Enclosed Nun, Sr Monica

Sister Monica Boggan
Interviewed by Sue Leonard

On Saturday 29th July, Sister Monica Boggan, aged thirty, made her final profession, taking lifetime vows to live in the Redemptoristine community in Drumcondra, Dublin. The ceremony was shown on webcam, yet the order is an enclosed one, and the nuns wear a full habit. Why did this young woman from Meath choose this contemplative path in life?

It all started when she was twelve years old.
“I got the call, and I wrote to many active orders, but they all said I was too young. They told me to go out and enjoy life, and I did. I liked travelling and went on pilgrimages to Medjugorje, and to World Youth Day in Cologne. I loved that! I was involved in the Legion of Mary, and in the Pioneers.”

Sister Monica was working as a secretary at the time. She enjoyed life, going out with her friends to films and to discos. But she still felt the call.
“In January 2006 I felt called to Mother Theresa’s order. I went to London for a ‘come and see’ month, and I felt, this life is for me.

“I was sent to Italy and spent three months working with the poor, but something was missing. I didn’t have peace in my heart. I came home feeling a disappointment. Although now I can see I was growing in my faith.

“I felt Jesus was still calling me, but I didn’t know where to go. I thought about the Carmelites, but when I read about them it didn’t feel right, and one day I was in NUI Maynooth when I saw a notice for a weekend experiencing the Redemptoristine way of life in Drumcondra. I didn’t know the Redemptoristines existed! A friend, Joe was passing by and he said, ‘You should try them.’ He gave me the form to fill in, and within weeks I was called for a Monastic weekend.

“I remember, on the bus saying, ‘Whatever happens, Lord, I am open to being with the sisters and enjoying the weekend, and he surprised me big time. I came into the reception to meet the sisters and I had tremendous joy, and peace in my heart. When we sat around after prayers I felt I had known the sisters all my life. Something was growing in my heart. My desire to be here grew and grew from there.”

What was it about the order that so appealed?
“It was the contemplative dimension of the life. It was being in that relationship with Jesus, entering more into the silence and listening to him more. It’s also the community way of life.”

I first met Sister Monica five and a half years ago. She had entered the monastery just three days previously and was ecstatically happy. How have the past five years been?
“Very challenging, but very rewarding as well. I mean challenging in a good sense. I’ve been growing into the person I am today, growing in my relationship with Jesus, and learning to work and love the others in the community.

“To get on with others is not easy at times. There are certain sisters I trust and confide in, and others who might not confide in me, and that’s okay. We can’t all share with everyone. There are sixteen nuns in the community; the eldest is eighty-five and the youngest twenty-seven. The older nuns have a wonderful wisdom and their experience often helps us.”

Sister Monica is wonderful company. As we sit in a parlour sipping tea, separated by an unobtrusive wooden partition, she glows with inner happiness, and has an infectious laugh. Has she ever had doubts?

“Oh yes. You won’t go through life without them. I remember, early on, thinking, my goodness I can’t love God! I said it to Mother Superior, and she said ‘It’s part of the journey. He is there carrying you through.’ Then the joy comes back again; that deeper letting God in your life. I am not on my own.”

Surely, though, she must envy the freedom enjoyed by her brother and three sisters, especially the two who have children?
“I love children. I looked after twenty families before I came in, from the age of thirteen, from an hour to a weekend. I remember getting the phone call when my sister had her second baby. I was happy and excited for them, but I did feel I was missing out. I feel that on the kid’s birthdays, but I always ring my family and chat. I see them every two months, and I can hug the babies.

“I do feel it, but I am a spiritual mother. We are carrying Jesus in our hearts and giving birth to him every day. And you are a mother to the sisters in the community, looking out for them. That has given me a deeper sense of motherhood.”

Does she ever get lonely?
“Strangely, yes. There are sixteen in the community, but you can be going through something that you don’t want to share. And you can be lonely when something is going on in your family and you are not there sharing it with them. But my relationship with my family has deepened since I’ve been in here.”

Sister Monica spends much of her day in prayer, but there is work to do too. She works in the kitchen sometimes, and in the refectory. But her main job is making altar breads.
“I love to know that the bread you are putting in the boxes for the priest in going to become the body of Christ. I don’t know if I will ever grasp that fully. It’s just a wow!”

There’s study time; she’s about to embark on a degree in theology, and there’s some recreation time also. Sister Monica loves walking in the garden. The sisters sometimes watch the news; especially around election time, so that they can vote with knowledge.

Nuns no longer present the convent with a ‘dowry,’ but any money or possessions are shared with the community. The sisters are encouraged to share any birthday and Christmas presents, also.

As for food, they are allowed to ask for a ‘need’ but not for a ‘want.’
“There is always lots of healthy food like brown bread, yogurts and fruit. But if you want a particular chocolate bar you have to ask permission.”

The monastery has a website. It even has a Twitter account. Isn’t this strange when the order is an enclosed one?
“We are reaching out through the internet and that is wonderful. People ask for prayers. They tell us their lives and share their joy and sorrows. Mother Superior prints out all the emails. We read them and carry them in our prayers. But people still write letters and use the telephone. They still come and chat to us after mass. We don’t always hear if our prayers have been answered, but I have faith and I believe God is working for us.”

For more information: www.rednuns.com

© Sue Leonard 2013

Pope Francis and the Fight Against Poverty

Pope Francis, and The Fight Against Poverty
By Sue Leonard

Since Pope Francis started his pontificate, he has made a point of supporting the poor and the needy. He has made it clear, by his words, and his actions, that he wants the Catholic Church to become a poor church for the poor. The church has always seen the outreach to the poor as a central part of its mission. But how well is the church fulfilling this mission today, at home and abroad?

Peadar Kirby Retired Professor Emeritus of International Politics and Public Policy at the University of Limerick.

Pope Francis is, I believe, the first Pope in my lifetime, and possibly in the history of the church who has made the plight of the poor the central theme of his pontificate. This is very significant, and I am greatly heartened by it.

His words have not, yet, had much impact on Ireland. I suspect that many bishops and priests are taken aback by his stance. There has always been social justice in the church’s teaching, but the average catholic hardly knows what it is, and far less what its content is. I think that is true of priests and bishops too. They have paid lip service to social teaching, but, with rare exceptions, have never given it adequate emphasis. I suspect the Pope’s message will take time to filter down as the leadership reassess their priorities.

The church in Ireland is trying to adjust to such a fundamental change that it is introspective, and is frightened to speak out, but there is renewal going on at parish level, I feel. And some priests have found the Pope’s words liberating. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has probably welcomed it, as being consistent with his set of priorities and style of leadership.

The church has a glorious history in the developing world. In the seventies and eighties, it stood alongside the poor; there was certainly support for those in Latin American countries who were struggling against dictatorship, and human rights abuses. But since that time, the church has retreated because of the impact of Pope John Paul 2nd and Pope Benedict. Both set up very conservative appointments, and the Catholic church was outflanked by the evangelical churches.

The other phenomenon, in Latin America, is that those joining the priesthood were extremely conservative. I remember asking to meet liberation theology priests there, and meeting men in their eighties and nineties. They were lamenting the blunting effect of such conservatism on the church’s voice for social justice.

The same is true in many other countries. Social justice, once strong, was diminished under the last two Popes but there is a turning of the tide. Now a voice for justice for, and on behalf of, the poor is being encouraged from Rome, rather than being seem to be discouraged. That is significant and is greatly to be welcomed.

Eamonn Meehan, CEO of Trócaire

Many of the statements Pope Francis has made have resonated strongly with Trócaire. He has spoken of the need to reduce inequality, to protect the environment and of the dangers of seeing people as economic units.
When Pope Francis speaks of the need to tackle hunger, exploitation and inequality, he gives a powerful message of our responsibility to bring justice to the almost one billion people who go hungry each day, and the many more who live in constant poverty. To see the Pope washing the feet of young prisoners is hugely powerful and reminds us all of our duty to help the marginalised and vulnerable among us.

His call for clergy to involve themselves in the lives of the poor is reflective of what we see in our work, not only amongst the missionaries who dedicate their lives to helping poor communities, but also amongst the clergy here in Ireland who do so much to communicate the work of Trócaire to their congregations.
The fact that Pope Francis comes from a country which has had deep troubles in the past means that he has an understanding of social justice. He has used this understanding to communicate beliefs which are central to Catholic Social Teaching.

He said Mass on the island of Lampedusa, remembering the thousands of Africans who have lost their lives trying to reach Europe. The significance of this poignant act was tragically driven home recently when over 250 people were killed trying to reach Lampedusa.

He has also spoken about the need for solidarity with the people of Syria. Pope Francis’s calls for diplomacy and dialogue to end the war in Syria were heard around the world and offered a powerful alternative to calls for military intervention.

Much of what Pope Francis has said is reminiscent of the pastoral letter issued by the Bishops of Ireland in 1973 when they founded Trócaire. This pastoral letter urged people in Ireland to never close their eyes or hearts to the needs of the world’s poor, and spoke of the structural injustices that leave some rich and others poor.
Forty years on, Trócaire continues to give this message. Pope Francis’s statements have been inspiring and have given us great courage to continue to do the work we do.

John Mark McCafferty, Head of Social Justice at St Vincent de Paul. `

Whilst St Vincent de Paul is not a manifestation of the Catholic Church, we are a Christian organisation with a Catholic background, and many of our volunteers would see their involvement as faith in action. And certainly their actions counter poverty in a very practical sense.
At St Vincent de Paul we are trying to assist people to break out of their levels of dependence; by means of education or training, so there is a strong element of social justice. Everything Pope Francis is saying is very much congruent with what we believe. He appears to embody the aspiration of a church for the poor, opting for the interest of people who are marginalised.

After five years of recession, poverty is more entrenched in Ireland. People feel helpless, and long term unemployment is a bigger issue. Most of our clients are people we already helped in the good times, with our largest group being lone parents. There is a great deal of intergenerational poverty.

I think many of our clients feel a dislocation with the hierarchal style of the church. This has been a challenge in Ireland for a generation or more. A clerical church sits better among high income groups.

I think in the past the church went for a charitable model rather than a social justice model. They would donate, so putting a sticking plaster on the problem, rather than asking ‘What is a just level of tax?’ ‘What is a just level of social expenditure?’ My saying that may well raise the ire of many of the faithful, who will say, ‘You are raising a political agenda.’ I don’t think this attitude is such an issue elsewhere.

The church has a choice. Are we going to be a small church full of rules and regulations, or a much broader embracing realm which is about the dignity of the person, and their needs and vulnerabilities? It can remould, and hopefully Francis’s papacy will bring about a shift.

Hopefully the church will recognise that charity can very naturally coexist with justice. It can negotiate its role within the state and facilitate society to assist people to reach their full potential. We need communities, the state and the church to redistribute resources.

Father Gerry O’Connor. A Redemptorist priest based in Cherry Orchard, and founder of SERVE.

Pope Francis is an inspiration. I carry his first papal homily around with me. He took an old testament scripture passage and made it relevant and practical. It was to reach out to people and to be with them in their daily struggles and anguish. Cherry Orchard is an area with significant economic challenges. His message spelt out all it means to be a practitioner of the gospel in the local community.

Traditionally the church in Ireland has a good track record for responding to social problems. Where there was a lack of educational services, they delivered them. Where there was a lack of health services they delivered and they took the call to be of service to the poor seriously. Many people and organisations achieved social inclusion by reaching out to people on the margins. I think Ireland did better than most countries.

In the last twenty to thirty years we have been lacking in both resources and personnel. The church should have let go of hospitals and schools in order to free up money and people to work with emerging social problems. The traditional way to help the poor is to give them charity. We do that well. But I think we need involvement at policy level too. The church should become involved in resident’s associations, and regeneration initiatives. There should be a representative to work alongside political parties and trade unions. I have tried to do that in Cherry Orchard.

I have witnessed poverty in Africa and other poor regions through my work with GOAL in the eighties, and through my involvement with SERVE. The Irish Missionary movement has a very proud history. It went to rural areas and difficult urban areas where others refused to go. But outside the Irish story you get a more mixed cocktail. In Africa there are examples of deep commitment, but also of indifference. Of the church providing charity without trying to solve the structural problems. You see the church being friendly with the elite, rather than being an advocacy for change.

Pope Francis felt the church had begun to look inwards and not outwards. In Ireland, the leadership had begun to embrace Pope Benedict’s idea of, ‘let us be small, but a beacon of light to the world.’ Francis feels the church is part of a spiritual family that is generous in its understanding of humanity. And there is a bit of resistance.

Many people feel that if the church is to survive and thrive here, there should be a strong emphasis on catechistical education in order to secure membership from the next generation. Pope Francis’s idea is that we should reach out to everybody, and that nominal Catholics are entitled to the same services as the devout and dedicated. This is a significant change.

Pope Francis’s words are like a pat on the back for all the work we have been doing in Cherry Orchard. We had begun to feel that we were doing something wrong or odd, because what we were at seemed different to the values emerging under the last pontiff.

William Browne. Works for SERVE as a fundraiser.

I was first a volunteer for SERVE five years ago, and have been working for them for the past three years. I volunteer every summer, and I am also developing aid. I welcome Pope Francis’s papacy. He is an identifiable role model for a non materialist world, and how you can gain happiness through simplicity.

I have been to the Philippines, to Africa and Mozambique. At SERVE our priority is to support children, women and young people. We find programmes which will provide education and skills for people. We develop them with partners in the country. In the Philippines we worked with Redemptorists out there, and with Presentation sisters. It’s a shared journey. The symbol of this is the flip-flop.

Each year we sell flip-flop badges. They are made by women in Thailand, and they get the money back when we have sold the badges in Ireland. They have the skills to get out of poverty.

When I fundraise in Ireland, people sometimes ask why they should give to people abroad when Ireland is in a recession. My job is to give people a picture of how life is. And to show them that whilst Ireland is struggling, people abroad have a different level of poverty.

Pope Francis is inspirational in that he shows us the other, less glamorous side of the church. He has great humanity, and by relating the teachings of the bible to daily lives, he is enhancing our understanding of Catholicism in life.

Trish Gallagher, 27, is involved in youth schemes and the pioneers in County Mayo. She is a Volunteer for SERVE.

Pope Francis is brilliant! He is so easy to relate to. In challenging people to live their faith, he is a powerful role model. That really resonates with me. When I was a teenager I was bombarded by messages encouraging me to drink, and it was the example of the people around me who resisted drink that encouraged me to take the pledge. Example has a much bigger impact than words.

In the parish we are getting used to Pope Francis’s vision of Catholicism. I think his example will make a difference to us here. Everyone is inspired by him, and his obvious passion for the poor.
SERVE already carries out his message of focusing on the poor. By volunteering for 12 weeks each summer, we get a sense of the challenges for people abroad, and by living there we are in solidarity with them. I went to South Africa last summer.

In South Africa we had two partners; One was health based. This is much better than catapulting volunteers out there and saying ‘go make a difference.’ If they build a school, who will staff it? Who will make the dinner?
We spent four weeks renovating medical centres and building extensions to schools so that more people could be provided for. When we left one of the partners said, ‘Because of your work, less people will be going to that graveyard over there.’

That was the quantifiable difference, but there were unquantifiable ones too. We spent evenings in an AIDS hospice, telling the patients stories about our families; giving them gossip and making them laugh. We’d paint their nails and their eyes would light up. We can’t define that in a report, but they can’t wait to see us again next year.

© Sue Leonard. 2013.

Ex nun, Eleanor Stewart.

Breaking the habit of her youth | Irish Examiner

What People do for Charity

What People for Charity.
Published in Reality Magazine in June 2013.
By Sue Leonard

Once, to raise money for charity, people held a jumble sale, or rattled a tin. Now, with so many good causes jostling for attention, it seems necessary to think up something extraordinary, to catch the public’s attention.

So when, during a committee meeting in County Tipperary, the members suggested table quizzes, and bag packing, Sr Patricia Wall got to thinking. She said,
“We should do a sky dive.” And, after more thought, she decided that as a nun of almost 75, she should be the one to do it. “I said I was happy to, as long as the rest of the committee got on with the fund raising.

“This was coming to the end of 2012,” she says. “We decided to put it off until this year, and to tie it in with my 75th birthday. We contacted the sky diving company, and they said a 90 year old had done a sky dive, so age wasn’t a limiting factor. I registered, and said I’d get back to them when I was ready.”

Sr Patricia has chosen the charity Aware.
“It’s important, to me, that we raise significant money. In South Tipperary, where I live, there are a lot of families who have had tragedies. Aware promotes the supports that are out there for people with depression. People must be encouraged to seek help, and told that suicide is not an option.

“I suffered from depression in my late twenties,” she says. “It only happened over one year. I got the help and support I needed, and thank God, it hasn’t reoccurred. For some people it keeps reoccurring.”

The most daring thing Sr Patricia has done to date is to snorkel. She did that in Cairns with a nephew, but says she was too scared to scuba dive, because she doesn’t like the thought of being under the sea.
“I had a scare as a child when I was being taught to swim,” she says. “I was swept out, and I nearly drowned.”

Yet she’s not in the least scared of jumping out of a plane from 10,000 feet up.
“There’s some training in the morning, and I’ll be strapped onto an instructor. They have a good safety record,” she says. “The worst danger is a broken ankle on landing. But they’ve only had seven broken ankles in seven years.

“And if it all goes wrong, they can give me a good send off, once they’ve raised all the money,” she says with a chuckle. Then adds, “But I shouldn’t be tempting fate.”

When Julian Bloomer decided to set off on a global cycling trip, he hadn’t, initially thought of it as a fund raising venture.
“I’ve always loved the idea of travelling by bicycle,” he says. “And when I was at university, I cycled in France, Spain and Morocco.

“In 2010, I finished my PhD in Geography at Trinity, and I decided, before finding a steady job, I’d cycle to West Africa. I cycled through Europe before crossing to Morocco, and then I cycled across the Sahara to West Africa.”
By them he’d been bitten by the travel bug, and in company with a Polish guy, he continued through Central Africa to Cape Town.
“All that had taken fourteen months,” he says. “I then decided to follow my dream of a world circumnavigation. I loved the simple routine of finding food and water and a place to pitch a tent. A bonus was staring at the stars and the interaction with everyone I met.”

This is when he decided to fundraise.
“I kept hearing grim news about Ireland’s economic crisis, and the effect it had on youth homelessness. I’d often listened to Peter McVerry and I decided to support the work of TRUST.”

Currently in Chengdu, China, after a short break in Hong Kong, Julian now has a travelling companion, Ellie.
“We met in Bolivia three years ago. I’d been helping out at a girl’s orphanage, and she’d been backpacking. We travelled the Amazon basin together, then she returned home to England, while I cycled on to Columbia.

“Ellie had only done a weekend’s cycling trip before, but we’ve cycled together from Columbia to Canada. We then flew to Tokyo, where Ellie broke her arm. She went home for a while, but joined me back in China.

“Almost every day is full of wonderful encounters and acts of generosity, from being given food and water, to a big smile. We’re often invited into people’s homes to share their food.

“I’ll never forget cycling along the Andes mountain range, amazed by the beauty of the landscape, But cycling isn’t always pleasant. In Baja California in Mexico, we spent a month cycling to the US border with a daily headwind.”

It can be dangerous, too. Like the time the couple feared that the leaking, overcrowded boat had little chance of reaching the other side of the River Congo.

When he finishes this life time dream, what will he do?
“I’m not really sure,” he says. “Perhaps a return to research and to teaching. But being chained to a computer again is a rather daunting prospect.”

Louise McEvoy’s father is, slowly getting over a nasty encounter with cancer. Ever since he was diagnosed, Louise has been determined to raise some money for a cancer charity. And she didn’t want to go down any of the conventional routes.

“When I think of cancer treatment, the first thing that comes to mind is a bald head,” she says. “I think that must be horrible for sufferers. And I thought, ‘why don’t I shave my head for charity?’ Then I’ll be raising awareness at the same time.”

Louise is just 33. She had beautiful, waist long red hair. And when she told her friends what she planned to do, they were appalled.
“People were annoying me. They said, ‘don’t shave off your hair.’ Some people don’t have the choice. It’s a very small sacrifice to make for a good cause.”

Deciding to do the deed on St Patrick’s Day, Louise chose to raise money for Lily Mae for Cancer, in honour of Lily Mae Morrison, the four year old with aggressive cancer.
“I wanted to raise it for her, because the charity was only formed last July,” she says. “I felt they could do with more money.”

For the day job, Louise works in a medical device company in Tullamore, but she’s fond of singing too. And she was performing a few songs in the pub on St Patrick’s Day. But with a difference.

“Before I began, I had one side of my head shaved,” she says. “A friend scooped the other side into a pony tail. I then gigged, and the friend said, ‘how much will you give to see this pony tail cut off?’ €770 came in. Money was just falling from the sky. My parents were there, and they were in shock. It was unreal.”

All this happened at around 9.15 pm. But Louise didn’t look at herself in a mirror until 1.30 am, by which time, the other side of her head was shaved too. What did she think?
“I didn’t really take it in,” she says. “The next morning a couple of friends were with me, in my house. It wasn’t until they left in the evening that I suddenly thought, what have I done? That’s when I had a wobbler.”

Two weeks on, Louise has braved stares from people, wherever she goes.
“Adults; children; everyone stares,” she says. “It must be terrible for people who are genuinely sick. When I tell people I’ve shaved my head for a charity, it’s a talking point. It’s definitely raised awareness.”

It’s raised money too. €7,200 at the last count, and it’s still pouring in.
“I’ve no regrets,” says Louise. “All that money! And it’s a solo effort.”

For More Information:

AWARE: www.aware.ie
TRUST: www.pmvtrust.ie
Lily Mae www.fundit.ie/project/a-song-for-lily-mae

© Sue Leonard. 2013.

Pope Francis.

Pope Francis.
By Sue Leonard.
Published in Reality Magazine, May, 2013

When Pope Benedict XV1 resigned, it caused a shock throughout the world. And as the news sunk in, there was much speculation as to who his successor would be. There were many favourites; but when, on 13th March, the Papal Conclave announced the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as the 266th Pope, many people were unsure, exactly, who he was.

The Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who’d worked as a chemical engineer before becoming a priest, Bergoglio is the first Jesuit Pope; the first Pope from the Americas, and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. Of Italian descent, he’s also the first to have chosen the papal name Francis.

A week or so after his election, we asked prominent Catholics what their first impressions of Pope Francis were. Most expressed surprise at his election, but Fr Paddy Byrne, a priest in Kildare and Leighlinn knew exactly who he was.

“I had researched him beforehand, and knew he had received quite a few votes in the previous conclave,” he says. “He was mentioned in one of the papers as one of six possible candidates, and I held a hope that he might be chosen.

“My first impression was ‘wow!’ I couldn’t believe it when his name was read out, and particularly when he chose the name Francis. And on the balcony he wasn’t wearing the robe that indicates authority. I felt straight away that that was good. I was celebrating the nine week novena at the time. I put it up on the webcam, and spoke to the people about who he was. There was a palpable sense of joy.”

Known in Argentina for his humility, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to build bridges, Pope Francis, in his first weeks, has shown he intends to bring these traits to the papacy.

Fr Paddy is delighted at his first actions as Pope; like his decision to attend a service in a prison on Holy Thursday and wash the feet of the young offenders.
“I grew up with Pope John Paul 11. I love him, but when Francis became Pope, I immediately felt a great love for him. I do, actually, love him.”

Was he surprised at the decision?
“I think it was a bold one. And one which replicates gospel values. The conclave obviously listened to the needs of the people. I’m not naive enough to think this will bring revolution, but every generation is a continent for the revolution of the gospel today, and I hope these actions which are intrinsic to gospel values, that are simple and yet reflective, that that will be translated into my life, and will inspire me as a priest, and make me bold in my outreach.”

The Poet, John F. Deane is pleased, too. Having lost his faith in Rome with Pope Benedict, he feels new hope. His comments, although brief, are heartfelt.
“From grandeur to simplicity, from lording it over us, to be a servant. Closer to the earth, closer to reality, and from there who knows? There is hope, at last. There is a sign, in Pope Francis, that the spirit of truth is working.”

Claire Deane, a teacher from Belfast, had little hope that the new Pope would be one she could happily follow.
“I thought the cardinals would pick someone in the same mould as Pope Benedict,” she says. “I was wrong. I’m glad I was wrong.

“Pope Francis feels like a breath of fresh air. And the irony is that he hasn’t done anything global or mega. It’s all small gestures, but the gestures are adding up to a Pope who seems to have a lot of potential. He has the human touch, and he’s blurring the edges, for me, between the Vatican and the rest of the world. I get a picture of a nice, charismatic, humble man.”

In the past, Claire felt that the Pope didn’t affect her own life. With Pope Francis, that has changed.
“Even in the short time he’s been around, Pope Francis has made me feel better about being a Catholic. I’m more proud of the long history of my religion.

“During Pope Benedict’s reign, you were almost apologetic for remaining a Catholic. People were saying to you, ‘Catholicism is a scandal,’ and from Rome, all the emphasis was on clericalism, and hounding people across the world who said too much, or didn’t say enough.

“I found myself, almost, apologising for the Catholic tradition. Now Catholicism is something to be proud of again. Other Catholics I’ve spoken to feel the same as me. It’s more than positive; it’s hopeful. We all feel there is more to come from this man.”

When Pope Francis announced he’d be saying Holy Thursday Mass in a prison, Claire noticed a lot of comments on Facebook.
“People were sharing the news. I’ve never noticed people posting on positive news about the church before. Everyone seems hopeful.”

Unaware of who he was, even though she’d researched likely candidates through the BBC, Claire was almost immediately reassured.
“When he came out, first, he looked a little austere. He was breathing heavily. I think he was composing himself. But the moment he spoke, I felt he could be good. My worry evaporated.”

Pope Francis, though, isn’t as young as some predicted the new Pope would be. Is that a problem?
“The reality, with the age of the college of cardinals was that he was going to be old,” she says. “If he only remains Pope for three years, and his papacy continues in the vein, he could make a lot of difference. By focusing on social issues, the hidden jewel of Catholicism, he has already moved the emphasis of the church.”

Mark Patrick Hederman, Abbot of Glenstal, was also surprised, though pleased, at Pope Francis’s election.
“As all the cardinals were appointed by Pope John Paul 11 or Pope Benedict XV1, I thought there was little elbow room for the Holy Spirit. So it seems that something very interesting and unusual has happened.

“I like the three firsts,” he says. “The first Francis, the first Jesuit and the first South American. All that is very new and exciting.”

Remarkable though the election was, the Abbot thinks the resignation of Pope Benedict was more dramatic still.
“In one fell swoop Pope Benedict removed the whole mythology that surrounds the Pope,” he says. “For the past 100 years, the cult of the person of the Pope has been cultivated. It started with Pius 1X, who presented himself as a lone suffering pastor in the war against modernity, and Pope John Paul 11 accentuated the mega star image.

“When Ronald Reagan was elected president of the USA, Orson Welles was asked what he thought of the head of the most important country in the world being an actor. He replied, ‘Well, it seems to be working in the Vatican.’ With that resignation, that cult of Pope as champion has gone.”

The Abbot wasn’t in the least surprised when Pope Benedict resigned.
“I was certain he would, because of what he said and because of his experience. He was in charge when John Paul was incapable of running the church, or anything else. He had to carry the can. He wrote things saying the Pope should retire if he became incapable, and he was probably the only person who could have carried it out. He was sufficiently intelligent and well read. I didn’t admire Pope Benedict, but I admired him for that. It was a very spiritual gesture.

What would he like to see Pope Francis do?
“He must confront the Curia. With his parents both being Italians, he was probably considered the next best thing, but my impression is that he won’t be an easy pushover.

“We all know, from programmes like, ‘Yes, Prime Minister,’ that any organisation that runs 1.2 billion people has to have a civil service to keep the machinery going. Popes will come and Popes will go, and the Curia will regard themselves as going on forever. Can Pope Francis clean out that bureaucracy?

“Pope Francis has fuelled our hope, when we have been in the depths of despair. We’re battening onto all this possibility we’re being presented with. But it’s got to the point of hysteria,” he warns.

“I’m certain there will be huge disappointment in the near future. Pope Francis is not going to, nor does he want to, change many of the things people are expecting him to change. This man is presently a star, but people are going to find that he is much more ordinary than they imagined.”

This last sentiment is one shared by Catherine Green, a teacher.

“In seeing Pope Francis as a great healer and reformer, we may try to re-form him into another Messiah,” she says. “If we do that, we’ll be setting him tasks which can only lead to disappointment and disillusion. Sadly, Calvary inevitably follows on Palm Sunday.”

When Catherine first heard the name, Bergoglio, it didn’t ring any bells. But the moment she set eyes on Pope Francis, she recognised him from Pope Benedict’s election.
“He made an impression on me back then, because his commitment to the poor was highlighted,” she says.

She was pleased with his choice of name. And pleased with the humble way he spoke to the crowds.
“His down to approach elicited roars of affectionate approval,” she says. “And in the days leading up to his installation, he again manifested a lack of stuffiness. He was aware of the people's need and desire to be physically close to their Pope, and his need matched theirs.

“I imagine his approach might give Security a headache, but his casual disregard for his own safety underlines that we are all in God's hands, bullet-proof screens or not. And a true shepherd needs to be among his sheep; as he was among the poor of Buenos Aires.”
Catherine loves the way he has set aside the almost medieval trappings of undue ceremoniousness and costly apparel.

“Perhaps the Church will be spiritually richer for this,” she says. “And when he visited Benedict, he insisted they pray together ‘as brothers.’ That, I thought, was wonderful. He is planning to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper at a juvenile detention Centre; can there be a stronger sign that the young disadvantaged on the fringes of society are at the centre of this Pope's heart, as they would be at Christ's?”

Catherine feels an end has come to the constant reprimanding, and interrogating of priestly theologians, philosophers, and simple pastors.
“I can’t imagine him ruling in the unjust and uncharitable way that has pertained until now,” she says. “ Nor can I imagine him using wounding and excluding language against our homosexual brothers and sisters.

“And as for the thorny issue of celibacy; I hope he will, at least open up the subject for honest discussion, with access to the Eucharist as its foundation. I think we’ll see married priests before we’ll see women-priests.

“I pray that this Pope will continue as he has started, supported by the affection and prayers of God's people. The Holy Spirit has chosen well, but has his work cut out for him. We travel hopefully.”

The Rev Steven Neil, Church of Ireland Rector in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, loves Pope Francis’s simplicity.
“I like the fact that he didn’t seem pompous at the ceremony,” he says. “My first thought, when I saw him on the balcony, was that he was a warm person. He reminded me of Pope John Paul 1. I thought he had a nice smile.”

All this came as a huge relief.
“I was surprised,” he admits. “Particularly when the Curia had made their decision so quickly. I had expected someone more in the mould of his predecessor. It renewed my faith in the Holy Spirit.”

Rev Neil is cautious though.
“He is conservative; he is a Jesuit, and he is not going to change any major doctrines overnight, but he does seem more approachable than Pope Benedict. I think he will be prepared to converse.

“My particular interest, though, is ecumenical, and on this we’re getting mixed messages from him. On one hand he seems in favour of welcoming other churches, but it’s been brought to my attention that he referred to non Roman Catholic churches of the West as Ecclesiastical communities. That was a word brought to the fore by Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger, and I’d hoped for a different stance from Pope Francis.

“I like his concern for the marginalised, and, though there is controversy to come, on the issues of married and women priests, I think Pope Francis’s personality will keep people on his side.

“He may be a caretaker Pope, but I think he will change the whole paraphernalia of the papacy. He will put his own stamp on things. I am hopeful. His humanity and humility is wonderful, and is something the church needs. All the churches suffer when part of the institution is suffering, and this is a Pope who will go out to the margins. That is a message for all our churches. His witness, I believe, will encourage and revitalise not just the Roman Catholic church, but all Christianity.”

The writer, broadcaster and journalist Mary Kenny has the issue of celibacy on her mind, too.
“I think the most urgent reform that Pope Francis could usher in, is to ordain more married men,” she says. “He should do so as soon as possible, and he should be proactive about it.

“This doesn't mean abolishing the celibacy tradition overnight,” she stresses. “After all, many priests have adhered faithfully to their vows in this matter, and that should be respected . But ordaining married men, and positively recruiting them, would be a dynamically positive step, which wouldn't involve any complicated change of church doctrine. I feel sure it would be widely welcomed.”

What, so far, does she make of our new Pope?
“He really seems to be a breath of fresh air,” she says, “and I think people have been immensely cheered by the simple way he has approached the pontificate - and in such a genuine Christian spirit. I have great hopes.”

Ger Gleeson, a lay Catholic living in Limerick, is cautiously optimistic.
“I know nothing about him, but I like the fact he has dealt with people. The last Pope was too tied up in theology. Pope Francis knows about the theology of the church, but he has already shown that he is a man of the people. And he’s asking Bishops to follow his lead; he’s asking them to live in more humble surroundings.

“There are a lot of issues in the Church. I hope Pope Francis will make major progress on these in the short, rather than the long term. I hope he will find a place for gay and lesbian people in the church, and I hope he will welcome the divorced and separated. Marriages often end for a good reason. If a women, responsible for children meets another man who will care for those children, is that wrong? I don’t see that, yet she cannot approach the table of God. That, I deplore.”

Gleeson would like to see more radical reforms too.
“I’d like to see the Curia disbanded immediately,” he says, “and I want lay people to be part of a new committee. And I want to see women on that committee. Women in the church need to be given equal rights with men.”

AT 78, does he see Pope Francis as a stop gap Pope?
“Maybe, but he’s being seen as a man to clear up the mess. And whether it’s a stop gap of five or six years or longer, who knows? Pope John was seen as a stop gap Pope, and he had the world in his hands after a few years. I want the same to happen to this man. I want it for the good of the Church, no for the good of Cardinals, or the Curia, or anyone else.”

© Sue Leonard. 2013.

Pope Benedict's Legacy.

Pope Benedict’s Legacy.
Published in Reality Magazine, April, 2013

When Pope Benedict V1 announced his resignation, there was shock, and surprise around the world. On the Eve of the Conclave to choose the next Pope, it’s time to reflect on Pope Benedict’s Legacy.

We asked prominent Catholics, and Churchmen to look back on the last papacy, and to look forward to what is to come.

Fr Paddy Byrne, Priest in Kildare and Leighlinn

“When I first heard that Pope Benedict had beel elected, I held my breath. I wasn’t sure what to expect. He’d been painted as a conservative and doctrinare; a defender of the faith, and I was wondering what leadership he would bring.

“In many ways, I was pleasantly surprised. I read a lot of the writings he produced during his pontificate, and found them pleasantly insightful, and intellectually pleasing. I was in his prescence twice, and I found him very gentle. He was a humble man.

“He was, though, overawed, and burderned, I feel. The Church was in crisis, and he was only able to engage on an intellectual level. I think it was a brave decision to resign; I think it was neccessary and courageous, and by resigning he is pointing the way to the Conclave, for the attributes of the next Pope. The new Pope has to have a certain amount of health and energy; and charisma and leadership.

“If we can, now, take Pope Benedict’s teaching, from his three volumes on Jesus Christ, and use it in terms of human expression, justice, human sexuality, and all those important things, I think change will, naturally happen. I don’t think the new Pope needs to have an ‘agenda.’

“I think we now need a Pope who is able to communicate. We need someone who embraces Jesus Christ and his gospel vision, and who is intimately aware of Jesus Christ in their personal life. We need somoene with a broad sense of the pastoral and the intellectual, and with an understanding of the traditional church, and the reality of church; and somoene who can embrace the richness and variety of cultures in the church.

“I think we need someone from one of the younger churches, from South America, Africa or Asia. Europe is where the crisis is, and someone from outside Europe can come in and view the situation objectively. They can view it with newness, and freshness, without being emeshed in the whole culture and traditional institution of the church. I think that would bring a rich dynamic.

“I hope that it is a prolonged Conclave. And that the Holy Spirit comes to the fore, and that ambition and political agenda are put to one side. And I believe the voice of the Spirit will emerge.”

Mary Kenny, writer, commentator, and journalist.
“I appreciated the fact that Benedict was (and is) an intellectual: steeped in German philosophy and high thinking. He found his solace in music – especially Mozart – which he played himself, and rather endearingly, liked cats, and rescued strays.

“But as some commentators have pointed out, the Catholic Church is like a multi-national corporation of a billion souls, and being the CEO of a multi-national is a challenging role. Possibly an intellectual is not best suited: intellectuals have vision, but can’t always command the practical side.

“Now that Pope Benedict has set the sensible precedent of a Pope being able to retire, perhaps, too, the Conclave will feel freer to elect a younger man. One does lose vigour with age. It would serve the faith well if the next Pontiff were to be an energetic person in his late fifties or early sixties.

“There’s a huge amount to be done in the Catholic Church, and as many others have pointed out, the abuse scandals must be rooted out radically. The Church should move forward, too, to ordaining more married men. Perhaps the ordination of women will come in time, but you should never try and do everything all at once.

“Benedict always said we must have beauty in worship. I hope very much that his legacy in this will endure. There is much ugliness in the world, and we need beauty, culture, art – all part of a historic Catholic legacy – in church.”

John F Deane, Poet.

“I feel that Pope Benedict has left the Church in such a state, that I feel myself now unhappy to call myself a Catholic. His time as Cardinal and then as Pope, has seen all possible debate quashed. A Church that refuses to see the world as evolving, and to accept that the human spirit must develop and grow as the world itself develops, is a church in denial. Instead of letting the church grow towards human and spiritual unity, the Church, as I see it, is now regressive.

“Thought and debate between human beings is essential to us, and to find that this is denied, indeed that it is seen as wrong, is simply unacceptable to me. The effort to stifle all debate, is to stifle the words of Christ himself. The fact that the Church denies all Church authority to women is a further negative, a negative that goes against all that, I believe, Christ himself stood for.

“The early Church was presided over by women alongside the apostles. Gradually this was eroded. Pope Benedict has been guilty of further eroding all decency in our Church living. For me, his offer of resignation was and is the best thing he has done. I accept his excellence in his writing; his work on Jesus Christ is marvellous, but it lost all its truth for me when his words and actions as Cardinal and Pope denied what he has written.

“I feel sorry, too, that I have to react in such a harsh and uncharitable way, but this man has seriously hurt my hopes and faith in the Catholic Church. I am glad indeed to see him go, though I wish him well in the privacy of his retirement.

“As for the future, I haven’t much hope. Pope Benedict elevated such an array of elderly, conservative cardinals, that I can’t see much change happening.”

Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy, a member of the Sisters of Charity, Social Innovator, who founded FOCUS Ireland.

“Pope Benedict is a deeply spiritual man. He radiated that. He’s a man of great faith, and he’s a great intellectual. He did a lot to promote caring for the environment, but he didn’t communicate this well. Equally, he had good things to say about the need for a social policy as well as an economic policy, but he talked about it as economic units, He didn’t take humanity into account.
“Maybe Pope Benedict meant to talk about the poor and the marginalised when he spoke about economic structure, but he didn’t communicate that to the world. We need much more clear guidance given from a Pope about care for the poor, and the need for a more equal, just and fair society.
“He was an intellectual, but he wasn’t pastoral in the way he communicated, or in his approach to things. We need pastoral care, and we need clear communication. We need ordinary people to understand what the Pope’s teachings are.
“I would like to see a new Pope going out into the world. I’d like him to see places where there is suffering; where there is hunger, famine and where there are gross inequalities. I want him to be seen to be on side of the poor. That is really important.
“I’d also like to see the role of the laity embraced. The Catholic Church is all of us; lay people and priests, and I didn’t get that impression from Pope Benedict. The Second Vatican Council was great for that. Back then, lay people were involved in every possible way.
“There must now be big changes in the Church. Doors and windows must be opened again. There has to be more transparency. Cardinal Carlo Martini said the Church was two hundred years behind the times. I think the same. To be relevant to people, the Church has to have an impact. There had to be reformation. And I am hopeful for the future.”
Rev Steven Neil. Church of Ireland Rector in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary.
When Pope Benedict was first elected, one expected him to be a conservative Pope. And that’s exactly what he has been. We’ve seen a retreat to a smaller church, rather than a reaching out, embracing, and engaging with modern society. That’s my impression, but it’s no real surprise bearing in mind his pedigree.
“I was a little surprised when Pope Benedict was chosen. Pope John Paul 11 was also conservative, though much more charismatic. I thought the pendulum would swing the other way. But with the college of Cardinals stacked the way it is, perhaps it was inevitable John Paul 11’s successor would also be a conservative.
“Pope Benedict was largely responsible for the Dominus Iesus; the document which basically confined all non-Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches to a diminished status, in which they were no longer true churches, but diminished communities. That came out before Benedict was Pope, but I think a cold breeze has blown over ecumenical relations since he came into office.
“That hurts me. I attended a Roman Catholic School for a while. At my ordination, the entire front row of Christchurch Cathedral, comprised of nuns from that school. They were a huge personal spiritual support to me, and they fostered my vocation more than any other ordination in any school I attended.
“The Roman Catholic Church is hurting, grievously at the moment. The hurt was inflicted by the centre. And when one part of the church hurts , we all hurt. I think church is inseparable; I see myself at one with my brethren in the Roman Catholic, Methodist and Presbyterian churches.
“I find Pope Benedict’s inability to discuss church issues extraordinary. He is feted as an intellectual, yet he closed down discussion. I find it hard to find compatibility to being a true intellectual, and yet have an inability to discuss certain issues. I was surprised he wasn’t open to engaging with opinions among those who disagreed with him. If he was confident of his own opinions, I’m amazed he was not willing to discuss them.
“I would hope to see a Pope who is more open to listening to what is happening in local churches, and who is willing to take on the experience of the local churches. I don’t mean he must be open to all the whims of modern society, but he must engage more, and be more confident. Retreat, it seems to me, is borne out of fear.
“I am hopeful for the future of the Church. When the Holy Spirit is at work, everything is possible. Where people pray together anything can happen. I would be prayerfully hopeful to have a leader – somebody who can represent all the positive things Christianity has to offer. There’s too much negativity at the moment.”
Claire Deane. A Belfast based teacher.
“My broad view of Pope Benedict, is that he has been a quiet Pope, and he’s not had any impact on my life. That was a surprise, because when he was elected everybody gasped. He was considered a hugely controversial figure from the past and it was assumed he would have a huge impact on the papacy.
“Pope Benedict was careful and quiet. He kept to himself and was neither a global figure, nor was he controversial. I felt, maybe, he felt out of place in his job. He didn’t seem comfortable as Pope. But having taken it on, he became very tied into the notion of duty. He’d been chosen by the Holy Spirit and it was a job he had to do. I think it must have come as a great relief to him, to have made the decision to step down.
“Has the Church suffered because of him? I don’t know how much impact he had on events. He seemed a prayerful intellectual man, who kept himself to himself. I’m not sure how many agendas Pope Benedict pushed, but I suspect things went on around him, regardless. I think what comes out of the Vatican is bigger than one man. I don’t believe he was party to everything that happened, but as boss, he was ultimately responsible of everything that went on in the ten years.
“I felt shocked when Pope Benedict resigned. He always seemed so dedicated to orthodoxy, and to what had been ordained by the Holy Spirit. I’d thought he would have felt he had to carry the duty through. I think he was brave to walk away from it, and I had never imagined that he would be. He was courageous to recognise his frailties and limitations. I respect him for that.
“It’s naive to think the election of a new Pope will usher a new era of structural change and a willingness to engage on large moral issues. I think the current Cardinals are all cut from the same cloth as Pope Benedict.
“But I hope the next Pope will have some understanding with the need of the Church to change. I’d like him to engage with the two emerging Catholic identities; the traditional one and the more liberal one. I hope he has dialogue with both sides, and that he can bring people together again.
The gulf widened under Pope Benedict. The new Pope has to have a more pastoral approach. He has to talk with people, and find out why so many people still want to engage with Catholicism, yet have such widely different views from what would be the orthodox position. If he has dialogue with that, I hope change might come.
“I don’t believe the issues of married priests will change soon. It might change down the line, but we need talk first, and an understanding of alternate opinion. Then we can tackle the huge issues.”
Ger Gleeson. A lay Catholic from Limerick.
“I wasn’t happy when Pope Benedect was elected, because he came from an religious background. He was schooled for the Church, virtually from birth. If you haven’t had lived in the big bad world, and haven’t experienced ordinary life, I don’t think you can be an effective Pope. And whereas Pope John Paul 11 adapted to the job, I don’t think Pope Benedict did.

“Pope Benedict was a traditionalist; he stuck with the things he had always done. He was right wing in all his actions, and in most of his statements. There was no room for manoeuvre, and most of the time, there was no room for discussion either. As for the Redemptorists he silenced; they are a phenomenal group of people. I cry for them, and the way they were treated.

“When I was brought up in the forties, we had a blind obedience to the church. We questioned nothing. The Church was a beacon of light. Catholics have evolved. The world has evoleved. I learned to question things and did not see eye to eye with the church on certain aspects. And certainly not with Pope Benedict.

“I hope we will get a Curate of a Parish Priest. As I understand it, the Pope doesn’t have to be a cardinal. I would love the new Pope to be a man of fifty or fifty five. I don’t want to see a career priest who entered at sixteen. Or someone from a theological background, who sees the whole host of rules and regulations, and who interprets God’s rules as if he is the only one who can interpret it.
“We need someone who has worked as a parish priest or curate in a pastoral situation. Someone who has worked in disadvantaged areas, who ministered to single parents, lesbians and gay people, the physically handicapped, and so on. Someone who has knowledge of humanity.
“I’d like a Pope who is open to bringing in married priests. Especially as, at the moment we have this huge hypocritical situation, with the Ordinates. How can you have Anglican Ministers who grew dissatisfied with their church, allowed to act as Roman Catholic Priests, being accepted with their wives and children, yet not allow a Roman Catholic priest to marry?
“I know several priests who were kicked out because they fell in love and married. They would love to celebrate mass, with their wives and children in the audience. I think and hope we will get a Pope who has an open mind, and who brings in the changes that are needed. And who is open to married priests and who changes the role of women in the church. If our Lady came back, she could not be a priest. That’s not logical.”
© Sue Leonard. 2013

Columban Priest, fr Michael Sinnott remembers his kidnapping.

Michael Sinnott
Interviewed by Sue Leonard
Published in Reality, March 2013.

When Michael Sinnott was 17, he had no idea what to do in life. So he agreed to return to school to retake his Leaving Certificate, with a view to becoming a Civil Servant. Just after he had started that year, an African Missionary came to the school, and mentioned the need for priests.
“He said a priest needed three attributes including good character and good health. I had all three, and as God had been good to me I felt I should give something back.”

From a strong Catholic family of nine children, Fr Sinnott was the first to have a vocation; though a sister later joined.
“My parents were accepting, and maybe happy.”

Joining the Columban Order, Fr Sinnott entered their seminary in Dalgan Park, County Meath.
“We had seven years there,” he says. “A spiritual year, then three years of philosophy, and three of theology. 35 of us started. Most of us were 18; some younger. 21 of us were ordained in 1954, so there was a drop out of a third, which was average back then.”

During that time, Fr Sinnott was chosen, with two other students, to go to America for three years on an exchange programme.
“We ended up in Boston,” he says. “And after I was ordained I went to Rome to study Canon Law. And then I was appointed to the Philippines. And that was what I’d joined up for,” he says.

The Columbans were founded by Bishop Galvin, and were approved by Rome in 1918.
“Originally, the Columbans were founded to serve in China,” explains Fr Sinnott. “But when communism took over there, the country no longer accepted Missionaries.”

Fr Sinnott was appointed to Mindanao.
“Arriving in Mindanao by boat, I was struck by the poverty. I was an assistant parish priest. It was a rural area, and we went round training lay people to be responsible for gathering the people in the village. We had a mass in all the different areas every month. In some parishes there were forty thousand people.

“I loved the work and the people,” he says. “And when in 1965 I was appointed back to the Seminary in Ireland, I wasn’t enamoured. I wrote back to the Superior giving reasons why I shouldn’t be employed as a professor. I said I was never really a student. They sent me home anyhow.”

It was time of unrest, in the seminaries as well as the universities. And vocations started to decline.
“When I arrived there were 198 students and when I left ten years later there were just 37. It wasn’t my ideal job, but it gave me a chance to set up adult friendships in Ireland. And it was nice to see my family.”

When Fr Sinnott returned to Mindanao in 1972, he found the political situation tense. President Marcos had declared a dictatorship, but the New People’s Army were in opposition.
“The people were caught between the two. They were forced to offer support to the New People’s Army, but the military would say, ‘if you support them, you are supporting communists, and you know what will happen then.’ They knew that meant they would be shot.

“The people couldn’t trust anyone, so as clergy, we were very important. As Parish priest, I was trying to give justice to everyone, and, at one time, I was warned not to go out. Both groups were mad at me.”

He survived unscathed. Later, his health began to fail. He had a heart bypass, and moved to Pagadian City on Mindanao, where he was running a programme for children with disabilities, as well as helping out in a local parish. And that’s when trouble arrived.

“I was79,” he says. “On 11th October, I was walking up and down the drive of the compound to get some exercise, and four men appeared. One was on either side of me, one was behind me, and one was in front of me. And he had a pistol. They dragged me to the back of a pickup truck, and took me to the sea shore and onto a boat.

“The actual kidnap was rough. But once we were on the boat, I was satisfied they would not kill me. They said they wouldn’t kill a priest. I’d been kidnapped for the ransom.
I said a ransom would not be paid, and they said, ‘everyone says that, but they pay in the end.’ And in fact, neither the Columbans nor the Irish Government paid one.

“My captors were a breakaway group from the nationalist MRLF,” he says. “They were a group of Muslims who wanted independence for Mindanao. They wanted it recognised as a Muslim state in the Constitution. Whereas the MRNF were negotiating with the government, this group said they, and their children, and their children’s children would fight.

“After three hours the speed boat stopped and we started hiking. I wasn’t fit and I found that difficult. But the men helped me. That first night they took me to a swampy area, with mud and water up to my ankles. We were living in primitive conditions in the open air with a piece of canvas over us. There were seven captors.

“After ten days word got out that the military knew where we were, so we moved on, about seven and a half hours by speed boat. I have no idea where we were. There were then just two men with me, and they treated me well. The food was not the Hilton, but they made an effort to get me special food.”

His health was a worry.
“I didn’t have pills with me and I asked for some. At first they brought pills you could get in any store, then they asked me to prioritise and I asked for my heart pills. They got me a supply. We chatted during the day. They made things as easy for me as they could.

“My main worry was that the military would come in by force. I knew, then, it would be difficult to escape. I found it hard to pray. The Lord seemed very far away. But on the second day, lying in a hammock, I felt I could leave everything in the Lord’s hands. I felt sure he would look after me.”

Fr Sinnott was forced to read a statement before, thanks to great work from the Irish Ambassador, and other ambassadors in Manila, he was released on 12th November. Had the experience changed him?

“Not really,” he says. “I went back to the same area of work. And I stayed in the Philippines until returning to Ireland in July 2012.”

We were talking in the nursing home at Dalgan Park where Fr Sinnott was recovering from surgery. He says he misses the Philippines sometimes, but is happy to be back near his family.
“I have a gang of great nephews and nieces,” he says. “There are fifty and I see most of them.”

Fr Sinnott has no regrets in life. He’s glad he was a missionary. He’s certainly relieved that he wasn’t a civil servant. What was it like being famous?
“I was hounded for a while,” he says. “And the media was worse that the kidnapping!”

© Sue Leonard. 2013

Sr Colette of Poor Clares, Galway
Interviewed by Sue Leonard
Published in Reality Magazine. February, 2013

When Sr Colette left school, she was looking forwards to a conventional life. After studying business and commerce at University College Galway, she worked in accountancy, whilst studying for the exams. She enjoyed life; had boyfriends; and fully expected to marry and have children.

“I went to a school where there were nuns, but my aunts and uncles weren’t in religious life,” she says. “It wasn’t on my horizon. But I did continue to go to mass every Sunday, and every day during lent.”

Her main prayers, however, took place coming up to exams.
“I felt, there must be something more to my faith than just begging God to help me pass exams,” she says. “One of my friends, in particular, was exploring her faith. She showed me a video of Medjugorje. I was very impressed with the fact that Our Lady could be appearing in our lifetime.”

She started attending the monthly Medjugorje Mass, and began to attend Youth prayer meetings. Then she visited Medjugorje.
“Towards the end of the week I was at mass, and when the priest held up the blessed sacraments at the consecration, I just knew that was Jesus, and I felt utterly loved by God. My response was that I utterly loved God as well, and I thought, ‘whatever you want me to do, I will do. Even if you want me to become a nun.

“I was 24. I returned on a high, and talked to a Franciscan, Fr Des O’Malley. He advised me to finish my studies in accountancy, because the qualification would always stand to me. That was good advice. I wasn’t ready at that stage.”

Sr Colette passed some exams, failed and had to retake others, and she continued to enjoy socialising.
“But I was more involved in prayer meetings, and days of renewal. And I developed a lot of friends through those meetings, as well as keeping my other friends.”

Finally, the day came when she qualified.
“I remember the day vividly. It felt empty. All those years of study meant nothing. And the next day, I called into Mass on the way into work, and saw a book at the back of the church. It was called, ‘And Speak to her Heart,’ and it was about all the different contemplative orders of Ireland. Reading it, my heart was on fire.

“After work, I rushed back and read the book right through. And one particular phrase spoke to me. It was in the Poor Clares, talking about St Francis. How one night he went to the woods crying out ‘love is not loved.’ I had experienced God’s love, but it’s taken so much for granted in the world that he is not loved. I felt the Lord was giving me hints; it was like an invitation from God.”

When Sr Colette told her family of her decision to enter the Poor Clares, her sisters were devastated. Why did she choose an enclosed order?
“In the year before I entered I’d been to Assisi, and I felt I was being called to a life of prayer. The joy and freedom of St Francis attracted me.”

St Clare was a contemporary, and follower of St Francis of Assisi. She founded the Poor Clare Order in 1212 in Italy, and the order came to Ireland in 1629. There are six Poor Clare monasteries in Ireland. The monastery in Galway City, established in 1642, is an integral, and important part of the community.
“I visited various monasteries, and I felt at home at this one.”

Sr Colette joined in 1993, and is currently the Mother Abbess. Have there been moments of doubt?
“At particular points, when you are making the next commitment you think about it more seriously. After a year you get the habit; you’re a novice for two years after which you make vows for another three years. Then you make vows for life.

“At different times during formation it was a struggle. And there have been other times, but God allows us, I believe, to wrestle with those things. I remember, when I was a postulant, a friend had entered a Carmelite monastery. I felt if anyone was a Carmelite it was her. Six months after I entered, she left. It took the wind out of my sails. You wrestle, but it deepens your own faith.

“My response to God is so often not what he deserves, but he is so merciful. I aspire to praise him with my very life, but I often fall short. I felt, coming in here that I was doing this great thing for God, but actually, God is doing great things to me and to the community.”

The life of poverty revolves around prayer and work.
“We’re up at 5.15 am. We have adoration and the blessed sacrament, all day, interspersed with Divine Office seven times a day. After breakfast we have mass, then thanksgiving, then we work; cooking, cleaning, gardening, or distributing the altar breads. There’s always plenty to do. As Mother Abbess I have a lot of correspondence.

“In the afternoon we have study time, when we can do music, read, do art, or walk. That’s a good time to receive visitors. After supper we have recreation together, then night prayer, after which we can retire. And we’re up for an hour’s prayer in the middle of the night. That’s done on a rota.”

There are 12 sisters and one postulant. They may listen to the news each day, but may only watch television at Christmas and Easter, or for special occasions, like the Eucharistic Congress. They don’t use email, and have their Face Book page and website managed for them. But they don’t feel cut off.

“Our monastery is open all day every day and people call looking for prayers. They are telling us things they are not telling their friends. People are struggling financially. They are looking for hope, and for something to anchor them.”

The website was launched in 2003. At the time Pope John Paul 2nd asked Christian communities to create schools of prayer. In response the Poor Clares put prayers on their website. And now, with many additions, those prayers have been made into a book.

“We’ve taken traditional forms of prayer based on the writings of St Francis and St Clare, and we’ve adapted them for busy people. There are prayers for different occasions; like for when someone is sick, or taking exams.”

There are also prayers for those bereaved by suicide; for those suffering depression, or dealing with an unwanted pregnancy. And the book shows people how to pray, and how to incorporate silence and meditation into their lives.

“There’s a great need for silence,” says Sr Colette. “Even five minutes to sit and close our eyes, turn off the phone, and do nothing. St Clare’s writings relate to the modern world. She wrote about forgiveness, silence and surrender. All those things are important.”

Calm the Soul. A book of Simple Wisdom and Prayer. The Poor Clares, Galway. Published by Hachette Ireland.


www.poorclares.ie

© Sue Leonard. 2013.

Bill O'Herlihy

Bill O’Herlihy
Interviewed by Sue Leonard
Published in Reality Magazine. February, 2013

Bill O’Herlihy is best known as the anchor man of soccer at RTE. But that is only the latest stage of his eventful career. His moves from print journalism, through TV current affairs, on to sport; alongside a thriving career in PR seems to have slotted into place effortlessly. So much so, that O’Herlihy sometimes wonders if the Lord had a hand in it.

At 74 he has a strong faith.
“I was born into a house of love,” he says. There were six children, and we weren’t well off. My father had a respectable job in local government, but it wasn’t well paid. Life was a struggle, but a struggle with a smile.

“It was a very Catholic household. We said the rosary every night, and under no circumstances were we permitted to miss mass. But that would have been the tradition of the day amongst our friends.”

Religion came into discipline, too. If the children has misbehaved, to get the truth, they’d be marched in front of the picture of the sacred heart.
“Religion was so strong, that you would never tell a lie before the sacred heart.”

O’Herlihy’s father lived out his faith.
“He was a good Christian man. Every Sunday, come rain or shine, he collected money for the sick and the poor. He did not feel this was sacrificial; he believed he was doing good work and he did it. My father was the first person in Cork to introduce Meals on Wheels; in Lough Parish, though he didn’t get any credit for it. He was an example to us all.”

Once a pioneer, O’Herlihy joined the Cork Examiner at 16, but was never part of the drinking culture. It wasn’t until he married, at 32, that he broke his pledge. And that was by mistake.

“Hilary drank Vodka and bitter lemon, and I drank bitter lemon. I sipped hers, by mistake, and once the pledge was broken, it was broken. I had no intention of restarting. That week, I remember, I drank Sangria.”

He went into TV by mistake too; starting with RTE as a Regional reporter. Then he joined Current Affairs, heading up a top ratings programme called 7 Days. But that’s when his career hit a glitch.

“We produced a programme on illegal money lending in Dublin, using hidden microphones and cameras. That caused a terrible furore. There was a tribunal, which we lost, and that finished me.

“The decision, though, was political,” he says. “The real issue was another programme we’d shown, presenting a survey on what would happen if there was a referendum on getting a first past the post vote. Fianna Fail had called for this, and our perception was that if passed, Fianna Fail would get 109 seats our of a total of 144.

“The government of the day thought RTE should be an arm of government, and that survey enraged them. And the consequence was that Current Affairs was neutered for a generation. This was 1971.”

His career since then, has been relatively trouble free. It took him a while to find his feet in PR, but the company has prospered, and he feels happily at home presenting sport. His home life is happy too.

“I’ve tried to replicate what my parents gave us; and I think ours is a very loving house. I have two gorgeous girls, Jill and Sally, and Hilary is a smashing wife. We have four grandchildren; Martha and Bill in Jill’s case, and Jack and Isla in Sally’s. They’re lovely kids.

“We have what I call a three line whip. They come every Sunday for dinner; the lot of them. I think it’s very important to maintain your relationship with the grandchildren and their parents, and not let us drift apart.”

Hilary is a member of the Church of Ireland. And Bill has huge respect for her faith.
“When we married it was, very much, Ne Temere. I always feel, when you are in a mixed marriage, and the children are Catholic, the non-catholic loses out on an awful lot. I go to mass every Sunday, and so do the children. Hilary goes to church every Sunday.

“I will go to the Church of Ireland service with her on Christmas day. We always went to her church on feast days, as a family. And on those days I would not go to mass as well. That would be disrespectful.”

It would be wrong to suggest that O’Herlihy’s life has been entirely happy. His father died of a heart attack in his seventies, and he lost his mother to a nasty form of cancer. Both his sisters died, young and quickly, from various forms of cancer. But it wouldn’t occur to him to blame the Lord.

He has had his own health problems, too. He had a heart attack, followed by a brush with cancer. And he is utterly convinced that God’s intervention saved him both times.
“I had a meeting at RTE for the Los Angeles Olympics, which should have gone on all morning, but finished early. So I was able to go on to a lunch meeting with a company called Parc, who had a hospital in Bagdad. The medical director was over to talk to the College of Surgeons.

“I walked in and he didn’t like the look of me at all. He said, ‘are you ok?’ I said I had a slight pain in my chest and down my arm, and he picked up the phone and rang the cardiologist John Horgan. He said, ‘I’m bringing down a person who is starting a heart attack.’ That evening, I should have been going to London. If I’d gone, I’m told, I would have died.

“The other time I wasn’t feeling well, or looking well, and I was in bad humour. My three ladies said, ‘you have to have an MOT. They forced me to the Beacon Clinic, and within a week I had an operation for colon cancer. They took out a tumour the size of a lemon, and a foot and a half of intestine, and nothing has happened since. These things don’t happen by accident. I am certain the Lord intervened.”

We’ll Leave it There so, by Bill O’Herlihy with Ewan MacKenna, is published by Paperweight.

© Sue Leonard. 2013

The Atheist Delusion. Reality Magazine, 2012

The Atheist Delusion.
Defending God in the 21st Century.
Published in Reality Magazine in December, 2012.

By Sue Leonard.

When the Oxford based Scientist Richard Dawkins first launched an attack on all religious belief through writing books like, ‘The God Delusion,’ it was easy for believers to ignore him. But the kind of militant atheism Dawkins espouses is on the rise; and is gaining credence in Ireland, as elsewhere.

How do people of faith respond, when they are ridiculed, and dismissed as deluded and unthinking? How do they set about defending God in this 21st Century?

The Most Reverend Richard Clarke, Bishop of Meath and Kildare.

Bishop Clarke is more irritated than distressed by the angry atheism that appears to be on the rise in Ireland.
“I'm irritated because I think the anger, whatever about the atheism, is intellectually misplaced and deeply flawed,” he says. “It may be reasonable for people to be angry at the church, but the Church is, emphatically, not God. Therefore the atheism is hitting the wrong target.

“Some atheists like Dawkins, argue that religion causes people to do terrible things, yet many people of faith have brought only good into the world. Distorted and twisted religious faith may cause harm, but many of the worst things done over the last century have not been done in the name of any religion. Take Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot. And not every terrorist group - even ones that will use suicide bombing - is "religious" in motivation.

“Religious faith should make people better people, but it doesn't always succeed. Evelyn Waugh was once asked how he could be such a deeply unpleasant person when he claimed a religious faith. His reply was to ask his questioner to consider how much worse he might be if he didn't have a religious faith.

“There are some philosophical flaws in an atheists’ argument too. The person of religious faith sees a pattern in life and believes that this pattern has some meaning and purpose outside itself, given to it by something transcendent, in God. The atheist may also see a pattern in nature but comes to the conclusion that there is no ultimate meaning in the pattern.

“The atheist's conclusion that there is no greater significance to the pattern may not be unreasonable, but this does not make the believer’s view the pattern’s significance unreasonable either. The scientist asks, ‘How does it work like that?’ The person of religious faith, who may also be a scientist, asks in addition, ‘Is there a purpose given to it all, and if so, what?’

“Unfortunately, in countries like Ireland, Britain and the USA, there is a hostility between humanism and Christianity, and this makes respectful dialogue virtually impossible. "Secular Humanism" here tends to see itself as the direct opponent of religious faith, and often tends to be sadly disrespectful of such belief. It need not, and should not be so.”

Professor William Reville. Associate Professor in Biochemistry at University College, Cork.

Prof. Reville is often criticised for his religious belief.
“This is mostly through written comments in response to articles I have written, but the tone is often sneering and insulting. A charge is made, all the time, that if you believe in God, you are prepared to believe in things for which there is no evidence. And that is not the way that anybody with a reasonable faith understands the matter.

“We all have faith ‘in’ things for which there is no evidence. Maybe it’s faith in a local GP’s efficacy. As a scientist I have to have faith in the way the world works, and I have to have faith in science’s ability to understand and predict. When it comes to spiritual matters atheists choose to interpret faith differently. They ask, ‘how can a scientist believe in God when there is no evidence that he exists?’

“It can’t be proved in any logical sense, but few things can be proven in that way. You can’t prove that somebody loves you. But you can know. You can believe in the concept of God who made the world. There’s no absolute scientific evidence that there is such a being, but it’s not unreasonable to believe so. Science shows us that the world began as an explosion of pure energy, and that all that exists materially is matter or energy. But why is the world suitable for life?

“My answer, is that the world is understandable through science and mathematics, and mathematics is a pure product of human imagination. Mathematicians dream up patterns and call them equations, then, looking at the universe, they see the patterns already written there. Why is that?

“I believe we are made in the image of God, and if so, we are like God in our logic and our minds. If we can think, even dimly, as God thinks, that would explain how we can understand the world as God made it.

“If you believe in the teachings of Jesus, and have experienced his teachings; if his message works for you, then it is not unreasonable to believe in the God of whom Jesus spoke; eternal God, the creator. I find my faith comforting, and it doesn’t insult my reason to have this belief.”

Sarah Carey. Journalist, Columnist, and Broadcaster.

Sarah has noticed a rise in the aggression of some of Ireland’s atheists of late. But this doesn’t, too much, worry her.

“I think extreme aggression can be counter-productive,” she says. “I know many atheists who remark that they find Dawkin’s methods distasteful. They tend to say, ‘so what if he doesn’t believe in God? Why does he want to take the comfort of faith away from those who do believe?’ I feel he’s getting up the noses of genuinely liberal people so much, that he’s actually doing Christians a favour.

“In general, I find that atheists are happy to live and let live. They respect the consolation that believers draw from their faith. But the ‘evangelical atheists,’ the ones who are active in the media and in politics, tend to be campaigning for secularism. They tend to see themselves as virtuous harbingers of moral progress, and are not, generally abusive. Whilst they can, occasionally, be shrill, they generally confine themselves to civilised debate. But they do tend to be patronising.

“The aggression happens too, but that’s more on Social media. Once one becomes associated with matters of faith, the message boards and Twitter take off. Views are ascribed to people that they may never have expressed. This can quickly spiral into abuse. It starts as ‘X goes to mass, and is therefore religious and conservative, and then it’s ‘x is therefore anti freedom of speech. This can descend into, ‘X is homophobic, anti-choice, pro hierarchy, and pro covering up child abuse.’ It’s never ending.

“Fortunately I don’t have to read the internet. I can save debate for real conversations with real people. And when it comes to matters of faith, I’m fairly liberal. I never seek to persuade anyone as to the existence of God. Instead I offer evidence that faith is beneficial both to the individual and to society. Therefore, I argue, it is worthy of respect and support.

“If anyone wants to argue the point, or dismiss religious faith as a crutch for the peasantry, my most effective argument is to point out that many great scientists, and especially physicists, believe in some form of intelligent design. They are totally overwhelmed by the astonishing coincidences that combine to make the universe capable of supporting life. I haven’t heard a good answer from an atheist on that point yet.”

Senator Ronan Mullen. Politician, Barrister and law lecturer.

Senator Mullen agrees that atheism is on the rise here.
“10% of Irish people described themselves as atheists in the most recent Red C poll,” he says. “And atheists are more vocal now, and are forming political and lobbying groups to further their own interests.

“The rise in the number has many causes. There’s the dominance in the media of secular voices hostile to religion, and the status given to atheist and agnostic thinkers in public intellectual life and in the universities. Then there’s the weaknesses in religious education in schools, the marginalisation of religious faith by its portrayal as a purely private and subjective matter, and the priority given to individual satisfaction and pleasure as a personal goal.

“The sexual revolution hasn’t helped, with the undermining of family ties and responsibilities, and the undermining of the Church's credibility as an agent of positive values because of the child sex abuse scandals.

“I think atheists are emboldened by these trends and events and have become more vociferous. Polemists like Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens have become popular and influential, in spite of, or maybe because their analysis is often simplistic.

“My views as a Catholic have always been challenged. I see this as a positive thing. Genuine faith thrives in an environment of intellectual challenge, discourse and openness. As a believer I hope I am able to challenge non-believers to engage with their own presuppositions and, ultimately, with the reality and message of Christ.


“There are, I believe, good historical reasons for accepting that Christ existed and preached as recounted in scripture. There are good moral reasons for accepting him as a person of good faith, and good existential reasons for thinking that his Gospel message is a reflection of the deepest desires of the human heart.

“Whether Christ is the Son of God is a matter that depends entirely on faith, but living in the love of God brings its own reassurance that this truth is indeed the answer to the mystery of our universe. If people can bring themselves to approach Christ and his message anew with an open heart they may surprise themselves; they may discover that his proclamation is indeed the first and eternal truth.

“I regularly find myself in situations explaining and proposing the Catholic faith. I try to do so with sensitivity, with awareness of my own weakness, but also with conviction. Sometimes, it is a matter of correcting misconceptions about the faith or about the Church's teaching and conduct. Sometimes it is more about encouraging people to search for, and find meaning in life and, beyond that, the true source of meaning. Cynicism and despair go hand in hand with atheism, as many of the great existential atheists of the twentieth century realised.”

Rev, Dr Ruth Patterson. Presbyterian Minister.

Dr Patterson feels that only a small minority of people in Ireland are atheists, but that, because they are so aggressive, their voice can make them sound like thousands.
“There has been a falling away from the church, but there isn’t, necessarily, any less of a belief in God,” she says. “People are looking for someone to make that belief more real for them. There is, within people, a great hunger for spirituality.

“I haven’t been challenged on my belief in God, but, as Ireland’s first ordained woman – of any denomination – I have been challenged on that issue; and I’ve often been challenged on my belief in reconciliation and the call to unity.

“If somebody’s mind is closed to God, they’re not open to debate. They will not listen, and it’s not worth entering into conversation, other than to assert that, ‘well by our fruits you will know us.’

“The biggest key is to enter into a relationship, because the attitude of our hearts and minds can be changed by the building of such relationships. That is what faith is all about. It’s about hospitality, and the restoration of hospitality between ourselves and God; between alienated parts of our own inner beings, between ourselves and others, and indeed the whole created order.

“How would I defend God to an atheist? I couldn’t win an argument, intellectually, with a Richard Dawkins type. I think the way to go about it is to seek, in all humility, to disarm them. The most radical gospel call of today is for people to recognise the vocation of being the beloved. If you break the word down, it becomes a challenge. Be loved.

“Most of the conflicts between people, and the breakdown of relationships, even most of the conflict in the world come about because people, for whatever reason, cannot accept that they are loved. Once they begin to understand that, they enter into a greater freedom, and can begin to see more clearly. It’s why Jesus came. He came to let people know how much they are loved.

“Or I’d use my father’s example. He was a clergyman of great openness and vision. Years ago somebody attacked him, and said, ‘prove to me that God exists.’ He said, ‘you go away and think about it, and give me proof that he doesn’t exist’ Two days later the man returned, nearly demented. I said, ‘I can’t.’”

© Sue Leonard. 2012.

Living Witness.
The Challenge of Being Catholic in Ireland Today.
By Sue Leonard.
Published in Reality Magazine, July, 2012

Where once the Catholic church in Ireland was strong, today it’s struggling. The abuse scandals; the cover up of those scandals; and reports of divisions in the church, have ensured that it is rarely out of the media spotlight. It’s a challenging time for priests and religious, as they go about their working lives.

But what about lay Catholics? Are those who talk about their faith publicly ever challenged, or ridiculed because of their loyalty to the church? How do they keep the faith?

Ronan Johnson, a musician, musical director, and a presenter with Spirit Radio, says that his struggle was back in the eighties, when he was working for RTE.

“Back then, I was set upon from all sides,” he says. “I’ve never been a tribal Catholic. I’m a Christian first and a Catholic second. My conversion was around the mass and the Eucharist. I went to monasteries on retreats, and experienced a deeply personal expression of God’s love. I’m not good at keeping to the rules, but I am a convinced Catholic.”

Has the media been over zealous on its reportage of the abuse scandals?
“I think media jumped on the abuse scandal, because it represented the abuse of power. I think there’s been a petty abuse of power going on for decades. I think the power play went on across the board. It happened in a small way in parish politics, and on a very large scale with John Charles McQuaid helping to format the constitution of Ireland.

“The abuse of power was so pervasive, that the politicians didn’t feel they could make laws unless they could pull the church with them. And that’s unhealthy for the church. My sense is that a lot of people over the generations were hurt because they’d been damaged growing up in an abusive culture. By and large the media were not out to get at the church. But they jumped on the abuse, as an extreme version of that abuse of power.”

Should the Pope interfere with the writing of Irish Priests?
“I led a community for twenty years, and that gave me an understanding and sympathy for the church’s leadership. I don’t understand the benefit of silencing people. But as I understand it, Father Brian Darcy, whom I admire, was being asked to get someone to read over his article notes. In RTE that happened to me every day. So I don’t find that so weird.

“I have great sympathy with Rome for saying we need to keep the true Christian message out there. But there’s always a temptation, then, for people to go over the top with rules. I think they need to stop that.

“I am a convinced ecumenist. I do a lot of work with other churches and I feel there has been a merging of the Protestant and Catholic churches, and that’s not a bad thing. We can give our best to each other. The protestants have a better culture of good preaching, and they helped us into praise and worship. I’m a convinced Catholic but also a convinced Charismatic.”

Breda O’Brien, a teacher and Columnist says she’s rather fallen into her role as a ‘token Catholic.’
“There are a set of assumptions about what it means to be Catholic. I’m put on the right wing ground, but my views would be more in tune with the social teaching of the church. But nobody wants to hear that.

“I think the abuse was highlighted in the media because the church still matters in Ireland. And it’s more shocking if a priest abuses than if it’s a teacher. But I wish there was more parity. Carl O’Brien can do a piece of research and discover that 200 children have gone missing, and the news disappears in a day.”

As a teacher, she worries terribly about the effect the scandal has had on young people.
“I’m dealing with children from sixth year down who have never known any other church except for the one of sexual abusers. Some of them are still open to religion because their parents are, but most are not, and it’s very difficult. I don’t cope with it well.

“We’re heading towards a minority church, yet we continue to perform mass Holy Communions in the certain knowledge that they won’t be back until their confirmation. And after that they may be back for their marriage. I’d like to see the emphasis gradually move from the school to the parish.

“There are some good parishes where wonderful things are happening. But the problem is that the absolute orthodox Vatican 2, where lay people had their role in parishes has never been fully implemented here. People live in dread of a new priest to come in and kibosh fifteen years of good work. That is extraordinary.

“I have no idea why the Pope has silenced some Irish priests, because the issue wasn’t given due process and has not been shown to be fair. There seems to have been an anonymous complaint and I don’t know how you deal with that. I’m not saying the church doesn’t have a right to silence people, but if it does silence them it can’t be silent about doing so. It has to be transparent.

“Another problem is that the church is lacking in everyday spirituality. So many of my friends are going to Buddhist retreats for meditation because it gives you a way of living your life. You don’t get that from the church anymore. And people won’t be attracted to a religion that doesn’t feed their spirit.”

The journalist John Waters gets vilified for his outpourings on the Catholic Church. But rarely to his face.
“That is the remarkable thing,” he says. “When people meet me they are generally positive. Where I do encounter hostility is on the internet. Almost 100pc of the response to my articles is hostile.”

A fervent Catholic, Waters doesn’t believe that the church is dying.
“Mythology created that theory but it’s not true,” he says. “Though the people who state that want it to become true. There has been a decline, but in my view, less so than is generally described.”

The problem, he feels, is that society is now based on logic. And that excludes mystery and mysticism, and is therefore hostile towards religion.
“Catholics live in this objective reality, and feel discomforted by it. They think they are the problem. They have an attachment to their faith, but feel there is no place for it in the modern world. I tell them their faith is not wrong. It’s the culture that’s screwed.

“The problem,” he feels, “is that Irish culture didn’t explain Catholicism very well. Morality was placed up front. And not Jesus, and the relationship with Jesus from which all the rest should flow. The hope that Christ brought is missing. His victory over death is not conveyed.

“In a sense, Irish Catholicism stops at Good Friday. The darkness of it is persistent. Easter day is more of a secular feast day.”

Waters can understand the Pope’s impatience with priests who discuss the validity of married and women priests. But he thinks these issues are just red herrings in the context of the church’s real crisis.
“Because the crisis the Pope sees, is the crisis of reason, not of celibacy.”

Waters fears for the church’s future.
“If you cut the root of the of the spirit in our culture, which is Christianity through the church, how does the message become transmitted to the next generation? Parents are not aware of what they are depriving their children of. The loss of religion is not the loss of some airy fairy benefit, which makes people potentially more civilised or better behaved; it’s the very spine of our culture which transmits fundamental questions like meaning and hope through the generations.”

Kevin Egan, Director of the MA in Leadership and Pastoral Care at All Hallows, wrote a book, Remaining A Catholic After the Murphy Report to examine the issue.
“I asked myself what exactly had happened in the church; why did it happen, and where could the church go from here.

“People are hurt,” he says. “Some staunch Catholics I know have left the church. One friend paid a direct debit to the church each month and was, almost, a daily mass goer. She’s left the church. Others are holding on by their finger-tips, trying to stay in. But they’re distancing. They’re not attending as often. And they’re distancing themselves from the leadership.”

But it’s not through a lack of faith.
“It’s lack of credibility. The traditional way of looking at credibility, is from the top down. That the Pope appoints Bishops and they pass on faith. But most people see it as a gift from the bottom up to the leadership. And leadership can lose that gift because it can be withdrawn. That’s what the church has to come to terms with.”

As to the Pope silencing Fr Tony Flannery and others, he sees this as the system trying to control by fear.
“It was to make others fearful and to keep fear in the system. And a system controlled by fear is not healthy. The Pope, I feel, should have had a conversation with the people who were worrying him, and should have dealt with it at a local level.

“I would like to see the church act like a healthy family. Where differences are accepted; where people are respected and where they communicate with one another. Catholic means all embracing. To be an all embracing church you have to welcome everybody. It has to be an embracing spiritual home. What happens in a church where clericalism is strong, is that you’re not going to be able to use your voice.

“As a Catholic, my biggest need is for hope. But the crisis of credibility is huge. It’s the greatest crisis facing the church since the reformation. I find it painful. I’m not as proud of being a Roman Catholic as I once was. There’s a level of shame, anger and embarrassment. I’m experiencing this range of emotions, but I’m not at a stage where I feel I have to leave this institution.

“This is what I know. This is where my home is. It’s the spirit that formed me. You don’t leave that because there’s a crisis.”

Kathy Sinnott, Former MEP and Campaigner for people with Disabilities, has always loved her faith.
“I was raised in America, and to me the church was wonderful. There was lovely food on the feast days; and when my mother did a novena she’s make a new dress for the infant of Prague. Catholicism was woven into everything normal and fun. We’d give something up for lent, and the harder it was, the more wonderful Easter was.”

Coming to Ireland in 1970, she felt there was a good community around the church, and a lot of diversity.
“These days I rove around seven churches, depending on the mass time. The difference between the churches is striking. In some there’s a lot going on, and a feeling of brightness, but in other parishes, they just seem to be putting in time.”

With the abuse scandals, does she often have to defend her faith?
“People have challenged me, and I tell them I’m a Catholic because of the Eucharist. I can’t defend a system that was faulty, but to me the church is my friend. It’s Christ.”

Kathy feels that Catholicism is badly taught, but she has hope for the future.
“I think the people who are left in the church are the ones who have a relationship with Christ and who understand the Eucharist. Things like Eucharistic adoration are growing. And you’ll often find someone leading the rosary after a service. That’s the basis under which we have to go forward.

“I don’t think there can be women priests. Because in terms of priesthood Christ is the groom, and the church his bride. Christ could have set it up another way, but he didn’t. I discussed it with a Priest who was a convert from the Anglican church recently, and he said when the Anglican church introduced women priests it just wasn’t the church. So he looked for a church which Christ instituted and turned to Catholicism.

“The papal nuncio is another sign of hope. I figure he probably enjoys his faith, and so many bishops seems so defeated. As to his silencing priests, I feel that’s all about orthodoxy. People can believe what they like, but the church teaches what the church teaches about certain things.

“Everyone is going crazy about the Vatican interfering in Irish church affairs, but the UN is running our policies for children; the IMF and the world bank are running our economic system, so why shouldn’t the Vatican step in when out church is bad? We’re in spiritual receivership. To me, their stepping in is a huge hope.”

Ger Brennan, a Dublin Gaelic Footballer, has had an overall good experience of the church.
“Being Catholic is who I am. It’s normal. It enriches my life and my everyday experience. I always have a sense of God being present. It’s not so much that I am open to God, but through my trials and tribulations, that God is open to me.

“I do get challenged about my faith, and I get into a dialogue, but I know I won’t change anyone’s opinions. Churchgoers often define their faith by how often they go to mass, but that’s not what its about for me. I have lots of faults, and can get caught out in everyday life.

“The church has always given me a sense of belonging. There are so many things going on and I’ve met so many great people through being involved with it. I learned at school to see God in all things, in all we say and do, and being given gifts and talents, and being excellent in all that you do, is part of that. So I do have a sense of God in my sport.”

Does he worry that the church is in crisis?
“I think the church has to move with the times. I don’t see how somebody all the way over in Rome can have any sense of what’s going on here on the ground. I think there needs to be dialogue between those who are frustrated and those in positions of leadership.

“We should step away from the traditional aspects of the church, and concentrate on God is love. That will always hold true.

“There are some great liturgies and good family masses going on. More should be done, though, to attract the 20 to 25 age group. You don’t get people back to mass by forcing them along to be bored out of their brain. We should be providing a service for young people, so that they will want to go. There are some good programs encouraging people back to faith. I’ve been involved with some of them. That should be done instead of throwing people in the deep end.”

©Sue Leonard 2012

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