Position Papers - November 2015 by Position Papers

A review of Catholic affairs

Defending Life  and the Family Dr Anca-Maria Cernea

The Catholic Church:  ancient beauty, ever new Rev John McCloskey

Man was created to work Rev Dr Thomas J McGovern

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Number 493 · November 2015

by Fr. Gavan Jennings

In Passing: Reflections on a long revolution.  Part one: A commemoration nurtured in bad history?

Editorial

by Michael Kirke

Man was created to work by Rev Dr Thomas J McGovern

My Darling, wait for me in paradise by Judy Li

A warning to the Synod on the Family by Dr Anca-Maria Cernea

The role of Church History in conversion to Catholicism by Rev John McCloskey

Is there a Future African Pope Out there? by Rev Conor Donnelly

St Josemaria's reflections on the Last Things by St Josemaria Escriva

Film review: Bridge of Spies by John Mulderig Editor: Assistant editors: Subscription manager: Secretary: Design:

9 18 20 23 31 36 38

Rev. Gavan Jennings Michael Kirke, Pat Hanratty, Brenda McGann Liam Ó hAlmhain Dick Kearns Víctor Díaz

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Editorial A

s I write this the Synod of the Family has just ended: the Synod Fathers have voted – paragraph by paragraph  – on the final text of the report which they presented to Pope Francis, and tomorrow afternoon there will be a special Mass of closure of the Synod. In the weeks which follow the Holy Father will reflect on the findings presented to him by the Synod Fathers and, presumably, produce a post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation – the normal fruit of a Synod, as for example St John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio followed the Synod on the Family of the previous year. There has been a certain amount of trepidation generated by the Synod, particularly as a result of the perceived clash between those defending on the one hand the traditional Catholic position regarding the non-admission of divorcedand-remarried Catholics to Holy Communion, and the other – German speaking – bloc proposing their admission to the Eucharist. It might not be an exaggeration to say that some Catholics are scandalised by the latter position, and perhaps concerned that the Holy Father is in some way sympathetic to their stand. However, as the Catholic writer with aleteia.org Tom Hoopes observes that the apparent “craziness happening at the synod” is in fact a good thing – albeit unsettling – in that it means that the Synod is transparent and that everything is being aired rather than swept under the carpet … to fester. We are witnessing, he continues, the Pope’s personal modus operandi: Pope Francis is doing things the way he did the Aparecida document, a document the Latin American churches produced in 2007 with then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as editor and shaper.

His process then as now is to make a big funnel, with lots of input on the wide end and him on the other. The document creates a second funnel, with his document at the narrow end and its many applications to specific problems coming out the wide end.

Editorial

Furthermore, we might be missing a particularly revealing dimension in Church reflection on marriage and family if we reduce it to an orthodoxy-heterodoxy dichotomy; at root the question appears to me more a crisis of hope than a crisis of doctrine. This point has been made by George Weigel in First Things, where he makes the provocative assertion that there are some churchmen who are giving a “tacit blessing” to cohabitation and other arrangements that fall short of the Church’s vision of marriage and family life, and in doing so “are pressing the question of whether the universal call to holiness is, in fact, universal”: But it’s not easy to interpret in any other way the claim by some members of Synod-2015 that the Church’s teaching on chastity, marriage, and the family is simply too difficult to live out, and therefore some Catholics— perhaps many Catholics—should be exempt from it (and thereby exempt from the universal call to holiness). Those given this pass by their local bishops may, it seems live with the Church’s tacit blessing in relationships long considered obstacles to moral and spiritual health. The exempt may receive the sacraments without being fully in communion with the Church in their manner of life. They may continue for an indeterminate period of time in what amounts to a kind of de facto personal schism that effectively detaches them from the global communion of Catholicism. They may, in sum, live as if the universal call to holiness were not universal, but something for the saints alone. A very similar point was made by Cardinal Sarah of Guinea in his presentation to the Synod in which he spoke of the temptation of yielding to Western secularism: ‘Recognizing the so-called “realities of life” as a locus theologicus means giving up hope in the transforming power of faith and the Gospel.’ The loss of evangelical nerve in the Church in the

Editorial

affluent West contrasts with a “poor Church” which is “a joyously evangelical and prophetic sign of contradiction to worldliness”. And then in a very striking display of nerve, the courageous African cardinal went on to speak of the two movements – both of demonic origin – which are dividing the world between them: “on the one hand, the idolatry of Western freedom; on the other, Islamic fundamentalism: atheistic secularism versus religious fanaticism. To use a slogan, we find ourselves between ‘gender ideology and ISIS’.” Cardinal Sarah appealed to the Synod for a “luminous act of courage” in clearly declaring God’s will for marriage in the face of these twin ideologies which seek to destroy it: on the one hand “the secularized West through quick and easy divorce, abortion, homosexual unions, euthanasia etc. (cf. Gender theory, the ‘Femen’, the LGBT lobby, IPPF …)” and on the other hand, “the pseudo-family of ideologized Islam which legitimizes polygamy, female subservience, sexual slavery, child marriage etc. (cf. Al Qaeda, Isis, Boko Haram…).” It is hard to imagine a clearer declaration of the historical crisis the twenty-first century has entered. In the words of Cardinal Sarah, “What Nazi-Fascism and Communism were in the twentieth century, Western homosexual and abortion Ideologies and Islamic Fanaticism are today.” (We have included in this month’s Position Papers the text of an address to the Synod from the Romanian doctor Dr AncaMaria Cernea; her “warning to the Synod” mirrors the tone and content of Cardinal Sarah’s address.) In his brief speech to conclude the Synod, Pope Francis used the word “mercy” no less than nine times, showing how deeply the Holy Father is inspired by a charism of mercy. One line at the end of his speech sums up how the successor of Peter truly speaks the truth in love: “When the Church has to recall an unrecognized truth, or a betrayed good, she always does so impelled by merciful love, so that men may have life and have it abundantly (cf. Jn 10:10).”

In Passing: Reflections on a long revolution.  Part one: A commemoration nurtured in bad history? by Michael Kirke

here is something of the tragic about Ireland and her story. But then, there is something of the tragic in all of human history. Last year Roy Foster published Vivid Faces, his study of the generation and the cultural milieu in which the Irish Insurrection of 1916 and its aftermath fermented. It is a masterful study. It is a book which, if it were read with the detachment from the current received mythology of Ireland with which it is written, will stand as one of the most valuable reflections on that Rebellion which its centenary next year will be likely to leave us.

How honest, how intelligent, will this exercise in the enhancement of the memory of a people be next year – which is what this kind of commemoration is all about? Will it lay before us the “terrible” element of the “beauty” born in those years or will it just give us the feel-good version and go on feeding the legend. This is the legend which has to this day sustained the blood-lust of Sinn Féin and its military incarnation, the Irish Republican Army – and its multiple Hydra heads. The roots of tragedy often lie in the failure of a man to recognise his inner truth – his real self, warts and all. The value of good history to a people is the

revelation of the truths of the past, the motives, the mistakes, the right turnings and the wrong turnings, the good and the bad, their roots and all the things which make that people what they are today. It is not there to condemn or to praise. It is there simply to try to tell the truth.

deception. There will be many more. There are many passages in Foster’s book which reflect the reality of the epoch and its lingering legacy of hatred of Britain. Ireland now boasts that it has relations with its nearest neighbour that have never been seen before in its history, at least not since the time some fourteen hundred years ago when Irish missionaries crossed the seas and brought Christianity to Scotland and the North of England. It is true that the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Ireland in 2011 was a watershed in relations between the two islands. We can but be grateful for it. But it is also true that there still resides in the hearts and minds of many of the Irish a level of animosity towards the people of Britain – and of England in particular - that is as deep and unchristian as it is silly and distasteful.

The curse of bad history – which is no history at all – is that it blinds the people whose story it purports to tell. It is not even good mythology – for mythology is good only when it is true to the core truths which underlie reality. It is a corrupting and pernicious mythology when it does not. It is unlikely that Ireland in 2016 will be commemorating with any sense of tragedy the events which were the catalyst which brought it independent statehood. Should anyone suggest that the horrors of the years between 1969 and the end of the last century had any roots in the armed struggle which followed the 1916 Rebellion, there will be a shaking of heads and muttering of “no, no, no”. This will be the first self-

One such passage in Vivid Faces – the title comes from W.B. Yeats celebrated poem, Easter 1916 – tells the story of Ernie O’Malley, a survivor of the

Anglo-Irish War which followed the 1916 Rebellion. Having fought in that war and in the subsequent civil war, he lived on until 1957 but never joined the new Irish Establishment in independent Ireland. He cuts a sad figure in the story. O’Malley left instructions for his burial. He was to be buried upright, facing eastwards across the Irish Sea, facing his enemies, the British. But, Foster tells us, he added a coda: “In fact they are no longer my enemies. Each man finds his enemy within himself.” And so he died.

was through the barrel of a gun. Irish republican mythology has turned that minority into heroes and Ireland finds it very difficult to surrender the comfort of that mythology. The truth is that they were men and women like many of those who are leaders in our country today – no better, no worse. That, however, is not good enough for the myth. The mixture of good and bad common to all humanity is thought to be unworthy of these men and women. We are not allowed to see them as they saw themselves, as for, example, we see in Dr. Patrick McCartan’s assessment of Sean MacDiarmada, one of the executed leaders of the rebellion. He “was bright and energetic but mentally superficial; he had not an idea in his head when (Bulmer) Hobson took him up and directed his ‘education’… he was cunning rather than clever, would do a crooked thing if it served his purpose.” McCartan himself was a survivor. He lived until 1963. He went on to become one of the co-founders, with Sean McBride, son of Maude Gonne and John McBride, another of the

Foster’s achievement in this book is to give us pictures of the dramatis personae of the Irish cultural revival as flesh and blood human beings like ourselves and those around us today. That revival, which began in the last years of the nineteenth century, fed into a new Irish and Gaelic consciousness. It was one strand of this which exploded in the face of the Government in 1916. It seemed, to a radicalized minority in the Gaelic movement, that the only way forward to their vision of Ireland

executed leaders - of Clann na Poblachta in the 1940s. This new political party was yet another failed attempt to reincarnate the vision of the revolutionary generation. The paradox inherent in Yeats’ “terrible beauty” is terrible in many ways and not the least of them is the distortion of the humanity of the men and women of 1916. With our need to make sacred martyrs of them we simply distorted into a parody of beauty. To seek the truth about them, and to tell it as is was is to be thought of now as sullying their memory. But if we cannot admire them as they really were what is the point of admiring them at all?

ABOUT THE  AUTHOR Michael Kirke is a freelance writer, a regular contributor to Position Papers, and a widely read blogger at Garvan Hill (www.garvan.wordpress.com). His views can be responded to at mjgkirke@gmail.com.

Man was created to work by Rev Dr Thomas J McGovern

n recent times the magisterium of the Church has tackled the theme of work as an environment in which the laity can seek holiness. John Paul II has insisted in his encyclical Laborem exercens: ‘…the Church,’ he says ‘sees it as her particular duty to form a spirituality of work which will help all people to come closer through work, to God, the Creator and Redeemer, to participate in his salvific plan for man and the world, and to deepen their friendship with Christ in their lives.’1

Some of the human implications of work well done are spelled out by St Josemaría Escrivá: Work, all work, bears witness to the dignity of man, to his dominion over creation. It is an opportunity to develop one’s personality. It is a bond of union with others, the way to support one’s family, a means of aiding in the improvement of the society in which we live and in the progress of all humanity.2

John Paul II, Encyclical Letter, Laborem exercens, (14 September 1981), 24. Other papal documents such as Christifideles laici (1988) and Ecclesia in Europa (2003) have developed the themes of Laborem exercens. 2

Christ is Passing By, 47.

Here we see how the human and the Christian intersect to the point of becoming fused together. Work, the everyday exercise of one’s profession, with all the obligations it implies, that work if faced up to with faith, aware of how near God is, leads to dialogue with God, identification with his will, and solid growth in virtue. This same work also constantly provides opportunities to contribute to the welfare of others, to do one’s bit for the common good, to open for one’s friends and colleagues horizons of Christian life.3

the importance of work for the Christian. Daily work, he used to say, ‘is the hinge on which our calling to holiness is fixed and turns’.4 It is not only the context in which the majority of men should become holy, but, he goes so far as to say, ‘it is the raw material of their holiness’.5 What God asks of the Christian is ‘the miracle of turning the prose of each day into heroic verse by the love which you put into ordinary work. God waits for you there. He expects you to be a responsible person, with the zeal of an apostle and competence of a good worker’.6

Meaning of work

Daily work acquires a particular importance for the Christian because it is the free, responsible activity of the human person, as one who is called by God to participate in both his creative and redemptive activity. It often involves effort and weariness. But it also bears witness to the dignity of man. It is an opportunity to develop one’s

One of the original contributions of Saint Josemaría Escrivá was not only to preach the universal call to holiness before Vatican II, but also to provide a particular spirituality as a means of putting this teaching of Vatican II into practice. Throughout his life, he constantly reminded people of 3

Cf J-L Illanes, in Holiness in the World, p.222.

St Josemaría Escrivá, Friends of God, Dublin, 1981, no. 62.

Conversations with Monsignor Josemaría Escrivá,, Manila, 1977, no. 70.

St Josemaría Escrivá, Christ is Passing By, Dublin, 1982, no. 50.

personality. The experience of work bonds us to others and develops friendships. It is a means to support one’s family, and allows us to contribute to the improvement of society. And, since the time Christ worked as a carpenter, work for us ‘becomes a redeemed and redemptive reality.… It is something to be sanctified and something which sanctifies’.7

Sloppy, careless work cannot be sanctified because it is not the proper raw material for sanctification. It cannot contribute to the ‘humanisation’ and ‘redemption’ of the world in which we live. The gospel tells us that Jesus did everything well (cf. Mk 7:37). Hence the Christian should be noted for the quality of his work, his reliability of service, and his sense of responsibility.

Work well done

St Josemaría saw holiness through work as a logical consequence of that unity of life which all Christian are encouraged to cultivate.8 In this way the grace drawn from the Mass, the sacraments, and daily prayer provides the spiritual resources to sanctify family life, daily work and social commitments. For St Josemaría this was the essence of the Christian vocation of the laity. It is in the context of these normal daily activities that they find the opportunities to live a spirit of service, to respect the rights of others, and to exercise a sense of

We sanctify work by uniting it with the redemptive work of Jesus: by doing it with love, doing it out of service to others, to family and society. Our work has an effect on the material things of this world, on human culture, and civilisation. Through our work God calls us to care for the earth and to humanise it. We can only sanctify work if we do it well, with attention to detail, overcoming tiredness, by keeping our word and also by respecting dead-lines out of concern for the needs of others. 7

Ibid., no. 47.

Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Christifideles laici, 59, 60 (30 December 1988).

responsibility. Here, by practising the virtues of industriousness, generosity, sobriety, cheerfulness, charity, etc, we can grow in personal holiness.

themselves and to cooperate in the sanctification of others by sanctifying ordinary life.’10

To sanctify work, people need the basic work skills to carry out the activity with natural perfection, along with a deep awareness of their responsibilities as citizens and as Christians; they need a deep knowledge of the Christian faith, which is the light that will illuminate their minds and sustain them in their activities, and they should have a deep interior life, nourished by the word of God, the sacraments and prayer.9 Because of the Incarnation, Escrivá always maintained that there was nothing human outside the concern of Christ. John Paul comments in this context: ‘On the basis of this deep conviction, Blessed Josemaría invited men and women from the most varied social conditions to sanctify 9 10

Sanctifying ordinary life and sanctifying work are realities which go hand in hand: each has reference to the other. To be contemplatives in the middle of work requires attention to material detail and technical perfection, supported by an attitude of love and with a desire to serve mankind and the demands of the common good. All these intersect and complement one another in the ideal of the sanctification of work. Any honourable human activity can be the place for practising Christian charity which is the fullness of the Gospel law. And in this context, Escrivá spoke especially of work, which is a basic human reality: ‘Work is born of love; it is a manifestation of love and is directed towards love. We see the hand of God, not only in the wonders of nature, but also in our experience of work and effort.

Cf Giuseppe Dalla Torre, Holiness in the World, p. 207 . John Paul II, Address, 14 October 1993, Holiness in the World, p. 16.

Work thus becomes a prayer and thanksgiving, because we know we are placed on the earth by God, that we are loved by him, and made heirs to his promises. We have been rightly told, “In eating and drinking, in all that you do, do everything for God’s glory” (1 Cor 10:31).’11 Their ordinary life in the world is the place and the means for the laity to obtain the holiness to which they are called. Personal sanctification through work We sanctify ourselves by uniting our work with the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We sanctify ourselves in our work by doing it well, by applying the virtues of order and punctuality, care of detail, and by finishing things off well. I would like to quote from an incisive homily of St. Josemaría Escrivá about personal sanctification through work: Work is part and parcel of man’s life on earth, he says. It involves, effort, 11

Christ is Passing By, 48.

weariness, exhaustion: signs of the suffering and struggle which accompany human existence and which point to the reality of sin and the need for redemption. But in itself work is not a penalty or a curse or a punishment: those who speak of it that way have not understood sacred Scripture properly. It is time for us Christians to shout from the rooftops that work is a gift from God and that it makes no sense to classify men differently, according to their occupation, as if some jobs were nobler than others. Work, all work, bears witness to the dignity of man, to his dominion over creation. It is an opportunity to develop one’s personality. It is a bond of union with others, the way to support one’s family, a means of aiding in the improvement of the society in which we live and in the progress of all humanity.

All Christians should love this world of ours as a reality created by God and therefore endowed with goodness. The ordinary Christian should especially love this world and all the noble realities it contains: professional work, family duties, social relationships.’12 Escrivá has no illusions about the difficulties involved in everyday work – the effort, the weariness, the contradictions. Yet he affirms that work is a gift from God because it bears witness to the dignity of man. It is a cause of many social relationships and an opportunity to contribute to society. Sanctification of work refers to the understanding that holiness in ordinary life is a fundamental attitude rather than a remedy for temporal concerns. Work is an opportunity that Christ may be seen acting in the world and making him present in the world, and participating in his redemptive work; each lay 12 13

person takes on the priesthood of Christ by becoming another Christ. Sanctifying work Man was created to work, ut operaretur as the book of Genesis tell us (cf. Gen 2:15). He is called to dedicate himself to his occupations for the glory of God. With his work, the creature enriches the world that he received from God, to present it later to him as a sacrifice of praise. To sanctify one’s work involves the daily effort to turn one’s work into a holy task, dedicated primarily to God. This means working professionally, producing a finished job, infused with love and a spirit of service. Man brings about an inner transformation of himself, he becomes more human, when he expresses himself through work.13 But we can also sanctify ourselves in our work by uniting it with the redemptive work of Jesus himself. Connected with this is the fundamental idea that holiness consists not so much in

Christ is Passing By, 47. Cf. John Paul II, encyclical, Laborem exercens, 6 (14 September 1981).

doing great things, but in doing the normal duties of each day well, doing them with love, with a deep spirit of service. The daily life of Mary in Nazareth, like the hidden life of Jesus, was not in any way spectacular. It didn’t attract attention. Yet we know that these two ordinary lives overflowed with charity and would, in a quiet way, have powerfully influenced the lives of all those around them in Nazareth – neighbours, relatives, friends. We could also say the same of St Joseph the carpenter, who offers us a sublime example In the light of the Paschal mystery we can see more clearly how everyday work, often demanding and exhausting, is a time of encounter with Christ dying and triumphant on the Cross. St Josemaría never considered holiness as something to be achieved in spite of the demands and challenges of work and family life. Rather, he regarded these situations as so many opportunities of grace in which the fatherly providence of God makes itself felt. Thus, what

seem to be obstacles are converted into a means to holiness. Grace does not eliminate the difficulties but rather pervades them, transforming them in the process. We are not born holy. Holiness is forged through a constant interplay between God’s grace and our own free response to it in the daily circumstances of our lives. Thus to sanctify ourselves requires the constant support of the sacraments, and of daily prayer. In trying to fulfil their tasks faithfully each day, lay people put into play many human virtues: industriousness, justice, perseverance, integrity, fortitude, prudence, etc. And also with these, the theological virtues: faith, which leads them to perceive the nearness of God and the final meaning of their efforts; hope, which encourages them to trust deeply in God and to persevere in their efforts despite difficulties; charity, which leads them to a joyful love and dedication, shown with sincere deeds.

their problems, and transmitting to them the greatest good they possess - their faith. The human contacts forged by work give rise to friendships, and through this friendship, to evangelisation.

Sanctifying others through one’s work Work contributes to bringing those around us closer to God when, carried out with professional competence and spirit of service; it redounds to the good of society, improving family conditions, configuring society in a Christian way. In carrying out their daily work, the laity establish relationships with many people – family members, companions and colleagues. Faith impels them to recognise those around them as children of God. And charity urges them to treat people as such, sharing in their joys, being interested in 14

By reason of our baptismal commitment to participate in Christ’s redemptive mission, our own work has an apostolic character because it is an opportunity to give ourselves to others, to reveal Christ to them, and to lead them to God the Father.14 As we were reminded in John Paul II’s pastoral programme for the New Millennium, Christians are called to co-operate in a new evangelisation which will imbue the home, the workplace, public and private life with the values of the Gospel.15 Through the ordinary activities of each day we give ourselves an identity for better or worse. As Christians we are called to make the actions of our daily life conform to our baptismal identity as God’s children. Thus

Cf. Christ is passing By, no. 75.

Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic letter, Novo millennio ineunte, 40, 41, 51, 52 (6 January 2001).

sanctifying ordinary life consists principally in sanctifying the daily interactions with the members of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own family (spouse, children), with the people we are in contact with at work.

This is an excerpt from a paper entitled: The Priesthood of the Laity: Holiness through Work, and the Challenge of the Secular. It was delivered at the Fota Conference, Cork 4-6 July 2015, and is printed here with the kind permission of the author. During the construction work at Villa Tevere

ABOUT THEâ&#x20AC;¨ AUTHOR Rev. Thomas J. McGovern is a priest of the Opus Dei prelature who works in Dublin. He was ordained to the priesthood by Saint John Paul II in Rome in June 1982. He holds a doctorate in theology from the University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain. He is the author of three widely acclaimed books on priesthood: Priestly Celibacy Today, Priestly Identity, and Generations of Priests.

My Darling, wait for me in paradise

ix years ago: Smiling shyly, You walked towards me and said, “I am so fond of you, How do you feel?” Five years ago: Beaming, gleaming, I floated towards you in long white wedding gown. You said, “You have a strong temper, while I have a quiet temperament; I will take care of you always.” Four years ago: Love and glistening tears in your eyes, You cradled me tenderly in the Labour Room and said, “Ah, you suffered such pain in the birth of our daughter. From now on, I will happily look after all the housework.” Three years ago: Two kilos of brown liquid were pumped from your lungs! Clumsy and heavy, seven months pregnant, I stole into the Emergency Ward, You squeezed out a faint smile: “A disgrace for a strong young man like me To take a hospital bed away from the weak and the elderly.”

Two years ago: Lung cancer. Final stage! I wept. Hugging tight our three-month old son, I was frightened and lost. With your arm around my shoulders and stroking me tenderly, you comforted me, “With no surgery, the ordeal will be much easier.” One year ago: Cancer tumours spread mercilessly to your brain. You laughed softly, “At last you have medical evidence to show Your husband is really a mental defect!” Now, lying here, you do not even look at me. I exhausted all my strength, looking for signs of hope, Searching for traces of a miracle, And I finally found the ultimate limit of human power. I murmured in your ear: “My darling, hold on to your Faith, hold tight to Christ’s Hands. Go trustingly forward, into Paradise and Light. There, there will be no cancer, no pain, only a brand-new you – A beautiful young man, smiling shyly, in the soft breeze.” Six years is too short. Are we not meant to be holding hands till we both grow grey Surely, you are not willing to leave me. But, submit. God’s holy plan is a mystery. From Paradise, look down with love on your wife and children. Keep us safe while we wait in unfailing Faith Till we are together once again For all Eternity.

by Judy Li

Translated from the original Chinese by Rose Goodstadt

A Warning to the Synod on the Family by Dr Anca-Maria Cernea

our Holiness, Synod Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, I represent the Association of Catholic Doctors from Bucharest. I am from the Romanian Greek Catholic Church. My father was a Christian political leader, who was imprisoned by the communists for seventeen years. My parents were engaged to marry, but their wedding took place seventeen years later. My mother waited all those years for my father, although she didn’t even know if he was still alive. They have been heroically faithful to God and to their engagement. Their example shows that God’s grace can overcame terrible social

circumstances and material poverty. We, as Catholic doctors, defending life and family, can see this is, first of all, a spiritual battle. Material poverty and consumerism are not the primary cause of the family crisis. The primary cause of the sexual and cultural revolution is ideological. Our Lady of Fatima has said that Russia’s errors would spread all over the world. It was first done under a violent form, classical Marxism, by killing tens of millions. Now it’s being done mostly by cultural Marxism.

There is continuity from Lenin’s sexual revolution, through Gramsci and the Frankfurt school, to the current-day gayrights and gender ideology. Classical Marxism pretended to redesign society, through violent take-over of property. Now the revolution goes deeper; it pretends to redefine family, sexual identity and human nature. This ideology calls itself progressive. But it is nothing else than the ancient serpent’s offer, for man to take control, to replace God, to arrange salvation here, in this world. It’s an error of religious nature, it’s Gnosticism. It’s the task of the shepherds to recognize it, and warn the flock against this danger. “Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God, and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.” The Church’s mission is to save souls. Evil, in this world, comes from sin. Not from income disparity or “climate change”.

The solution is: Evangelization. Conversion. Not an ever increasing government control. Not a world government. These are nowadays the main agents imposing cultural Marxism to our nations, under the form of population control, reproductive health, gay rights, gender education, and so on. What the world needs nowadays is not limitation of freedom, but real freedom, liberation from sin. Salvation. Our Church was suppressed by the Soviet occupation. But none of our twelve bishops betrayed their communion with the Holy Father. Our Church survived thanks to our bishops’ determination and example in resisting prisons and terror. Our bishops asked the community not to follow the world. Not to cooperate with the communists. Now we need Rome to tell the world: “Repent of your sins and turn to God for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” Not only us, the Catholic laity, but also many Christian Orthodox are anxiously praying for this Synod. Because, as they

say, if the Catholic Church gives in to the spirit of this world, it is going to be very difficult for all the other Christians to resist it.

ABOUT THEâ&#x20AC;¨ AUTHOR Dr Anca-Maria Cernea is the President of the Association of Catholic Doctors of Bucharest (Romania). This presentation was made to Pope Francis and the Synod bishops at the Synod on the Family, Friday, 16th October 2015.

The Role of Church History in Conversion to Catholicism by Rev John McCloskey

am often asked to speak about conversions since I have been instrumental in bringing some people to the Faith. I have been invited to speak chiefly on account of the notoriety of a handful. Some were Protestant ministers of various denominations, others well known men of business, others intellectuals, and some politicians and journalists. A good number have been Jews, one the head of a synagogue when I first met him on the Internet. They represent a few of the many with whom I have dealt. I have written a short piece, available on my website, entitled "Winning Converts" with a companion piece entitled "Recovering Stray Catholics." I

am working on a book on this topic in collaboration with Mr. Russell Shaw to be published by Sophia Institute Press. Now, what do these "high" level converts have in common? Very little except several traits that are highly valued, at least by this priest. They are all men of high intelligence, with a voracious and insatiable appetite for books, and most importantly, an unending thirst for the truth in all matters religious. Many of them faced familial opposition, the possible loss of reputation, and in some cases possible high political office. But their increasing conviction that they had encountered "the pearl of great price," the Historical

Church that is co-terminus with the Lord and Savior, conquered all doubts. Their assent was not simply "notional" to use Newmanian terms, but truly "real." In some cases, their conversion was a question of years, or more than a decade of patient dealing backed by true friendship, prayer, and sacrifice. The sweetest words that I have ever heard and, thanks be to God, I have heard them often, are "I want to become a Catholic." No doubt, the historical argument was powerful in these conversions. Some of the better known converts have already told their story in print or tape, others will, I trust, do the same in the future. I always required that they read several books on the history of the Church because I do believe the argument, at least rationally, is unassailableâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the Catholic Church is true, and no other has ever made a credible claim to be the one that was founded by Him. Either the Lord of History established a church with a visible structure on this earth until He comes again or there is

simply no authority that guides and must be obeyed. From the time of the great Schism and the Protestant revolution, the principle of private judgment has given rise to thousands of Christian sects and denominations. That is hardly what was intended when He asked His Father "that all may be one." Those men and women whom I have instructed in the Faith over the last 20 years have read Philip Hughes, Ronald Knox, G.K. Chesterton, Robert Hugh Benson, Louis Bouyer, Warren Carroll, Orestes Brownson, Russell Shaw, Ken Whitehead and many others. They have also

G.K. Chesterton

read many anthologies of converts telling how they came to that "Ancient Beauty, ever new." History is at the heart of all conversion: personal histories and history as it is written by the historian, Flavius Josephus or Pliny the Younger, or Bede the Venerable or even enemies like Gibbon or Macaulay, all give witness to the One Church. History, in fact, provides an essential perspective for the mission of conversion, and we must understand the historical moment in which we live. It is a post-Christian era in some respects. This is particularly true in what some decades ago was known as the First World, i.e. Europe and North America. Even though it pains us, it should not surprise us. After all, Christianity has all but disappeared at other times in history, for instance in the Middle East and northern Africa after the invasion of Islam by conquering forces. Now an even more rapid and unsettling deChristianization is occurring in Europe, through minimal practice of faith in any

traditional sense, a collapse of morality based on natural law and the Commandments, and a continental suicide of the native peoples by contraception. Hilaire Belloc, one of the great popular Catholic historians, could not have imagined how wrong he was when he said that:" Europe is the Faith and the Faith is Europe." I am sure all of us are aware of the masterful work of historian Philip Jenkins who points out convincingly that the greatest recent growth in Christianity, both in numbers and orthodoxy, has been and will continue to be in Africa and Asia. As for us in the United State, liberal Protestantism is fading fast with large decreases in membership and almost no creedal belief that distinguishes one sect from another. Virtually all have caved in on the moral issues having to do with marriage, family, and sexuality. "Private judgment" basically assures that Protestant sects and denominations will not evidence any belief in an objective moral teaching through Revelation. The upcoming 500th

anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation, 1517, will show I think, that mainstream Protestantism in any culture transforming sense is finished in America. And there is no possibility of a Third or Fourth Great Awakening because secularism and the new paganism in a society sated by undreamt of affluence is not going to lead anyone simply to read the Bible and be converted. America is not a Christian nation in any sense other than that probably a plurality of our fellow citizens have been baptized, although that may change in the decades to come. As for the Evangelicals and fundamentalists, I have great respect and affection for our fellow Christians who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible as the sole source of revelation and salvation. I do not believe, however, that a Christian faith without the sacraments, without the liturgy, and without authority, can bring about a renewal of Christian life in our country. Indeed, without denigrating in any way the numerous dialogues that take

place at the diocesan, national, and even international level between Catholics and Protestants, I simply do not believe there is any possibility of any one of the Protestant denominations as a group coming home given the decrepit state of their practice and belief. Ironically enough, it might have been possible 75 years ago when Catholic and Protestants generally shared a common moral belief with important doctrinal disagreements, but not now. Truth be told, (and indeed are we not all truth-tellers?), there is also little possibility of any of the autonomous Orthodox Churches acknowledging the primacy of Peter and arriving at full allegiance to the dogmas and moral life of the Catholic Church. We know there has been virtually no development of common doctrine after the first seven ecumenical councils in the East. How could there be, given there is no universal shepherd of the Orthodox to call and ratify ecumenical Councils? Indeed, separated from the fullness of truth and the magisterium, the

moral teachings in some areas have also deteriorated. The result has been a mystical spiritual theology, of great interest to monks, but not applicable to the Eastern Christian in the street. There is no evangelizing zeal, or lay spirituality. The Eastern Churches are largely sacramental and indeed, if a Patriarch were to return home to Rome, how many of his faithful would there be to follow? We must pray above all for a change in heart in our Eastern Orthodox brethren so we can welcome them home.

Having said all of this, I have to acknowledge openly that the Spirit blows where it will, and God's grace poured into open hearts can indeed perform miracles of mass or denominational conversion to Catholicism. It can happen when and how the Lord wants, but, I think it safe to say that for the foreseeable future which is our lifespan, converts coming to the fullness of faith will come one by one, or family by family, and occasionally congregation by congregation. And that is the way it should be. Early Christianity grew over the course of some 275 years to its

legalization. Starting with Pentecost, it spread from 12 to hundreds and eventually to millions until at the beginning of 4th century, it composed 10 percent of the Roman Empire. The Church was legalized in 313 and less than a century later was the state religion. The remarkable growth was not the result of mass conversion, but rather of the personal witness in behavior of individual persons and families, including confessors and martyrs fortified by prayer and the sacraments. We must remind ourselves that each year there are hundreds of thousands of adults who are either baptized during the Easter vigil or received into full communion within the Church. This number is growing, and while always a small percentage of the whole, it does mean that an increasing number of "serious" Catholics are entering the Church, the great majority of them removed from the controversies of the postconciliar Church in the United States. We may take heart in that younger priests ordained within the last 15 years (given

the advanced age of current pastors, they will soon become pastors themselves) are more oriented towards evangelization of persons, families, and the society than those who were ordained prior to the pontificate of John Paul II. The Holy Father's example of his living the "duc In altum" in order to fish souls without apologies will be the standard modus operandi of bishops and priests certainly well into this new century. Two other factors are helping to break through the wall of mistrust in this post-Christian era. One is various new ecclesial institutions and movements whose impact is just now being felt in the US. They operate with full approval of the Church, are lay oriented, and by their very nature are apostolic and evangelizing. They provide yet another way for non-Catholics to witness a lived Christianity in the world that over time may bring millions to the Church in the years ahead. One of these movements is the Coming Home Network itself, which has contributed to the conversion of thousands of Protestant

ministers into the Catholic Church and will be seen in the English speaking world, I believe, as the 21st century equivalent of the Oxford movement of the 19th century England of my hero, Blessed John Henry Newman to whom we should all pray for the unity of Christians in the Catholic Church. He, as many converts, knew the sleepless nights, the serious study, the long hours of prayer, the fears of loss of income, of friends and even the love of family that is involved in coming home to the Church. Such it will always be for acquiring the pearl of great price.

who are at least culturally Catholic, we as a nation would be doomed to the almost certain fate of continental Europe: demographic suicide within several decades. The catechesis and evangelization of Hispanic Catholics is therefore crucial for the health of the Church and country, an important means of breaking through the wall of mistrust to bring other Christians home.

The second factor is tens of millions of Hispanic immigrants in our country with surely more to come regardless of changes in immigration laws. Sadly and ironically, without them the Unites States would be in negative population growth as we are now hovering at the lowest per capita birth rate in our history as a nation. Abortion and contraception continue to take their deadly toll. Without the Hispanics, virtually all of

But far beyond all these signs that, in time, the wall of mistrust will fall looms the magnificent figure of Saint John Paul II. He who in my view was the greatest Pope of the last 500 years has left much magisterial teaching behind for us to study and implement in the decades ahead. Although he had many important themes in his Pontificate, the one that was clearly closest to his heart and to that of Christ was that all may be one. His ecumenical outreach to his fellow Christians was tireless and nothing less than extraordinary. He did not spare any effort to reach out to fellow Christians, urging them to recognize and embrace" the

fullness of truth" in the Catholic Church, always with great respect and kindness in acknowledging all that is true in their traditions, whether Orthodox or Protestant. In virtually every one of the over 100 papal trips, he always scheduled, when feasible, meetings with other Christian leaders to extend a hand of friendship and fellowship. At times, he did so and exposed himself to coolness, indifference, and even insult. In doing so, he imitated the example of the Lord and his Apostle Paul, preaching "opportune et importune" (in season and out).

for millions to become Catholic and for many millions to return to the Faith. I share his vision of the springtime of the Church in this century and pray that the crowning achievement of this springtime will be the unity of all Christians. The favorite short prayer of Saint Josemaria Escriva, a man whose example and writings have brought many home to the Church, was "Omnes cum Petro ad Jesus per Mariam (All with Peter, to Jesus through Mary!). May it be so.

Pope John Paul's extraordinary witness alone has been enough

ABOUT THEâ&#x20AC;¨ AUTHOR Rev C. John McCloskey III is a Catholic priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and member of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross. He is the former director of the Catholic Information Center of the Archdiocese of Washington. Website: www.frmccloskey.com.

Is there a Future African Pope Out there? by Rev Conor Donnelly

s the Vicar of Christ comes to our shores it can be useful to cast a contemplative gaze back over history. St John Paul II said that the twentieth century had seen the miracle of Africa and that the twenty-first had to see the miracle of Asia. There were approximately 100,000 Catholics in Africa in the year 1900, that number is now approaching 200 million. Since 1980 alone the Catholic Church in Africa has grown by 238%. Today missionaries are going from Kenya to Europe and other parts of the world. At the First Vatican Council in 1870 there were no African bishops present because there were none. At the Second Vatican Council there were a handful,

today there are hundreds of African bishops, maybe even a thousand and sixteen African Cardinals. The first missionaries to reach Kenya were Augustinian Friars in the sixteenth century. They set up base in Mombasa and the neighboring islands of Pemba and Lamu. These were important trade centres in those days. Eventually the Augustinian Friars became the Mombasa Martyrs and the seed of Christianity that was yet to come. Zanzibar was the most important trading centre along the African coast visited mainly by Arab and Chinese merchants. Often slaves were the most sought after merchandise. Much

has been written about the slave trade off the West Coast of Africa but not so much is known about that of the East Coast which was quite substantial. The first diocese was set up in Zanzibar and it was from here that missionaries ventured inland which to a large extent at that time was virgin territory. One of the first efforts of the missionaries was to buy the slaves, thereby giving them freedom and with it Christian instruction. The next missionary thrust came after Pius IX spoke of a new evangelization in the 1850s. Missionary orders in Europe began again to go all over the world. Parts of Africa were assigned to different orders. The Spiritans (Holy Ghost Fathers), both French and later Irish landed in Mombasa in 1898 and built the Cathedral which today is a landmark in the city. They evangelised the coast and then moved inland toward Nairobi. They were the first to evangelise Nairobi, building the first Catholic church there, St Austinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parish in 1900. With it they also made the first coffee

plantation in the area. Coffee is now a major product of Kenya. They were followed shortly after by the Consolata Fathers from Italy who went to Nyeri. Mill Hill Fathers walked from Mombasa to Kisumu beside Lake Victoria, a journey of 1000 kilometres. The railway had not yet been built. They carried a small cross which today hangs in St Joseph's parish in Milimani, Kisumu as a testimony of their pilgrimage. Along the wall of the church is a map of their journey to remind all future Christians of the sacrifices made by their predecessors. White Fathers (M.Afr.) came to this area also from Uganda. In the later years other orders were to have their influence, Kiltegan Fathers in Nakuru and Kitui. The Society of South African Missionaries and many others. The ruling colonial power at this time was the United Kingdom. They were happy to have this evangelising influence, mainly because with the missionaries came schools and hospitals. The State got a relatively free service.

Much of these influences helped to maintain peace.

working for a higher ideal and a greater good.

The Mercy Sisters followed soon after, setting up the Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Nairobi and others. The Medical Missionaries of Mary came too. The Loreto sisters set up a chain of the best schools for girls in the country. In this way the Catholic Church, along with other churches, played major role in the development of the country. It is interesting to see this close up, because it is the same story for many European countries although this part of history sometimes seems to have been conveniently forgotten there.

The recent beatification of Consolata Sister Irene Stefanie, an Italian missionary in Nyeri around 1920, has highlighted some amusing stories. There were 600 Consolata Sisters in East Africa in the 1930s. They had learnt Kikuyu, the local language, needed to converse with the people. However the British insisted that the sisters know English so as to be able to talk with the school inspectors. This was a bit too much for the good Italian ladies and so in a clever Italian way they got one sister to learn English and she was produced whenever the inspector came to call.

Many people think that apartheid was something associated with South Africa but it should not be forgotten that in those days apartheid was everywhere. The missionaries had to work within the system in helping the local people, or else not work at all. Relations with the governing power were mostly smooth but not always. Some Irish missionaries did not find it easy to work within a British system, but they were

Women in the history of the Church have done incredible things. The history of the Consolata Sisters in Kenya is a compelling story of heroism and constancy. It is an example of how people of the Church have promoted development everywhere. They came to Kenya in 1913 from Turin with nothing. Eventually they ran seventy mission stations in Nyeri before

World War Two. As Italians they were interned as possible spies during the war. But they stayed and returned to their posts after the war. They had to fight lack of water, lack of food, and even the Mau Mau, who killed one sister. It is easy to see how an army of women like this have contributed to the growth and development of a country. A knowledge of history reveals that something similar has happened in so many other countries. What these women achieved in such challenging circumstances should be known and read by many. A book on the history of the Consolata Sisters makes numerous references to the diaries kept by the sisters in each of the mission stations. They could not have known what a historical testimony they would be corporately leaving as they wrote. The recent beatification of Sr Irene Stefani in Nyeri is recognition by the Church of the work done. There are many other unsung heroes. Many of the stories of these beginnings are only now being written.

Elderly missionaries now have the time and inclination to write. It is a glorious history. I recently read the history of the Society of African Missions in West Africa. You would be hard pressed to find another history of such heroism. These books, now available in Nairobi should be on sale in every Catholic bookstore and the stories they tell taught in all Catholic schools all over the world. They do us proud. Over time some policies changed. In 1958 the Prelature of Opus Dei arrived in Kenya. They wanted to open two interracial schools. They were received with abuse and ridicule. However St Josemaria Escriva stuck to his guns and said if this was not approved, they would pull out. Papers have been discovered in London about the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Strathmore Questionâ&#x20AC;?. It was clear that if inter-racial schools were approved this would have consequences for the Commonwealth. Eventually reason prevailed and Kianda School for Girls and Strathmore School for Boys, the first inter-

racial schools in East Africa, were founded. They could only get land far out from the city and away from the white areas, but today the city has grown and it is not noticeable. The protagonists of this story are still alive.

decades running medical services in Africa. Pope Francis has a right to hope that something similar will be seen in Kenya forty years from now, when a successor of his, perhaps from this part of the world pays a papal visit.

Today the Catholic Church runs 30% of the hospitals in the country and many of the best schools. The Catholic population is about 40%. It is with this background that Pope Francis is coming to Kenya. The second Pope to visit, St John Paul II came three times, the last was in 1995, exactly twenty years ago. I recently visited a nursing home in Ireland where 130 sisters, doctors and nurses, are living out their days, having spent

ABOUT THEâ&#x20AC;¨ AUTHOR Fr Conor Donnelly qualified as a medical doctor in University College Dublin in 1977 and worked as a house physician and surgeon for one year at St. Vincentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital, Dublin. He was ordained a priest in 1981 for the Prelature of Opus Dei. He obtained a doctorate in Theology from the University of Pamplona, Spain in 1982. He is at present the chaplain of Kianda School for Girls, Kenya.

St Josemaria's reflections on the Last Things I give you thanks, my Jesus, for your decision to become perfect Man, with a Heart which loved and is most loveable; which loved unto death and suffered; which was filled with joy and sorrow; which delighted in the things of men and showed us the way to Heaven; which subjected itself heroically to duty and acted with mercy; which watched over the poor and the rich and cared for sinners and the just. I give you thanks, my Jesus. Give us hearts to measure up to Yours! Furrow, 813 If you are an apostle, death for you will be a good friend who helps you on your way. The Way, 735 And when death comes as it undoubtedly will, we will greet it with joy, as I have seen so many people greet it in the ordinary circumstances of their life. With joy: for if we have imitated Christ in doing good — in obeying and carrying the cross in spite of our personal deficiencies — we will rise like Christ: “for he has truly risen.” [Lk 24:34] Christ is Passing By, 21

Doing God's work is not just a pretty phrase. It is an invitation to spend ourselves for Love's sake. We have to die to ourselves and be born again to a new life. Jesus Christ obeyed in this way, even unto death on a cross; that is why God exalted him. If we obey God's will, the cross will mean our own resurrection and exaltation. Christ's life will be fulfilled step by step in our own lives. It will be said of us that we have tried to be good children of God, who went about doing good in spite of our weakness and personal shortcomings, no matter how many. Christ is Passing By, 21 For 'others', death is a stumbling block, a source of terror. For us, death--Life--is an encouragement and a stimulus. For them it is the end: for us, the beginning. The Way, 738 When you think about death, do not be afraid, in spite of your sins. For he already knows that you love him and what stuff you are made of. If you seek him, he will welcome you as the father welcomed the prodigal son; but you have to seek him. Furrow, 880 You were consoled by the idea that life is to be spent, burned in the service of God. And spending ourselves entirely for him is how we shall be freed from death, which brings us the possession of Life. Furrow, 883

Film review: Bridge of Spies by John Mulderig

ew incidents in the long history of the Cold War were as rich in personal drama as an exchange of prisoners that took place on a Berlin bridge early on the morning of February 10, 1962. The subjects of the tense swap were a duo of high-profile captives from either side of the Iron Curtain: KGB agent Rudolf Abel and downed U.S. spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers. The events that led up to this rare face-to-face engagement between the forces of East and West are skillfully chronicled in director Steven Spielberg's outstanding thriller "Bridge of Spies" (Disney). As his film

shows, the hard-won bargain underlying the trade was, in large part, the work of a seemingly unlikely broker, New York corporate lawyer James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks). A specialist in insurance cases, with limited experience in the criminal field, Donovan is surprised to learn, as the movie opens in 1957, that the American Bar Association has chosen him to represent Abel (Mark Rylance) following the Brooklynbased operative's arrest by the FBI. It's obviously a thankless task, but at the urging of his senior partner, Thomas Watters (Alan Alda), Donovan reluctantly accepts.

Despite the strong bias of the presiding jurist, Judge Mortimer Byers (Dakin Matthews), and the fears of retaliation expressed by his devoted wife, Mary (Amy Ryan) -- concerns that turn out to be well-grounded -- Donovan gives the case his all. In fact his doggedness far exceeds the strictly pro-forma defense Watters and the ABA had expected him to provide. When Abel is nonetheless convicted, Donovan appeals all the way to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, as scenes interspersed with Donovan's legal maneuverings show us, the CIA is busy developing the U2 surveillance plane to photograph Soviet military installations, and training Air Force officers like Powers (Austin Stowell) to pilot the cutting-edge craft. Thus the stage is set for Donovan's transition from advocate to negotiator. At the behest of famed CIA director Allen Dulles (Peter McRobbie), Donovan agrees to serve as the government's unofficial representative in a secretive

effort to reach a deal for Powers' release. Screenwriters Matt Charman and Ethan and Joel Coen add suspense to their fact-based story -- the basic outcome of which is well known -- by focusing on the fate of American graduate student Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers). A rather naive youth caught on the wrong side of the newly built Berlin Wall, and conveniently accused of spying by the East Germans, Pryor is anything but a priority as far as the real cloak-anddagger folks backing Donovan are concerned. Still, savvy gamesman Donovan is determined to spring Pryor as well as Powers -- even if he has to risk walking away with neither of them to accomplish it. The script maintains a balanced outlook on the ideological struggle, neither sugarcoating American behavior nor ignoring the brutality of the Communists. Together with the thoroughgoing, understated decency of its main character, this just portrayal of the past

makes Spielberg's predictably well-crafted retrospective a valuable viewing experience. In fact, the lessons it conveys, and the ethics it upholds may lead many parents to regard "Bridge of Spies" as acceptable fare for their older teens, despite the potentially problematic material listed below. The film contains a few uses of profanity, a couple of rough terms and occasional crude and crass language. The Catholic News Service classification is AIII -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Interdiocesan Retreats For Priests 23 Nov (9pm) - 27 Nov (10am) 2015

7 Mar (9pm) - 11 Mar (10am) 2016 25 Apr (9pm) - 29 Apr (10am) 2016

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Married couples: strengthen your marriage! Marital Love is a course over five Sunday afternoons to help married couples deepen in their married love, navigate the challenges of marriage and to learn from the experiences of other couples.

When?   12pm - 3.45pm on Sunday   17 Jan, 6 March, 24 April, 15 May, 12 June. Where?  Rosemont School, Sandyford,   Co. Dublin. (Child-minding as well as fun activities for the children will be provided). The cost?  €220 per couple.   This includes course materials, tuition and a meal. For further information see www.familyenrichmentireland.org