Sunday Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30: Edward Egan, (Anniv).
11.00: Stephen Concannon, (Anniv).
6.30: Bridie Mannion, (Anniv).

As I Was Saying...

The name Tom Cheasty will ring a bell with the older hurling aficionados among you. Cheasty played centre forward for Waterford for three decades (50s, 60s & 70s). His two goals against Kilkenny in the All Ireland Final replay of 1959 elevated him to legendary status. In 1963, Cheasty won a National Hurling League medal. At that time it was the custom to play the 2nd leg of the League in New York, a reward for the Irish amateurs and a boost for the GAA in New York. To a young Waterford fellow in the 1960s, this was the lottery in spades!

On the Friday after the League Final, Cheasty was in Waterford city, still celebrating his achievement of the previous Sunday. Mick Delahunty, Ireland's answer to Glen Millar, was playing in the Olympia Ballroom in the city. Cheasty made his way to the Olympia and abandoned himself to the subversive delights of 'the Millar Sound'.

A few days later, Cheasty received a letter from the Waterford County Board. It informed him that he had attended a 'foreign' dance in the Olympic Ballroom, organised by and for the local Bohemians soccer club. Since this event qualified as 'a promotion of foreign games', the offender (Cheasty) qualified under Rule 21 of the GAA Handbook for a six-month ban from participating in any event organised by the GAA. Cheasty's plans of travelling to New York died on the ground that day! Invariably, the most frequent victims of the infamous 'Ban' were the most loyal sons of the GAA!

An Irish Rubicon will be crossed at Croke Park today. Only men such as Tom Cheasty will appreciate its full extent. It signals the end of a peculiarly Gaelic brand of pettiness and heralds the beginning of a new confidence. There has always been a 'special relationship' between the GAA and the Catholic Church. The association has a Catholic archbishop as its patron. Hence, the GAA has often been referred to as 'the Irish Catholic Church at play'. In fact, in dealing with so-called 'outside bodies', the Catholic Church showed itself to be even more petty than the GAA. In many diocese in Ireland, attendance without permission at a Protestant Service (even a neighbour's funeral) was deemed to be of such gravity that it had to be confessed to the local bishop! By comparison, Tom Cheasty got away lightly!

There are parallels between the Augustinian's use of St. Nicholas' Church and the Croke Park scene. Lines of prejudice have been crossed to the mutual enrichment of both communities. Just as our use of St. Nicholas would not have been possible without Vatican II, the event at Croke Park today would not have been possible without The Good Friday Agreement. The mundane event itself is not that important. Its significance lies in its symbolic value. Today would not have been possible without the hard work of many generous and open minds. I hope Tom Cheasty has a good seat in the Hogan stand this afternoon. He should. We have made a long but essential journey.

-Dick Lyng

Items of Some Interest

Many Thanks

Dear Friends,

I would like to thank, most sincerely, the Augustinian Community and the many parishioners who extended prayers and good wishes to me during my recent illness and my ongoing recuperation. The kindness and genuine concern expressed by all was a great support to Kate and myself during what was a very difficult period. That concern and support was deeply appreciated by both of us. Masses will be offered for all your intentions.

With every good wish,
Liam O'Connell.

Global Warming

The verdict of the Panel on Climate Change is in. Global Warming is seriously affecting our planet. The melting of mountain glaciers is a very visible manifestation. But this most recent report simply confirms what we already suspected. Because irrefutable evidence had already come from very reliable and first-hand witnesses, as it were: in 1991, hikers in the Austrian Alps discovered an intact male human body protruding from a glacier. Apparently trapped in a storm more than 5,000 years ago and quickly covered with snow and ice, his body was remarkably well preserved. In 1999, another body was found in a melting glacier in the Yukon Territory of western Canada. Our ancestors are emerging from the ice with an urgent message for us: the earth is getting warmer.

What causes this 'warming'? Human activity is largely responsible. Choices we make today will decide the future of our climate. The energy we use for heating and transport comes from fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. The carbon dioxide given off in this process traps the sun's heat in the earth's atmosphere - acting like a greenhouse. Hence, global warming.

Whatever about the causes, the consequences are enormous. For example, the 10 million inhabitants in Lima depend on glacial runoffs for their water. The Ganges, Mekong and Yangtze all depend on the Himalayan glaciers. One third of humanity depend on these rivers for their food production.

The impact on others species on the planet will be equally bleak. Scientists led by Dr. Chris Thomas of Leeds University estimate that global warming will cause the extinction of at least one quarter of the species of the planet.

Most scientists have long recognised the problems. Yet it has taken the Christian Churches a much longer time to heed the wake up call. Maybe the Churches thought that climate was not their concern, concentrating their attention instead on poverty, particularly in the developing world, and backing campaigns on debt relief and trade justice. There was little understanding of the intimate connection between climate change and poverty. But the connection between both is clear today: it is the people of Bangladesh, the farmers of Ethiopia and the fishermen of the Pacific Islands who are suffering the most from increased flooding, storms and ruined crops. Yet it is the developed industrial world that produces over 95% of the carbon dioxide. Our prodigious consumption is destroying the livelihood and, ultimately, lives of the most vulnerable.

The story of Eden tells us that man was given dominion over the earth. But that dominion bestowed upon us responsibility. Instead we took it to mean the right to wastefully exploit the earth's riches. Now we face a crisis. This crisis requires real conversion - a true change of heart which will help us see the world in a different way. One of the strongest strands of Christian thinking is the importance of the common good - that we should aspire to shared or public values which ultimately contribute to the good of all members of the community. This surely provides us with the ethical basis for dealing with climate change, for the protection of habitats and ecosystems on which we all depend. Climate change is not just a problem for scientists or even an economic issue. It is a moral one.

-Dick Lyng.

Benedict: A Progress Report

Joseph Ratzinger's election to the papacy was greeted in many quarters with utter dismay. But many conservatives were weeping for joy.

There has followed so far, however, a papacy that has surprised all shades. Benedict has made conciliatory overtures towards the traditionalist followers of Marcel Lefevre. Yet conservative champions such as Richard Bauhaus have voiced "palpable uneasiness" at Benedict's refusal to take a hard line within the Church. Even Hans Kung has been brought in from the cold. One would have liked to have been a fly on the wall during Benedict's four-hour conversation with his former colleague.

Pope Benedict knows he has none of the Christian machismo of his predecessor, and he does not try to emulate him. His style is at the opposite pole. He takes the limelight only when necessary.

"John Paul expressed himself in gestures, Benedict gives great space to words. This will be a pontificate of concepts and words." said one observer. Sometimes the words have gone wrong, notably in the Greenberg lecture which so offended Muslims. But Benedict apologised and recovered lost ground through his visit to Turkey.

So has the Rottweiler (as he was known during his 24 years at the Holy Office) changed into a gentle German shepherd?

(The Tablet, 8.02.07).

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