Sunday Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30: (Vigil) Mary Barrett, (Anniv).
11.00: Catherine Kelly, (Bowling Green), (Anniv).
6.30: Michael John O'Connor, (Anniv).

As I Was Saying...

"Where were you when Kennedy was shot?" That question anchors the experience of an entire generation. But, thirty nine years ago today, on July 20th 1969, our generation was presented with a question to rival the Kennedy one: "Where were you when the first man landed on the moon?" But was it a more significant story than the Kennedy killing? If we attach significance to the fulfillment of humanity's dreams, then the moon landing far outranks the Kennedy killing. As early as 1865, Jules Verne had written his uncannily prophetic novel, 'From the Earth to the Moon'. That dream was now a reality. For the first time ever, man slipped his earthly shackles and stepped on to a celestial object. However, it is hardly valid to present both stories (the Kennedy killing and the moon landing) as rivals. It is doubtful if the moon landing would have happened without the Kennedy presidency. In a 1961 speech, Kennedy had announced his objective of "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth" before the end of the decade.

However, the moon landing was a very different story. Every moment of the voyage was pre-programmed. An army of reporters ticked off the events as they happened, mostly to the second as planned, while waiting for something to go wrong. While the moon landing was a big story, a moon crash would have been much bigger and better. That is the nature of news. History belongs to a different stable.

What was the moon landing all about then? Primarily, it was a race for prestige between the Americans and the Soviets. When the race was over, the world lost interest. No moon landing has been attempted for over 30 years. Attention now turns to Mars. George Bush introduced a space programme that would culminate in a Mars landing by 2020. "We choose to explore space because doing so lifts our national spirit. So let us continue the journey" he explained. But the programme will cost at least $100 billion.

For what? The gains from space exploration are not obvious. Shouldn't we first conquer this planet, using our technical knowledge to make it totally habitable before we go swanning off to others? Of course we will never know whether we are alone in this vast universe. For argument's sake, suppose that the 12 thousand million years of cosmic uproar eventually produced just us. Then this earth must be a thing of infinite preciousness. What madness, then, that we are systematically despoiling it, hastening the day when it is uninhabitable. And if we humans have unique rarity value in the universe, why are we busy killing and oppressing one another? It would be tragic, if the final judgment (assuming there is someone out there to make it) should be that planet earth is the madhouse of the universe. Even in our time, many human beings agree. And the biggest story of the 20th century then, the one with the greatest consequences, that is? The two World Wars? Nationalism? Fall of Communism? Moon Landing? Would you believe, the Internet?

-Dick Lyng

POWER TO CHANGE

An American evangelical group called 'Power to Change' conducted a survey in Ireland on religious attitudes in July, 2000. (This group has roots in 'Campus Crusade for Christ', a group well-known in UCG in the 1970s). Some of the more unusual responses to their detailed survey came from a group of 25-34-year-old men in Tullamore, Co. Offaly. The research found them to be "the most difficult group to appeal to...cynical and do not see a place for Jesus Christ in their life right now...need a more flexible Jesus Christ than the one they learned about."

Asked "Who is Jesus Christ?" their replies included - "a virgin", "a man with a beard", "A swear word" and "he never did anything wrong".

Questioned as to how the Power to Change message -that Jesus is good for you- might fit into their lives, one responded "you don't want to listen to somebody throwing a bible down your throat." Another reacted simply, "Jehovah's Witness, wacko cult." Still another: "I think I'd have to be at my lowest ebb before you'd believe something like that. You'd really have to be desperate."

The research found that the men "have some beliefs but are anti-Church. They are quite laid-back and showed little concern for issues raised in other groups." However, they still "enjoy a few pints with the lads, but also yearn for long term relationships."

-Patsy McGarry, Irish Times.

Seeing the Bigger Picture

The auxiliary bishop of Armagh, Dr Gerard Clifford, has refused to be drawn on whether St Brigid's Shrine at Faughart, Co. Louth, would feature in the itinerary for a papal visit to Ireland. When asked to comment on a request by Faughart's parish priest that the patron saint's birthplace be included in the itinerary should Pope Benedict make a trip to Ireland, the bishop joked that he would not have far to travel from his home - he lives at Ravensdale - if the Pope did decide to stop at Faughart.

"Should the Pope decide to visit Ireland, any decisions on the itinerary would be made at national level," Dr Clifford stressed (safely).

Faughart Parish priest Fr Christy McElwee went for broke when he made the call to have any proposed papal visit to Ireland include Faughart on its itinerary during a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Seán Brady to mark the 75th National Pilgrimage to the Shrine.

Fr McElwee's remarks were greeted by the congregation at the oratory for the pilgrimage with a huge round of applause. The Cardinal's reactions however, were not recorded.

GOOD NEWS FOR THE POOR

Plans have been published for a new housing and care project for elderly people in Ennis, Co Clare, which is being built on a site worth €10 million which Bishop Willie Walsh of Killaloe has donated free of charge.

The Care Centre will include a kitchen and dining area, recreational facilities, clinical centre and bathrooms as well as six housing units and three semi-detached houses.

Last October, Bishop Walsh announced that his diocese was donating the 15-acre site beside the town's Cahercalla Community Hospital to help provide specially-designed housing for Ennis's burgeoning population of elderly people. A specially appointed Committee has now embarked on a campaign to raise the necessary €2m to proceed with building the elderly housing development.

The Day Care centre will cater for sixty people and take pressure off acute hospitals, by providing the elderly with good quality residential and daycare services and minimising admissions to hospitals and care institutions.

The most recent census showed there are some 1,300 elderly people living in Ennis, most of whom live alone, and the number of senior citizens in the town is expected to grow significantly further in the coming years.

The bishop said that the Church holding a lot of land for itself was "not in any way part of the Gospel" and it had "an obligation to act responsibly" with such resources.

Dr Walsh said there was no room in any Church for "simply exploiting the market" and it had "an obligation to act in a responsible way in this regard".

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