Shell-to-Sea

Two County Mayo based parish priests have publicly taken different points of view on the Corrib Gas Project, which aims to bring gas ashore in the county. READ MORE Both Fr Michael Nallen and Fr Kevin Hegarty made submissions to the An Bord Planeala hearing into the Corrib Gas Project in Bellmullet this week with both being firmly on opposite sides of the fence. There has been a fierce battle for years now to stop the destruction of this beautiful, untainted area of the West of Ireland. Apparently the gas supply will only last for 15 years! For more on the group opposing the project go HERE to Shell-to-Sea website.

I read the other day that Fr. Hegarty praised Shell. Why? Because they sponsored his school and other activites for the children. I bet they did. Isn't that what they do in all the countries they enter to steal the natural resources. "Here's a few little sweets", they say.

Fr. Hegarty wrote an article for the Mayo News in March, 2009 entitled 'Benedict and Condoms'. He asserts that the Pope's teaching ie Church teaching on condoms is unhelpful given the AIDS crisis in the world. He believes Pope Paul got it wrong on 'Humanae Vitae’ and he believes in women priests. As with all the other 'progressive' priests who wish to form a priests association he is a devout follower of John O'Donohue. This is what he says of Mr. O'Donohue in an article printed on a BBC blog:

For people jaded by the blandness of conventional Irish Catholicism, he opened up new vistas of exploration and experience.

His ecclesiastical superiors became suspicious of his growing reputation. They sought to clip his wings by imprisoning him in a busy curacy where they hoped he would have less time for flights of fancy.

As one comment says:

God rest him and so on, but thank God there'll be no more of his awful books. Shallow, trite, meaningless rubbish with bogus Celtic motifs.

I thought this was most telling: "they sought to clip his wings by imprisoning him in a busy curacy". Gosh, imagine expecting an ordained priest to actually work.

It also so happens that the Irish Bishops conference sacked Mr. Hegarty as editor of the Catholic Church Intercom magazine, in 1994 for promoting teachings contrary to the Church.

Oh, I forgot to mention he doesn't agree with celibacy, what he calls compulsory celibacy.

Serving Tea

I know a woman who did a degree in theology. Following her primary degree, she decided to do a Masters. On obtaining her Masters she announced she was going on mission to Africa, and hoped to be working in a university. When I asked about her work, she replied, "oh, I don't mind if I just get to make the tea, I just would love to be in the university environment."

As it happened the mission was put off for a while and in the meantime she ended up in another country where she went to a Catholic conference. She introduced herself to the organisers and told them about her qualifications and if in any way she could help, she would be delighted. The organisers thanked her and asked her if she wouldn't mind helping out with the teas as they had no one to serve the tea. She left the conference and reported that it was the worst conference she ever went to, not what she had expected at all.

Ambition is a terrible thing. To serve or to lecture, that is the question!

The Moral Journey?

I listened to Dr. Suzanne Mulligan, a lecturer in Moral Theology at The Milltown Institute, Dublin, give a talk at the Knock Shrine Novena last week. The title was 'The Moral Journey':
Here's an extract:

Perhaps something new can be born out of this terrible time we are in. But that is an invitation for all of us to take our part. That leads us to the question of renewal in the Church. In the 1940s, 50s, and 60s a renewal took place in Catholic theology culminating in the Second Vatican Council. Pope John XXIII who called that Council, famously likened it to opening the windows of the Church and letting in the light and the air to refresh an otherwise dark and stuffy place. His vision was of a Church that would be relevant in the rapidly changing world of the 1960s. A Church that could contribute with confidence to the global conversation. In short, he wanted to update the Church. We must face the issues of today's Church with the same courage and determination that Pope John XXIII showed when he called the Council. So, what sort of renewal would I like to see? Well, I believe if we are serious about renewal we must focus on a number of things. And for me, one of the most important is the need to become more welcoming, an inclusive Church. What do I mean by that? What are the implications? What we need to ask, whether, like Jesus, we are a Church that welcomes all people, the sinner as well as the saint. Is there place at our table for the gay couple living together, for the divorced and remarried, for the bad neighbour or the bad parent. Will we welcome the abuser? If we are serious about reconciliation then we need to confront questions such as these. Also renewal must be forward looking. Renewal of structures, attitudes and policies will contribute to the repentance that must take place in our Church at present.

I'd like to ask Dr. Mulligan her own question? What does she mean by that? Does she mean that anyone living an openly gay relationship should be allowed to receive Communion? Does she mean that divorced and remarried couples should be allowed to receive Communion? A bad parent is not on the same par as the two examples above. Where does she get her theology from? A liberal, feminist college?
Call the Vatican visitation help line. God help us!

David Quinn in Our Lady's Shrine, Knock, 2010

The Church will survive

Here's a letter published on the the Irish Times website. It is in response to an article by Mary Raftery.

It is a dark period for the Church, but I'm sure the Church will survive and grow into the future and continue to offer support and spiritual guidance to the billions of people who follow the teachings of Christ. There seems to be a confusion in the manner that many "outsiders" condemn the Church in that they cannot seem to separate the Church which teaches Christ's message of the Gospel and a particular group of individuals who have brought shame and corruption to the institutions of the Catholic Church.
Child abuse is not specific to the Church, although to listen to some of the condemnation from outside forces with their own particular agendas, you would think that this was an issue specific to this organisation. Some irrational and emotional fringe commentators have even called for the Church to be abolished. Of course there was denial, of course there was cover up. There was abuse in State run institutions here yet no one is calling for the state to be abolished. Particular aetheist groups are jumping on the bandwagon in outright condemnation of the Church.
It's up to the Church to sort out it's own internal affairs. After all, there was a reticence on the part of the civil authorities to get involved in this matter at the time and to bring criminal prosecutions. If there are criminal actions to be taken against individuals they should be taken without hesitation. That's up to the authorities.
"International criminal conspiracy". I don't think so. Church authorities just wanted to turn a blind eye. Most of the civilian population here wanted to turn a blind eye also. We're all knowledgeable after the fact. Some seem to be all knowing in their opinions. Hindsight is a great thing.
I'm not part of the Church, but I can see a great resurgence in this Religion in the future once it has cleansed itself from those who carried out these acts of corruption.
"Black hole". Aetheism and capitalism has carried society into a black hole. Spiritual belief will be the shining light that guides people back, and the Church with it's many pure believers will be a strong spiritual force once again.
The Church has survived over 2,000 years through many dark periods, but through many dark periods in human evolution the Church has been a light of guidance to many, many people.
Today, 10:38:59
Tommy.

The 80 year old woman from Cork

Things are bad in Ireland when an 80 year old woman calls on all catholics to boycott Mass on the 26th September, as a protest against the Church re the Murphy report and the treatment of women. It's not the call to protest that's bad, but asking people to stay away from Mass, a day of obligation, where we are obliged to attend Mass and the amount of press coverage given to it that is quite mad. People have lost all sense of reason in this country. The Church, as a rule, has never had women priests in 2,000 years of history, so why use the scandals to promote the equality agenda which is politically motivated. Does this little old woman think for one minute that a woman priest would be less likely to cause scandal in the Church. She forgets it was a woman, Eve, who tempted her male companion, to sin. What was the sin? Disobedience. The evil one, the serpent, obviously knew he couldn't tempt the man, but he knew a woman could! So there we have it. The fall from grace began with a woman. But all was not lost. The restoration of grace came about through no less than a woman, who was totally obedient to God, and said a full 'yes' to His will for her in her life. This obedience brought into the world the Light of the world for our salvation.

When women stop trying to be men and be true women, they will have great peace and fulfillment in being women. I want to publish a letter I found in the Irish Times today on this subject. Says more than I can say:

Madam, – When I lived in Northern Ireland I helped the charity Parity to prosecute the then British government in the European Court of Human Rights for discrimination against men in the way the state pension was paid to women five years earlier than to men.

Although we won the case, 10 years on the change has still not yet been implemented and to this day men in Northern Ireland continue to be routinely discriminated against. When we won the right to equal access for men to free travel, the BBC covered the story by interviewing women only and presenting it as a backward step for women.

My complaint to it about unfairness was rejected on the grounds that “only women were affected by the change”. There were of course other aspects of discrimination against men which we overturned, in terms of gender-biased prescription charges, winter fuel payments, widowers’ benefit, etc, but the media has been strangely unwilling to publicise them.

There is continuing discrimination against men in this country: for instance virtually all workplace deaths involve men, as women continue to be under-represented in the most dangerous jobs, but every year the HSA fails to mention this in its report, and the media fails to make it an issue. There are many other examples.

Eithne Reid O’Doherty (August 12th) needs to understand that political representation is about recognising, respecting and delivering the needs of all your constituents, not just those of the her gender. Equality is for everyone, not just for women. – Yours, etc,

WILLIAM MONGEY,

Ard Haven,

Waterford.