Parish Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30 Gregory Hehir, (1st Anniv).
12.00 Róisín Coyle & Máire MacNeill, (Anniv).
6.30 Bridie Ryan, (2nd Anniv).

AS I WAS SAYING.....

Over the last thirty years Enda McDonagh (of Tuam and Maynooth) has stood head and shoulders above his peers as an interpreter of 'the signs of the times' in Ireland. His observations are invariably perceptive, courageous and always worth attending to. He has served the Irish church faithfully over a long period of time, and at no little cost to himself. (Three times he was the first choice of the priests of Tuam for archbishop; three times Rome had other ideas). While every 'dog and devil' had their say at the recent death of John Paul II and at the election of his successor, McDonagh kept his head down and his powder dry! He eventually broke his silence in the current issue of 'The Furrow'.

While acknowledging the colossus that John Paul was, McDonagh sees a 'shadow side'. And that 'shadow side involved another death: the unwitting death of Vatican II:

In assuming the office of Pope he clearly intended to carry on the programme begun by the Council. That this did not happen or did not happen effectively was for complex reasons, too long to detail here. The one outstanding reason was the strength and success of the Pope himself. He bestrode the Catholic Church to such an extent that the bishops and theologians who had been the architects of Vatican II and the faithful who had so warmly welcomed it, were overshadowed and indeed overwhelmed. What might have been the era of the flourishing of the Council and its collegial bearers, became an era as never before of the flourishing of the Pope. The intellectual vitality, personal holiness, the incessant travel and the radical centralisation of all authority in Rome produced a superstar in whose shadow local bishops, cast by Rome for the parts, became bit players and their charter renewed at Vatican II was sadly diminished. In the mixture of great good and inevitable damage which such a long and vigorous papacy involved, the death or at least serious diminution of the Vatican Council and its spirit must enter into the calculations of the Pope's heirs and their assessment of the Church's future.

McDonagh believes it would be a serious mistake to use either John Paul's career or the programme of Vatican II as blueprints for the future. What is required now is a programme for nothing less than 'the resurrection of the Church'. The Church should create a deliberate, conscious breathing-space of -say- five years. A new universal consultation with bishops, pastors and people must begin. This programme will have to start at local level. The centralising drive of the recent papacy will need to yield to the spiritual vision and energy of household, parish and diocese. There were at least two serious theological mistakes at work here. First, the radical equality of Christians which baptism establish was ignored. Second, 'authority as service' was replaced by an understanding of authority as power. The message preached must be a 'seamless robe': dialogue is every bit as vital for the church as for the world.

-Dick Lyng.

BY THE WAY...

BITS AND PIECES

MEMORABLE QUOTES

Before You Go........

An old Rabbi was lying dangerously ill in his bed and his disciples were holding a reverend, whispered conversation by his bedside. They were extolling his unrivalled virtues.

"Not since the time of Solomon has there been one as wise as he," said one of them tearfully. "And his faith! It equals that of our father Abraham!" said another. "Surely his patience surpasses that of Job," said a third. "Only in Moses can we find someone who conversed as intimately with God," said a fourth.

The rabbi seemed restless. When his disciples had gone, his wife said to him, "Did you actually hear them sing your praises?"

"I did indeed," said the rabbi.

"Then why are you so worried?" asked the wife.

"My modesty," complained the rabbi. "Not one of them mentioned my great modesty!"

-From "Taking Flight", by Anthony de Mello.