Sunday Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30: (Vigil) Bryan Flaherty, (Anniv).
11.00: Joe Dolan (Bowling Green), (Anniv).
6.30: O'Leary, Lyne and Scullion family members, RIP.

As I Was Saying...

This week will be an historic one for the Irish Catholic Church. Whether it will be an important one or not is another question. The Irish bishops travel to Rome to meet with the Pope. (The media states they were 'summoned'; the Vatican claims they were 'invited'!)

The purpose of the meeting itself is very vague. Pope Benedict wishes 'to consult with the bishops ahead of issuing his special pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland on the abuse crisis,' according to one source.

And what of the Pastoral Letter itself? What should we expect from this? A Catholic journal says that "the letter will not be overly concerned with the current administrative, bureaucratic and organizational problems of the Irish church. Rather, it is expected to offer encouragement to the faithful, reminding them of the crucial role of the early Irish church in the spread of Christianity." Sounds like a pious, papal pep-talk!

Others, perhaps working from 'inspired leaks', have predicted a more concrete approach. They say Rome will insist on a structural re-organisation of the Irish diocesan system. (The present shape dates from the 12th century). Apparently Rome favours reducing the number of dioceses from the current 26 to as few as 12. The population of some smaller rural dioceses would be similar in size to that of Dublin's larger urban parishes. The diocesan structure is indeed creaking and outdated.

Nevertheless, I am puzzled why the focus should fall on the smaller rural dioceses just now. After all, Dublin is at the eye of this particular hurricane. It is by far the largest and most unwieldy diocese in the country, covering as it does all of County Dublin, and extensive tracts of five other counties. It would make much more sense now to divide Dublin into two diocese, rather than amalgamating the smaller ones. Common sense tells us that smaller houses are more easily managed! Will this proposal run? Who is setting the agenda? It's hardly Clonfert!

For the present, confusion must replace certainty. The once monolithic hierarchy is now obviously divided. This might be no bad thing. Unanimity is no great servant of the truth. It often concealed 'sullen assent'. Martin Drennan is to be admired for putting his head above the parapet in the interests of truth as he saw it, and of his own integrity.

Expectations of this Roman visit should be lowered. But be sure of this: if the Church is to be reformed at all, it will be reformed from within. Journalists with proposals for 'reform' have no interest in the welfare of the Church. They regard it as a mere 'quarry' from which they daily feed their voracious 'flock'!

But the bishops should approach Rome and its agents with some circumspection too. There may well be an attempt here to cast the Irish bishops as the sole villains of the piece, while Rome hovers above the mess, innocent and uninvolved. That would be unfair and untrue. (See below). A 9th century Irish monk, on returning from Rome, entered the following cautionary reflection in the margins of his manuscript:

To go to Rome,
Is little profit, endless pain
The Master that you seek in Rome
You'll find at home, or seek in vain.

Irish bishops, please note!

-Dick Lyng

Items of Great Interest

Sex and Power

What has happened in our Church as a result of a problematic relationship between sex and power is that there has developed a culture of "don't ask, don't tell" as described in the Murphy report, but it is much more pervasive than this one issue.

Catholics who have questioned this relationship have been ignored - sometimes silenced, more often simply regarded by the establishment as disloyal. This has resulted in an intellectual mediocrity and a culture in which often good people (lay, Religious and clerical) keep quiet instead of submitting beliefs to intelligent scrutiny. And it is out of this mistaken culture of loyalty that the pool of bishops is replenished, thus perpetuating the institutional blind spot.

By way of exception in Ireland, a bishop like Willie Walsh has voiced his concern about a raft of church sexual teaching, echoing the questioning he has heard from committed Catholics of his diocese. This, you would imagine, is what a bishop ought to do. But, at best, there has been a deafening silence from his fellow bishops, who in this respect seem to view their role more as vicars of the Pope than, as Vatican II would have it, vicars of Christ.

Now is a good time to call into question the reality that certain narrow grounds of orthodoxy are a sine qua non of episcopal appointments at present, and to call for more transparent and accountable local, including lay, participation in the appointment of bishops. It's instructive to note that as recently as 1829, of 646 diocesan bishops in the Latin Church, only 24 had been appointed by the Pope: often we forget how new many of our "traditions" are.

-Fr Gerry O'Hanlon, former Provincial of the Irish Jesuits.

Haiti Coffee Morning

Sr. Rose Kelly is working with the poor in Haiti. Sr Rose previously worked at Salerno school, and later with the Travelling Community in Hillside. She went to Haiti 5 years ago. The Raffle fundraiser will be held tomorrow, Monday from 10.00am to 1.30pm in the Vincent de Paul premises, No. 1 Mill Street. Donations of cakes, scones, tarts, and so on, would be much appreciated. We would also welcome books, tapes, unwanted Christmas gifts for our 'jumble sale' that morning! Contact Margaret at 086-3503413.

Lenten Programme, 2010

We are offering three nights on St. Luke's gospel for Lent this year. Each session begins at 8.00 and ends at 9.30.

  1. Wednesday, February 24th: First session: "Luke, the Story teller."
  2. Wednesday March 3rd: Second session: "Luke's Portrait of Jesus". (Little problem here: We had planned a Steering Committee meeting for this night. Must rearrange it).
  3. Wednesday, March 10th: Third session: 'Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road?' Revisiting the Road to Emmaus.
  4. Monday, March 29th, first day of Holy Week: Seder Meal in the Augustinian Priory. This is a shared effort between ourselves and the parishioners of St. Nicholas'. We will have to limit places to 40 at most, so tickets allocated on a 'first come, first served' basis.

Augustinian Youth

The English Augustinians will host the 10th annual Augustinian Youth Encounter from 9-15 August 2010 in London. They look forward to welcoming 350 young adults from around the Augustinian world. There you can share with other young people through prayer, workshops and socialising. Check out the website at www.aye10.org or contact Noel Hession through this website... just hit the contact button.

The Lent Lily

'Tis spring; come out to ramble
The hilly brakes around,
For under thorn and bramble
About the hollow ground
The primroses are found.

And there's the windflower chilly
With all the winds at play,
And there's the Lenten lily
That has not long to stay
And dies on Easter day.

And since till girls go maying
You find the primrose still,
And find the windflower playing
With every wind at will,
But not the daffodil,

Bring baskets now, and sally
Upon the spring's array,
And bear from hill and valley
The daffodil away
That dies on Easter day.

-A. E. Housman

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