Masses Today

6.30 Mary Ann Daly, (Anniv)
11.00 Patrick & Winnifred O'Connor, (Anniv)
6.30 Fr. Gerard Cunnane, (Anniv)



COPE

COPE provides the following emergency accommodation: COPE also provides the following services for the elderly:




Diploma Course in Theology and Community Development

This two year part-time course is being offered on Tuesday nights at NUl, Galway. It is designed for beginners and will provide a basic introduction to key aspects of our Christian faith and to the theory and skills of community development. Application forms and further information from The Secretary, Western Theological Institute, 16, University Road, Galway, Telephone 581711






AS I WAS SAYING...

Mary Coughlan, Minister for Social and Family Affairs, has attempted to provoke a public debate on the evolving nature of the Irish family. Earlier this year she announced a series of five family fora to 'take the pulse of the nation' on how best the Government can support family life. She explained her reasons:
There are ever-increasing pressures on families, and a number of themes emerged during the first forum meeting. These included problems relating to relationships, economic pressures on families, child-care, care of the elderly, and a range of other topics.

It is not easy to define "family" today. Sociologists like Fr Harry Bohan have pointed to the fact that the family has experienced massive change in a short period of time. It has moved very quickly from the extended family, through the nuclear family, to the single parent family. For the sake of clarity and convenience, I will focus on two very identifiable phases in the evolution of the Irish family.

Phase One: Up to the 1960s, Irish life revolved around the two systems of family and community.
The family of the 30s, 40s, 50s had a number of very powerful characteristics. The traditional family was uncompromisingly dominated by the "boss". Sons even into their middle age, were given little authority. There were clear sets of male and female tasks. Most of the heavy work was done by the male whilst the woman dominated activities within and to some extent around the house. Practically every family had other adults, apart from parents, associated with it - grandparents, unmarried uncles, aunts, neighbours and friends. The whole family was conscious of their dependence on God. Prayer was important, necessary and habitual. A lot of learning took place within the home and there was a lot of sharing. Because future occupational positions were more or less fixed, parents thought more of their children's future character than careers - will they be honest, level-headed, honourable - bringing esteem to the family? Will they respect us in our old age?

Phase Two: This phase began in the 1960s with an unprecedented level of prosperity and with the introduction of television. The latter introduced powerful images, ideas, values and new authority figures. There was a dramatic decline in the large three generation household. The position of the elderly altered radically with the decline of the extended household. The number of single parent families became a definite phenomenon. In 1980, the nuclear family accounted for only 45% of all households. If family life is to be as significant as it was in the past, we must be clearer about the external structures which will enable us to meet these objectives.

Generally, the work practices which have developed do not seem conducive to a healthy family life. With the emergence of rugged individualism, community and family breakdown have increased. This may be why we are beginning to see the re-emergence of the community concepts in so many areas. We now have community watch, community colleges, community health care, and community hospitals. The Minister's call for a national debate is long overdue. I hope the Church's contribution extends beyond worn clichés this time.

-Dick Lyng.




MAN; REST IN PEACE

An Oxford genetics professor has announced that man's demise is nigh, perhaps within the next 125,000 years. It is a savage blow. Man seemed so healthy. He had been running the marathon since 490bc. And his determination wasn't flagging. His continued refusal to say "I don't know" when asked a question distinguished him from contemporaries such as bioluminescent plankton and women. The enormous sensitivity he showed females late in his existence (he never mentioned his wilder, Neanderthal days) seemed to ensure he would not just survive but prevail. Sadly, it was not to be.

One of the most highly regarded members of the global community, man did more for gentlemen's clubs than any other organism. He also designed and built the Sphinx, invented a lot of utensils, created the Olympic Games, and eventually fixed the boiler. He was strong, protective, and never needed a hairdryer. Amusingly, he could eat seven biscuits at a time and watch hours of sport on television without moving anything but his eyelid muscles. He married repeatedly and had countless children.

Like anyone in the media spotlight, man had his detractors. Some wives complained about his inability to cut his toenails quietly or put the loo seat down. Others called him a workaholic. At times he was labelled "aggressive". Letting his beard grow on holiday and declaring war didn't seem to help. So man did some rebranding, deftly defusing his critics with the catchy new "mankind". It is now a household word.

But for all the battles man waged and won, he could not defeat the threat within. He got through the Bronze Age, the Black Death and Germaine Greer, only to discover that his Y -chromosome was a lemon. While a woman has two Xs which constantly "recombine" to heal each other, man had just one lone X along with that imperfect Y. It made natural repair impossible. Mutation and damage accumulated in man over generations. Eventually, his fertility fizzled out.

Man was devastated, but reacted to the news with customary courage. A colleague remembered fondly how, when asked what he would do next, man said: "No one ever asked the primordial soup that. And I've got a lot more going for me than soup." What remains remarkable is that man never lost sight of the dream he had since he was a single-celled organism: to buy that BMW convertible. And eventually, he thought to himself; he might just get round to fixing those chromosomes.

-London Times, September 3rd, 2003.




MEMORABLE QUOTES






ALICE LEAHY

Alice Leahy is a nurse and co-founder of Trust, which was set up in 1975 to provide medical and related services for homeless people. Up to thirty men and women call each day on Alice Leahy and her team in the Iveagh Hostel in Dublin's Liberties. They range in years from 18 to 80. The philosophy of Trust is based on two principles: the recognition of every person's autonomy and the respect owed to them as unique human beings; and the need to restore the dignity of people whom society has labelled deficient, deviant or undesirable. The success of Trust is due, in large measure, to this exceptional and quietly determined lady.

(Below Alice tells her story in her own words):

When I came to Dublin to train as a nurse, you had very little time off. I felt that, in the time off I had, I wanted to get to know the city and, particularly when I worked as a midwife in the Rotunda, I came across families living in extreme poverty who were, nonetheless, contented or, at least, appeared to be contented human beings. I then did voluntary work with Voluntary Services International in the city and a group of us were involved in visiting the elderly and mothers and children and setting up a youth group in Benburb Street. I worked as a night sister and I was invited to go to London to set up an intensive care unit (the first of its kind), but I felt I didn't have the time to do the voluntary work I was doing; and while I see the importance and the role of technology in medicine, I also missed the hands-on work, which I think is vital. I decided to give up being a nursing sister and went to work in Simon. I remember the consultant setting up an appointment for me to see a psychiatrist - and he really meant it, because I had given up a good job! I got to know the founder of Simon. I worked there for a number of months and it was very tough. After it, I felt you either never wanted to see a homeless person again or you wanted to do something about it, so I went to England to do some private nursing to make some money. A number of things happened. One night, a woman who was very battered and bruised and physically unattractive, was ill, and there was a young attractive doctor there in the hospital we brought her to, I think one of the most attractive men I had ever seen in my life. He was beautiful, and he threw his arms around her because he knew her. That act changed my life. I came back to Dublin resolved to work with and for the homeless.

In 1974 I became Assistant National Director of Simon. But the main part of our work was visiting the Simon shelter once a week with a doctor and a nurse team. There were people with appalling medical problems, people who had experienced terrible violence; but there was a great sense of hope amid all the hopelessness. This hope led eventually to the establishment of TRUST in 1975. A dream had come true.

Alice's efforts have been recognised with several awards, including a Person of the Year Award (1988); Carers Award (1992); Lord Mayors Award (1993) and an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (1999). Alice sees these awards as recognition of the work of TRUST.






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