WHAT IS CANON LAW? AN INTRODUCTION
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
HUMAN TRAFFICKING NEW FORM OF SLAVERY IN IRELAND?
NEW PRIMARY SCHOOL RELIGION PROGRAMME GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND OTHERS
Informing, Inspiring, Challenging Today’s Catholic
A NEW REDEMPTORIST CARDINAL IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW CARDINAL JOSEPH TOBIN SHARES ABOUT HIS FAITH JOURNEY AND HIS HOPES FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN CATHOLIC ROOTS ARE DEEP AND SOMETIMES TROUBLED
MARTIN LUTHER’S SEARCH FOR THE GOD OF GRACE APART FROM GOD WE ARE POWERLESS!
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FEATURES 12 A NEW REDEMPTORIST CARDINAL
of this interv ie please see pa w ge 17
Archbishop Joseph Tobin CSsR was named Cardinal last October. He is very proud of his Irish roots and a frequent visitor to Ireland. By Claire Carmichael
20 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN How many of his fans appreciate the depth of his sometimes troubled Catholic roots? By Mike Daley
22 MARTIN LUTHER AND HIS QUEST FOR THE GOD OF GRACE The spiritual experience of Martin Luther challenges us to remember that apart from God, we can do nothing (Pope Francis) By Dr Gesa Theissen
12
26 MANIFESTING THE LIGHT OF CHRIST The Christmas light still shines and reminds us we are called to live as a community By Sarah Adams
29 LETTER TO A YOUNG CATHOLIC ALONE AT MASS Being one of the few young Catholic adults regularly at Sunday Mass can be a challenge. A member of their own generation reaches out. By Ruth Baker
32 THE NEW PRIMARY RELIGION PROGRAMME What parents might need to know about the new religion programme in Irish schools By Elaine Mahon
36 WHAT IS CANON LAW?
20
40
OPINION
With many misunderstandings about what it is, we look at some of the basic concepts of Canon Law. By Professor Seán Cannon CSsR
11 BRENDAN McCONVERY CSsR
40 HUMAN TRAFFICKING
44 PETER McVERRY SJ
Many are trafficked into Ireland for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labour from many parts of the world By Sr Eilís Coe RSC
REGULARS 04 REALITY BITES
19 DAVID O'DONOGHUE
07 POPE MONITOR
31 CARMEL WYNNE
08 FEAST OF THE MONTH 09 REFLECTIONS 34 PRAYER CORNER 42 TRÓCAIRE 45 GOD’S WORD
REALITY BITES FIRST US-BORN MARTYR TO BE CANONISED? GUATEMALA
4 FR STANLEY ROTHER First American born martyr?
A MAN REMEMBERED FOR HIS DEDICATION AND LOVE
It was announced on December 2 last that Pope Francis had authorised the decree recognising the martyrdom of Father Stanley Rother of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, thus making him the first martyr born in the United States. Father Rother was born into a farming family in Oklahoma in 1935. He was brutally murdered July 28, 1981, in a Guatemalan village where he ministered to the poor. He had gone to Guatemala in 1868 on assignment from his home diocese. Padre Francisco, as he became known, helped the people of his parish to build a small hospital, a school and a radio station. Many priests and religious in Guatemala became targets during the country's 1960-1996 civil war, as government forces cracked down on leftist rebels supported by the rural poor. The bodies of some of Father Rother's deacons and parishioners were left in front of his church and he eventually received numerous death threats over his opposition to the presence of the Guatemalan military in the area.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS MOST ETHNICALLY DIVERSE ENGLAND
HELPING TO INTERGRATE MIGRANTS
Figures released by the Catholic Church in England and Wales show that Catholic schools are the most ethnically diverse in the country, educating 21 per cent more pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds than non-faith schools. One in five black children attends a Catholic school, along with 26,000 Muslims. The figures also highlight the extent to which Catholic schools help to integrate Eastern European migrants, with almost one in five pupils from minority white backgrounds attending Catholic schools. For the first time, the census gave statistics on the number of pupils adhering to other religions: these show that children with no religion accounted for more than 20 per cent of the non-Catholic students. REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
Paul Barber, Director of the Catholic Education Service, said: “The fact that a tenth of all schools (i.e. Catholic schools) educates a fifth of certain ethnic minorities is an incredible achievement. With Catholicism
He was gunned down at the age 46 in the rectory of his church in Santiago Atitlan. Government officials blamed the Catholic Church for the unrest in the country which they said led to his death. On the same day, troops also killed 13 townspeople and wounded 24 others in the isolated village 50 miles west of Guatemala City. While his body was returned to Oklahoma, his family gave permission for his heart and some of his blood to be enshrined in the church of the people he loved and served. A memorial plaque marks the place. Father Rother was considered a martyr by the church in Guatemala, and his name was included on a list of 78 martyrs for the faith killed during Guatemala's 36-year-long civil war. Although the local church of Guatemala had the first right to introduce his cause, it agreed to transfer it his native diocese of Oklahoma City, since it lacked the economic means to process the cause. being a largely immigrant faith in England, Catholic schools have a strong track record of taking in children from a wide range of ethnic minorities and producing welleducated, open minded, citizens. It is very easy for secularist campaigners to claim that religious ethos schools are divisive and segregate communities but the evidence simply doesn’t back this up.”
N E WS
FIGHTING OVER THE BODY OF A SAINT NEW YORK
BRING HIM BACK HOME
Disputes about the final resting place of the bodies of saints were common in the Middle Ages, as churches vied with one another to become places of pilgrimage by possessing the shrine of a saint. The most recent case of such a dispute has occurred however in New York city, were the state court ruled in November last that the remains of the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen were to be moved from St Patrick’s Cathedral to the cathedral of Peoria, in Illinois. Archbishop Sheen was one of the earliest churchmen to realise the power of the modern media of communication. In 1930, he launched the Catholic Hour radio programme, and transferred it to the new medium of television in the early 1950s. He was an auxiliary Bishop of New York from 1951 until 1966, after which he served for three years as Bishop of Rochester. He died in 1979 and was declared Venerable in 2012.
He was buried in the crypt of St Patrick’s Cathedral New York, but it was his native diocese of Peoria, where he had been born and ordained to the priesthood, that introduced his cause and brought it to the point at which he was declared venerable. For the cause to proceed to the next stage, beatification, the tomb has to be opened and remains of the candidate verified, but the Archdiocese of New York refused a request by Bishop Jenky of Peoria to have the remains moved to Peoria on the grounds that Archbishop Sheen had chosen St Patrick’s as his burial place on account of his long association with it. The dispute led to the suspension of Archbishop Sheen’s Cause two years ago. The legal case for the return of the body was initiated by a cousin of the Archbishop’s, Joan Sheen Cunningham, on behalf of the family and the court found in her favour. The Archdiocese of New York will appeal.
5 FULTON J. SHEEN Pictured in a NBC publicity shot in the late 1920s
“INAPPROPRIATE” TO SHOW HAPPY DOWN CHILDREN ON TV FRANCE
LIKELY TO DISTURB THE CONSCIENCE OF OTHERS
A French court has ruled that a popular video showing happy children with Down syndrome was “inappropriate” for French television. Titled “Dear Future Mummy,” the video was released in 2014 for World Down Syndrome Day, and has received more than 7 million viewers online alone. It shows children with Down syndrome from around the world reassuring a mother who has just received a diagnosis that her child has the syndrome, that the child “can be happy – just like I am” and reinforce what they are able to do and accomplish. In a decision upholding the French Broadcasting Council’s earlier ban of the video, the Council of State said it failed to meet the criteria for a public service announcement, and was inappropriate for broadcasting as it was “likely to disturb the
conscience of women who had lawfully made different personal life choices.” Due to the high rate of prenatal screening, up to nine out of ten children diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted. However, advances in care for people with the syndrome have raised the life expectancy and quality of life for children born
with the condition. The video was produced by the cooperation of several organisations, including the Jerome Lejeune Foundation, which appealed the original ban by French Broadcasting Council. The Jerome Lejeune Foundation is an international organisation founded by friends and colleagues of Professor Jerome Lejeune, the French geneticist who discovered the genetic causes of Down syndrome in 1958. An ardent Catholic, he worked for the rest of his life against the use of prenatal testing to target unborn children with the condition for abortion. He was named by Pope Saint John Paul II as the first president of the Pontifical Academy for Life in 1994. His cause for canonisation is open. The Foundation will now appeal the decision at the European Court of Human Rights. continued on page 6
REALITY BITES REACHING OUT TO MEN? According to the American National Catholic Reporter, 14 million American Catholics have abandoned the practice of the faith since 2000. Infant baptisms are down 28 percent, while Catholic marriages are down 41 percent. Many church leaders fear that men are leading the culture down the path of secularisation, from where it may never return. Other statistics are no more heartening: only 46 percent of parishioners are male; only 26 percent of Catholic men consider themselves to be practicing Catholics, and nearly half of these say Mass is boring. A cluster
of male Catholic groups, numbering up to 100 nationally, according to some estimates, are promoting the view that the church is facing a silent crisis among Catholic men, and they are willing to step forward and help. Some dioceses are sponsoring programmes aimed especially at men, including men’s retreats and days of recollection. Many of these follow a familiar format: it is lead by a presenter with expertise in speaking to men, often a coach or a sports star with Catholic bona fides, and one theme is regularly hammered home: men need to become the spiritual heads of their
BOMB ATTACK ON CATHEDRAL 6
At least 25 persons were killed and dozens more were injured when a bomb exploded during a Sunday liturgy in a chapel attached to St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo on Sunday, December 11. “Vicious terrorism is being waged against the country's Copts and Muslims. Egypt will emerge stronger and more united from this situation,” the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stated, as he declared a three-day period of national mourning. The Coptic Orthdox Church is an Oriental Orthodox Church, meaning it rejected the 451 Council of Chalcedon, and its followers were considered as “monophysites,” who believe Christ has only one nature. It makes up most of the Christian population of Egypt, 10 percent of the estimate 83 million population, the remaining 90 percent of which is Muslim. A nun cries as she stands inside St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral after an explosion inside the cathedral complex in Cairo.
REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
families. In other events priests or deacons encourage men to be more committed in their embrace of the Catholic faith. They are told there are dangerous cultural crosscurrents out there, threats to the family that Catholic men need to oppose. Among these threats are pornography and interpretations of family life that run contrary to church teaching. There is a strong emphasis on Catholic men asserting leadership in their families and embracing their role as fathers, in the literal sense among married men and, in the case of celibates, a spiritual sense.
IS THIS THE TRUE FACE OF SANTA CLAUS?
Scientists at John Moores University's Face Laboratory in Liverpool have unveiled what they claim is the most realistic portrait ever made of St. Nicholas of Myra, the inspiration for the modern-day figure of Santa Claus. Using a facial reconstruction system and 3D interactive technology, they created the portrait in time for his feast day, December 6 last. University Professor Caroline Wilkinson said the reconstruction relied on “all the skeletal and historical material” available and used “the most up-to-date anatomical standards, Turkish tissue depth data and CGI techniques.” Among the features depicted in the portrait is a broken nose, which Wilkinson said had “healed asymmetrically, giving him a characteristic nose and rugged facial appearance.” One story about him claims that he became so angry at the heretic Arius (who claimed that Christ was not truly God) that he punched him during a heated debate at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. Does the broken nose suggest that Arius returned the blow?
N E WS
POPE MONITOR KEEPING UP WITH POPE FRANCIS POPE MEETS WITH FORMER PRIESTS During the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis spent most Fridays reaching out to groups that may have felt themselves to be on the margins. The destinations were not announced in advance, and journalists were not invited. On the final Friday of the Holy Year, he spent the afternoon with seven men, who are no longer in active ministry, along with their families. The meeting took in an apartment in Ponte di Nona, on the outskirts of Rome. It included five Italians, one Spaniard, and a Latin American. The Vatican statement announcing the visit said that, despite opposition in many cases from their fellow priests or their families, these men made the difficult decision to leave the priesthood. The statement said that they had spent months, and sometimes years, wrestling with uncertainty and doubts, before coming to the decision that they were not meant to be priests, and deciding to marry and form a family. The visit lasted about two hours. The participants remarked that they did not hear the Pope make a judgment on their choice, but instead they felt his closeness and affection and that he had listened to their stories.
COMPLAINING TO GOD CAN BE WAY OF PRAYING To complain to God in moments of doubt and fear like Abraham did is not something bad, but rather is a form of prayer that requires the courage to hope beyond all hope, Pope Francis said during an audience shortly after Christmas. "I won't say that Abraham lost patience, but he complains to the Lord. This is what we learn from our father Abraham: complaining to the Lord is a form of prayer. Sometimes I hear confessions where people say, ‘I got angry with God, I told him this, this, and that.' But he is a father and he understands you; go in peace. You must have this courage. This is hope," the pope said. Present at the audience was a group of performers from Italy's Golden Circus, who performed several acrobatic feats and entertaining performances at the end of the general audience. The pope even participated in one of the performances. As he and an illusionist grabbed the ends of a tablecloth, they seemingly made a small nightstand levitate to the amazement and applause of the pilgrims.
RIGID PRIESTS ARE SEPARATED FROM PEOPLE Pope Francis’s daily Mass in the Sancta Marta residence where he lives is usually shared with other priests, bishops and lay people who are staying there or who are invited specially for the Mass. Each Mass has a short homily which is summarised by the Vatican communications service. One morning recently, the meditation was on how priests can run the risk of becoming detached from their people. “Often disconnected from people, they do not know what human suffering is,” the Pope said. “They forget what they had learned at home, with dad’s work, with mom’s, grandfather’s, grandmother’s, his brothers’... They lose these things. They become rigid, and they load upon the faithful so many burdens that they do not carry, as Jesus said to the Pharisees of his time. They face the people of God with a little whip in their hand: ‘This cannot be, this cannot be ...’ So many people come looking for a bit of consolation, a little understanding, are chased away with this rigidity.” He went on to warn how this kind of rigidity can settle into the soul early on. He told the story of an elderly monsignor, a decent and devout man working for the Curia, had gone to buy some shirts on well-known clerical outfitter. He caught sight of a young fellow, not more than 25 years but a priest or at least a seminarian, 7 preening himself in a mirror wearing a large velvet cape with a silver chain. He topped himself off with a wide-brimmed clerical “soup-plate” hat and looked himself over. “He was a rigid and worldly one.” The old monsignor joked however: “And it is said that the Church does not allow women priests, but it ordains old women like this!’
POPE COMMUTES SENTENCE OF PRIEST PRISONER Pope Francis has commuted the jail sentence of a Spanish priest who was convicted of leaking Vatican documents and ordered that he be released from jail. Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda was sentenced to 18 months in a Vatican jail last July at the end of a trial often referred to as “Vatileaks II”. An earlier case 2012 involved a papal butler accused of leaking who was sentenced to eighteen months. The monsignor, his assistant, two Italian investigators and a female personal relations consultant were accused of leaking documents exposing waste and financial mismanagement in the Vatican. The journalists and the assistant were acquitted, the PR consultant was given a suspended sentence and only Mgr Balda was imprisoned. A statement from the Holy See press office said the Pope took the step because Monsignor Vallejo Balda had already served more than half of his sentence and that he would be leaving the Vatican service and returning to his native diocese in Spain.
FEAST OF THE MONTH BLESSED PETER DONDERS JANUARY 14
TH
Peter Donders was born in Tilburg, a traditionally Catholic part of Holland, on 27th October 1809. Because the family was poor, there was little money for schooling. Young Peter however from a very early age dreamed of becoming a priest. At one stage, he took a job in the minor seminary of his native diocese and began to take some classes with boys much younger than he was. Eventually, with the assistance of some the local clergy, he was able at the age of twenty two to commence study at the Minor Seminary. He was eventually ordained at what was then regarded as the advanced age of 32. During his theological studies, the seminary superiors suggested that he should apply to go on the missions in the Dutch colony of Surinam in South America, then known as Dutch Guiana. He arrived in Paramaribo, the principal city of the colony, on 16th September 1842 and became actively involved in the pastoral works that were to occupy him until his death. His first duties included regular visits to the plantations along the rivers of the colony, where he preached and ministered the sacraments mainly to slaves. Writing back to his family, he gave vent to the indignation he felt as he observed at the brutal treatment meted out to the African peoples who were forced to work as slaves on the plantations.
8
In 1856 he was sent to the leper station of Batavia. He would remain there for the rest of his life with very few interruptions. Not only did he provide the benefits of religion to the patients, but he often tended those who were unable to look after themselves while campaigning quietly to persuade the authorities to provide adequate nursing services. In many ways he was able to improve the conditions of the lepers through his energy in bringing their needs to the attention of the colonial authorities. The Surinam mission was given into the care of the Redemptorists in 1866. Rather than take the opportunity to return to Holland, Peter and one of his fellow priests applied to join the Congregation. The two candidates made their novitiate under the Vicar Apostolic, Bishop John Swinkels, who at one time had been responsible for the Redemptorists in Ireland when he was superior of the Anglo-Dutch Province. They took their vows on 24th June 1867 and Father Donders immediately returned to Batavia. Because of the assistance he now had with the lepers, he was able to devote time to a work he had long wished to undertake and turned his attention to the indigenous peoples of Surinam. He continued with this work which had been neglected due to lack of personnel almost until his death. He began to learn the native languages and to instruct the people in the faith, until failing strength compelled him to leave to others what he had begun. In 1883, Bishop Swinkels, anxious to ease his burdens in his advancing years, transferred him to Paramaribo and later to Coronie. He returned, however, to Batavia in November of 1885. He resumed his previous occupations until weakening health finally confined him to bed in December of 1886. He lingered for two weeks until his death on 14th January 1887 at the age of 78. His reputation as a holy man spread far beyond Surinam and his native Holland. His cause for canonisation was introduced in Rome and he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 23rd May 1982. Peter was a simple, good man and a zealous priest. The Promoter of the Faith, often known as the “Devil’s Advocate,” whose role it is to question the evidence in a case for canonisation, objected that, since he smoked a pipe in the evening after a hard day’s work, Peter could not be considered a mortified man. His objections were rejected on the basis of Peter’s all round goodness. It has been suggested that Blessed Peter might be invoked by smokers as their heavenly intercessor! Brendan McConvery, CSsR REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
Reality Volume 82. No. 1 January/February 2017 A Redemptorist Publication ISSN 0034-0960 Published by The Irish Redemptorists, Unit A6, Santry Business Park, Swords Road, Dublin 09 X651 Tel: 00353 (0)1 4922488 Web: www.redcoms.org Email: sales@redcoms.org (With permission of C.Ss.R.)
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REFLECTIONS Even if there were only two men left in the world and both of them saints they wouldn't be happy. One them would be bound to try and improve the other. That is the nature of things. FRANK O’CONNOR
Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in. LEONARD COHEN
And the sun pours down like honey on Our Lady of the Harbour, And she shows you where to look among the garbage and the flowers, There are heroes in the seaweed, there are children in the morning, They are leaning out for love and they will lean that way forever LEONARD COHEN
Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends? ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Among the rich you will never find a really generous man even by accident. They may give their money away, but they will never give themselves away; they are egotistic, secretive, dry as old bones. To be smart enough to get all that money you must be dull enough to want it. GK CHESTERTON
ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU
ROBERT W. SERVICE
Christ asks for a home in your soul, where he can be at rest with you, where he can talk easily to you, where you and he, alone together, can laugh and be silent and be delighted with one another. CARYLL HOUSELANDER
When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us. MARTIN LUTHER
MARK TWAIN
I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom.
A tomb now suffices him for whom the world was not enough. EPITAPH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
There is your brother, naked, crying, and you stand there confused over the choice of an attractive floor covering.
UMBERTO ECO
SAINT AMBROSE
Deprived of meaningful work, men and women lose their reason for existence; they go stark, raving mad.
It takes a certain amount of courage to let the field lie fallow until you have something to say.
FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY
You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you.
It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out; it's the grain of sand in your shoe.
The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude. THORNTON WILDER
EMMYLOU HARRIS
Freedom is not the ability to do what we want, it’s having the right to do what we ought. JIM CAVAZIEL
9
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EDI TO R I A L UP FRONT BRENDAN McCONVERY CSsR
NO POPE HERE?
We
did not have long to wait after the announcement that Pope Francis would visit Ireland in the summer of 2018 for the begrudgery to begin. Apart from the predictable warnings not to expect crowds of the same magnitude as those that greeted Pope John Paul almost forty years ago, some of the comment was negative and caustic. A government minister welcomed the visit in a ‘tourism context,’ then wondered whether it would in fact benefit tourism. When questioned about a possible clash with a referendum on a change in the abortion law, he thought there might be better times for the visit, forgetting that it is timed to coincide with an international gathering on the family. A priest who writes a regular column in a local paper opined that “the sad and difficult truth is that we are not ready in Ireland for the man from the pampas of Argentina or the message of mercy and compassion that reflects the Gospel Jesus preached or the possibility that it would engage the hearts and minds of a new generation of Catholics.” Another priest, in an opinion column in the Irish Times, thought “our battered priests and people deserve the boost of a papal visit. The same cannot be said for our church leaders. What the scandals of recent years have shown is the paucity of leadership within the higher ranks of the Irish church.” Some comments on social media have been bitter, even vulgar in their language, or predicting disruptive counter demonstrations on the day. It might help to put the visit into perspective. It will probably not be a lengthy visit. Pope Francis copes with his advancing age by keeping visits relatively short, often a day or two at most. The visit by Queen Elizabeth and her husband attracted nothing like the crowds that turned out for John F Kennedy
a generation ago. Along with the difficulty of travelling to venues and then finding parking for relatively brief events, most people prefer to watch them on television from the comfort of their own homes. What makes a papal visit different is the opportunity to pray and worship with the pope. By its nature, that will only appeal to those for whom communion in faith through the Eucharist is still relevant, but all will be welcome. We may be fewer, but there are still a lot of us. The youngest of us who remember the Masses with St John Paul in Phoenix Park, Knock, Ballybrit or Limerick racecourse, are now in middle age. They were memorable events, even if it meant walking long distances to the venue, enduring lashing rain and surviving on a packed lunch. And it is likely that the rain, the walking, the hunger and discomfort are also part of the memory. I have little idea what the programme for Pope Francis’s visit will be like. I hope it will include at least a brief foray into Northern Ireland, and given his passion for ecumenical relations, it will give pride of place to welcoming our fellow believers from other Churches. We are welcoming a guest. A basic law of hospitality is not to embarrass guests by involving them in family squabbles. The suggestion has been made that Pope Francis should come to apologise to Ireland, or to certain individuals in the Irish Church. But surely that raises the question whether one individual can apologise for the misdeeds or mistakes of another? Regret them, yes. Express hurt or shame at being part of a community that has inflicted pain, recognise how deep and troubling the pain has been, offer a pledge of repentance, and where appropriate, compensation, yes to all of that. One of the titles inherited by the Bishops of Rome was Pontifex Maximus, chief bridge
builder, from the days when the city’s principal religious functionary was responsible for the maintenance of the bridges over the Tiber. The Bishop of Rome may no longer build physical bridges, but the Popes in this century have a distinguished record of diplomatic and spiritual bridge building. I have little doubt that this aspect of his Petrine Ministry will be in evidence when Pope Francis comes among us. In the meantime, it is incumbent on the Irish Church to get its own act tidied up, and do its own bit of bridge repairing. Is there a new form of clericalism abroad in the Irish Church that passes the blame higher up the line, to bishops, nuncio, Roman curia for everything that is wrong in our sometimes dysfunctional Church, while being at the same time slow to acknowledge the good done by brothers and sisters in the faith who may be more conservative, more liberal, more devout or whose political motivation we are just plain uncomfortable with? The best preparation for the papal visit may be serious conversation about the faith and what it means today to belong to the Irish Catholic family.
P.S. In our Anniversary Issue of November, some names of people who had worked with Redemptorist Record and Reality were omitted. Unfortunately, there is no full list of those who worked with us over those eighty years. The following have been drawn to my attention – Brenda Drury, Robert McNamara and Rosemary Gallagher. As the compiler of the list, I apologise for these and other omissions, and will attempt to make them good in the course of time.
Brendan McConvery CSsR Editor
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C OVE R STO RY
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REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
A NEW REDEMPTORIST
CARDINAL
13 AS SUPERIOR GENERAL OF THE REDEMPTORISTS, FR JOSEPH TOBIN GOT TO KNOW THE IRISH REDEMPTORISTS, AND CAME TO IRELAND OFTEN. HE WAS PARTICULARLY ENCOURAGING OF THE WORK FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND. HE WAS NAMED CARDINAL LAST OCTOBER, AND SENT AS ARCHBISHOP TO NEWARK. HE GAVE A LENGTHY INTERVIEW TO REALITY WHILE HE WAS IN ROME FOR THE CONSISTORY. BY CLAIRE CARMICHAEL
On
the 9 October 2016 great excitement spread throughout the Redemptorist Congregation worldwide as it was announced that the then Archbishop of Indianapolis Joseph Tobin CSsR was to be created a Cardinal. It was a shock for the man himself as well as being a great honour for all who knew, ministered and loved Joe Tobin. I got to spend some time with the then Cardinal designate in Rome as he prepared for the consistory (the ceremony when you are installed as Cardinal). At the age of 64, he will become the youngest of the 18 American born Cardinals.
I met up with Cardinal Tobin in Sant’Alfonso the general house of the Redemptorists in Rome. As soon as you entered the building you could feel the excitement of the pending celebrations in the air. Cardinal Tobin is in a relaxed mood in a house that was his home for the eighteen years he had lived there as Consultor and then as Superior General. As we walk, he is continually greeted by confreres and guests arriving for the celebrations. I first met Cardinal Tobin in 1993 in Ushaw College, Durham when he was a member of the Redemptorist General Council. We were planning a gathering of Redemptorists and
young people for the summer of 1994. His tall stature is the first thing you notice about him, but his most striking characteristics are his gentleness, compassion and genuine presence when he greets everyone who comes in his path. IRISH AND PROUD OF IT Cardinal Tobin is a proud Irish American. His grandmother was from Glencar Co. Kerry, and his grandfather from Tipperary. There are also strong family links with Omagh in Co. Armagh. He is the eldest of thirteen children, 11 of which have made the journey to Rome
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more deeper and unselfish way, not just the Archdiocese of Newark to which I have been appointed, but also the Universal Church”. The Cardinal is both excited and nervous about his new role but is taking it in his stride enjoying each moment, not wishing it away.
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I was so surprised, but I have always prayed that Joe would be a good priest and he is still a priest no matter what job he has and that’s what it’s all about. Marie Therese Tobin, mother of Cardinal Tobin with his 93 year old mother, Marie Therese. When asked how she felt when she heard the news that her son was going to be a Cardinal, she said “I was so surprised, but I have always prayed that Joe would be a good priest and he is still a priest no matter what job he has and that’s what it’s all about.” Like a true Irish mother, she continues: “I am very proud of all of my children, and when they are together, that is when I am most happy, we have so much fun and we love each other dearly.” The Tobin family resemblance is striking: it’s easy to spot a Tobin in the crowd! Tall and red haired! When I asked Cardinal Tobin how his siblings felt about having a brother who was a Cardinal, he laughed and said “I know they are happy and proud, but they know the other side of me. The brother that can be annoying and grouchy, as well as the brother that loves them.” When talking to his family REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
about the consistory in Rome, he told them there was no need to make such a journey as he knew they loved and supported him, his sisters replied: “ We don’t listen to you anyway, so we are coming!” “Family, and in particular sisters, keep you grounded!” he says. The deep rooted faith that so evidently runs through the Tobin family the Cardinal attributes to his parents and his Irish roots. Faith was very central to the family life. He shares a great story about his grandmother “who always prayed in Irish as she was afraid God didn’t understand English!” Mrs Tobin comments, “all my thirteen children went to college, but all thirteen of my children still practice their faith”, an achievement she is most proud off. When I asked the Cardinal now that he had some time to reflect how was he feeling, “I see this an opportunity to service in a
CARDINAL TOBIN’S REDEMPTORIST LIFE Cardinal Tobin is a very proud Redemptorist. He was born into, baptised at and attended elementary school in the Redemptorist Holy Redeemer Parish in Detroit. His parents were introduced to each other by a Redemptorist! When asked how his Redemptorist formation and training would influence and help him in his new role, he commented; “Firstly as Redemptorist we do whatever we do with great simplicity, it gives us sensitivity for the people who are not there in the church today, or feel that there is no room for them. That means I have work harder to create a space to embrace a wider group of people. It has also given the sense that, even as Bishops, we are not Lone Rangers! We are challenged to form a team, a community and it is that community that evangelises.”
brother Bishops in the USA to appreciate and implement the vision of Pope Francis. He is a great gift to the church at this time. Culturally and socially the world has undergone so many changes in the last twenty years Pope Benedict and St John Paul II where great leaders of their time. In that respect, for the here and now Pope Francis is certainly what the church needs and a product of the Holy Spirit.” One of the origins of the word Cardinal is “hinge” and that is what Cardinal Tobin hopes to be helping to unite the pastors of the United States with the pastor of the church.
His grandmother prayed in Irish as she was afraid God didn’t understand English! THE IMPACT OF BEING MADE CARDINAL Two weeks after the news that he was to be made Cardinal, he was told that he was to be transferred to the Archdiocese of Newark, the latter being the greater shock to him! Having moved to Indianapolis as Archbishop just over four years ago, he says of his time there “ God formed wonderful bonds of affection and generosity amongst us and we were able to do great things and I think we were on the cusp of doing even great things together.” The Cardinal has been reflecting on St Paul’s Corinthians in relation to his ministry. “Someone plants, someone waters and it’s God that gives it the growth. Tearing yourself away from people who trusted you and you loved is not easy! When I have my farewell celebrations, I will ask the people of Indianapolis to bless me and send me and commission me as a missionary, because that is how I understand my life.” HOPES AS CARDINAL IN A DIVIDED AMERICA When asked about his hopes and vision of his role as Cardinal, he replied “to help my
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16 Deacon Juan Carlos Ramirez, right, recites from a prayer card as he, Marie Tobin, left, (mother of the cardinal) and selected parishioners lay their hands on Cardinal Tobin in front of the altar at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. Their prayers were part of a prayer and blessing of the cardinal at a farewell Mass for him.
I will ask the people of Indianapolis to bless me and send me and commission me as a missionary, because that is how I understand my life Cardinal Tobin on his farewell to the people of Indianapolis For the Cardinal, enabling all Catholic Christians and others to say with confidence that nothing takes precedence over their relationship with God and their call to mirror God’s love, mercy and compassion, no nation or political party should take priority over that is very important. The US is now such a polarised country that people find other forms of identification and these become primary. Cardinal Tobin is by nature a modest man and is still discerning this unexpected career move, commenting that it “wasn’t part of the plan!” but is seeing it as an opportunity to make himself more available to the church. REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH POPE FRANCIS Cardinal Tobin first met Pope Francis back in 2005 at the Synod of Bishops when he was Superior General of the Redemptorists, and Pope Francis was there as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires. They were both in a Spanish speaking working group. The Synod took place about six months after the election of Pope Benedict. On a coffee break Cardinal Tobin said: “Your Eminence everyone is happy with Pope Benedict, but I have to tell you, you where my mother’s candidate!” The then Archbishop Bergoglio
inquired “how does your mother know me?” to which Cardinal Tobin replied: “ She read in a newspaper that you pick up after yourself, that you cook your own food that you have a simple lifestyle and frankly she had enough of Princes of the church!”. It is a story which the Pope has never forgotten and always asks “Does your mother still pray for me?” I asked Cardinal Tobin about traits or characteristics he takes from the witness of Pope Francis and tries to incorporate into his own ministry. He mentioned the Pope’s simple language, which he mirrors with spontaneous gestures which are so naturally and tremendously instructive. Cardinal Tobin is moved deeply by the powerful simplicity of Pope Francis’s witness, a lifestyle and ministry which is very reflective of the Cardinal’s own.
FROM FR JOE TOBIN CSsR TO CARDINAL TOBIN CSsR As Carinal Tobin has progressed through leadership roles, I asked what differences and changes this had made to his life and ministry. He smiles and laughs and comments that on a banal level as a Bishop when he goes to an event he now has to bring things with him that he never had to think about before he could just put on a jacket and walk out the door! He jokes about having a new found respect for new parents, and all the items they have to carry with a new baby! As a Redemptorist, the Cardinal misses community living in two ways in particular. He misses community prayer, and reflects that since the age of 14, he has prayed in and with a Redemptorist community, this has given him a new level of respect for the vocation of the diocesan priest. It is only since being away from the community that he realises how much he relied on the community prayer life. When he found it difficult to pray, the community swept him along in their prayer until he was able to pray again. Secondly the Cardinal reflects on how he misses fraternal correction, but jokes that if you asked those he lived with they would say he didn’t take it very well! “As Redemptorists there is a genuine care and support for each other, if someone is going astray we try our best to pull them back in line again! As a Bishop people tend to talk about the Bishop rather than to him! A consequence and danger of that is we constantly end up listening to ourselves instead of others!”
She read in a newspaper that you pick up after yourself, that you cook your own food that you have a simple lifestyle and frankly she had enough of Princes of the church!
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ELECTING A NEW POPE One of the many roles of a Cardinal is the election of a new Pope. Cardinal Tobin hopes that this is something that will not happen for many years yet, and he prays every day that God will let Pope Francis remain in leadership. Cardinal Tobin reflects on the seriousness and enormity of such a job and in the meantime his duty is to deepen his relationship with God and the Holy Spirit so when the time comes the choice can be made with the best reasons possible. Cardinal Tobin’s vast experience in life and ministry, understanding the struggles that some people have to go through to make it to the end of the day, his ministry in poor and deprived communities, his experience of many different cultures and his immense bank of compassion and ease with people I feel are what is important about him being
Cardinal. He gets people. That coupled with his deep faith and strong family grounding will help him continue modestly as a wonderful church pastor and leader. As his mother put it so simply “He is just a priest with a different job!” The good news for his Irish Redemptorist family and friends is that preaching the annual novena in honour of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Clonard Monastery, Belfast a place he holds close to his heart, is on his bucket list. So as they say watch this space! We are proud of our new Redemptorist Cardinal, we hold him in our prayers and we look forward in the future to extending a huge Céad Mile Fáilte to him.
An edited video version of this interview can be seen at Redemptorist Communications Facebook and YouTube pages Claire Carmichael works with Redemptorist Communications and interviewed Cardinal Tobin in Rome.
Saint
Gerard Majella Rediscovering a Saint
A gr is the eat r patro St Gera esou n sai rd Ma rce n j for t and ft of expe ella he W amil ctant orld ies moth Me eting ers of Fa milie s in 201 8
Gerard Majella’s name is familiar to many Catholics. But sometimes those who pray through Gerard’s intercession know relatively little about him. Even the holy pictures of Gerard, either the larger ones that hung on the wall of so many homes or the smaller ones we slipped into our prayer books, did him no favours. This book is an introduction to Gerard’s life, especially for those who might not be familiar with it. Gerard was born and raised in a poor family in the South of Italy almost 300 years ago. He never travelled more than fifty miles from his home town; he wasn’t a famous theologian or writer or preacher; he died before he was thirty years old. But his outstanding holiness and love of people made this Redemptorist brother not only a saint of his time, but also very much a saint for our time too. This book, by Fr Brendan McConvery, C.Ss.R. gets behind the man and the myth to offer a modern take on a saint for mothers, fathers and the rest of us. Redemptorist Communications, Unit A6, Santry Business Park, Swords Road, Dublin D09 X651
Tel: 01-4922488
Email: sales@redcoms.org
€5.00 £4.50
Plus P+P
Website: www.redcoms.org
COM M E N T THE YOUNG VOICE DAVID O’DONOGHUE
CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD AND OURSELVES
OFTEN, UNEXPECTED CONVERSATIONS CAN OPEN OUR EYES AND MINDS TO UNEXPECTED VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. A copy of William James’ Varieties of Religious Experience is currently creased open beside my bed and I have been dilligently working through it in recent days. The book burst into a fascinating intellectual environment at the turn of the 20th century in the United States where both the social and hard sciences were in intense blossom and humanity’s intellectual horizons were widening, with a growth in higher education. In this environment William James, brother of the novelist Henry James, sought to take a rigorous and scientific approach to the psychology of our spiritual experience. The text that he produced is a fascinating one that balances ancient mysticism and the intellectual energy of his own age, and which didn’t see a dichotomy between scientific study of spirituality and reverence for individual experience, but in fact saw the two modes of viewing spiritual experience of complimentary. Although I’m hugely enjoying James’ work and finding it educational, insightful and entertaining I’ve found that I have been learning so very much more about my faith through every day conversations with friends and strangers than I have out of this central text of spiritual study. Conversations about spirituality tend to come few and far between these days. It is a subject always approached with a eye roll in the young, educated and secular circles
in which I tend to mix. It is considered some bizarre relic of the past, as though the milleniaold search for human meaning and understanding outside of our day-to-day existence were some old fashion, a coat well-worn and well loved that we have now been informed reliably, from the correct sources, is thoroughly “out of style” and must be cast off. It is for precisely this reason that I find the moments when I get to talk seriously with people about spirituality enlightening, especially with those who seem to be trudging along with me on the hungry road to spiritual satisfication, understanding and deepened faith. I feel as though I have been walking a long time in the back heat, steeping uneasily across cracking clay, and have suddenly happened upon a cool and plentiful conversational oasis. I sip carefully at first, searching out its depth. And when I sense a feeling of shared curiosity and seeking I drink deeply. The spiritual texts I consume, like those of James, are more like water preserved in a canteen, refreshing but tasting not quite as fresh and as full of life. While manning the off-license in the supermarket where I work I found myself having a light-hearted conversation with a woman who works at our local convent. As I helped her pick out red wines she spoke about her pilgrimage to Fatima, and we
spoke about a mutual affection for the monk and author Thomas Merton. I felt the tingling rush of having broken through the standard banalities of every day retail conversation- this talk of vocation and devotion was a far cry from the ordinary “Bit cold outside isn’t it, Christmas is awfully busy, here’s your receipt” that I’m sure has been all but scratched into the back of my throat over the past few weeks. It was a giddy rush of warm human conncection that is at the heart of real spiritual exploration. The same day I found myself at lunch with a colleague and suddenly feeling the same sense of breaking through the ordinary into a conversation in transcendence and spirituality. In a moment we broke through the ordinary exchanges of, “When do you clock off, when is your next day off ?” and he revealed the path of his own spiritual development which had taken him from a place of total spiritual disinterest to his current ambition to open up a meditation centre to teach people about mindfulness and conscious spiritual experience. Suddenly in the little cafe, among the wind-chime sound of clinking cups and slurped coffee, I got that sense of deep and important conversation that psychoanalyst Carl Jung once said we could achieve when speaking about spirituality and mythology, where we can achieve a feeling like that of primitive man sitting around a campfire
and telling stories of gods and legends. I felt the sensation of not merely mechanistically listening to someone, trying to solve some problem or come up with a clever response, but truly listening with the heart in the way which allows for such spiritual richness and communication. I woke this morning to a Christmas card from an old friend all the way from his home in Georgia USA. This fragile little document had found its way across the Atlantic Ocean, wishing me fulfillment and success. Several years ago we have shared a student hovel when I was just discovering scripture and exploring my faith. We had so often stayed up and discussed biblical study and theology which he discussed with a fascination and passion I had never ecountered before. In his card I was informed that my good friend is well on his way to becoming an Episcopal priest. It was in reading this little seasonal salvo between hearts, that crossed land and ocean, that the world around me seemed to disappear and, in this connection between two people thousands of miles apart, my heart opened and my faith deepened.
David O'Donoghue is a freelance journalist from Co. Kerry. His work has appeared in the Irish Catholic, The Irish Independent, and the Kerryman. He is the former political editor of campus.ie and holds an abiding interest in all things literary, political and spiritual.
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By Mike Daley
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
AND THE POWER OF MUSIC
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN HAS BEEN PLAYING CONCERTS IN IRELAND FOR MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS. HOW MANY OF HIS FANS APPRECIATE THE DEPTH OF HIS SOMETIMES TROUBLED CATHOLIC ROOTS?
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Talk
about a preacher. On a televised concert several years ago, Bruce Springsteen let his musical evangelist side shine. During an instrumental interlude of “Light of Day,” the crowd quieted down and he got to preaching: “I came a long, long way tonight…. I want to thank you all for inviting me into your living room tonight. I know there’s millions of you out there. I know you’re downhearted. I know you’re disenchanted. I know you’re disillusioned. I know there’s 57 channels and nothing on. Just one thing I wanna know tonight. But first I want you to get up off your couch. I want you to put the popcorn
REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
down. I want to come over to the t.v. set. I want you to turn it up real loud…. And what I want to know is there anybody alive out there?” Television or other forms of media can do it, but sadly so can music. Rather than wake us up to life and greater consciousness, they can enclose us in safe and shallow shells, deaden our spirits and, ultimately, limit our engagement with the world. Not to get too theological, but the concert experience above makes me wonder if Springsteen has read any of St. Irenaeus of Lyon. This early Church Father and apologist is wellknown for his famous dictum: “The glory of
God is humanity fully alive.” This is what Bruce Springsteen has sought to do in and through his music—call people to attention and awareness, authenticity and engagement—beginning with his first studio album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. in 1973 to his most recent one High Hopes in 2014. PRAYING TWICE Perhaps there is no better saying that captures the life and person of Bruce Springsteen than the one attributed to the great Church Father St. Augustine: “He who sings prays twice.” In this
regard, there is an apocryphal Springsteen story which has multiple versions that gives the saying further colour and background. In between “Growin’ Up,” he often narrates finding his very “catholic” vocation. A 17 year-old Springsteen comes home from school one day to find his parents at the kitchen table, “Son, sit down please.” Speaking from the heart of their working class lives, his mother says, “Stop fooling around with yourself. You gotta get serious. It’s time to put that guitar down. That things o.k. for a hobby. But you’re never going to get anyplace with that.” His dad suggests he be a lawyer, while his mom thinks he should be an author. They both realise, however, that this decision is too big for them. They arrange a meeting with Fr. Ray, Springsteen’s parish priest. As he walks out the door, on the way over to the rectory, Springsteen’s dad offers him this final advice, “Don’t tell him nothing about that God damn guitar.” In the course of their conversation, Fr. Ray encourages Springsteen to go directly to God. Echoing his parents’ sentiment, Fr. Ray ends by saying, “Don’t tell Him nothing about that God damn guitar.” With the assistance of his saxophonist friend Clarence Clemmons, Springsteen finds God’s house. He goes in, kneels down, and explains his conflicting vocational predicament. After some pre-set pyrotechnics, followed by a period of silence, God speaks: “There was supposed to be an Eleventh Commandment. It’s Moses’ fault. He was so scared after ten, he went back down the mountain. You shoulda seen it—great show, the burning bush, thunder, lightning. You see, what those guys didn’t understand was that there was an Eleventh Commandment: Let It Rock!” There Springsteen received his vocational confirmation as one of America’s greatest liturgical music ministers. In his celebrated article, “The Catholic Imagination of Bruce Springsteen,” the noted sociologist and novelist Father Andrew Greeley argued that “Springsteen is a liturgist, I propose, because he correlates the self-communication of God in secular life with the overarching symbol/ narratives of his/our tradition. Moreover, I also propose that he engages in this ‘minstrel ministry’ without ever being explicit about it, or even necessarily aware of it, precisely because
his imagination was shaped as Catholic in the early years of life. He is both a liturgist, then, and a superb example of why Catholics cannot leave the church.” Growing up in Freehold, New Jersey—described by Springsteen as “where the holy rubber meets the road, all crookedly blessed in God’s mercy, in the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, raceriot-creating, oddballhating, soul-shaking, love-and-fear-making, heartbreaking town”—the church played a central role. The parish church of St. Rose of Lima, where Springsteen went to school up to eighth grade, was “just a football’s toss away across a field of wild grass.” Born in 1949 he lived an ethnic, cultural Catholicism like many of his pre-Vatican II generation. As Springsteen describes it in Born to Run, his recently released autobiography, “This was the world where I found the beginnings of my song. In Catholicism, there existed the poetry, danger and darkness that reflected my imagination and my inner self. I found a land of great and harsh beauty, of fantastic stories, of unimaginable punishment and infinite reward. It was a glorious and pathetic place I was either shaped for or fit right into. It has walked alongside me as a waking dream my whole life.” Even when he left its supposed practice as an emerging teenager. THE THEOLOGY OF LIFE Though I’d heard my oldest brother talk about Springsteen before with his college roommates, my first real connection with “the Boss” came in 1984 with the album release (I got it as a cassette tape) of Born in the U.S.A. and what has been called one of the most misunderstood songs in the history of rock and roll. I loved the chorus of its fist pumping title track song. The opening lyrics were a different story however: “Born down in a dead man's town. The first kick I took was when I hit the ground. End up like a dog that's been beat too much. Till you spend half your life just covering up.” Once again, this time through the lens of a Vietnam veteran, Springsteen questions and finds wanting the distance between the American reality and the American Dream. In this regard, he speaks from the
heart of Catholic Social Teaching’s emphasis on the dignity—often denied—of the human person. Several years later, in the midst of my own teenage love affairs, I journeyed with Springsteen through the trials and travails of his own marriage and eventual divorce from Julianne Philips in The
In Catholicism, there existed the poetry, danger and darkness that reflected my imagination and my inner self Tunnel of Love (1987). In the album’s title track, he captured well the mystery and uncertainty of the sacrament of marriage, when after the wedding and honeymoon is over, “Then the lights go out and it’s just the three of us. You, me, and all that stuff we’re so scared of.” Of course, his songs and albums continued into adulthood. Reflecting on the significance of Bruce Springsteen in her own life, Angela Alaimo O’Donnell, director of the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies at Fordham University, admitted that, “Bruce’s music is the soundtrack of my life.” Countless others over the years have agreed. It’s been a delicate dance of two central Catholic doctrines—Original Sin and Resurrection. As he sings in “Adam Raised a Cain,” describing the difficult relationship—perhaps his own—between a father and a son, “You inherit the sins, you inherit the flames. Adam raised a Cain.” Sin doesn’t have the final word though. In “Atlantic City,” with its young couple hoping for escape and a glimmer of salvation, Springsteen offers a hint of Resurrection, “Well now everything dies, baby that's a fact. But maybe everything that dies, someday comes back.” Springsteen now admits: “I came to ruefully and bemusedly understand that once you’re a Catholic, you’re always a Catholic. So I stopped kidding myself. I don’t often participate in my religion but I know somewhere…deep inside…I’m still on the team.” As saying the goes, “You can take the boy out of the church, but you can’t take the church out of the boy.” Therein lies the Gospel According to Bruce Springsteen.
Mike Daley is a teacher and writer from Cincinnati, OH where he lives with his wife June, and their three children. He is a frequent contributor to Reality. His latest book is Vatican II: Fifty Personal Stories (Orbis).
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THE RE F O R M AT I ON
22
AND HIS QUEST FOR THE GOD OF GRACE BY GESA E. THIESSEN REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
“The spiritual experience of Martin Luther challenges us to remember that apart from God we can do nothing. The question of a just relationship with God is the decisive question for our lives. As we know, Luther encountered that propitious God in the Good News of Jesus, incarnate, dead and risen. With the concept ‘by grace alone’, he reminds us that God always takes the initiative, prior to any human response, even as he seeks to awaken that response. The doctrine of justification thus expresses the essence of human existence before God.” Pope Francis
The
year 2017 marks a milestone in the history of the Christian church. We have come a long way. Little did the young Augustinian friar and biblical scholar Martin Luther (1483-1546) know when he sent out the Ninety-Five Theses on 31 October 1517 for discussion to local bishops, theologians and clergy, that it was to set in motion tumultuous events that would ultimately lead to both his intended church reforms in Germany and other parts of Europe, as well as the wholly unintended schism with Rome. After over a century of ecumenism, examining and putting to rest long-held prejudices, misinformation and polemics, leaders and theologians of all Christian denominations nowadays are only too aware that Luther, far from being a heretic, intended no more than some much needed
reforms in the face of a medieval church which had become corrupt in many quarters, notably through the selling of indulgences and the pompous, licentious life of its ordained leaders. All of this happened in a highly charged political atmosphere in Germany where the ‘simple’ people suffered grossly under the money which was steadily taken from them from the popes. In the context of the deep crisis within the church in fifteenth century Europe, the Renaissance popes sought to assert and expand their power and recreate the splendour of ancient Rome. PILGRIMAGE OF DISILLUSIONMENT Luther visited Rome in 1510-11, expecting to find a holy city. Instead it proved a shocking, disillusioning experience for the young friar. The city was a place of exploitation of the simple faithful,
a decadent, self-serving clergy and St Peter’s basilica, a massive building site made possible from robbing the uneducated north and south of Alps of the little they owned. Masses, seen as good works, were celebrated in minutes and Luther overheard priests saying: ‘Bread you are and bread you will remain,’ depraved cynicism, unbearable for a friar in search of a life lived in holiness. Indeed Luther’s lifetime coincided with one the most corrupt popes in history, Alexander VI, a member of the Borgia family. In his Ninety-Five Theses and other writings on reform, Luther called for an end to the appalling business of indulgences , advocating an understanding that human being are justified by faith which acknowledges that salvation is not something which we can achieve or earn by means of works, but which is a free gift of divine grace. It is Christ who is our salvation and
it is he in whom we must put all our trust. FAITH ALONE Sola scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia – this became the slogan for the Reformers. Luther was deeply aware of our absolute dependence on the God who is love and who sets us free through Christ. Faith, he asserted, ‘is a living, bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favour that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it.’ It is our human response to God’s initiative. Luther’s search for the ‘merciful God’ was not only theological but existential, not a matter of scholastic speculation but real. Indeed Luther’s thinking came from a close reading of the Bible, especially St Paul, and of St Augustine (354 - 430) and the tradition of German mystic writers such as Johannes Tauler (c. 1300 - 1361) and Meister Eckhart (c. 1260 - c. 1328).
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THE RE F O R M AT I ON
24
Jan Hus
John Wycliffe
Erasmus of Rotterdam
Philip Melanchthon
The importance of reading the Scriptures - not just in Latin, but increasingly in the vernacular for all the faithful, our need for grace and our being called to a life in trusting faith were not only central to Luther’s life and theology but also to that of some of his predecessors. The Reformation did not happen overnight. It came about through a long series of medieval Christian leaders, thinkers, mystics and contemplatives who recognised the need for reforms, including Jan Hus (1370-1415) and John
in Bohemia: ‘One pays for confession, for mass, for the sacrament, for indulgences, for churching a woman, for a blessing, for burials, for funeral services and prayers. The very last penny which an old woman has hidden in her bundle for fear of thieves or robbery will not be saved. The villainous priest will grab it.’ The reformers went ad fontes, back to the very sources of the story of the early church in the Bible and the church fathers to find inspiration there for renewal in the church and in search of the
that the schism finally came about confirms on the one hand that Luther’s suggested reforms were widely regarded as absolutely necessary and endorsed by the German princes and their subjects in many parts of Germany. On the other it brought about the second major rift in Christianity, and this constitutes the Reformation's most tragic and totally unintended legacy. Catholic and Protestant theologians today agree that on theological grounds the schism need not to have happened.
to St. Paul's Letter to the Romans (1522), Luther reflects on the meaning of faith and how faith and good works are intricately linked. He asserts that it is God who enables us to have faith. Faith is thus essentially a gift of grace: Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever... Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace … Such confidence and knowledge of God's grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light
The Reformation did not happen overnight. It came about through a long series of medieval Christian leaders, thinkers, mystics and contemplatives who recognised the need for reforms Wycliffe (1320-1384) who had planned reform for the church more than a century before him, as well as contemporaries like Erasmus (1466-1536) and Philip Melanchthon (1497-1560). They recognised the abuses. and called for the education of the laity. ROOTS OF REFORM Writing about a century before Luther, Hus had commented on the situation of the faithful
truth of Christ. Luther refused to retract his writings at Pope Leo X's demand in 1520 and of Emperor Charles V’s at the Diet (Assembly) of Worms in 1521. It resulted in his excommunication and condemnation as an outlaw. Fo r y e ar s , Luth er an d Melanchthon hoped that reconciliation with Rome might be achieved. Yet, mostly for church-political reasons, this was not to be. The fact
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Luther maintained, not that not good works will save us without faith, but rather that it is our faith in God will naturally leads us to do good works. A faith that wants to be credible can only manifest and result in good works. Someone who says that she or he believes in God and does not do good to her/ his neighbour clearly does not live according to God’s love and commands. In his Introduction
from fire! Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard against good-fornothing gossips, who think they're smart enough to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools. Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do. THE LEGACY In the aftermath of the Reformation, Protestants and Catholics treated one another with distrust, hate and prejudice and retreated into confessionalism. Defining one’s own identity often meant to identify oneself against the other. Truth established through more objective, empathetic
theological analysis, which often shows both sides as in fact being much closer than hitherto thought, would only emerge in ecumenical dialogue in the 20th century. The Joint Declaration on Justification, the fruit of thirty years of work of ecumenical dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Lutheran Church on justification, was completed and celebrated by the highest officials of both churches in Augsburg in 1999. The Declaration is an officially binding ecumenical agreement between the two churches and constitutes a milestone in ecumenical relations. It is an agreement on the subject that was the main point of division in the 16th century. Paragraph 15
reads: ‘Together we confess: By grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping us to good works.’ For Luther his conscience and truthfulness to his faith were more important than survival, rank and status. In fact, in the face of excommunication and ban, he would have been prepared to die for his faith in the crucified God. He once remarked, ‘you are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.’ This Christian man who so suffered in his own life said what he had to say in his own colourful, direct, and sometimes highly polemical, language. He
bore the consequences. Yet, finally, he would emerge as perhaps the greatest Church reformer in Christian history. Reading the documents of Vatican II one realises how much of Luther’s thought (even if unacknowledged) is reflected in these, which, in turn, were written by some of the great Catholic theologians of the twentieth century.
Dr Gesa E. Thiessen is Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Religions and Theology at Trinity College, Dublin. She has also taught at Milltown Institute, Mater Dei Institute of Education, and St Patrick’s College, Maynooth. She is a non-stipendiary minister in the Lutheran Church in Ireland.
In Tune with the Liturgy
A series that highlights some of the features of the Church’s worship in the month ahead By Sarah Adams
A LIGHT TO ENLIGH MANIF
THE LOVE 26 THE CHRISTMAS LIGHT CONTINUES TO SHINE AND REMINDS US THAT WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE AS A COMMUNITY
It’s
January and Christmas is over! At least that is what most people believe. For many it was over on the 26th December when the shops opened for the big ‘Sales’ as if people hadn’t had enough of shopping before the big day. Christmas lights, having been up since November, start to come down despite the fact that early months of the New Year, in the northern hemisphere at least, tend to carry a sense of darkness and silence. It is as if this part of the world has gone into an enforced hibernation. LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS Within the church however, our liturgy maintains a focus on the light. Christ born in a humble stable is watched over by a bright star, a star so bright that wise men from the East are able to follow it and in doing so find the stable where he lay. They come with their gifts to worship him. Coming from a rich
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oriental background, it must have been something of a shock to discover, not a luxury palace or servants in waiting, but a hillside cave and a baby lying on a bed of straw. How would we have responded? Laughed, cried, or lost our temper? Or would we have seen the light as the wise men did? They see the hoped-for Messiah and they believe. They could see because they had open hearts and minds to the presence of God and it changed their lives. Through the story of the wise men, the Gospel writer, Matthew reveals God’s desire to be known to all people. Epiphany means ‘made manifest, to show forth.’ God is made manifest in Christ for those who can open their hearts, their minds and their eyes to see and to believe. In the aftermath of an exhausting twelve days the rich message of this story can be lost in the discarded wrapping paper of gifts already received.
CANDLEMAS At the beginning of February, on the 2nd, we celebrate another important feast of manifestation; the ‘Presentation of the Lord’ also known as Candlemas. It is a liturgy of light when candles feature in abundance. In years gone, by the Feast of the Presentation was considered to mark the official end of Christmas. It is perhaps worth reflecting on the beautiful but poignant Gospel story we hear on this Feast. Of the gifts presented at Christmas, some of the most significant are those offered by young people to their grandparents. Time given to grandparents is often the most precious gift when we sit and allow them to tell stories of the past and take a trip down memory lane. Wrinkled with age and aware that time is running out, they often focus on what was, rather than living with the hope of youth for the future. In the Gospel story we meet two very old people, an old prophet Simeon and an old prophetess, Anna. These two old people are unusual – instead of looking back, their focus is squarely on the future – something yet to
TEN THE GENTILES… ESTING
OF CHRIST 27 happen dominates their life and they are alive with hope and expectation. It is such hope and anticipation that the season of Advent offers us but which is so often lost because we have been too enthusiastic to celebrate Christmas. The Church in her wisdom offers this feast as another opportunity to enter into this hope and anticipation. Anna and Simeon are waiting for the one who will be the consolation for their people. They are totally open, hungering for God’s presence, longing for the day when they will see for themselves the glory of God; the God who will console their people. When Mary and Joseph arrive at the temple to consecrate their first-born Son, they know their wait has not been in vain. Here hope and fulfilment come to fruition as young and old meet together. In our own world dominated by so much despair and fear, we all need to have something of that hope and expectation which filled Simeon and Anna. When Jesus is taken into the temple as a little baby he is warmly welcomed. Encountering Jesus
allows Simeon to ‘go in peace’ for his ‘eyes had seen the salvation of the Lord’ Both of these Feasts have something to say to us about how we encounter Christ and the impact that this can have on us.
so that, strengthened and affirmed, fed and nourished we can go out to the world and live it the other six days of the week. All of this is why how we celebrate each week is important. It cannot be left to chance. It
The liturgy is not simply a set or rituals to be got through. Our participation in the Sunday Eucharist is our weekly opportunity to profess our faith and beliefs so that, strengthened and affirmed, fed and nourished we can go out to the world and live it the other six days of the week Today, in our time, Christ is made manifest in the way that we reveal him to others. The celebration of our liturgy is one of the primary vehicles by which we make Christ known. To do this our liturgies need to be a visible expression of how Jesus lived and taught. The liturgy is not simply a set or rituals to be got through. Our participation in the Sunday Eucharist is our weekly opportunity to profess our faith and beliefs
involves the need to constantly reflect on what we do and how it is received. Is what we do encouraging, welcoming, attractive, inclusive, and ultimately, does its integrity ensure that there is the possibility for each person to encounter the living Christ? It is perhaps helpful for us to look at what it might be like if we don’t take time to reflect on how we are as a celebrating community.
In Tune with the Liturgy By Sarah Adams
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CHURCH AS COMMUNITY This might be typical of your Sunday morning experience. We arrive for Mass and are greeted at the door by another parishioner who usually smiles, perhaps says hello and hands us a leaflet. We go into church and find our seat where we sit every week. Sometimes, we see someone we know and say a word, but more times than not we kneel down, start our prayers with no more than a cursory
People breathe once more. There is a chord on the organ and the choir begin to sing. It is not possible to join in because no words or music have been provided. We come to Mass on Sunday because we have been called to gather as the community, where we recognise one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Because we are baptised in Christ, we have equality with one another and are equal in the eyes of God. This equality allows us to welcome one another, to honour one another and to reach out to one another. Where in the above description is this equality being lived out? Why does the young mother feel anxious about keeping her children quiet? Why should the young man in a wheel chair feel that he must hide away at the back? If we are to be a community which truly desires to be a reflection of Christ, where all are welcomed, our gathering must emphasise our desire to be one together where no distinction is made between people of different races, different abilities or different
The way we gather on Sunday and welcome one another will be a reflection of how we welcome others in our community away from our Sunday liturgy glance to the person on one side or another. The young mother with small children in tow struggles to find a place, where hopefully the children will not be a nuisance. She provides them with books and toys to keep them quiet. A young man in a wheel chair is pushed towards the front of the church. There is some consternation – there isn’t enough room for the procession to get past, so the young man is wheeled to a corner at the back of the church out of harm’s way. REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
ages. The way we gather on Sunday and welcome one another will be a reflection of how we welcome others in our community away from our Sunday liturgy. Our capacity for hospitality will reflect our desire and willingness to welcome the stranger and care for the marginalised. Our hospitality is our witness to God’s kingdom where all divisions are overcome and no one is excluded from the banquet. The Feasts of Epiphany and Candlemas are reminders to us of why we gather – to make manifest the ‘Light of the World’ in our churches, communities and wherever we find ourselves. In these, often bleak months, of January and February the world needs light and to know the Light and be consoled by its presence. We are the people to do just that. So let us celebrate well and avoid any possible accusation of being, in the words of Pope Francis, “Christians, whose lives seem like Lent without Easter”! Sarah Adams studied liturgical theology at Maynooth. She now lives on a farm in Devon, working for the Diocese of Plymouth as a Religious Education adviser. Sarah is passionate about raising awareness of the plight of people caught up in the Syrian war and supports the efforts in her local community to alleviate the sufferings of refugees. She enjoys hiking on Dartmoor and the surrounding countryside.
F E AT U R E
Alone at Mass
A LETTER TO THE YOUNG CATHOLIC
BEING ONE OF THE FEW YOUNG PEOPLE IN AN AGING CONGREGATION SUNDAY AFTER SUNDAY CAN BE A CHALLENGE. A YOUNG CATHOLIC WOMAN SHARES WITH HER PEERS REASONS TO BE PROUD TO BE A CATHOLIC BY RUTH BAKER
Dear Young Catholic Just because you should be doing something doesn’t make it easy, nor does it mean you should have to do it alone and unsupported. There are times when being Catholic can be tough, when you feel like you are the only person in the entire world who believes what you believe and when the expectations placed on you are enormous and impossible. There are times when going against the grain of society is simply exhausting, faith is confusing, and sanctity doesn’t seem to have its own reward. STRUGGLING FAITH? Maybe your faith is a massive struggle right now. Maybe you cannot see the relevance of it in your life. Maybe everything in your life is going well, but faith feels like an obligation. Or maybe things recently have been crashing down around you and God seems distant, cold and silent. Maybe anger and hurt cloud everything and you cannot see your future. Or perhaps you know that your faith means everything to you, but the price you pay for it is bigger than you ever imagined it to be and there is no one beside you to support you or encourage you. Perhaps all you feel is self-
judgement for the times when you made mistakes. Perhaps you are tired of explaining yourself, or of having to walk away from relationships when you refuse to compromise your self-worth. Maybe you have experienced so much rejection because of being a Catholic that you have nothing left to give anyone else. Perhaps you long for friends who share your faith, who understand who you are and why you believe these things. Maybe you wish you had someone to go to Mass with, to pray with, to explain your doubts and difficulties to. Maybe you are exhausted of defending the one thing that gives you so much joy. It can be so difficult when there is no one around you to remind you that all the hard work is worth it. It is discouraging when no one else understands how lonely it can be going to Mass alone, or how much strength it takes and how much sadness it produces to walk away from situations that you know aren’t right. Maybe you’re tired of making the same old mistakes again and again. It is difficult; I know that! And I want to encourage you. I want to remind you that even if you do feel alone in your faith right now and are struggling, we share with you that hard work and
want to remind you of the joy and friendship that knowing Christ is. Whatever stage you are in your faith, keep going. Tiny steps are sometimes all you need. Keep praying, even if it is only five minutes a day. PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC Know that you can be proud to be Catholic. It is what makes you who you are, and given that you are a unique and interesting person, it is part of the rich fabric of life that makes up your beautiful self. You will not always be surrounded by people who see your faith negatively. You will meet people who are intrigued by your faith, who genuinely want to know more and who are waiting for an opportunity to share something personal about themselves. You’ll meet people who tell you that they want something you havewhether it is a sense of purpose, a sense of peace or the knowledge that you are loved unconditionally by God. I say this not to create boundaries, but to encourage you in the thought that though sometimes your faith may feel like a burden, there will be unexpected times when it will surprise you by the power it has for good, for creating connections
with others, for changing others lives. Don’t forget the enormous power of your faith. God will work through you in amazing ways that you never expected! So, I get it. It’s hard to be a young Catholic. Maybe you feel you could be doing better. Maybe you just feel lost. I hope that by simply acknowledging these difficulties in this letter to you, you will feel less alone. Yes, things change and one day the struggles you face now won’t be so difficult. But even so, please just know that we are praying for you, we are encouraging you, and we share your sufferings with you! Together, with Christ and His Mother Mary, you can do it! With love and prayers, From one young Catholic to another
Ruth Baker is 25 and comes from England. She loves running, wild camping and writing and thinks there is almost nothing better than the feeling of satisfaction after a day out in the mountains. She is currently studying Creative Writing at university. Her faith means everything to her. This article originally appeared on her blog http://catholic-link. org/author/ruth/
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COM M E N T FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS CARMEL WYNNE
PERCEPTION IS REALITY
SOMETIMES THE WORDS WE USE CAN INFLUENCE THE WAY WE BEHAVE. WE MIGHT THINK – “I WANT TO” OR “I HAVE TO” OR “I’D LOVE TO” – MEAN THE SAME THING BUT DO THEY? At the start of the New Year do you make resolutions, set goals or do you have the freedom not to make any plans? It saddens me when I meet people who believe they should make resolutions they have no intention of keeping. We give away the power to choose when we say “I should” instead of “I want to”. The words we use to describe what we plan to do have an emotional impact. If I want to cook a meal, that is a choice. It is a decision that I have the freedom to make. If I have to cook the identical meal, choice is replaced with control. “Have to” is experienced as a demand with which I am forced to comply. Most of us have very little awareness of how we are affected by our own disempowering words that motivate compliant behaviour. If I want to do something I am in control. If I have to do the same thing, even though I believe it necessary, right and proper I feel controlled. I experience a demand to meet expectations and even though they are my own expectations of what I should do, a part of me will resent complying. This focus on the importance of words may seem pedantic until you understand that perception is reality. If you want to feel happier, if you want to have better relationships with co-workers, family members and friends, learn to pay attention to what you say and how you say it. It’s ethical for a writer to attribute a quotation, so I went
the parent wants. It is said that our relationships are as good as our communication and effective communication involves far more than the dictionary definition of words.
on the internet to find the author of “perception is reality”. The Google quest named three possible sources - Lee Atwater, Forbes, S. (Director), Danielle Bernock and Christopher A. Ray who said "Perception is merely reality filtered through the prism of your soul." Just as a description like, “the prism of our soul” can conjure up beautiful images, words can generate emotional responses. The perception that others make us feel hurt, criticised or insulted is a reflection of what we believe to be true. There is a world of difference between facts which are supported by clear, undeniable evidence and perceptions that are simply reflections of our opinions, assumptions and beliefs, masquerading as facts. When we blame someone else for how we feel, we are not taking responsibility for our lives. It would be foolish to deny or ignore our feelings. In all our lives we have people we love, who
are a delight to spend time with and people with whom we have conflict, unfinished business, and wounded feelings that in many cases we have carried for years. We can heal those memories. We cannot change what actually happened in the past. We can change our perception of events and when we see things from a different perspective we feel differently. In memory, even if you are someone with a picture perfect memory, we identify with our side of the conflict. Recalled from an adult perspective, it’s possible to view painful events that happened when we were younger in a very different light. Control always exists in relationships. When we are expected to do what someone else wants, we are under pressure to comply. I doubt that there is a parent in the world who hasn’t uttered the words, “Don’t you use that tone of voice with me”. A child will understand every word in that sentence but have no concept of what specifically
Often words are irrelevant. The real message is communicated through body language, facial expressions and the tone of voice used. “Don’t talk to me like that” is not a request but an impossible demand to live up to expectations that cannot be met. “Don’t” gives no clue regarding what the parent wants. With hindsight we can see the anger behind the words and make an educated guess that the outburst had little to do with the child and everything to do with how out of control the parent felt. Most of us have very little awareness of the internal dialogue, the little voice in our heads that is constantly carrying on a conversation. . “Should” is a controlling word that gives no insight into what one wants. Let’s develop awareness of how we are disempowered by words such as “should” or “have to”. A change to “I want to” is a simple substitution that offers clarity and changes perception. You don’t have to make 2017 happy, fulfilled and peaceful but if you want to you will.
Carmel Wynne is a life and work skills coach and lives in Dublin. For more information, visit www.carmelwynne.org
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ED U CAT I O N
THE NEW PRIMARY RELIGION PROGRAMME
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TEACHING RELIGION TO CHILDREN REQUIRES THAT PROGRAMMES BE REGULARLY UPDATED AND BOOKS RENEWED. ONE OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING THE NEW PROGRAMME OUTLINES SOME OF THE MAIN ELEMENTS IN IT. BY ELAINE MAHON
Grow
in Love is a new Religious Education series for Catholic primary schools in Ireland. It is being introduced on a phased basis, and will eventually replace the Alive-O series, which has been in use schools on the island of Ireland since 1996. In Veritas, we have been working on the planning and development of
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the new series for the last number of years, and have consulted widely with teachers, priests, children, parents, Diocesan Advisers and lecturers in colleges of education about what they would like to see in a new religious education series. We have now moved into the formal writing phase, and have been joined by colleagues Dr Daniel O’Connell
from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, and Cora O’Farrell from St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, who have become members of the writing team. WHAT IS NEW IN THIS PROGRAMME? One of the first questions teachers ask about Grow in Love is “how different is it to AliveO?”I see three main differences in the work we have done so far. Firstly, Grow in Love is based on a brand new curriculum for Religious Education, the Catholic Preschool and Primary Religious Education Curriculum for Ireland. This curriculum has been approved by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference for use in the twenty-six dioceses in Ireland.
The content of new curriculum is based on four strands: •Christian Faith •Word of God •Liturgy and Prayer •Christian Morality
differs from the Term/Lesson layout in Alive-O. About two hundred schools have been involved in the piloting the materials for Grow in Love so far, and the feedback has been both helpful and constructively critical. One key issue for many teachers is their concern that they should not the only people teaching children about faith. We know that faith formation is the responsibility of home, school and parish working together, in partnership. Any new religious education programme intended for Catholic primary schools today needs to honour this.
In addition, it is intended that children who engage with the curriculum will also develop the following skills of religious literacy: •Understanding •Communicating •Participating •Developing Spiritual Literacy •Developing Interreligious Literacy The content of Grow in Love will therefore be different to the content in Alive-O. I think this is especially true at infant level, where teachers will see many more Bible stories than were in Alive-O. A second difference between Grow in Love and Alive-O is the way in which the content for each lesson is structured. Alive-O lessons were based on a five day/four moment format. Grow in Love is based on three movements – Let’s Look, Let’s Learn and Let’s Live. These three sections of each week-long lesson will begin by inviting the children to look their own life experience (Let’s Look) before introducing them to some of the Christian Tradition (Let’s Learn). At the end of the week, the children will be invited to see how what they have learned might have meaning for their lives (Let’s Live). A third difference between Alive-O and Grow in Love is that the content in Grow in Love is divided into themes, enabling teachers to take a thematic, cross-curricular approach to the material. This
COMMUNITY CENTRED A core principle of the Grow in Love series is, therefore, that children understand that they belong to a parish community, the community of the Church, the family of God. The Grow in Love series employs a number of strategies to help children to become aware of their place in the parish family. These strategies rely on both teachers and on the supports of priest and parishes if they are to actually bear fruit. •End of theme prayer services: The content in Grow in Love is divided into about ten themes, depending on the class level. At the end of each theme, a prayer service is provided. This prayer service will take no more than 30 minutes, including preparation. Teachers are encouraged to invite family members/childminders/guardians – in short, whoever collects a child from school – to attend these prayer services, which will occur
approximately every three weeks. The presence of priests/parish workers/school chaplains at these prayer services would send a powerful message to all about the cooperation necessary between home, school and parish. Parish personnel should therefore tell the classroom teacher, as early as possible in the school year, that they would like to attend these services, and to ask to be invited when they take place. •Visits to the church building: About once a term, teachers are invited to bring their class to the church building to see, for example, how the season of Advent is celebrated, or to learn more about the objects in the church building. Teachers are advised to contact their school chaplain or parish office to give notice of such a visit. Where possible, the presence of the priest or of an appointed a member of the parish community to welcome the children to the church will greatly enhance this experience. Anything this person can do to help the teacher, in terms of pointing out the key features of the church etc., would also be very much appreciated. •Classroom visitations: Survey after survey confirms that teachers welcome and want school chaplains and parish personnel to visit their classrooms. This practice is not only for the sake of the children – it also affirms the work of the teacher, principal and school staff. Regular, informal visits to the staffroom also go a long way in seeking to make real the place that the Catholic school has in the parish community. Veritas will provide resources for those visiting classrooms based on material for the Grow in Love series in the near future. These will be available online initially, and will be published in book format when more of the series is rolled out into classrooms. The Grow in Love series provides opportunities for home, school and parish to take their rightful role in the religious education of children, and the possibilities provided in the series are, in my opinion, both realistic and achievable. However, they do require each of the three partners to take up the opportunity, and to take on the responsibility, of implementing them to their fullest. Elaine Mahon is a primary school teacher who holds a Masters in Religious Education. She was an Advisor for Primary Religious Education in the Dublin Archdiocese and has produced several resources for religious education in primary schools.
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P RAYE R
prayer corner
In this series, Fr George Wadding invites us to take an imaginative look at some familiar Gospel stories, imagining how the characters might have told their story if were they alive today. Using the imagination can be a powerful way of entering into reflective contemplative prayer. Find a quiet corner, read the article slowly a few times, think about and pray as the spirit leads you.
Bartimaeus the blind beggar
The blind beggar cured by Jesus as he passes through Jericho, is a model for believers. He professes his faith in Jesus as the Son of David, the promised Messiah. When his sight is restored, he follows him along the road to Jerusalem, the place of suffering and death. Read this meditation and keep your bible handy, open at Mark chapter 10, verses 46 to 52. 34 My
name is Jabin. I am a Christian. After the shameful death and glorious resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth I took it upon myself to collect as many as I could of the stories that circulated about Jesus up and down the land. In pursuance of this quest I found myself at the home of Timaeus in a village just north of Jericho on the main road to Jerusalem. His son, it was claimed, had had his sight restored by Jesus and I was eager to get his story at first hand. That evening, I met Bartimaeus when he got home from work. I have recorded below as accurately as I could his account of the events of that incredible day. BARTIMAEUS' STORY My name is Bartimaeus. I became blind early on in life. Because of my condition, I could not join in the games of the other children. All I could do was sit on the side of the road and beg for the charity of passers-by. And that is what I spent my life doing - begging for alms. Many times I asked our village scribes and priests why God had made me blind. Always I got the same answer: 'You are a sinner, boy - you or your father.' Now, I know I am no saint, but I did not know of any sin
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that could have brought this affliction on me. Likewise, my father, whom you've met, is a faithful Jew who fears God and is a good neighbour. How could we repent of sins we didn't even know of. A few years ago word began to spread around about the prophet, Jesus of Nazareth. But how could I hope to meet so great a man. When you're blind you're pretty helpless. Then I heard of two incidents, both of which took place in Siloam to the south of Jerusalem. At the healing pool there, this Jesus was reputed to have healed a man born blind. When his disciples asked him, "Teacher, whose sin caused him to be born blind, was it his own or his parents' sin?" Jesus was reputed to have answered, "his blindness has nothing to do with his sins OR his parents' sins. He is blind so that God's power might be seen at work in him." (Jn. 9: 1-3) Hope flooded into my heart - the dream of being released from the black hole of my blindness became a real possibility, - if only I could meet this man. Around the same time, not long after the tower of Siloam collapsed and killed eighteen people, a group of pilgrims arrived back from Jerusalem all excited by the news they brought me. They had heard
Jesus speaking about the tragedy. But in his sermon he broke rank with the Scribes and Pharisees: "Do you suppose," he asked them, "that these unfortunate victims were worse than all the other people living in Jesusalem? No, they were not!" he said, " No, they were not!" (Lk. 13). My heart was breaking. I wasn't to blame for my misfortune after all. And now, there was possible healing for me down the road and I couldn't get there. Morning, noon and night I begged God to let me meet the prophet from Nazareth. THE PROPHET FROM GALILEE Well, you can see that I live just off the main road to Jerusalem. It is often busy with travellers on their way to the temple feasts. They usually travel by caravan to protect themselves from the highway men along the road. Well, one day such a group was passing. They halted not far from my pitch. Can't you just imagine the din of the motley following: the Rabbi's disciples, his critics trying to trip him up, the curious hangers-on, cart-wheels on the cobbled roads, donkeys braying, camels moaning and bellowing, pipers piping and dogs barking. I asked a man what all the commotion was. He said "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." I nearly died with excitement. It was surely an
answer to my prayers. Now, I had a good strong voice, well developed from crying out for alms. I had also decided from what I heard that this Jesus could well be the Messiah and, if I ever met him, I would give him his Messianic title. So, filling my lungs with God's precious air, I shouted as loud as I could, "Jesus, Son of David, take pity on me!" And I kept shouting it over and over again, "Jesus, Son of David, take pity on me!" One of the rabbi's disciples told me to keep quiet, only not so politely. "If this crowd gets even a rumour that Jesus might be the Messiah there could be a riot," he said. But I didn't care. It was my one and only chance of ever seeing again. So I kept shouting at the top of my lungs, "Jesus, Son of David, take pity on me!" It was a scream of desperation, a scream of faith; it reached the preacher's ear above the surrounding din. Suddenly, he stopped preaching. The crowd went silent. The disciple who had previously rebuked me came over to me and said, "Cheer up, he is calling you." I was impressed. Here was the most important rabbi in Palestine and he believed that action was more important than talking. It is true what they say - when a human soul is in
need, speech should end and action begin. Many teachers are like men throwing chatty remarks to someone drowning in a stormy sea. But not so this Jesus! He dropped everything and called me. But forgive me! I digress. I didn't need a second invitation. I remember - I jumped up straight away and stumbled my way forward until a kind hand took hold of mine and a kind voice said, "What do you want me to do for you?" I knew it was him. "Teacher," I begged, "I... I want to see again." It was only a second, no more, but it felt like an eternity as I waited for his response. "Go," he said, "your faith has made you well!" I CAN SEE! Oh sir, I wish I could put into words how I felt at that moment! Indescribable joy filled my soul. The very first thing I saw was the kind face of Jesus smiling at me. I broke into tears and threw my arms around him. He let me hold him for a moment until this.., this... delirium of joy eased off. The crowd closed in and we got separated. But now I could see. The people around me were as I imagined them to be, except for the colours.
The head dress, the tunics and mantles were a dazzling display of colour. I knew the names of colours but I could not identify which was red, which white and so on. Over the coming hours and days and weeks I was encountering new and wonderful prodigies, like the rising and setting sun, the various shapes and colour of trees and shrubs and birds... but that's another day's work. When the caravan moved off on its journey to Jerusalem I followed them. I never spoke to Jesus again, but I listened, when I could, to every word he spoke. I was there when they crucified him. That kind face that had smiled at me was battered and bruised almost beyond recognition. But not his kind and gentle eyes which looked out with tenderness on a lost, hysterical crowd. His hair was matted with blood and his head crowned with a mocking crown of sharp thorns... Tell me, sir, what makes people so cruel? At this point, his father Timaeus called us to have some supper.
Father George Wadding is a member of the new Redemptorist Community, Dun Mhuire, Griffith Avenue, Dublin D09 P9H9
Over the coming hours and days and weeks I was encountering new and wonderful prodigies, like the rising and setting sun, the various shapes and colour of trees and shrubs and birds
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CA N O N L AW
WHAT IS
CANON LAW?
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AN IRISH MINISTER FOR JUSTICE ONCE SAID THAT CANON LAW HAD THE SAME STATUS AS THE RULES OF A GOLF-CLUB. WHILE THE CHURCH NEVER CLAIMED ANY CIVIL STANDING FOR ITS LAWS, THERE IS CONSIDERABLE MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT WHAT CANON LAW IS. IN THIS SHORT SERIES, A PROFESSOR OF CANON LAW AT THE ALPHONSIAN ACADEMY IN ROME EXPLAINS SOME OF THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF CANON LAW. BY SEÁN CANNON CSsR
Put
simply, canon law is the name given to the system of rules which governs the whole Catholic Church. Some of the rules in the system go back to the earliest days of the Church: others have been added in more recent times. Many rules in the system have been updated regularly. Some fundamental ones have remained unchanged. THE CODE OF CANON LAW After the Second Vatican Council, the Church undertook a large-scale revision of these rules. As a result, most of the church laws which apply in the whole church are to be found in two books called codes, one for the Latin or Western Church
REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
(The Code of Canon Law, 1983) and another for the Eastern Churches (The Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches, 1991). But the Church is also continuously faced with urgent situations which demand new rules. The sex abuse of minors, for example, demanded new rules that were not in the codes. We will confine our attention here to the canon law of the Latin Church. The Code of Canon Law has 1752 rules, arranged in seven ‘books.’ It begins with General Norms (Bk. 1), then rules providing for the good order of the People of God at all levels (Bk. 2). The exercise of Teaching Office of the Church and the Sanctifying Office of the Church are treated in Books 3 and 4 respectively. Three books give us
rules concerning the ‘temporal goods’ (property etc) of the Church (Bk. 5), sanctions or penalties in the Church (Bk. 6) and how legal processes function in the Church (Bk. 7). Canon law in its widest sense includes not only rules made for the universal church, but also rules made for particular churches (dioceses) or for a particular group of people, e.g. religious institutes. These generally have a more limited range of subjects than those of the codes. Do all the rules of the Catholic Church form part of canon law? No they don’t: rules that determine the rites to be observed in the celebration of the liturgy are not considered canonical rules. Certain basic rules concerning
Pope Francis poses with members of the Roman Rota the Church’s highest court, in ceremonial dress. This Vatican court deals mainly with marriage cases
the discipline or right ordering of the sacraments and other acts of divine worship, as well as sacred places and times, however, are contained in the Code of Canon Law. The Church makes many pronouncements and regularly issues documents to explain its teaching and legislation, as for example, apostolic exhortations, decrees, instructions and directories. Not all of them have direct juridical implications. Although many such documents are not always formulated in legal language, some of them have juridical implications, and these are not always obvious. We have to depend on canonical experts to clarify what these implications are. These documents may resemble laws, but may not bind in the same way as laws properly so-called. A GROWING BODY OF LAW Canon law is more than a system of rules. Since the 12th century it has developed into a science, an academic field of study with recognised principles and methods. This expansion has given rise to a massive body of canonical literature. So ‘canon law’ can refer to (1) a system of rules for the
church, (2) an area of scientific study and (3) a body of scientific literature. Given the large body of rules and difficulties in applying them, some scholars speak of canon law as a vital professional ministry within the church by which people who have studied the laws and understood what they mean for the life of the community, use their skill to explain, adapt, and apply them fairly for the good of God’s people in their varying pastoral situations. With over 1.2 billion members worldwide, the Church has a fairly hefty body of canonical rules which cover practically every area of church life. It was not always that way. In the early church, when the community was small and in its first fervour, the need for disciplinary rules was not so great. Yet the New Testament does give us evidence of rules for good order being gradually introduced. 1) the decisions made at the first Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15, b); 2) the process for resolving personal
disputes (Mt 18, 15-20); 3) some instructions on the way the gifts of the Spirit should be used (1 Cor 12-14); 4) the qualifications that Paul proposed for leaders in the Pastoral Letters (1 Tim. 3, 2-13; Tit.1, 5-10). The early communities were certainly communities of faith and love, but as the need arose, they adopted some “regulations”. As the church spread, the task of maintaining
Canon law in its widest sense includes not only rules made for the universal church, but also rules made for particular churches (dioceses) or for a particular group of people, e.g. religious institutes clear teaching and keeping good order was usually carried out by church leaders meeting in councils. They called their decisions canons, from the Greek word (kanon) meaning “rule”. This word was chosen deliberately to emphasise the difference between rules of behaviour within the church and rules of the civil powers (laws), for which the
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CAN O N L AW
WINTER
Greek word nomos or the Latin word lex were used. While making their decisions, the bishops were conscious of Holy Spirit in their midst, as shown by the formula used at the first council: “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and our decision…” In the long and complex history of the church, the distinction between rules for its internal life and secular rules was not always kept. Church rules have served many different purposes as the church passed through different historic situations and changes. Rules were made for the life of the church by Christian emperors (Theodosius, Justinian, Charlemagne). Some popes claimed to possess the power of kings and emperors through the papacy, and so could depose these rulers if necessary. Because the church experienced a whole gamut of relationships with civil society over the centuries, the canonical rules originated in different ways and governed widely different matters. Periodically the church has revised canonical rules and tried to remove elements that were not in keeping with its nature, notably
Fr Vincent Cushhnahan of Down and Connor is a recent graduate in Canon Law from St Paul’s University Ottowa
through the work of ecumenical, national and local councils. The responses of popes to queries from local churches added considerably to the number of canonical rules. TIDYING UP THE CANONS At the start of the 20th century, Pope Pius X resolved to put order into the rules of the Church. He entrusted overall responsibility to Pietro Gasparri, who had taught canon law in
Paris. The revision was very much influenced by the “Code Napoléon”, the French system of civil law which had been adopted by many states. Gaspari produced the first ever Code of Canon Law. It differed from previous collections of laws because it contained only precise technical canons that applied all over the Catholic Church. In one sense it was a great boon because it provided a compact collection of the laws and made it easy to know the laws for any particular area of pastoral life. It was not without disadvantages. The canons tended to be applied without much reference to the pastoral context. As a result the interpretation of laws tended to be legalistic and abstract. This led to a lot of legalism and confusion between the different roles of moral theology and canon law. At this point Pope John XXIII surprised the whole Church by announcing an ecumenical council and expected its work to be crowned by a revision of the Church’s canon law. A native of Co Donegal, Fr Cannon spent many years teaching in the Alphonsian Academy and other institutes in Rome.
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F E AT U R E
HUMAN TRAFFICKING MODERN-DAY SLAVERY
ACCORDING TO THE US STATE DEPARTMENT, IRELAND IS THE DESTINATION FOR WOMEN, MEN, AND CHILDREN TRAFFICKED FOR THE PURPOSES OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OR FORCED LABOUR FROM EASTERN EUROPE, MANY PARTS OF AFRICA AS WELL AS FROM SOUTH AMERICA AND ASIA BY EILĂ?S COE RSC
Many
of us have b e e n appalled by the atrocities shown in films about slavery, such as Roots and Twelve Years a Slave. We console ourselves by saying that this is all in the past and slavery has been abolished. Alas, this is not true. Slavery is alive and well and flourishing in our towns and cities. Slavery today takes the form of trafficking in human persons. We have seen on our television screens how people-smugglers take advantage of terrified people fleeing from Syria and other war-torn countries. We wept for the little boy washed up on a Turkish beach and for the countless people drowned in the Mediterranean. Opportunistic p eople-smug glers charge vulnerable and desperate people huge sums of money to transport them in unseaworthy vessels and then leave them, if they survive the journey, to their
own devices, to seek refuge in European countries which do not want them. GROWING RICH ON THE SLAVE TRADE People-trafficking is a different activity. Trafficking in human persons involves force, coercion, fraud or deception to move people from one place to another with the aim of exploiting them. The distance involved may be many thousands of miles, or just a few miles. The International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva regularly releases figures for these victims, but no sooner have the statistics been published than they are out of date. The people are numbered in millions and the money earned by the traffickers is counted in many more millions of dollars After all, people can be sold and resold many times over; they are a renewable resource. What form does exploitation take? Let us take a look at some typical scenarios:
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F E AT U R E
40
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION A young Latvian girl struggles to support her widowed mother and her younger siblings. She works hard and earns little. A young man from another town befriends her, tells her how
The girl is locked up, forced to have sex with numerous men every day, raped over and over again. Her captors tell her that she owes them money for her air ticket and her maintenance and she must work to clear her debt. They say that if she does not cooperate, her mother and young sisters in Latvia will be raped too. In villages in Lithuania , there are groups of women who are now shunned by their neighbours and former friends. These are the women who were deceived into travelling to Ireland to be married to non-EU citizens seeking citizenship. The women have been promised large sums of money. They never see the money. They are sent back to Lithuania penniless. They are legally married, so they cannot get a divorce for a number of years. No man will
The people are numbered in millions and the money earned by the traffickers is counted in many more millions of dollars beautiful she is and that he has fallen in love with her. He tells her that if they travel to Ireland, they can get married, get better jobs and send money back to Latvia for their families. She believes everything he tells her, infatuated by this handsome man, wondering how she became so lucky as to have such a wonderful boyfriend. They travel to Dublin. There her “boyfriend” hands her over to brothel-owners and disappears.
REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
want to marry them; women ostracise them. AGRICULTURAL SLAVERY Under the hot Italian sun, a Vietnamese man tends the strawberry fields. The fruit is sweet and fragrant, unlike the man’s bitter experience. He labours all day, picking the strawberries which will be enjoyed with cream or turned
into sorbets or jam by the avid customers of our supermarkets. This labourer lives on pitifully small wages, paid in meagre food and inadequate shelter. Every morning, Adina takes up her place outside a Dublin city church. She sits on the pavement begging. Some people put a small coin in her bag. Some pass by without looking at her. A few abuse her, telling her to go back home, that she has houses in Romania – they saw it on a programme on television. At the end of the day, Adina goes back to the house she shares with fifteen other people. Her takings are counted and if she has not made a satisfactory sum, she is beaten and shouted at by her begging-boss. She is told her children back in Romania will be sold if she does not earn more money. Across Europe, young people are operated on in unauthorised clinics and have their organs removed. They are then dumped in some park and left unattended. Their chances of survival are slim, given their blood-loss and infections. Their healthy young organs have
nothing, or to avert our eyes from the misery and suffering of these vulnerable people.
See the following websites for further information: http://www.coistine.ie/about-coistine - Coistine is a website devoted to immigrant issues http://www.ruhama.ie – Ruhama works with women affected by prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation
Sr Eilís Coe RSC is a Religious Sister of Charity. She has spent some years on mission in Zambia and Botswana. Eilís is an active member of APT (Act to Prevent Trafficking), helping to raise awareness about human trafficking. She also leads creative writing workshops, following the Amherst method.
gone to save the lives of wealthy patients who are treated in private clinics and given every care until they are restored to full health, given a new lease of life. BECOME AWARE It is hard to believe that such things are happening in our world, in our country. We need to open our eyes, to inform ourselves. Speaking with people who work in anti human trafficking organisations such as Ruhama and ICI, one will learn of the extent and depravity of these practices. A visit to relevant websites will provide information and also indicate ways of helping to combat this barbaric activity. We need, like the Good Samaritan, not to pass by on the other side, but to go and find out what has happened to our brother or sister in distress. We do what we can, give what we can and then, like the Samaritan, take the victim to the services
which can provide the help which is needed. We cannot reach the victims of trafficking, locked up and silenced as they are, but we can reach the users of these services. Men who buy sex need to be stopped and heavily penalised. Our boys need to be educated and sensitised, to respect women and girls, so that they do not become the users of brothels. Demand is what drives the market. If we reduce the demand, we will reduce the supply. Legislation which will criminalise the buying of sex is currently before the Dáil. We can add our voices to those who have been advocating for this change. We can inform ourselves and then use our knowledge to bring about social change in as many ways as we can. We can pray for a change of heart for traffickers, who are also our brothers and sisters. The unacceptable options are to do
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D E V E LO P M E N T I N ACTION
WITH TROCAIRE IN SYRIA MEMBERS OF TRÓCAIRE TRAVELLED TO LEBANON JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS TO VISIT THE REFUGEE CAMPS THERE AND MEET SOME OF THE SYRIAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN FORCED TO FLEE THEIR HOMES..
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Rabiha Khalil (36), who is originally from Damascus in Syria, looks out over Shatila refugee camp in southern Beirut.
BY DAVID O’HARE
Visiting
the Middle East in December is something that many people would love to do, but unfortunately in Syria there is nothing that resembles ‘peace on earth and goodwill to all’. The conflict in Syria has been ongoing for more than five years and has seen 4.8 million people having to leave the country as well as millions more being displaced within Syria’s borders.
Lebanon is only an eighth the size of Ireland with a population of 4.3 million people, yet has taken in an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees – more than 30% of the population and the highest number of refugees per inhabitant in the world. I visited Lebanon to see what difference money donated to Trócaire in Ireland has made to the lives of these people who have, in many cases, lost absolutely everything. Refugees find themselves in different situations depending on where they end up in Lebanon.
Lebanon is only an eighth the size of Ireland with a population of 4.3 million people, yet has taken in an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees – more than 30% of the population and the highest number of refugees per inhabitant in the world A huge number of those refugees have sought refuge in neighbouring Lebanon. REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
LIFE IN A REFUGEE CAMP My first stop was Shatila refugee camp in southern Beirut. This camp has been in existence since 1948 and has been home to around 20,000 Palestinian refugees since that time. It is a
small area of the city that is made up of tall, narrow concrete buildings many of which are in a very poor state of repair. The Lebanese authorities will not enter the camp and there are no government social structures there. The camp is administered by various factions. The electrical supply is ‘gerry-rigged’ and extremely dangerous and it results in frequent fatalities. Water and sewerage provision is what can best be described as extremely rudimentary. The recent influx of an estimated 20,000 Syrian refugees has doubled the camp population and put huge pressure on the already overloaded infrastructure. I spoke to families that are living in bare concrete rooms within this claustrophobic piece of Beirut. They have to cope with surviving day to day on top of the severe trauma many have suffered in their escape from Syria. I met Rabiha Khalil (36). She and her three children have been living in Shatila for nearly five years. She is originally from Damascus
in Syria. Her husband was a factory worker, and she was a medical secretary. Rabiha says they were comfortable and happy. Then the bombs started dropping and they had to leave everything behind and flee to the countryside. ‘We thought it would only be for a few days and so only had a few clothes with us. We tried to go back to get more belongings but just missed being caught in an airstrike so had to leave with nothing.’ Rabiha’s husband, Saleh, went back to Damascus several times to try to retrieve their things. One day he went and didn’t return. ‘I haven’t seen my husband since then. I heard he had been taken by the regime.’ She had family living in Shatila, and with nowhere else to go she took the children there. ‘Things were incredibly difficult for us,’ she says. ‘My brother-in-law that we stayed with was very abusive and hit the children. I had to wear black and wasn’t allowed to leave the house. I got sick with stress but where else could I go?’ MAKING A DIFFERENCE Rabiha heard then about an organisation being funded by Trócaire, Basmeh & Zeitoonah, that was helping people in similar circumstances to hers. ‘I knew how to crochet and they encouraged me to join their workshop, so I was able to earn my own money. The children attended a school run by B&Z. I had very low self-esteem, so went to their psycho-social support sessions. This really changed me for the better. I started English classes and nursing classes. I got the courage to leave my brother-in-law’s house. B&Z helped me with rent and food. I don’t know what I would have done without the help they have given me.’ I heard other stories similar to Rabiha’s of women suddenly finding themselves alone and having to fend for themselves and their children. B&Z is doing invaluable work in Shatila in difficult circumstances. I also travelled to the Beqaa Valley which is near the Syrian border. There I met up with staff from SAWA, another Trócaire partner that is being supported through donations from the public back home in Ireland. The area where SAWA works is completely
different from Shatila. It’s a much more rural area, and people are being housed in what most of us would imagine when we think of refugee camps. Basic tent-like structures made of plastic sheeting and wood are what these refugees now call home. PLUNGING DEEPER INTO NEED I visited Nofa Dergham (33) in her tent. She lives there with her four children. Nofa told me she is originally from Homs in Syria. She and her husband, Ahmed, had a good life and their own home. That life ended when a missile destroyed their house. It was the final straw for the family. Some time before their little three year old daughter, Sydra (the name is one of the doors to heaven in the Koran), had been badly injured in a missile strike while visiting another house. She is seven now. I met her and she is an adorable little girl. Unfortunately she has almost constant pain from the scar tissue left by her injuries. The shrapnel hit the top of her leg and she finds it hard to bend down even to go to the toilet, yet another innocent victim of this cruel conflict. Nofa has been in this camp for four years and has had to face the hardship and the worry over her children’s safety alone. Her
husband had tried to enter Lebanon five years ago to find shelter for the family, but was arrested by the Syrian military at the border. He hasn’t been seen or heard of since. ‘I miss him so much,’ Nofa said. ‘I was his queen and I loved him passionately. There is nothing for us in Syria now. Homs is a ghosttown to me. All I want is my husband back.’ Nofa says her biggest fear is not food and shelter. ‘SAWA is helping with that and I believe God will look after us,’ she says. ‘I am worried about my children and what kind of upbringing they will have. It is very hard for a woman on her own, as there is a cultural stigma attached to this. My 17 year old daughter cannot go out alone. I worry about the children so much and I can’t sleep at night unless I am hugging them. I cry a lot but only when the children can’t see me.’ The stories of Rabiha and Nofa are just two of the millions of examples of pain and suffering that this conflict has resulted in for ordinary people. With no end in sight to the fighting in Syria, there is no doubt that more people will have to flee. The work of organisations like B&Z and SAWA will continue to mean the difference between life and death, living and surviving, for many thousands. Nofa Dergham (33) with two of her daughters Dalaa (8) and Sydra (7). The family are living in a tent in a camp in the Beqaa Valley near the Syrian border
43
REALITY CHECK PETER McVERRY SJ
PRISON – HOVERING UP THOSE SOCIETY HAS FAILED
MANY PEOPLE ARE IN PRISON WHO SHOULD BE THERE. MANY OTHERS SHOULD NOT, AND NEED NOT, BE THERE OR ARE ONLY THERE BECAUSE THE SOCIAL SERVICES HAVE FAILED THEM.
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You never know who you might meet in prison! There are people in prison who have committed multiple murders, have made millions from drug dealing, living alongside people who are serving two months for shoplifting or two weeks for not paying their TV licence. There are many in prison who should be there. But there are many who should not, and need not, be there, who are only there because the health and social services have failed them. I am not aware of any recent statistics that may exist, but research in the last decade showed that between 50% and 65% of all prisoners had a drug addiction, mostly heroin. Almost certainly, that percentage has now increased. In the community, addiction treatment services are inadequate, often with long waiting lists, and in many parts of the country, they are non-existent. From my experience, a drug user may commit, on average, two crimes a day to feed their habit. If they have to wait six months to access a treatment programme, they may commit about 350 crimes, and end up in jail, entirely due to the inadequacy of the treatment services. Some drug users living in the midlands have to get a bus to travel 80kms to Dublin every day to access a methadone programme, because they cannot access one in or near where they are living. This is not sustainable financially and many
give up, return to heroin, and inevitably end up in jail. There are less than 50 residential detox beds in this whole country for an estimated 20,000 heroin users. There are almost no residential aftercare services for those who complete a drug treatment programme. In 2005, in the midterm review of the National Drug Strategy, it was recommended that drug users should have access to drug treatment within one month of being assessed. Twelve years later, we are still no further in implementing this recommendation. Of course, not all drug users will accept treatment, even if available, and others may not be able to sustain a recovery after treatment, but certainly there are many hundreds of people in prison who would not be there except for their inability to access treatment. On my visits to prisons, I regularly meet prisoners who tell me they do not want to
REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
be released without access to residential treatment as they know it will only be a matter of months, or even weeks, before they go back into prison again. In 99% of cases, such treatment will not be available. Our prisons have become the largest methadone dispensing centres in the country and indeed some drug users choose to go to prison as the only, or quickest, route to becoming free of illegal drugs. A second group who should not, and need not, be in prison are those with mental health problems. If you are poor, the community mental health services are very inadequate. The number of public beds in psychiatric wards in our hospitals is inadequate. One young man, who presented to hospital as suicidal just before Christmas some years ago, was told there were no beds and come back after Christmas. He committed suicide. Supported
accommodation for those with mental health issues is almost non-existent. Many of those in prison with mental health issues have committed public order offences and are sent to prison because there are no other adequate services available to them, or they have committed more serious offences because they stopped taking their medication, sometimes because they cannot afford it. One of the most common requests for money which I get is from people who need to get their mental health medication from the pharmacy. At a cost of €2.50 per item, some require multiple items and sometimes may not be able to afford them. A third group who need not, and should not, be in prison are people who are homeless. Many homeless people, again, have committed minor public order offences, but, if homeless, will almost certainly be remanded in custody and frequently be given a custodial sentence. Others are in prison for theft or robbery to pay for food or clothes or for “trespassing” on another’s property as they try to find somewhere to spend the night. Some homeless people actually choose to go to prison, where they will get a bed each night, three meals a day and all their medical needs are looked after. Society talks about reh a b i l i t ati n g p r is o n er s . Some prisoners talk about rehabilitating society.
GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH SO SHINES A GOOD DEED IN A NAUGHTY WORLD Last Sunday, we began reading the lengthy digest of the teachings of Jesus 5th SUNDAY IN known as the Sermon ORDINARY TIME on the Mount that runs for three chapters in the Gospel according to Matthew. Today’s Gospel contains two sayings in which Jesus compares his disciples to salt and light. Despite health warnings about using too much of it, salt remains an essential commodity for life. In days before food was preserved by chilling, salt was often used as a preservative or to add flavour. Salt was an important item of trade in the ancient world, and caravans carried it long distances to places where it was scarce. Our word ‘salary’ is derived from the Latin word for salt, as part of the wages of Roman soldiers was an allowance for salt. Salt does not easily lose its flavour, but it can become damp and difficult to use and is best thrown
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away. Disciples are to become ‘salt of the earth’: the word earth should be understood here as meaning the world since depositing salt into the soil would not do it much good. By their way of life, especially when it is shaped by the beatitudes of last week’s Gospel, the followers of Jesus will add flavour to the world and prevent it from going bad. The disciples are also to be a light for the world. Ancient towns were often built on top of hills so that they could be safe from invaders. A hill posed a challenge to an army with chariots. A town on a hilltop could never be hidden from view. The life-style of Jesus’ disciples should mark them out as different. The short parable saying about what people do when they light a lamp develops the same theme. Lamps are intended to give light. It would be pointless to light a lamp then cover it with a bucket, except if there was danger that the house would be burgled. The light Jesus’ disciple will shed on the world comes from their good deeds.
In Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice, Portia who has rescued a man from a punishment that would have led to his death catches sight of a light burning in her home and says: How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty [evil] world. It is a perfect illustration of Jesus’ saying about how his disciples should be light for the world. The French writer George Bernanos once wrote: ‘The gospel is meant to be the light of the world. We have turned it into a bed-side lamp for Christians.’ How will our good deeds speak for Jesus this week?
Today’s Readings Isaiah 58: 6-10, 1 Cor 2:1-5, Matthew 5:13-16
God’s Word continues on page 46
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GOD’S WORD THIS MONTH GOING BEYOND THE LETTER Jesus’ enemies often accused him of promoting an easygoing morality that seemed to set aside Israel’s great 6TH SUNDAY IN moral tradition founded ORDINARY TIME on the written Law and the preaching of the Prophets. It is an issue that looms large for Matthew who was writing for believers who wished to integrate their Jewish traditions with the teachings of Jesus. Jesus clearly sets out in the Sermon on Mount the moral teaching which will guide his followers. We can divide today’s Gospel into six sections. The first section sets out to correct any mistaken ideas about Jesus’ attitude to the Law. He has not come to abolish the Law, but to bring it to perfection and his followers have no authority to set the Law aside, but their virtue must be more than skin-deep. Without a deep concern for the Law’s true meaning, they are unfit for the kingdom of heaven. Then follow 46 some examples in which Jesus applies his deeper understanding of the demands of the Law to practical cases. It follows a pattern contrasting the
words of the Law with Jesus’ interpretation of it: ‘you have heard how it was said to our ancestors … but I say to you.’ There are four contrasts in today’s Gospel: two more will follow next week. The first example is the law forbidding murder. To argue we have observed this commandment simply because we never killed anyone misses the point. Jesus extends the commandment to cover all kinds of friction and discord in living together, even name-calling. It contains a little example story showing how a perfect disciple will act if he remembers offending someone. Even the most sacred duty of sacrifice should be abandoned until pardon has been asked from the one offended. The second example is in sexuality. The Law forbade sexual relations with the wife of another man, but what Jesus sets out for his disciples is more demanding. They are required to control even thoughts and desires, since to look lustfully at a woman is to have committed adultery in the heart. The saying about plucking out an eye or cutting of a hand or foot are not meant to be taken literally, but they are important for their shock value.
The third example is divorce. The Law of Deuteronomy 24:1 permitted divorce if a man he found ‘something objectionable in her.’ This vague phrase allowed some interpreters to offer the husband divorce on demand (never to the wife). Jesus restricts the application of divorce to ‘fornication.’ There is some dispute among Christian churches as to what exactly this means. Some, including the Catholic Church, would argue that it refers to a marriage where a couple only realise later that they are close kin since Jesus does not admit of exceptions in the case of divorce in the other Gospels. Christians of the Reformed tradition, hold that it grants an injured party, who is victim of the adultery of the other partner in the marriage freedom to divorce. The fourth example prohibits oaths. Jesus moves beyond that and forbids the swearing of oaths. They are simply to say ‘yes’ if they mean ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if they mean ‘no’.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE? Today’s Gospel offers us the last two instances in which Jesus radically interprets the Torah of Israel for a new 7TH SUNDAY IN generation of Christians. ORDINARY TIME The first is the law about retaliation: ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ This was a common standard throughout the Ancient Near East even before it was included in Israel’s law code. The ancient law code of Hammurabi from Babylon around 1790 BCE, for example, stated “If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.” Damages were usually settled by monetary payments and only in a minority of cases ‘an eye for an eye’ be invoked literally. In place of even controlled retaliation, Jesus sets out a new and more demanding principle – ‘offer the wicked no resistance.’ He gives four examples of how aggression can be met by non-violence. To the person striking you on the right cheek (probably a
backhanded insulting blow), offer the other cheek. To the person who sues you for your undergarment, offer him your overcoat as well. The third example, someone demanding you to accompany him for one mile is not a friend asking you to go part of the road with him: it probably reflects the right of an occupying army to compel passer-by to carry loads. There is an example in the Gospels of just such a case when Simon of Cyrene is forced to carry the cross of Jesus (Matthew 27:32). The final example is unquestioning generosity towards anyone who wishes to borrow, even when there is no hope of repayment. The Law about loving the neighbour should be cited in full: “You will not exact vengeance on, or bear any sort of grudge against, the members of your race, but will love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:18). It does not include an explicit command to hate the enemy, but it defines neighbour in a rigid way as a ‘member of your race.’ The community to which Matthew addressed his Gospel probably found Jesus’ words about
enemy love as demanding as we do. To his picture of an indiscriminately good God showering his favours on humans regardless of their moral state, Jesus adds some further telling strokes. It is easy to love those who love us. Tax collectors were held in low esteem by most Jews at the time of Jesus. They looked on them as collaborators with the occupying Roman authorities who fleeced their own people. It is inevitable that they felt more at home among people like themselves. While Galilee in Jesus’ time was mainly Jewish territory, it did contain large pockets of Gentiles especially in new cities like Sepphoris or Tiberias. Everything about them, including their language (Greek) and the food they ate, marked them out as different, so it is not difficult to see how they appeared as outsiders. Jesus challenges his hearers to strive for the kind of love that does not recognise barriers of this kind.
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REALITY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
Today’s Readings Eccles (Sirach 15: 15-20); 1 Cor 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37
Today’s Readings Lev 19:1-2, 17-18, 1 Cor 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48
THE REALITY CROSSWORD
NUMBER 1, JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017
REAL FREEDOM The theme of today’s Gospel is stated clearly in its short opening paragraph: a person cannot be the slave of two masters. As our creator, God has the first claim on us but God’s chief competitor 8TH SUNDAY IN for our loyalty is money. Some of translations ORDINARY TIME use an unusual word for wealth, ‘mammon.’ Although Matthew was writing his Gospel in Greek, he sometimes preserves words from Aramaic, Jesus’ mother tongue. The word ‘serve,’ or ‘act as a slave to someone’ when used in a religious sense, suggests giving total loyalty to a God. ‘Serving mammon’ or ‘being a slave to Wealth’ suggests that wealth or money is a rival to God. The next and longest part of today’s Gospel spells out the freedom the disciples of Jesus should strive to attain. First of all, we should free ourselves from care about food or the body or clothing. The most precious gift we possess is the gift of life in the miraculous organism called the human body. We are invited to contemplate two everyday miracles: the freedom of the birds and the beauty of wild flowers. Unlike human beings, the birds do not have to provide for their food by the annual cycle of planting and harvesting: the heavenly Father feeds them. If humans are tempted to think they occupy a higher place in the life cycle than the birds, they must also remember that they are not their own masters. They cannot change their height or add an hour to their lives. Palestine is a land on the edge of the desert. Each spring, the wild flowers spring up from the earth that has been drenched by the winter rains. Their life span is short, for the heat soon reduces everything to a brown burnt colour and the fields must be cleared to allow the spring planting to begin. For a week or two, however, the land is ablaze with the vivid reds, yellows and purples of the wildflowers. Even Solomon in his robes of state was no match for them. Jesus returns to the message about freedom. True freedom can only be founded on trust, a trust that God continues to cares for the earth he has brought into existence and that he knows our need for food and clothing. The disciple, following the path first traced out in the beatitudes, will strive for the values of the Kingdom of God – peace, justice, non-violence, purity of heart. The challenge is to live each day as it comes.
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SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 9 ACROSS: Across: 1. Bedlam, 5. Calico, 10. Flicker, 11. Novenas, 12. Okra, 13. Basil, 15. Bach, 17. Dud, 19. Teacup, 21. Iberia, 22. Calvary, 23. Dublin, 25. Escape, 28. Eve, 30. Ecru, 31. Arena, 32. Esau, 35. Meccano, 36. Upright, 37. Status, 38. Exotic. DOWN: 2. Eritrea, 3. Luke, 4. Myriad, 5. Candid, 6. Lava, 7. Centaur, 8. Effort, 9. Asthma, 14. Survive, 16. Lucid, 18. Abyss, 20. Pan, 21. Ire, 23. Dreams, 24. Borscht, 26. Assegai, 27. Erupts, 28. Errors, 29. Ensure, 33. Baht, 34. Trio.
Winner of Crossword No. 9 Mrs Mary Murphy, Kiskeam, Mallow, Cork
ACROSS 1. He killed 1,000 Philistines with the jaw bone of a donkey. (6) 5. Hat, canal and country. (6) 10. Presented as an act of worship or devotion. (7) 11. Tornado and game or contortionists. (7) 12. Central parts of wheels and regions. (4) 13. Jesus changed his name from Simon. (5) 15. Relatively small in extent from one surface to the other. (4) 17. Lair or shelter of a wild animal. (3) 19. A wide street or thoroughfare. (6) 21. A form of the Hebrew name of God used in the Bible. (6) 22. German city known for china. (7) 23. Line with abrupt alternate right and left turns. (6) 25. Water nymphs in classical mythology. (6) 28. Employment for the nice guy with bad luck. (3) 30. Yearn for a coniferous tree. (4) 31. African country, formerly Dahomey. (5) 32. Move about aimlessly. (4) 35. People after which things are named. (7) 36. Angel who appeared to the Virgin Mary. (7) 37. A yacht named after medieval China. (6) 38. Gave off a strong offensive odour. (6)
DOWN 2. Friendly, good-natured and easy to talk to. (7) 3. Arrange systematically. (4) 4. Prodded gently with one's elbow. (6) 5. Illicit Irish whiskey. (6) 6. For want of this a kingdom was lost in a rhyme. (4) 7. One of the Apostles. (7) 8. The sixth book of the Old Testament. (6) 9. A division of a tree. (6) 14. Mental or emotional strain. (7) 16. NE African country, capital is Khartoum/ (5) 18. Hackneyed, trite and boring. (5) 20. A unit of work or energy. (3) 21. A strong desire for Japanese currency. (3) 23. Slide fastener! (6) 24. Venetian canal boat. (7) 26. Undergo great mental pain through worrying about something. (7) 27. Small part intended to show what the whole is like. (6) 28. Knitted garment with long sleeves. (6) 29. Of greater size. (6) 33. A traditional or legendary story. (4) 34. A musical instrument that is shaped like a tube. (4)
Entry Form for Crossword No.1, January/February 2017 Name:
Today’s Readings
Address: Telephone:
Isaiah 49:13-15; 1 Cor 4:1-5 Matthew 6:24-34 All entries must reach us by February 28, 2017 One €35 prize is offered for the first correct solutions opened. The Editor’s decision on all matters concerning this competition will be final. Do not include correspondence on any other subject with your entry which should be addressed to: Reality Crossword No. 1, Redemptorist Communications, Unit A6, Santry Business Park, Swords Road, Dublin 09 X651
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