends and family, some reassuring and others not so much. Problems we are concerned about include pain, exhaustion or injury to my wife. She may need an operation or Caesarean section. We are gearing up for months of insomnia and the shift in our relationship from an egocentric focus of two to a triangle of three. Will we be able to breastfeed our baby? Will she be healthy and thrive? There are so many things to worry about. So, what does all this have to do with medicine or health and wellbeing I hear you ask. Not a lot really, but then again everything. I have looked after other people’s children in the past. I have accompanied other parents as a doctor on the outside looking in. I have stood on the sideline of other people’s lives offering them help and support when the most precious person they care about has been unwell. I did this for 12 years or so and while I cared for their children as a doctor I am about to understand firsthand what it is to worry about my baby boy or girl (we don’t know yet). Ready or not, I will learn how it feels to be responsible for my own flesh and blood. “To want everything for them and to wish you could suffer the world’s pain for them” as another parent once told me. As a doctor I will learn a very important lesson - to empathise with the people I could formerly only sympathise with. The quality of a good doctor is not one who knows all the facts but one who knows what it is like to walk in his patient’s shoes. I imagine my son or daughter’s arrival will change me a little and perhaps a lot. I will just have to wait and see.

Dr Jonathan O’Keffee is a GP from Cork.

Rory Fitzgerald looks at mission programmes which encourage children to think of others in need

very year, Irish schoolchildren raise thousands of euro to help other children in the developing world. Some older students even travel to developing countries, as ambassadors for their schools. The Society of Missionary Children is the official agency of the Catholic Church for children’s missions overseas. It runs a programme across 1,200 Irish schools called, ‘Children Helping Children’. Through it, Irish children help over 20,000 children abroad each year. The society’s national director, Jackie Pallas told The Irish Catholic that the programme places “equal emphasis on spirituality and giving. Children are encouraged to find out how children in developing countries live, by reading the newsletters each term. They are also encouraged to become friends with all children in the world through prayer and sharing. “Every cent raised is sent off to our projects abroad. Because our administration budget is funded from elsewhere, we are lucky enough to ensure that everything that the children raise actually goes to those who need it most.”

Ownership

However, Ms Pallas said that children in the developing countries who hope to benefit from the project are also asked to fundraise locally, “as it gives them a sense of ownership of the project”. “What happens is that schools and groups in developing countries send proposals to their local bishops. These are then sent to Rome, where all the national directors meet and decide which projects to approve. Ireland normally gets about seven countries with 10 or 15 projects. We then send the funds to the papal nuncio in the

Children at one of the Society of Missionary Children’s projects, Spring of Hope Orphanage, which is located in Dar es Salaam,Tanzania.

Children from Tullyallen National School, Co. Louth who baked Christmas cakes and raffled them in aid of Missionary Children. country, and we tell the project how much is arriving. We don’t fund projects just for Catholics, but for people of all faiths.” Children Helping Children also supplies schools with inspirational resources such as prayer books, Advent calendars and mission rosary candles. Schools are invited to pay what they can towards the cost of these items.

Mission Alive

Meanwhile the Irish Missionary Union runs a Mission Alive programme for older children and young people in second and third level institutions across Ireland. Mission Alive co-ordinator Ronan Barry told The Irish

Catholic , “we provide resources for secondary schools that help students explore what it means to be on mission today”. “For secondary school kids, it’s not just about being abroad, it’s about being at home. There are many frontiers to be crossed at home, such as combating racism, and treating all people with respect in their own community, and learning to be in solidarity with people in need, at home or abroad. In these recessionary times, there are lots of needs in Ireland. Young people with a mission are called to bring those values to life in their own lives.” However, some secondary students over 16 do travel

abroad to help with projects, and to bring back their experiences of the developing world. Many schools fundraise for projects where 1215 students from the school might travel over to Africa or India. Mr Barry said that “they do building work, or might link in with a pre-school helping teachers. They also act as the schools representatives. In many ways, the whole school travels with them. The whole school community gets behind the 12 representatives, so that everyone feels involved in the outreach.”

School sprit

Mr Barry says that the school sprit can be uplifted by getting involved in such pro-

| FEATURE ||R27

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

NEXT WEEK

Safety at Halloween

children CHILDREN’S CORNER Peace day in September, we gave resources inviting children to explore what peace means for them today. This year we are also highlighting the EU day against the trafficking of people, Mission Sunday, World Aids Day and Oscar Romero Day, which is a UN day for people who have suffered for human rights.” Mission Alive is also active on third-level campuses, and is involved in social justice weeks in NUI Maynooth and the University of Limerick as well as volunteering fairs, where can get information on what they can do by volunteering overseas.

Awareness

Mr Barry said: “Traditionally in Ireland, religious missionaries went abroad, and brought back an awareness of what was happing in the developing world, but now its young people doing that.” However, even as so many Irish children are doing work to help children abroad, the need at home is increasing. A CSO study on child poverty in Ireland published last month has been described by Social Justice Ireland as “a scandal”. The study revealed that over 200,000 children are now living in poverty and that almost one in five households have children living in poverty. The report also revealed that households with children have been far worse hit by the recession than households without children, with more than one in four children aged between 12 and 17 are now at risk of poverty.

Irish poverty

jects: “A principal of a school recently told me that it was wonderful to see the whole school body focused not on themselves, but on others” in the weeks before their representatives travelled to a project the school had fundraised for. However, Mr Barry says that for schools experience is about more than raising funds: “Every school talks about the idea of giving love and being loved. It’s not just about what they give, but what they receive back. All the kids who come back talk about it being a life-changing experience. It opens their minds to another part of the world.”

Peace

Mr Barry said that Mission Alive also “links in UN days, for example during World

According to the study, 30,000 more Irish children are in poverty than were two years ago. For children and young people who feel called to live out Catholic social teaching, there is much work to do, at home and abroad. Pope John XIII in Pacem in Terris exhorted Catholics to understand and apply the social teachings: “Once again we exhort our people to take an active part in public life, and to contribute towards the attainment of the common good of the entire human family as well as to that of their own country. “They should endeavour, therefore, in the light of the Faith and with the strength of love, to ensure that the various institutions - whether economic, social, cultural or political in purpose – should be such as not to create obstacles, but rather to facilitate or render less arduous people’s perfecting of themselves both in the natural order as well as in the supernatural.”

ERIN FOX

Halloween games and treats Haunt your house this Halloween, with these spooky decorations and wicked treats! Carve apples and oranges and place wiggly worm sweets inside to look like rotten apples. Eat as soon as possible or the apple will go brown. Make toffee and chocolate apples and cover in some cellophane or baking parchment and then cover with a white cloth or hanky. Secure with an elastic band

then stick on some eyes and a mouth for a ghost. These are a wicked treat for your own Halloween party or to hand out to trick-or-treaters! Carve pumpkins, and pop tea lights inside. Don’t throw away the flesh, keep it and have mum or dad make a delicious pumpkin soup or pie. Roast the pumpkin seeds for a healthy snack. Make a paper chain bat or with card cut out bats, attach to clothes and pegs and stick in various places around the house. The scary stories are up to yourself!

For the bats Place the bat template on some black card, draw around it and cut out. Repeat these steps as many times as you want. Paint in some eyes and fangs and then glue onto the clothes pegs. Leave to dry and then place the bats around the house.

you will need: One bat template, black paper card, scraps of coloured paper or googly eyes, wooden clothes pegs, glue stick or craft glue.

For the toffee caramel apples you will need: Insert wooden lolly sticks into Eating apples such as the apples and set aside. If you golden wonder don’t have any lolly sticks, use 160g white caster teaspoons, inserting the handle sugar into the middle of the apple. 60ml water Place the sugar and water in 200ml double cream a heavy based saucepan on a low heat. Dissolve the sugar then bring it up to the boil. When it turns a golden colour, remove the pan from the heat and add the double cream, stirring all the time to even out any tough bits until you have a smooth glossy caramel. Dip the apples into the toffee caramel then set aside on some baking parchment for a few hours to let the toffee set. When ready, roll in some sugar strands before serving. Alternatively you can melt some chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water and dip the apples in the chocolate instead. Roll these in the sugar strands before setting.

A candle lit for Ireland’s missing Paul Keenan October 4 saw the culmination of a small yet significant project in the musical ministry of Sr Marie Dunne, the Holy Faith sister well known for her faith-inspired compositions. During a night of reflective music and song at Clonliffe College in Dublin, the very first performance of Sr Marie’s song for missing people, A Candle for You, was performed for an audience that included the piece’s inspiration, Alice Cairns, mother of the missing Philip Cairns. According to Sr Marie: “The roots of the song came about 15 years ago when I read a newspaper interview with Alice. She was talking about how she personally coped with living with a missing loved one and I was struck by her words on lighting a candle every day for Philip. That image stuck with me and I knew I would write

NEWS DIGEST Bereavement event Anam Cara, the voluntary group for bereaved parents, is holding its annual remem-

(left) Alice Cairns and her daughter Helen listen to the first performance of A Candle For You in Clonliffe College Chapel. Photo: John Mc Elroy. (rIght) Philip Cairns. a song about it.” At the conclusion of the performance, a lit candle was presented to Alice Cairns and her daughter, Helen, in memory of Philip. At the time of his disappearance, in 1986, the face of 13-year-old Dublin schoolboy Philip Cairns became known across Ireland as a massive search and Garda investigation got underway in an

attempt to locate him, and then, as years passed with no positive outcome, to explain how the schoolboy could disappear in broad daylight as he walked to school. No trace of Philip has yet been found, though the enquiry into the disappearance remains an ongoing case for An Garda, and a large reward has been offered for information leading to the boy’s discovery.

brance event on November 2. President Michael D Higgins will attend A Balloon to Remember Day at the Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone, Co. Westmeath with proceedings getting underway at 12pm and balloons will be released in memory of deceased children. Contact info@anamcana.ie or 01-4045378

Alcohol conference Key initiatives that could make a real difference to Ireland’s relationship with alcohol will be the focus of a conference hosted by Alcohol Action Ireland on Thursday, November 1. Alcohol Action Ireland’s

According to Garda figures for 2011, some 8,511 people went missing in Ireland in that year alone, and while the majority eventually turn up safe and well, the same year’s figures reveal that 38 people have not. Many of these can be seen on a website dedicated to missing people in Ireland, www.missing. ws which was established by a cousin of Aengus (Gussie) Shanahan, missing from Limerick since 2000. It is for these people and their families, Sr Marie says, who A Candle for You has been written. “It’s about giving consolation, and maybe hope, to people,” she says. A Candle for You will be launched as a single on October 23, the 26th anniversary of the day Philip Cairns disappeared.

Sr Marie Dunne’s new compilation CD The Spirit Speaks My Name is now available. www.mariedunnechf.com 2012 conference takes place in the Royal College of Physicians, Dublin, and it will see a number of expert national and international speakers examining key initiatives that could deliver real change. To register to attend this free event or for further information, contact Conor Cullen at conor@alcoholactionireland.ie or 01-8780610.

28 | FEATURE ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Family&Life When to explain sensitive issues like abortion

Maria Byrne

y husband and 11 - y e a r - o l d daughter attended Mass in a neighbouring parish on the Day for Life on October 7. The priest there spoke passionately about it being the time to choose what sort of future we want for our country and whether we are willing to stand up for vulnerable life in the womb, while protecting women from a decision that often leads to deep regret, sorrow and pain. My daughter had been listening intently to the homily and already knew a little about abortion, but I’m sure many other children were hearing about it for the first time. It’s always tricky to know when to introduce topics like abortion, contraception or other sensitive subjects, but I think it’s vital that parents broach these subjects in an age-sensitive way rather than waiting for ‘instruction’ from a less than reliable or satisfactory source. The 40daysforlife.com website contains information about talking to your

With our help, our children will learn to value the fact that, as Christians, we believe that, not only are we responsible for our planet, but for every person who inhabits the planet. child about abortion. It’s not an easy subject to introduce and, as a parent, it wasn’t something I wanted to discuss with my children when they were very young. Most small children have been told something about the development of the baby in the womb and it’s never too early to show children pictures of the amazing stages of early development.

Pregnanancy

Being pregnant is the ideal opportunity to make this

wonder of creation very personal for older siblings who are thrilled to see the ultrasound pictures, feel the baby moving and kicking and speculate about the sex of the new addition. When abortion is first mentioned, a very basic description will suffice, with no unnecessary and, possibly traumatising, words or pictures. Parents know their children well and can judge how much information they can absorb and cope with. Teaching children about abortion is not always as

difficult as we might think. Even small children can understand that while there may be people who are bigger, older or stronger than them, it doesn’t make them more valuable or important. Abortion builds on the lie that the weakest and the smallest have less value. Children have a keen sense of justice - the biggest complaint from disgruntled children is that “It’s not fair!” Even when they neither know nor understand all the complexities, they realise that taking the life of an innocent baby is neither just nor fair. There was a huge outpouring of support and grief recently following the abduction in Wales of little April Jones. April’s youth and innocence compounded the heart-rending, tragic disappearance. Small children realised that bad things happen and are quite capable of understanding the sadness and loss of abortion.

Controversial

As children get older, we may avoid discussing abortion as being too controversial or painful. Teenagers can seem to be well-informed and we might think it’s a subject that will be dealt with in school. In reality, it may not be mentioned at all or only in a superficial manner. My only memory of abortion being discussed in my sons’

secondary school was in debating mode with a pro-life and pro-abortion side and no one actually facilitating the dispensing of truth. Teenagers and young adults are often very idealistic; parents can gently guide them in how to best utilise that idealistic spirit. If we don’t speak about the sacredness of life at all stages, they’ll encounter other young people who’ll speak avidly about bodily autonomy and the right to choose and how no one should be forced to be a human incubator. Many children will already be involved in charity work. My own 13-year-old daughter has been raising money for multiple sclerosis for several years; my eldest son has a particular interest in Sightsavers and Brainwave.

Teenagers

Teenagers want to change the world and changing the attitude to human life is the building block on which all other rights are based. In an article on www.catholic. net, Why Teens Should Care About Abortion, Amy Welborn talks about challenging teenagers on why they should even care about abortion. It’s often presented as a woman’s choice, a private decision between her and her doctor. She explains that we care because abortion is not about some vague choice, it’s about real

people, real women and girls who “find themselves in terribly difficult situations, who toss and turn at night feeling scared, unsupported, alone and trapped.” It’s about real babies who are growing at an astonishing rate inside their mothers - not potential lives, but lives with huge potential.

Challenge

As Christians, we should operate from a different perspective from the one that is often accepted by the world we live in. If our children understand the enormity of the challenge, they’ll be only too happy to wear the Precious Feet Pin, which represents the size of a baby’s feet ten weeks after conception. They’ll write to newspapers and politicians and attend pro-life vigils; they’ll be there to help and support a friend with an unplanned pregnancy and assist her in choosing life, they’ll value people with disability and those with terminal diagnoses. Most of all, with our help, our children will learn to value the fact that, as Christians, we believe that, not only are we responsible for our planet, but for every person who inhabits the planet. Their lives and their plans matter and our pro-life concern is for each and every one, wherever they are on the continuum that is human life.

Dad’s Diary Rory Fitzgerald There are times you dream of a simpler life: A small cottage on a windswept isle, a few chickens and a small boat to catch a few fish. Sure, what more could you want? For a couple of weeks, we recently had the chance to sample just such a life, when we were asked by friends to mind their cottage on an island off West Cork. As the ferry chugs out across Baltimore Bay, you enter a lost world where time passes more slowly, and silence echoes more deeply. To the children, the island is a place of magic. What they seem to love most is the simplicity of life: For food, we go out in the rowing boat and haul the shrimp pots. Later, we gather vegetables from the garden, or eggs from the hens. If you run out of anything, you must make do, for there are no shops. Feeding the chickens was the kids’ favourite job, and the birds readily gobbled up all our leftovers. There are few island cars, so we are spared their noise and fumes, and the children can walk down the road without fear. When evening falls, everyone gathers by the fire. There is no television, and so we talk to the sound of crackling logs. As the wind howls outside, you just nestle a little deeper in to your armchair, and throw another log on the fire. Then, you turn in early, to rise early and refreshed. This is,

more or less, how our ancestors lived since the beginning of time. Perhaps it remains the best way to live. On sunny days, you can wander down the honeysuckle-clad boreens until you get to Silver Strand, for happy hours on your very own desert island strand. From the warm sands you can see the houses on Cape Clear. Beyond its green slopes, the sea opens up to Mizen Head and the clear blue horizon.

Poor mobile reception is a blessing for the soul. When I renew my contract next time I will carefully select the provider with the very worst mobile phone network in Ireland. The kids tumble down the sand dunes, and Sean comes up to me with his eyes shining bright, and through a big grin, he says, accurately: “We’re having lovely time on Sherkin island.” Indeed, he seemed insistent that we would move there permanently, for as we passed the seaside school - with all of its six pupils - he exclaimed, “You found my school, dad! Well done, dad!” I would be tempted by island life, for

even after just a few days there, something happens you. All the peace sinks in deeply, and a new rhythm takes hold: You become governed by tides, winds and seasons. You begin to hear more clearly an ancient song. Just as soon as I began to (almost) feel like a real islander, it was time to return to the mainland which, on stepping ashore, seemed a very strange place indeed: The roads were unnaturally wide, and the people oddly busy - even frantic. Cars were everywhere, travelling at breakneck speed and everyone was hurrying about in a panic - and that was before we had even got to Skibbereen. Much of the peace of our time on the island came from having our electronic gatgets off or absent. Poor mobile reception is a blessing for the soul. When I renew my contract next time I will carefully select the provider with the very worst mobile phone network in Ireland. Indeed, they should advertise it as a virtue: “Join ‘Dodgyfone’ and get some peace.” We cannot always afford the time to disappear off to a faraway island, but we can make judicious use of the off-buttons on our phones, computers and televisions. Once those handy, alluring and damnable things are switched off, you are halfway to Sherkin Island already.

| FEATURE ||29

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

For more information on labyrinth gardens see www.jamesmcconnellgardens.com

Making nature a vehicle for prayer John Curran describes the development of a contemplative labyrinth garden for religious sisters

ngagement with nature as a process and as a vehicle for prayer was a focus that Sisters Anne and Kathleen wanted to develop in their spirituality. This is the story of how they came to use a labyrinth as part of their prayer-life and how garden designer James McConnell learned that only God is perfect. God created the world and thus it is itself sacred, giving us all we need to exist. While our Celtic ancestors recognised this, it is difficult on the hard tarmac of modern life in Ireland to keep in mind the sanctity of the earth we walk on, which feeds us and on which we dwell, let alone to let that sanctity prosper as a foundation of our spiritual process.

Beauty

In the imagery of the Bible, paradise was a garden. There is no garden without earth, from which all things grow - from the humblest frond of moss to majestic trees that soar up into the ever-changing sky. Seamed with rock and silvered with rivers and lakes, the world is in its natural state an earthly paradise, a vast garden. Light, water, air, earth, fire: these primal ingredients are the substance of our physical reality. Awe at nature is a route to understanding and loving the greatness of God. The beauty of the world is an inroad to the divine. God’s vast beneficence to us is revealed in the beauty

Sisters Ann and Kathleen of the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, walk around their new labyrinth garden at their home near the convent and school at South Hill in Co. Westmeath. and goodness of the earthly world He has set us down upon. An engagement with God through nature can be developed to different levels of intensity by individuals. In County Westmeath, Sisters Ann and Kathleen have now focussed on developing their understanding of the divine through nature: the light, air, water and verdure that are the Irish countryside. “The divine is all around you,” says Ann.

Community

In their community life, with the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, Ann and Kathleen’s life was one of service to people with an intellectual disability, a busy, busy life of caring, education and development. Now, they continue on the journey to knowing God that they started in early life. “We wanted to develop the contemplative dimension of our lives,” they say. Being close to nature and using it in the process of their contemplation and prayer was their ambition. Their home near the convent and school at South Hill in County Westmeath has a garden which they tend themselves; it’s part of the rhythm of their lives. Sr Ann quotes St Bernard: “When you are near to nature you

are near to God”. But they felt that something other than gardening alone was needed to heighten their awareness of God through nature. A labyrinth is a path that spirals inwards, an uncomplicated route to a place centred within it. The way in is the way out. It is a device that connects the user, the seeker, the soul with nature.

Divine

The natural world has, in many cultures and faiths, been interpreted as the handwriting of the divine, the presence of God in the human sphere. In history, artists have often expressed the sublimity of the divine by representing nature; in painting, for example, Caspar David Freidrich, and in literature, Ruskin.

Awe at nature is a route to understanding and loving the greatness of God. Beyond Christianity, the vastness and silence of the desert was, for Mahomet, the theatre of revelation of Allah. In the other great world religions, a shared understanding of nature as the manifestation of divine power abounds, and in Celtic cosmology no less

than any. Nature is a unifying thread in the human cognition of the divine, a shared element across cultures and philosophies. Kathleen had really wanted a labyrinth, and had been thinking about it for a long time, how it might be made. After meeting us at our ‘Gardens with Atmosphere – The Art and Craft of Garden Making’ show in Mullingar this spring, Ann and Kathleen asked James to make them a labyrinth. After a visit to their garden, when a secluded back-lawn on a slight slope which seemed to have special energy was chosen as the best place, James thought carefully about how exactly to proceed with their request.

Labyrinth

While they were away in Dublin at the Eucharistic Congress in June, he made the labyrinth swiftly one day feeling very much under the guidance of St Fiacre, patron saint of gardeners, as it was somewhat daunting to be creating your first labyrinth by cutting through the grass of the sisters’ lawn with no lines, no markers, or no assistants to guide you. The spiral path cut into the long grass was just perfect, filling the space available and emerging just at the corner where it was right

and natural to enter it. Ann and Kathleen returned home that evening to a surprise: the labyrinth that James had made, unannounced. They love to use it, and walk it almost daily. “Its part of who we are now and part of the place,” they say. It has helped them to achieve understanding of God through nature. It brings them into direct contact with the Earth, the sounds, sights and scents of nature in an immediate, simple way. Because it has been created itself from natural elements, it is a direct contact with the substance of the Irish countryside, a route from the specific garden which the nuns have created to the universal elements and qualities of the natural world, which has in many cultures and faiths been seen as the handwriting of the divine, the presence of God in the human sphere. And so the summer wore on and the grasses and wild flowers of the labyrinth grew tall, and with all the rain a small patch of the grass lodged, flat and messy, on the path inwards. The sisters didn’t like it, and when they asked James what they should do about it, he told them that they would have to tolerate a little imperfection. And Ann’s

James McConnell. immediate response was “Because only God is perfect!” For us, this has been the welcome and sustaining spiritual lesson the labyrinth has brought forth. Realness, immediacy and concreteness are essential in the search for God through nature, and in this the labyrinth has been a revelation. We all need to enjoy the world we are in. A labyrinth gives access to the benedictions of the earth because it slows one down, perceptions are gentler, and inwardness and outwardness become one and the same; it’s a contemplative space. As for Ann and Kathleen, isn’t such reverence for nature pretty singular now in an Ireland that despises and destroys the natural environment, in a social context of extreme materialism?

30 | COMMENT ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

FrRolheiser www.ronrolheiser.com

Pride manifested in subtle forms

ne of the wonderful features of young children is their emotional honesty. They don’t hide their feeling or wants. They have no subtlety. When they want something they simply demand it. They holler. They cry. They snatch things from each other. And they aren’t ashamed of any of this. They offer no apologies for selfishness, no disguises. As we grow-up we become emotionally more-disciplined and leave most of this behind. But we also become much less emotionally-honest. Our selfishness and our faults become less-crass, but, this side of eternity, they never really disappear. They just become more subtle.

Our motivation for generosity is often more inspired by the desire to feel good about ourselves than by real love of others. The Church has, classically, named something it calls the ‘seven deadly sins’: pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. How these manifest themselves in their

Pride and humility. An icon depicts the Pharisee and Publican. crassest forms is evident. But how do these manifest themselves in their subtler forms? How do they manifest themselves among the supposedly-mature? Great spiritual writers have always had various treatises, some more astute than others, on what they call the religious faults of those who are beyond initial conversion? And

it’s valuable sometimes to look at ourselves with naked honesty and ask ourselves how we have morphed the crasser faults of children into the subtler faults of adults. How, for instance, does pride manifest itself in our lives in more subtle ways? How pride lives in us during our more mature years is probably best described by

Jesus in the famous parable of the Pharisee and Publican. The Pharisee, vilified in this story, is proud precisely of his spiritual and human maturity. That’s a subtle pride of which it is almost impossible to rid ourselves. As we mature morally and religiously it becomes almost impossible not to compare ourselves with others who are struggling and to not feel both a certain smugness, that we are not like them, and a certain disdain for their condition. Spiritual writers often describe the fault in this way: Pride in the mature person takes the form of refusing to be small before God and refusing to recognise properly our interconnection with others. It is a refusal to accept our own poverty, namely, to recognise that we are standing before God and others with empty hands and that all we have and have achieved has come our way by grace more so than by our own efforts.

Humility

During our adult years pride often disguises itself as a humility which is a strategy for further enhancement. It takes Jesus’ invitation to heart: Whoever wants to be first must be last and be the servant of all! Then, as we are taking the last place and

being of service, we cannot help but feel very good about ourselves and nurse the secret knowledge that our humility is in fact a superiority and something for which we will later be recognised and admired. As well, as we mature, pride will take on this noble face: We will begin to do the right things for seemingly the right reasons, though often deceiving ourselves because, in the end, we will still be doing them in service to our own pride.

Generosity

Our motivation for generosity is often more inspired by the desire to feel good about ourselves than by real love of others. For example, a number of times during my years of ministry, I have been tempted to move to the innercity to live among the poor as a sign of my commitment to social justice. It took a good spiritual director to point out to me that, at least in my case, such a move there would, no doubt, do a lot more for me than for the poor. My moving there would make me feel good, enhance my status among my colleagues, and be a wonderful inscription inside my curriculum vitae, but would not, unless I would more radically

change my life and ministry, do much for the poor. Ultimately, it would serve my pride more than it would serve the poor. Ruth Burrows cautions that this same dynamic holds in terms of our motivation for prayer and generosity. Thus, she writes: “The way we worry about spiritual failure, the inability to pray, distractions, ugly thoughts and temptations we can’t get rid of ... it’s not because God is defrauded, for he isn’t, it’s because we are not so beautiful as we would like to be.” And subtle pride, invariably, brings with it a condescending judgment about others. We see this most strongly perhaps in the period shortly after first conversion; when young lovers, recent religious converts, and neophytes in service and justice, still caught-up in the emotional fervour of the honeymoon, think they alone know how to relate to each other, to Jesus, and to the poor. The fervour is admirable, but the pride invariably spawns a couple of nasty children, arrogance and elitism. Pride is inextricably linked to our nature and partly it’s healthy, but it’s a life-long moral struggle to keep it healthy. www.ronrolheiser.com

Answering the big questions on Catholic ethos

atholic Schools Partnership, an umbrella body providing support for all the partners in Catholic schools, provides answers to ten frequently asked questions about Catholic education. 1. Aren’t all schools the same? While all schools share a lot in common, they are not all the same. Every school has a certain ethos or characteristic spirit that inspires all aspects of the life of the school.

2. What is different about a Catholic school? Our religious faith is central to our lives and influences the way that we see things. We believe that the life of Christ is really important, that each person is made in the image of God and that we form part of a parish community called the Church. We pray every day. We learn about the Bible, the Church, Mass and the Sacraments, and the teachings of the Church. We introduce pupils to the Christian values that we hope will inform the way they will

world. In many nations, as in our own, they form a central part of the education system, while in almost all democratic societies they are funded by the state.

live as children, adolescents and mature adults.

3. What do pupils learn? From the outset, the experience of the pupil in a Catholic school is characterised by respect for both faith and reason. So we teach children all aspects of the curriculum – languages, maths, music, science, art, sport. This is all part of what we do at school. In all of this we want to cherish each person as Christ would do, and we seek to support parents in their task of nurturing their children toward fulfilment in life and of preparing them to take their place in the world according to the gifts that they have been given. 4. Who attends Catholic schools? Obviously the vast majority of pupils are Catholic, as many Catholic parents want their children to have a faith-based education. Catholic schools are inclusive and have been leaders in integrating migrants into local communities. Our schools have also led the way in areas such as special needs and traveller education.

8. Will there be Catholic schools in Ireland in the future? Yes, there will. It is part of the role of the Church to teach, and as long as there are parents who want such schools, they will be provided. Given the popularity of such schools throughout the world, there is every reason to believe that Irish parents will continue to value and demand this type of schooling for their children.

Girls from St Aidan’s Catholic High School in Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin last June. Photo: CNS 5. What about children from other religious backgrounds? Children from various backgrounds are welcomed into Catholic schools. The number varies from one place to another but respect for all religions and for peo-

ple of no faith is an important part of the life of the school. 6. Are Catholic schools as good as other schools? Yes, they are. By all measures, both in Ireland and other countries, Catholic schools are amongst the best schools. There are

many international surveys that suggest Catholic schools achieve the highest academic quality. 7. Are there Catholic schools in other countries apart from Ireland? Yes, there are Catholic schools in almost every country in the

9. How will Catholic schools develop in the future? Catholic schools will continue to provide a quality education through a deepening partnership of home, school and parish. The vision underpinning this partnership can be found in the new National Directory for Catechesis in Ireland – Share the Good News. 10. How do I find out more about Catholic schools? Go to www.catholicschools.ie

| REVIEWS ||31 33

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

TV&Radio Brendan O’Regan

At odds with Mrs McAleese’s meaning of life

’ve always admired Mary McAleese’s approach to the presidency and think she did us proud. She was never afraid to practise and be proud of her faith, without browbeating anyone. She conducted herself with dignity and contributed significantly to the peace process. There was a lot to admire in her interview on The Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne last Tuesday night (RTÉ 1) – her courtesy, thoughtfulness, challenging theological points and engaging manner, her ongoing life of faith, in which the Eucharist, as she understands it, is central, her commitment to the Great Commandment to love. She spoke a lot about the need for clarity from the Church – (“I’m not clear any more where the boundaries are …What do we have to accept?”), but it struck me that where the Church has sought to provide clarity (e.g. on the ordination of women) she hasn’t been that happy about it. She held to the “core deposit of faith”, but that raises questions that weren’t

dealt with – like who defines this core teaching? And then we’re back to the teaching authority of the Church that she has so many problems with in the first place. Her approach seemed to be of the a la carte variety, coming across as “hey God, on my terms not yours”.

Gay rights

Her support for same-sex marriage was not surprising as she reminded us that she co-founded a gay rights campaign with Senator David Norris. Liberals often suggest that those who disagree with them have a psychological problem, so she decried some people’s “obsession” with the sex aspect of homosexuality. She took the sex out of it and focused on things like love and partnership, important motherhoodand-apple-pie stuff that no one has a problem with. She suggested facetiously that same-sex marriage wouldn’t become “compulsory”, yet it’s a pity that as a lawyer she didn’t deal with the danger, already evident elsewhere, that the law could be used as weapon to eventually silence

PICK OF THE WEEK MASS FOR MISSION SUNDAY RTÉ 1 Sun 21 Oct 11.10 am Celebrant Fr John Guiney SJ. Music by the Gardiner Street Gospel Choir. Musical director, Padraig Swan. opposition to same-sex marriage and homosexual activity in general. In some eyes dissent is only admirable when you dissent from orthodox or conservative views. While admiring the great work done by the Church, e.g. in education, she had a negative attitude towards Church authorities (I did enjoy her description of the spat with Cardinal Law), suggesting that “fresh air” couldn’t get in as they spoke only with those who agreed with them. But ironically the interview smacked a little of that too

THE GOD SLOT RTÉ Radio 1 Fri 19 Oct A debate on whether Ireland should legislate for the X-Case. 4THOUGHT.TV Channel 4 Mon 22 Oct 7.55 pm This week 4thought.tv asks: should Britain remain a Christian nation?

– at one stage Mrs McAleese said that she met “so many people like myself”, and later implied common cause with Byrne – “you and I have exactly the same problem”. Byrne’s contributions I found annoying, especially when he came across as smug and dismissive towards the Church (e.g. laughing when she spoke of the Church and democracy, and asking if Church leaders were “stupid”). The cocooned liberalism of some sections of RTÉ, also showed when Byrne claimed that “it seems the

entire world is falling for gay marriage”. I’d like to see him put that assumption to the test, starting with recent votes in California and Australia.

Moving

McAleese was at her most moving and impressive speaking about her Northern Irish Nationalist background and the good moral influence of her parents. She learned to resist the temptation to get involved in violence, always to pray for the other side and to tackle problems through dialogue.

McAleese was at her most moving and impressive speaking about her Northern Irish Nationalist background and the good moral influence of her parents. At least we don’t wake anymore to stories of bombings and killings in the North.

So it was painful to hear, last Thursday morning, about the introduction of more violence into the North with the opening of a Marie Stopes abortion clinic – flying in the face of one of the valuable points of agreement between unionists and nationalists. Marie Stopes programme director Dawn Purvis got some very soft interviews on Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1) and especially on the Breakfast Show (Newstalk). Of course you’d think butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth with her talk of professionalism (chilling), “sexual health” and that great oxymoron “safe abortion” (ask the baby). On the RTÉ programme Bernie Smith from Precious Life was quoted as criticising the making of profits from the death of unborn babies - Purvis said they were non-profit - but wouldn’t you think she would have been asked then about the salaries? And why didn’t an intrepid interviewer ask her ‘What about the baby?’

boregan@hotmail.com

Music

Fr Michael Collins

The great American tenor

and at other times by pipes and strings. There is a beautiful piece, Shining Light, a prayer accompanied by oillean pipes and tin whistle. A shimmering chorus is given a glistening treatment with echoes from Oriental music.

arlier this year, in January, Welsh composer Karl Jenkins gave the premier performance of his new work, The Peacemakers. The concert took place in New York’s Carnegie Hall. Jenkins is the most widely- performed contemporary composer, beating even John Williams. His Mass for the Armed Man, commissioned for the Millennium of 2000, has won a huge following. The Peacemakers, based on a selection from the writings of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama, Terry Waite and Albert Schweizler, Rumi, as well as sections from the Bible and the Koran, is set to follow in popularity.

The secret of Jenkins’ popularity is his blend of ethnic music, jazz and classical forms.

Captivating

Jenkins conducted the first Irish performance last week at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. The secret of Jenkins’ popularity is his blend of ethnic music, jazz and classical forms. Purists may be suspicious of such an approach, but Jenkins’ music is captivating.

Mario Lanza. Part of Jenkins’ appeal is his skilful evocation of various musical traditions. While the work is principally choral,

with just one soprano solo, the instrumentation is captivating. Peace is at once invoked by timpani and brass,

The National Concert Hall was packed for a tribute to the great American tenor, Mario Lanza. Mario Lanza, born Alfredo Cocozza in 1921, was the son of Italian migrants to the USA. Already by 16 he had a fine voice and began singing lessons. He gained roles in opera but in 1947, he was signed to MGM Studios. His first movie, The Midnight Kiss appeared in 1949, followed a year later with The Toast of New Orleans. This featured the number Be My Love which soon sold in excess of one million ‘singles’. In 1951,

he took the title in the movie The Great Caruso.

Alcoholism

Although Lanza enjoyed a number of successful movies, a TV programme and sold millions of records, he struggled for years with over-eating and alcoholism. Sadly, his life was cut short by a pulmonary embolism at the age of 38. He died in Rome during an extended tour with his wife and children. His career had spanned just 10 years.

There is a beautiful piece, Shining Light, a prayer accompanied by oillean pipes and tin whistle The Slovak Orchestra, led by Vladimir Jablokov, played a number of pieces closely associated with Lanza. The soloists, Sean Costello, Niall Morris and Sandra Oman, performed a selection of Lanza’s favourites while a narration, accompanied by photos stills beamed on a canvas

Quiz Complete the title of Mario Lanza’s first film. The Midnight ......... Closing date for entries is November 2, 2012. Irish Catholic, St Mary’s, Morehampton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

guided the audience through Lanza’s life. The Maltese tenor, Joseph Calleja, has recorded his own tribute to Mario Lanza on the Decca Label. Choosing a selection of popular songs and arias made famous by Lanza, he is accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra. Calleja is due to sing in the National Concert Hall on April 13 next year. Early booking is available on 01 4170077. Universal Music is offering readers of The Irish Catholic three copies of his latest disc; see box.

32 | REVIEWS ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

BookReviews Edited by Peter Costello Recent books in brief Bird’s Eye View of the Bible by Mary Williams (Redemptorist Publications, €22.30/ £17.95)

The Bible certainly poses problems for readers. The first books, down to Deuteronomy, are easier to get through, than many of the historical books that follow, let alone the prophets. The sheer literary power is often buried under the weight of bad translation and complex annotation. A Bird’s-Eye View of the Bible is the perfect guide for beginners, whether on their own or in groups. It contains a wealth of information to light up the background to the great writers of the Bible. It is in five parts: an introduction, two discussions of history embedded in ‘Literature in the Old and New Testaments’, and two on ‘Literature Spun from History’ in the Old and New Testaments. Each study section has suggestions for further reading and points for users to consider and issues for further discussion. There are many excellent maps and time charts – always useful in reading the Bible. Abraham, Moses, David and Solomon are set in their historical and theological contexts, with timelines and maps, and introductions to important concepts such as ‘Law’ and ‘Covenant’. The great prophets and poets of the Old Testament come to life against the background of their culture, as they help their people to worship, fear and listen to God. It also puts the New Testament in its historical and literary setting, showing the difference between Gospels and Epistles, between formal theological expositions and intimate glimpses into the lives of the first Christians.

The Madness of St Paul by Richard Dormandy (Redemptorist Publications, €11.20/£8.95)

The title may seem odd, but this brief book, which focusses on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, deals with St Paul’s dark night of the soul It discusses the “extraordinary discoveries made by Paul in his darkness, along with practical steps in a strategy for survival”. Here surely in many ways, are matters very relevant for us today. Dormandy asks how Paul’s experience, his “personal struggle to make sense of weakness, burnout and failure in ministry” can feed back into ministry and mission today. When we see Paul as he really is, we find not just a remote and exalted figure from whom we inevitably feel isolated, but “a true kinsman from whom to receive encouragement”. Critics often speak carelessly as Christianity being ‘an invention’ of St Paul, and so it is, but not in the way they mean. From Paul we gain lasting insights into how difficult it can be to live as a Christian, especially when facing not only the intolerance of non-Christians, but the hardened and uncharitable attitudes of other Christians.

God For Grown Ups by Fr K O’Riordan, Fr G Murphy and Sr E McGrath (Redemptorist Publications, €24.95 /£19.95 )

With the current campaign for a renewal of religious teaching for children, and the coming Year of Faith, it should not be forgotten that the grown-ups need a little learning too. But unlike children, who have to learn about the world around them, adults often think they know all about it. This little book, in aiming to present the complex nature of the divinity to such adult audiences, bases itself on their actual daily lives, seeking to build on their own personal experiences than providing mere prescriptions. This is certainly a most useful way of generating a vital sense of engagement. The book will be found very useful by study groups, for both the layout and the content, especially the follow-on questions, are thought provoking. The suggested liturgies are very useful for creating a prayerful atmosphere to end each session.

Where did Newm really stand? A Conservative at Heart? The political and social thought of John Henry Newman by Stephen Kelly

(Columba Press, €19.99 / £16.20)

Angelo Bottone

ohn Henry Newman was mostly a theologian and educator. He was never at any time directly involved in political affairs. When he wrote on social issues his main preoccupations were religious. He once wrote to a friend, “it never has been my line to take up political or social questions, unless they came close to me as matters of personal duty”. Scholars have usually portrayed him as a conservative in politics and some have lamented that he lacked a social conscience. In his first published book Stephen Kelly, a young researcher from UCD, challenges these common assumptions and aims at providing a more nuanced portrait of Newman’s political and social thought. He rejects the claim that Newman was not aware of political and social problems and, moreover, that he continued to be a conservative over his life.

Withdrawn

Kelly acknowledges that in his years in Oxford Newman remained withdrawn from contemporary political and social affairs but with his conversion to Catholicism Newman acquired a stronger social conscience. Although he was neutral of party politics, in some of the controversies he was involved (papal infallibility, separation of Church and state, temporal power of the Pope) he defended a more liberal perspective. Kelly relies extensively on Newman’s letters and maintains that even if throughout his life the English cardinal retained a strong bond with the principles of conservatism he cannot be labelled as a Tory. In the most valuable chapter of this book, published as an article last year in the quarterly Studies, Kelly argues that Newman’s experience in Dublin and the in-

volvement of some members of the Young Irelanders in the new established Catholic University of Ireland brought him to reconsider his disbelief in democracy. Unfortunately the same level of detail and accuracy that Kelly shows in his account of Newman’s years in Ireland is not employed in the rest of the book.

Liberal

Sections are dedicated to the Church-state relations, to the idea of liberal education and to Newman’s analysis of the British constitution from an ‘Old Tory’ perspective. In a chapter on ‘Newman the historian’ Kelly surprisingly claims that objectivity and rational analysis was always of secondary importance for Newman as he was unable to detach himself from his theological beliefs. In spite of his ambitions Kelly is not always convincing. The main limitation of his work is that he uses the simplistic conservative/liberal opposition to explain and understand complex phenomena.

‘All I know is, that Toryism, that is, loyalty to persons, springs immortal in the human breast; that religion is a spiritual loyalty; and that Catholicity is the only divine form of religion.’ For instance, if in Newman’s times the life of the Church was simply a battle between liberal Catholicism and Ultramontanism, as Kelly portrays, and therefore Newman stood on the liberal side in his understanding of papal infallibility as it was recently defined by the first Vatican Council, the logical conclusion would be that also Pius IX, who was ultimately responsible for the dogmatic formulation, was a liberal.

Spiritual loyalty

Newman’s political views didn’t change so much if towards the end of his life, in the Letter to the Duke of Nor-

Cardinal John Henry Newman folk in 1875, he could write: “No one can dislike the democratic principle more than I do. No one mourns more than I, over the state of Oxford, given up, alas! to liberalism and progress … All I know is, that Toryism, that is, loyalty to persons, springs immortal in the human breast; that religion is a spiritual loyalty; and that Catholicity is the only divine form of religion. And thus, in centuries to come, there may be found out some way of uniting what is free in the new structure of society with what is authoritative in the old, without any base com-

promise with ‘Progress’ and ‘Liberalism’.” And yet, according to Kelly, this letter “boosted Newman’s reputation as a champion of an elegant and reasonably liberal-minded Catholicism”! This is not the first fulllength attempt to study Newman’s political and social thought, but the only one produced after the complete publication of his letters and diaries. Even considering the limitations just briefly noted, this work gives insights to the teachings of an original and influencing thinker.

| REVIEWS ||33

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Readers should note that as The Irish Catholic circulates throughout the island of Ireland, the prices of books are given in both euros and pounds, but prices may vary by outlet.

man

States of Irish poetry New Collected Poems by John Montague (Gallery Press €15.00 / £20.00)

Waiting for St Brendan and Other Poems, by David McLoghlin (Salmon Poetry, €12.00 / £10.00)

hough the popular idea of modern Irish poetry may seem to be dominated by Seamus Heaney, other poets who emerged in the 1960s, such as Thomas Kinsella, Derek Mahon, and John Montague, have always been admired too for their very different, but quite distinctive styles. Montague’s collected later poems are now to hand, reminding us in detail of a great talent first admired in the pages of The Irish Times in a fugitive way.

He exhibits a creative tension between cultures which promises still richer poetry in future. An Ulster man – not for nothing is an earlier collection entitled Poisoned Lands – his meditations on that province’s bloody past, and still troubled present, appeared first in The Rough Field, a title taken from Garvaghy, the rough field in question. “Like Dolmens round my youth, the old people” that haunting line from one Montague’s early poems still echoes in this volume, when he an older man himself he returns to explore familiar rooms, ancestral homes, native places. The tone is by turns elegiac and fierce. This is a magisterial volume indeed. It is to be expected that, as with his late friend Robert Graves, Montague’s collected poems will go on growing with the winnowed additions of his future work.

Cross roads

Dr Angelo Bottone is the author of The Philosophical Habit of Mind: Rhetoric and Person in John Henry Newman’s Dublin Writings (Zeta Series in Christian Theology).

John Montague belongs to a generation of Irish writers for whom the cross roads of the world is where the Boul’ Mich meets St Germain. But over his life the main focus of Irish culture has moved from Europe to North America. The first collection of a young Irish poet exemplifies this. Montague was born in Brooklyn, New York. David McLoghlin has moved there. In his poems, however, affected by different kinds of poetry, evoked in Whitman and Lorca, the pain of past emotions is consoled and

shaped, and made into art. On the other hand, many of McLoghlin’s poems are ecliptic and controlled in a very curbed manner. McLoghlin might learn from Montague to run with a looser rein at times. The incidents of his poems, such as those about abusive relationships, in other hands might be far angrier

It is always interesting to see poets searching for their themes among the images of scattered lives. His images draw on the legend of St Brendan, but his glimpse of Judas bound to his mid-ocean rock from the voyage of Brendan, suggests an imagination, which like the navigator, is trying an Atlantic crossing, have travelled into many parts of Europe, but is haunted perhaps by a sense of betraying somewhere else.

Displacement

Indeed travel and displacement seems to be a dominant theme in this book. For McLoghlin perhaps the south tip of Manhattan carries the same emotional response that the corner of rue Saint Benoit might for Montague.

He exhibits a creative tension between cultures which promises still richer poetry in future. It remains to be seen whether like Brendan, he has found an earthly paradise on the ocean’s far side. It is always interesting to see poets searching for their themes among the images of scattered lives. Human frailties over the decades break up the movement forward. Yet in these encounters, these losses, are awakened hopes that give the poetry of both John Montague and David McLoghlin their distinctive tone. Both demonstrate that the various states of Irish poetry, at home or overseas, are flourishing, providing varied riches to explore.

The World of Books By The Books Editor It has been hard recently to avoid the brouhaha surrounding the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond film. Christie’s have held an auction of Bond memorabilia– including the unwashed bathing trunks worn in Casino Royale. And there is also a TV channel now devoted to the Bond films. This is merely a prelude to the even more strenuous publicity for Skyfall, the very latest Bond film due out next week, in which Bond once again saves the world from evil. Over the years the Bond movies have become over time more and more preposterous. With the gadgets, fast cars, exotic locations, depraved villains, and beautiful but ever compliant girls – they appeal to the imagination of the 12-yearold male. They have also moved further too from the original novels, which were strange things, as was their creator Ian Fleming. His bother Peter having been a famous travel writer of the 1930s, Ian harboured literary ambitions from his youth. Bond is his revenge on his handsome sibling. During WWII Fleming had worked for British naval intelligence, and had been involved in Operation Mincemeat, ‘the man who never was’. This contact with the world of the secret service might be thought to give his books some authenticity. Not so. They derive almost directly from the reading of the 12-year-old Fleming, the world of John Buchan, Le Queux, and Bulldog Drummond, ‘clubland heroes’ of Edwardian and later thrillers. Flemings wartime associate, the poet and editor William Plomer worked for publisher Jonathan Cape. Fleming, by now Foreign Editor of The Sunday Times, often lunched with him. One day Fleming asked Plomer how, having got a woman to inhale, one could describe her exhaling. “You have written a novel,” Plomer exclaimed and asked to see it. Cape himself did not like it, but Plomer thought its combination of snobbery, sadism, a brand-name dropping suggesting a sophisticated world beyond that of potential readers, could sell. At first the novels only did moderately well. What changed Ian Fleming’s fortunes was when reporters on the US presidential campaign trail in 1960 noticed that Kennedy was reading Fleming and brought the novels to wider notice. Sales boomed in the USA. Two years later came the first movie. But Ian Fleming was unlucky enough that the first novels of Len Deighton and John le Carré appeared at this time. The Ipcress File and The Spy Who came in from the Cold gave a truer, grittier, more desolate view of the world of secret service. Not that ‘our game’ did not have its absurd side as Graham Greene, a wartime agent in Africa, described so well in Our Man in Havana (1958). Greene and his brother Hugh also compiled an amusing anthology The Spy’s Bedside Book, combing fiction with fact. However there is yet another side to espionage, as Graham Greene suggested in his book about Kim Philby. Spies in the Cold War may well have served the cause of peace by making sure that there were no secrets, that each side thought it knew exactly what the other side was doing, and so kept their attack capability more or less equal. But for Greene himself there was yet a further aspect to secret service, as he explained in his preface to Fr Philip Caraman’s Autobiography of John Gerard in 1951. Catholic priests like Gerard infiltrating the England of Elizabeth I were seen by the Queen’s spy masters as evil, dangerous men, truly endangering the peace of the realm and Queen herself. In his new book The Watchers: A Secret History of the Reign of Elizabeth I (Allen Lane, £20 / €28.60) Stephen Alford describes in grim detail how “night’s black agents”, as Shakespeare might have called them, kept the Protestant experiment alive by killing many English Catholics. Like Kim Philby, these Catholics were seen as ‘traitors’. Today we see them as courageous martyrs. Not all treason is betrayal. So when the latest Bond nonsense hits the screens, it would be as well to remember that there was a time when some English secret agents did actually carry a message that can indeed save the world from evil.

34 | CLASSIFED ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Classifieds

Contact Contactthe theClassified ClassifiedTeam Teamon on0101687 6874024 4024 ororemail emailadvertising@irishcatholic.ie advertising@irishcatholic.ie

Make a Connection CATHOLIC CONNECTIONS section

ROOM TO LET CANONISATION PRAYER Please Pray for the Canonisation of Little Nellie of Holy God ”May God enrich with every blessing all those who recommend frequent communion to little boys and girls proposing Nellie as their modal”. Pope St Pius X June 4 1912

FAITH SEMINAR

20% OFF

All Electric Profiling Beds & Mattresses, Riser Recliner & Comfort Chairs Wheelchairs and Walkers & Mobility Scooters (While stocks last) Only 1 hour from Lifestyle Mobility Ltd Dublin,Limerick,Cork Unit 1 Bay Road Business Park

Mountmellick Co. Laois Ph: 057-8644793 Fax: 057-8644794 Web: www.lifestylemobility.ie

Catholics United for the Faith how to bring loved ones back to God. Seminar taking place in St John Vianney Church, Artane, Dublin 5 on Saturday 27th October. Starting with Mass 10am (Fr. Rober Mann) Seminar 1030am to 5.30pm. Booking Essential. For further information Ph 087-7794687 or email marykeenankearns@vodafone.ie

BOOK LAUNCH Launch of book of truth The Warning and 2nd Coming – Maria of Divine Mercy prophet of our times with prayer books and seals, Thursday 25th October at 8pm AVILA, Bloomfield Avenue, Dublin 4 Ph 01-6430200 and Friday 26th October at 8pm All Hallows College, Drumcondra Ph 01-8520700.

The Irish Catholic PREPAID CLASSIFIED AD COUPON

Room to let in house in South County Dublin. Ensuite, TV, Convenient to buses, churches, shops, hospitals and UCD. Phone 087-2270009

Contact Séamus to place your listing Ph: 01 687 4024 Email: connections@irishcatholic.ie By post: Catholic Connections, The Irish Catholic, St Maryʼs, Bloomﬁeld Avenue, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.

CATHOLIC CONNECTIONS Tipperary Man 40s, small to medium build, interests theology, history, archeology, folklore, photography and literature. WLTM kind, caring, good looking lady for friendship and possible relationship. Write to Box number 5993 You and I will share kindness, love and laughter together. Absolute Gentleman, Dublin, single, house, car, 64, unpretentious, happy, no children, will adore you with romance and respect. Email aodhawn@gmail.com or write to Box number 5994 Single Professional Lady early 50s, Dublin based, refined, elegant, most caring, N/D, N/S, WLTM single/widower gent with true values, commitment, and deep faith, for friendship and possible relationship. Write to Box Number 5995 Connacht Male Single late 30s, 6’4, slim build, WLTM single lady, average height, N/S for friendship and possible relationship. Write To Box Number 5997

LONELY join the Catholic Unattached Directory. For a FREE info pack tel: 01 283 7888 or visit www.cathud.com

When replying to a box number please reply to: The Irish Catholic St Mary’s Ave Donnybrook Dublin 4

Please mark the box number clearly on the envelope

STATE UNDER WHICH HEADING YOUR AD IS TO APPEAR: Minimum charge of €24.60 (inc. VAT) for 5 lines (25 words). Extra lines €4.92 each.

No. of insertions:_____ weeks Miracle Prayer €40

Please print your advertisement in the coupon, placing ONE word in each space. Below, please print your name and address. Do you require a Box Number? YES � NO � (Please tick �) Box Number €6 extra.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

€24.60

€29.52 €34.44 Name and contact detail form MUST be filled out

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I enclose Cheque/PO: €................I wish to pay by Visa� Mastercard My Visa/Mastercard/Lasercard number is:

� Laser �

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......................................................................... Expiry Date: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Landline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mobile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ThePlease Irish Catholic, St Marys, Bloomfield Avenue, Morehampton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Phone: 01 687 4024 return this form and payment to: FREEPOST, The Irish Catholic, Irish Farm Centre, Bluebell, Dublin 12. TELEPHONE: 01-4276488

| CLASSIFIED ||35

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

Classiﬁeds

Contact the Classiﬁed Team on 01 687 4024 or email advertising@irishcatholic.ie

LEGACIES

VOCATIONS

Every week the generocity of our readers is reﬂected om the number of donations we recieve for various charities and organisations. Payments sent to The Irish Catholic are forwarded to the nominated charities every month. We do not charge for this service ST. JOSEPH’S PENNY DINNERS

J.S.S.

€70.00

SIGHTSAVERS

B. MCH

€15.00

SIGHTSAVERS

E.C&M.C

€50.00

ST. ANTHONY’S BREAD

E.C & M.C

€50.00

BROTHER KEVIN

M.A.W

€10.00

SIGHTSAVERS

B.A.C 5

€40.00

ST ANTHONY’S DINNERS

A SEMPLE

£10.00

AID TO CHURCH IN NEED

E.C.

£50.00

IONA INSTITUTE

A.F.D

£250.00

ST. ANTHONY’S BREAD

P.H

€10.00

ST. ANTHONY’S BREAD

ANON

€50.00

DIRECT

MASS Sacred Heart Fathers 66 Inchicore Road, Dublin 8, Ph:01-4538655

A Novena of Masses for the Holy Souls

Will be offered by the Sacred Heart Fathers At the above address

2 November to 10 November. nd

Please send the names of those you wish to be included And any offering you choose to make, however small, to Fr Jim Lawless scj

SERVICES ALL UNWANTED home waste removed. Cookers, fridges, beds, suites, wardrobes, carpets etc. Removed and disposed of in a proper manner. No job too small or big. Contact Tommy on 087-6406015

PROPERTY SWAP Holiday home located in Achill Island, in walk in condition with two bedrooms. Would be willing to swap for similar home elsewhere in the country. Please reply by writing to Box Number 5996

If you would like to advertise in The Irish Catholic contact Seamus Mc Cormack on 01-687 4020 or email seamus@irishcatholic.ie

To Order: Call 01-2962333 Oscillating Halogen Heater

Soup Maker

Freshly prepared home-made soup in minutes Create your own ready-to-serve soup, packed with vitamins and minerals, in under 20 minutes. Just add your ingredients and stock, and let the soup blender chop, simmer and blend for you! You can make thick, chunky or smooth pureed soups or use it as a regular blender to make smoothies, juices and sorbets. Includes ONLY instructions and serving suggestions. inc. p&p

Buy one for €39.90 inc. p&p and get a 2nd unit for just €15.00!

Just plug it into the mains power supply and, without chemicals, it emits virtually silent pulses of ultrasonic waves. In just a few weeks, it will dramatically reduce the dust mite population and help relieve allergies. It will easily cover an entire, average sized bedroom and is effective against dust mites in mattresses, bedding, pillows, carpets, upholstery and curtains. It will not affect pets.

The deep filled channel stitched ‘high loft’ pockets will keep you cosy through the chilliest of nights. The 100% pure cotton cover is smooth and soft and the elastic retainer straps keep the Topper firmly in place.

€49.90 inc. p&p

inc. p&p

TIC1759A – Halogen Heater x1 – Price: €39.90 TIC1759B - Halogen Heater x2 – Price: €54.90

Product Code: TIC1037

Jet Wash Adapter

Big Button Mobile Flip Phone

Transform your hosepipe into a pressure washer Included are two brass head fittings that allow you switch between jet and flat brush spray patterns. Ideal for cleaning cars, boats, patios, walls, decking, etc.

Simple to use, easy to read display

ONLY

€39.90 inc. p&p

Measures 77cm and fits to your standard hose.

Designed with simplicity in mind, our stylish flip phone has large buttons, large displays and easy to use menus perfect for anyone with visual or hand mobility problems. It has a one key emergency SOS button, speed dialling, a torch and a camera. Just insert your current SIM and you are all ready to go!

FROM

€89.90 inc. p&p

Product Code: TIC2503

€54.90

Single: €69.90 inc. p&p Double: €84.90 inc. p&p King: €99.90 inc. p&p

inc. p&p

ONLY

FROM

Available in Single (90x190cm), Double (135x190cm) or King (150cmx200cm) sizes.

€39.90

Product Code: TIC3379

Dust Mite Controller

100% Soft White Duck Feather

Warm your room in seconds! Running costs are from an amazing 5cent per hour and you have 3 heat levels(400W/800W/1200W). It has grill security, a wide-angle oscillating function, overheat protection and anti-fall security features so that the unit cuts out if it tilts or falls. ONLY

€129.90

Luxury Feather Mattress Topper

Product Code: TIC1854

Call: 01-2962333 Post To: The Irish Catholic Offers, Markettown, Unit 18, Churchtown Business Park, Dublin 14 (cheques/PO’s payable to Markettown – please include a contact phone number for delivery)

Product Code: TIC1838

36 | COMMENT ||

The Irish Catholic, October 18, 2012

NoteBook Mary Kenny

The endurance of female religious €1850 €25

€300

€ € € € €

€6.50

e are sometimes told that religious sisters are a species in decline, and indeed the muchrespected Margaret MacCurtain, Sister Benvenuta, once opened a speech with the word: “I am a dinosaur!” The nuns we once knew would soon be among the ‘last of the Mohicans’ as religious orders diminished and convents closed down. At the conference in Limerick on Vatican II last week - organised by Mary Immaculate College – this question arose: if Vatican II brought such a spirit of renewal, why did it empty the convents? Many nuns left their orders as a consequence of re-examining their vocations, and perhaps of the new freedoms which Vatican II brought to their lives. It was suggested that the 1960s opened up new opportunities for women, and new

educational choices. Some nuns had joined convents because they wanted a chance to study and convent life offered that opportunity. Before the 1960s, educational choices for women (and for many other people – working-class men, too) were restricted, and in consequence, so were career choices. Most women just didn’t get to third level education. Some sisters came to feel that their vocation lay in other directions and that they could serve in other ways. Some sisters came to realise that they would like to marry, and the stigma of leaving the convent was now lessened or dissolved. All these reasons are valid, and since a vocation should be voluntary, it was surely better to leave convent life than to stay for the sake of conformity, fear or the subtle pressures of coercion. Among the nuns who

stayed, there doesn’t seem to be any bitterness towards those who made other choices. And some of the nuns who remained were, possibly, all the more committed for having reflected on their choices and re-dedicated themselves to the religious life. I was hugely impressed by the nuns I encountered at the Limerick conference: dedicated, cheerful, intelligent and good-humoured women who seemed to be leading fulfilling lives, very much at the heart of their local communities. One Sister of Mercy nun told me that she received “nothing but support” from the local people, who were altogether involved with the nuns’ ministry, and usually grateful for their pastoral care. The convents did, indeed, empty after Vatican II, but religious life for women endured, and almost certainly improved.

Mary and the Anglicans I also attended a reunion lunch for veteran feminists last week and when conversation turned to Mary McAleese’s recent television interview with Gay Byrne, reaction was very positive. The consensus was that Mary made a brilliant success of the broadcast. Yet I get the impression Mary is a little naïve when it comes to her judgement about the Anglican Church. She seems to think that Rome should emulate the Anglicans with their greater ‘democracy’ in electing a leader and discoursing on values. I’m married to an Anglican and I know that Mary’s analysis is not shared by all Anglicans. Many feel that the Anglican communion is far too easily pulled apart by the various factions which jostle for power within the Church. The pro-female-bishops faction is at daggers drawn with the anti-female-bishops faction, and the homosexuality issue has split the Church – creating a virtual schism with the African churches. Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, is stepping down and a successor should emerge later

in October. Rowan Williams – a decent man, though I’m not sure if he should have accepted the Welsh honour of becoming an ofﬁcial Druid – was driven to distraction by his Church’s factionalism. The search now is for someone who can unite the Anglicans, but the problem is the candidates are catagorised according to their factional support. Dr Peter Broadbent, Bishop of Willesden, told the BBC that “the major fault line in the Anglican Church… is the divide between liberal members and traditionalists” - and he is not

conﬁdent that any candidate can bridge that divide. Prime Minister Cameron and Queen Elizabeth must also approve of the candidate chosen, which adds a further political coloration. The Catholic Church has over a billion adherents, world-wide: if you’re going to provide any semblance of unity, indeed of ‘catholicity’, you have to have a certain level of authority which will be respected, not endless squabbling about doctrine and values. Though certainly dissent on matters of conscience should be tolerated.

A slur on Michael Collins It’s daft of David Norris to suggest that Michael Collins “was gay”. British Intelligence tracked Collins’ every move – spies

even noted each candle he lit at Brompton Oratory, and elsewhere, during the London Treaty talks. If he’d had sexual rela-

tionships with men, then illegal, MI5 would certainly have known about it, and it would have emerged in the archives.