The Gentle Sr Mercedes

In Discalced Carmel, as we celebrate the feast of the Martyrs of Guadalajara on the 24th July, they share that feast with another martyred Carmelite sister, Blessed Maria Mercedes Prat.  Blessed Mercedes was not a cloistered Discalced Carmelite, but a sister of the Society of St Teresa founded in 1876 by St Henry Osso.  The congregation is affliated to the Discalced Carmelite Order, and so we look upon the sisters of St Teresa as members of our family - their saints are commemorated on our Calendar.

Blessed Mercedes was a most remarkable woman.  She was born in Barcelona on the 6th March 1880 and baptised the following day.  Devout from her childhood, she sought to live her Catholic faith with great intensity.  She made her First Holy Communion when she was ten, and made the resolution to go to Mass every day, if possible, and receive Jesus in the Eucharist.  Formed by her Eucharistic devotion, she offered herself to help others, demonstrating a natural kindness towards her neighbour.  Within a short space of time she was orphaned: her father Juan died on the 16th May 1895, her mother Teresa exactly one year later.  At the age of sixteen, as the eldest child, she had to assume responsibility of looking after her siblings.

She was artistically talented and good with her hands.  Indeed, she would have made many a man very happy if she was interesting in marrying: but she wasn't - her heart belonged to Christ.   She served a catechist, and joined the Arch-confraternity of St Teresa where she became familar with the life and writings of St Teresa of Avila, and the Society of St Teresa, a congregation dedicated to children and education.

Having observed the sisters of the Society, she discerned a vocation to join them.  When her siblings were old enough, she entered the Society in 1904, making her novitiate in the community's house in Tortosa.  She made first profession on the 10th March 1907, and final profession three years later.  She was assigned to teach, which she did with great acumen and charity.

In 1920, Sr Mercedes was appointed to the Mother House of the congregation, in Barcelona, where, for the next sixteen years, she continued her life of prayer, dedication to the Society's mission and works of charity.  She was deeply admired by her sisters, the children in her care and the people who worked with her.  She was firm, but a woman of extraordinary charity, kindness and gentleness.

When the persecution against Catholics broke out in Spain, Barcelona was one of the hotbeds.  Catalonya, as a province seeking independence from Spain, was already a hotbed of political activity, and among those vying for power within the area were the Communists.   Focusing on education, as Communists and revolutionaries do, the congregations involved in education were expelled from their schools, the Society of St Teresa among them.  On the 9th July 1936, Sr Mercedes and the sisters were forced to leave their school and flee.     In hiding for a few weeks, Mercedes was captured by the Republican militia on the 23rd July.  Asked to identify herself, she said that she was a religious and a teacher.  "Do you realise that you can be shot for that?" the member of the militia said to her.  Mercedes turned to a sister who was with her: "They are going to kill us.  But let us go, I must obey because it is the will of God".

The two sisters were arrested and imprisoned.  Throughout the night they were interrogated and threatened: Sr Mercedes remained calm and gentle as ever.  Just before dawn on the 24th July, she was taken by members of the militia from her cell and brought out to a spot on the road to Rabasada.   At dawn she was shot as she prayed.  Taking some moments to die she prayed the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, and then "Forgive us....as we forgive".  The sister who was with her, and spared her own life, closed Sr Mercedes's eyes and would later give the testimony of the martyrdom.

Blessed Mercedes was beatified on the 29th April 1990. 

The Martyrs of Guadalajara

Blesseds Teresa, Maria Pilar and Maria Angeles

If I am going to reflect on some of the martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, I had better start with my own brothers and sisters - the Discalced Carmelites.  And of them I must begin with the first three martyrs of the War to be raised to the altars - the three nuns of Monastery of Guadalajara who were martyred on the 24th July 1936: Blessed John Paul II beatified them on the 29th March 1987.

As with all of the martyrs, each of them has their own story and experience of life.  These three women were attracted to a life of prayer and contemplation from an early age, seeking to live their lives in a cloistered monastery offering their prayers and sacrifice for the Church and those in need. 

Sr Maria Pilar of St Francis Borgia, the oldest of the three, was born Jacoba Martinez  Garcia in Tarazona, in the province of Zaragoza in Aragon, on 30th December 1877.  At the age of twenty she fulfiled her desire to enter Carmel, joining the Monastery of Guadalajara in Castile-La Mancha.   She had a tremendous devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and spent as much time as could in His presence.  It seems she was given a particular grace of feeling his Eucharistic presence throughout her life, so much so that she would call him "the Living One".  Her devotion to the Eucharistic presence of Christ edified her sisters, and she was deeply respected and loved. At time of her martyrdom she was 58 years old.

Sr Maria Angeles of St Joseph was born Marciana Valtierra Tordesillas in Getafe, outside Madrid, on 6th March 1905.  She heard the call to Carmel when she was very young, and though she made various efforts, she had to wait until she was twenty-four before she could enter.  She would only spend seven years as a Carmelite sister, but in those years the holiness of her life impressed the community.  The Prioress was so struck by her virtue that she referred to her as "a little angel".  Sr Maria Angeles had a vibrant missionary spirit - it is surprising that she did not join an apostolic missionary congregation, but like St Therese, she was resolved to be a missionary within the cloister.   She never thought of herself, but rather made herself the servant of all, always available to help her sisters in their needs.  She was 31 when called to martyrdom.

St Teresa of the Child Jesus and St John of the Cross was the youngest of the martyrs.  She was born Eusebia Garcia y Garcia in Mochales, not far from Guadalajara in Castile-La Mancha, on the 5th March 1909.  She was an early bloomer, making up her mind to enter Carmel when she was thirteen.  Like St Therese she had to wait until she was sixteen, facing many obstacles.  Like Therese, Teresa was determined: she heard the call to offer herself to Christ in Carmel and she was going to respond regardless of what stood in her way.    This reveals a very impulsive and determined nature which was not always graced, and so her first years in religious life were years dedicated to overcoming this stubborn streak.  It was through generous acts of charity and self-denial that she gradually overcame this aspect of her personality, and indeed led her to great holiness.  She chose as her motto "Charity above all", and sought to live this every day of her life.     Like Sr Maria Pilar she was given a particular grace for devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and loved adoration.  She used to describe adoration as "sunbathing" because of the divine rays she received.   She was 27 when martyred.

As tensions were rising in Spain, the sisters in the Community kept a careful eye on what was happening.  Learning from the experience of the French Revolution in which sixteen members of the Order were martyred, the Prioress made the decision that the Community should be ready to disband and flee at a moment's notice.  As is usual for Carmelite nuns, the sisters of the Community were offering their prayers and sacrifices for Spain and for her Catholics.  Interestingly, something was stirring within the hearts of Sr Maria Angeles and Sr Teresa - they heard a distinct call to offer themselves - to suffer and to die.  Such an experience in not unknown in Carmel: when nuns find themselves in the middle of persecution, they tend to offer themselves as an oblation.  Both of the sisters answered the call and made the oblation.

Meanwhile, Sr Maria Pilar, was reflecting in a similar way.   Before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament she sought to discern what to do, and asked Jesus that if he needed a victim for the community, so it would be spared, she would offer herself.  She asked him to accept this offering and save the other sisters.  She made this offering around the 22nd July 1936.

On that day, 22nd July, Mother Prioress made the decision that things were too dangerous and the Community would have to disband.  Anti-religious feeling in Guadalajara was very high and a number of occurrences led her to realise that the Monastery was a definite target for the anti-Catholic Republicans.  Taking off their habits, the sisters assumed secular dress, and then, in small groups, slipped out into the city to seek refuge with friends who had agreed to hide them.  In these private houses and apartments, the sisters hope to ride out the storm.

On the 24th July it became clear to Srs Maria Pilar, Maria Angeles and Teresa, that their hiding place was not very safe.  They decided they needed to find a more secure place.  Going out to look for an alternative,  they walked through the streets which were filled with Republicans.   Though they were in secular dress, a woman Republican recognised them, their short hair probably gave them away, and shouted "Look, nuns!  Shoot them!"  The sisters ran, but a hail of bullets descended on them.  Sr Maria Angeles was killed outright, falling on to the street in a pool of blood.  Sr Maria Pilar was seriously wounded, but still alive.  She survived for a few hours, but died in dreadful agony. As she was dying she prayed the words of Jesus from the Cross: "Forgive them, Lord, for they do not know what they are doing".

Sr Teresa was agile enough to dodge the bullets and she escaped.   The whole experience was so distressing that she was disorientated, and so she was wandering around the streets.  She met some people who seemed concerned and offered to help her.  Going with them, she soon realised that they were some of those who had attacked them.  They brought her a cemetery, the favourite execution site for the Republicans, and there she was shot.  She cried out "Viva Cristo Rey!"  Long live Christ the King, before she fell to the ground and died.

As a friend of mine, a brother Carmelite, said to me just last night: if supporters of the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War think that three innocent Carmelite sisters were politically active and so were normal casualties of conflict they are much mistaken.  The Carmelites of Guadalajara were simple, holy women, who spent their days in prayer and sacrifice, helping those who came to them, and seeking to love all people for Christ's sake.   Their death was a true martyrdom and their story needs to be hold and their lives and sacrifice celebrated.  They are just three of thousands of others whose only crime was to believe in Jesus Christ: and in Republican Spain, that was a crime.  May their example and intercession give heart to all of us who struggle with oppressive regimes and anti-Catholic attacks.

The feast of Blesseds Maria Pilar, Maria Angeles and Teresa is the 24th July.

Reinventing History

Skipping through a few sites to get the morning news, I see Nicholas Hahn has an interesting article on the Cristeros movement in Mexico and the new movie which tells the story of the rebellion.  As noted in the article, it is an element in Mexican history which has been somewhat airbrushed from the official history of the country.

I have just finished reading Warren Carroll's short history of the Spanish Civil War, The Last Crusade, another contentious historical conflict which has itself been airbrushed in order to present one side of the story.  Carroll's book is interesting, it takes the premise that Franco's counter-revolution against the Republicans was a Crusade to save the faith in Spain.  Not everyone would agree with that point, and I think there was more to Franco and his revolt, which, to be fair, Carroll acknowledges. 

Usually it is the victors who write history - the Spanish Civil War is the exception - the accepted history of the Civil War is that of the losers, the Republicans. In that history much has been ignored and written out, particularly the persecution of the Church.  Given that the Republicans and their allies, be it their political descendants or the left-leaning historians who have made the Civil War their area of expertise, the Catholic Church is understood to be an oppressive force responsible, with the monarchy, for the dreadful conditions which existed in pre-Republican Spain.  The priests, religious and lay faithful who died in the conflict were victims of war, and a minuscule number in comparison with the innocent Republicans who perished in Franco's reprisals.  Franco was a fascist, according to the official history, an ally of Hitler, and a dictator who held Spain in an iron grip and undermined the liberties of the Spanish people.

Thus is the official account, but the reality is not so simple.  Republican sympathisers ignore the fact that there was an active persecution of Catholics for their faith: thousands were killed for no other reason than that they were Catholics.  Priests, nuns and brothers who dedicated their lives to caring for the poor - the very people the Republicans claimed they were defending, were murdered.  Indeed the poor themselves were murdered for refusing to renounce their Catholic faith.  The Republicans took a particular interest in the lay members of Catholic Action - a movement in which lay people actively participated in the apostolate of the Church.    They were slaughtered in their hundreds.  Then simple, ordinary Catholics were killed for holding a rosary or wearing a scapular, or being known to be good and holy people.  In Valencia, as the Republicans were looking for the relic of the Holy Grail, they let it be known that whoever was hiding it would be killed with their family.    Not very democratic that!

The relationship between the Republicans and the Soviet Union is also very interesting.  Stalin was in communication with the Communist members of the Republican government, and as the Civil War progressed, the Communists gained more control over the Republicans.   There is little doubt that had the Republicans won the Civil War, the Soviet Union would have had a major role in deciding the future of the country, and we may have seen Spain slip behind the Iron curtain.  It is well known that the Republicans sent Spain's gold reserves to Stalin who held onto them and used himself.    The International Brigades, in which many Irish people served, were sent by the Soviet Union to help achieve a Republican victory: whether the members of those Brigades actively participated in the murder of innocent Catholics is debatable.

Anyway, every aspect of this tragic conflict has been debated, and continues to be debated.  The problem is that only one side gets a decent hearing.  Go into any bookshop and if you find books on the Spanish Civil War, they are all pro-Republican.  Even the biographies of Franco are written from a pro-Republican standpoint.  The victims of the Republicans are forgotten, but we need to know about them.  2,000 of them have been proposed for sainthood, and well over a thousand have already been beatified and a number canonised.  From time to time I will dedicate a post to some of these holy men and women who, unarmed, stared down the barrel of a gun (usually a number of guns) and refused to deny Christ.   As Catholics we must not allow them be airbrushed out of history - their heroism needs to be known and celebrated.

And Irish readers, take note: the persecution of innocent Catholics in Spain was carried out by cradle Catholics who rejected their faith and gave in to a demonic rage which took no cognisance of reason or charity.  You can see a similar rage in many in Ireland today, and a similar disregard for the truth.   I am not saying we could have a persecution here, but the seeds are there.

And here's a good news story: the first Pro-Life March in Rome took place last Sunday with a large crowd taking part.  Beginning at Coliseum - the site of Christian martyrdom and where the ancient Romans were entertained by barbaric amusements, the marchers walked to St Peter's Square.  A large number of young people took part, and that is no surprise.  The up and coming generations tend to be more pro-life much to the chagrin of the pro-abortion movement. 

Why are so many young people flocking to the pro-life cause?  Well it is no surprise: they can see the devastation abortion has cause in modern society.  But there is another, more personal reason: having been born in a time when abortion is considered a norm, they know that they are the lucky ones - they survived.  Someone once said that the children born in the US after Roe v Wade, and in Britain after the Abortion Act, are survivors, and realising that they see the value of human life.  It's a pity the older generations don't see that.  We will pray that one day they will.

A Virgin Most Powerful!

Having been very busy over the last few days I haven't had time to blog, and so much has happened!  The best was of course the enrolling of Hildegard of Bingen in the canon of Saints by the Holy Father last week. I was delighted!  She was one incredible woman, a polymath, a lady of great culture and indeed so wise the nickname, "The Sybil of the Rhine" is no exaggeration.  She will be the fourth woman Doctor of the Church - I presume the Pope will conduct a ceremony for both herself and St John of Avila. 

For many St Hildegard is unknown, and for some of us, she is a woman much misunderstood.  She has been claimed by all and sundry, and so now when we hear of her it tends to be by radical feminists who see her as a rebel against male patriarchy and New Agers who see her as some sort of "white witch" casting her spells and mixing her earth potions in the best ecological way.  If Hildegard was around she would give them a slap, as a friend of mine would say. 

She was first and foremost, and she would declare this herself, a faithful daughter of the Church.  She loved Christ, and that is the first thing we need to remember.  She was consecrated from an early age, and most of her long life in an abbey.  She was a wise, prudent and holy Abbess, given much to prayer and the practice of virtue.  She received many visions which helped her understand the teaching of Christ and the call to holiness, and she responded generously to that call.  She wrote mystical texts, profound theological works (hence her being declared a  Doctor), praised her Lord and dignified the liturgy with her musical compositions, and nurtured a deep love for the poor and the sick.   She was also obedient to the Pope, and listening to the advice of wise and holy people: she entrusted herself to the advice and guidance of St Bernard of Clairvaux.

Pope Benedict dedicated to Audience talks to her in 2012: one on the 1st September, and the second the following week: they are well worth reading.   St Hildegard's cult has now been officially confirmed, her feast, the 17th September, has been added to the General Calendar, so we may now publicly celebrate her feast in our parishes and churches, and offer votive Masses and Offices. 

The Relics of St Hildegard

In other news:

Here's an interesting post from Elizabeth Scalia over at the Anchoress blog.  She starts with a few thoughts on Nanci Pelosi, and then moves to reflecting on the possibility of a schism within the Catholic Church in America and the creation of an American Catholic Church which will be liberal, pro-abortion, married priests, women priests (the usual stuff) and obedient to the secular authorities. 

It is a very interesting article, and she has a point.  As readers will know I have mooted that the same may happen in Ireland, though my even suggesting it has raised a few eyebrows ("Never happen, father").  To be honest I think it might - it has happened before, most notably during the Protestant Revolution in the 16th century.  Henry VIII's creation of his Church of England is a perfect example.  Looking around him and listening to what is being said, here in Ireland is a definite anti-Rome movement growing in the Church, a movement, if not sparked, certainly encouraged by our Prime Minister and members of the government.  As I said before, an obedient "state church" would come in very happy.  As for our socialist friends who quote Marx on religion, they know the value of being the ones handing out the opium to the people.

We shall see.

Right, a bit of music - we haven't had some in a while.  In honour of her canonisation, a some of St Hildegard's compositions:

Communion Of Saints

St Isaiah the Prophet

A few months ago I finally bought a copy of the new Roman Martyrology after much diddering.  I had been meaning to get a copy for myself, but could not source one outside of the Vatican bookshop.  It was when I was in London that I picked up a copy in the CTS bookshop beside Westminster Cathedral - a fantastic shop.   The book was expensive but will be very useful.

So today, as I look through the entries, I see it is the feast of the Prophet Isaiah - traditionally the Church has honoured the Old Testament prophets as Saints: in Carmel we venerate St Elijah as one of our spiritual fathers.  Tomorrow, incidentally, is the feast of St Job.

Other feasts today:  St Pachomachus the abbot, father of monasticism in the East.  St Hermas, a first century bishop and martyr, who was mentioned by St Paul in his Letter to the Romans.  The Martyrs of Persia - three hundred and ten Christians put to death for their faith in the fourth century.  St Denis of Lyons, bishop. St Gerontius of Cervia, a bishop murdered by bandits near Ancona in the year 501 when returned from a Synod in Rome, honoured as a martyr.  St Beatus, a French hermit.  Blessed Fortis Gabrielli, a hermit of the Camaldese order who died in 1040.  Blessed Benincasa of Monte Politano, a Servite. Blessed Thomas Pickering, an English Benedictine lay brother put to death for his Catholic faith in 1679 during the reign of King Charles II - he was falsely accused under the fictional Titus Oates plot.  St Joseph Do-Quang Hien, a Vietnamese Dominican priest beheaded for his faith in Tonkin in 1840.  And two from the diocese of Munich: Blessed Maria-Teresa Gerhardinger, foundress of the School Sisters of Notre Dame who died in 1879; and Blessed Stephen Grelewski, a Polish priest interred and martyred in Dachau Concentration Camp 1941.  Not mentioned in the Martyrology (it is already out of date), St George Preca, Maltese diocesan priest and Third Order Carmelite (Ancient Observance).

A snapshot of the Martyrology, but also of the life of the Church - all over the world the various local churches celebrate their own local Saints and Beati, and in doing so commemorate the Communion of Saints, and the union which exists in the Church - a union, under Peter, which to be bound by faith, love and, sometimes forgotten, sanctity.  It is the deepening of such union which should be high on the list of those seeking reform: a union which is not confined to the people who are alive today, but one which includes all those who have gone before us "marked with the sign of faith" and those yet to be conceived: that is the Church. 

Spinning A Cocoon

Yesterday the ACP and various other groups held a conference in Dublin.   As expected it was a liberal love-in, where the reform of the Church, attendees were told, is to be found in ordaining women, allowing priests to marry, promoting contraception, giving communion to couples in irregular relationships and blessing those relationships, also, I presume, allowing homosexuals to “marry” each other, permitting abortion and, one might conclude, overthrowing the Pope. In other words: throwing out the moral teachings of Scripture and most of the Church’s teaching and canonising desires and feelings as the only authentic guides to truth and the Christian life.

They cited Vatican II and how it had been taken away from them, mentioning the first 16 documents of the Council: listening to what they are looking for one wonders if they have actually read those documents.  They want a new form of Church where inclusiveness is the hallmark – not faith I presume.   It is obvious their definition of the Church is very different from what most of us believe it to be: since the beginning the Church was understood as a communion of faith, of those who follow Christ and his teachings.  Given that these people reject many of those teachings, their definition of the Church is surely as loose as what people feel: that is certainly not the basis of any credible or stable organisation, much less a universal communion.

There was incredible naivety: incredible in that such naivety should exist in a group of people who are, for the most part, senior citizens.  For one thing they actually believe that the abuse crisis would not have happened if women were in control of the Church.  With all due respects to women, they are as sinful and corrupt as men.  Yet since the radical feminist revolution there persists the myth that women are sinless and always righteous.  Women are well capable of ignoring and covering up abuse as much as men.  Indeed it has been known that some women have actually ignored the abuse of their own children by their husbands out of fear.  The new law on mandatory reporting is going present problems in this area: will mothers who cover up the abuse of their children be granted immunity from prosecution?

In reality these children of the Age of Aquarius are spinning a cocoon around themselves.  Ignoring reality, they hold fast to their liberal dream, a dream which has become a nightmare for so many.  A dream that has devastated the Anglican Communion and other Christian denominations where attendance at Church has plummeted and these institutions no longer have any credibility in the eyes of most people.  The fact that the Catholic Church is being attacked left, right and centre and the media feel the need to be a thorn in her side means that she cannot be ignored: she is credible – so credible she has enemies who are working hard to destroy her.  Unfortunately among those enemies are those who claim to know how to “reform” her.  

This dream of theirs has left two uncatechised generations, with a third being misinformed as I write.  Three generations who have had the faith taken away from them and replaced with the fashionable opinions of a single, disaffected generation.  Three generations who have been told that mere human thinking is the Gospel by people who think that their opinions comprise the word of God.

A dream which has devastated religious life, stripped it of its prophetic nature, and made it a sap for left wing politics.  A dream which has led to rejection of the worship of God for worship of the self, even worship of nature: thirty years behind everywhere else, Irish liberals are dancing around trees and preaching free love – “Hey dude, it’s the Seventies here!”   And in face of the appalling vista their dream has created in other countries and other denominations, they have shut their eyes and ears, refusing to see and hear and just keep chanting their mantra over and over again. 

My advice to those who went to the conference yesterday: if what was said there reflects your opinions and what you want for the Catholic Church, then you had better have serious rethink.  The Church will not change her teachings – if she did, she would no longer be the Church, but rather the creation of mere human thinking.  You are not unique in your dissent, the Church has had many like you in the past, and she’ll sit this one out just as she sat the others out.  That’s why it seems she acts so slowly in dealing with you – she knows you and your ideas will die out, as a merciful mother she’ll be patient and loving and hope you’ll get sense.  (Take heart, faithful Catholics!) 

The Church will reform, as she has in the past, but true reform, a new preaching of the Gospel and the moral teaching of the Church which actually respects life and human beings.  She will experience a new Renaissance in faith, authentic orthodox faith.  It will take time, but it will happen: there are many of my generation committed to serving the Church in this New Evangelisation, and among the generation coming after us there are already many young missionaries eager to get involved.  You allowed such young people to speak to you yesterday; they spoke of the beauty of the faith and communion with Peter, the rock on which the Church is built.  You ignored them, accused them of lecturing to you and wrapped the comfort blankets even tighter around you.  The Church needs reform, no doubt about it, but it is you rather than the Church, which need to change beliefs.  You no longer share the faith of the Church: time for a rethink or an exit.  Be true to yourselves, as St Dominic Savio would say.

However rather than live the rest of your lives living with frustration and bitterness (realising that the vast majority of you are at least middle aged and most elderly), if you cannot return to the communion of faith of the Roman Catholic Church, I would suggest that you look around and see if there are other denominations which formally hold what you believe.  The Anglican Communion, for example, needs members, they believe everything you believe: I’m sure they would be delighted to have you.  And in their ranks you will have everything you want.

The Struggle For Life

A quick post to draw your attention to another struggle to save the lives of the unborn.  As pro-abortion advocates conspire to introduce abortion into Ireland, a group in the Principality of Liechtenstein are trying to do the same.    The Hereditary Prince, Alois, is opposing the efforts, using his royal veto to prevent the legislation going through.   He needs our prayers as things, it seem, are getting desperate - the pro-abortion hounds have the taste of blood in their mouths and they will not be content until they get what they want. 

God help us, Liechtenstein is small enough as it is, do they want to start killing their babies and wipe out their tiny nation altogether?  If there is one thing which marks the pro-abortion position it is a mindless, senseless blindness which lets them ignore the dreadful consequences of abortion. 

The Prince has threatened to abdicate, and that, I think, would plunge the Principality into a Constitutional crisis.  I may need to be corrected on this, but I think the Principality is sovereign because of the Prince - if he goes, then the Principality ceases to exist.  I'm not sure about this, I will have to check, but there is something unique about the country and the Princely family.

In the meantime, we pray for the Prince and his allies who are trying to save the unborn. 

Recent Events

It has been a busy few days here, and in Ireland it has been an eventful week.  More revelations concerning the Cardinal and the media has been bursting a gut to make the most of it.   It has been a difficult week for the Church here, once more we were bombarded from all sides with accusations, anger (rage even), protestations, inertia, bigotry, opportunism - at this stage it all just congeals into one big ugly tumour.   God help the poor victims at the heart of all this.  One also wonders how we can kick start the reform of the Church here in Ireland with all this.  Would a complete clearing of the decks help? 

One thing which struck me was the hypocrisy at the heart of the media campaign.  I accept that Christians who fail to live up to Christ's teachings frequently fall into the category of hypocrite - that is why Jesus in his wisdom gave us the Sacrament of Confession.  But the "holier than thou" attitude of the media is sickening.  While RTE has been exposed, they are still jumping on the bandwagon and throwing stones.  The recent BAI report on the Prime Time Special Mission to Prey was damning - the National Union of Journalists are not happy with it and are challenging it.    I notice in their defence of the journalist involved, the NUJ are using arguments not too dissimilar from those the Cardinal is using to defend himself: interesting. 

The reporter at the heart of the whole affair has finally resigned - it took her long enough: if she was a Catholic bishop she would have been hounded out long ago.  Given that RTE is calling for episcopal resignations all over the place, in this libel case they have been slow to clear the decks.  Some minor shuffling around took place, but I am inclined to think that that was merely cosmetic.

Meanwhile the politicians are breaking their own demand for separation of Church and State by demanding, albeit in a cautious way, the resignation of the Cardinal.  They preface their remarks with the phrase "in my personal opinion" - who would ever think that "personal" would become such a dirty word?  I see the Minister for Education is trying to use the situation to push his agenda to get the Church out of education: he is not comfortable with the Cardinal being the head of the Church in Ireland when the Church has the patronage of so many schools.   Meanwhile Enda Kenny, our Taoiseach, has said that it is not up to him to determine who leads the Church.  It's a pity he didn't adopt that attitude last July when he attacked the Pope. 

Personally (if they're all using it, so will I!) in my view I think they are very concerned over who leads the Church - an erastian puppet denomination would be much more favourable to the current administration here in Ireland than an independent universal communion.  After all with abortion and gay marriage, among other things, being lined up, a supportive native Irish catholic church is the preferred option.  Some have even suggested to me that certain political figures are in dialogue with certain religious figures to see if such an institution could be created and "the Vatican" airbrushed out of Irish Catholicism.  Is that possible?

In other news: the dissenting nuns in the US LCWR are reacting to the recent report from their Apostolic Visitation - they are not happy.  Reading their response I am reminded of an incident from the life of Blessed John Paul II concerning the disciplining of a nun who was ardently pro-abortion and had herself elected to a legislature.  The Vatican had been in dialogue with her for some time pointing out that her position was not in keeping with the teaching of the Church, but she dug her heels in, refused to resign her office in the legislature (priests and religious are not allowed present themselves for national/civic election) and maintained her position on abortion, publicly promoting the “pro-choice” position.   The Pope finally had enough and sent a representative for a final chat to see if she could be persuaded to back down: she refused.  So she was asked that if it came to choice which would she choose: her position as a consecrated religious or that of an advocate for abortion?  Defiant as ever she maintained her position.  The papal representative reached into his briefcase and took out a document: it was a dispensation from her vows, already signed.  Having made her position clear, she was being dispensed of her vows and free to go wherever she liked. The nun was stunned.

The LCWR representative is Sr Brigid McDonald and she's lashing out in good old dissenting fashion.  Her reaction goes to prove the truth of what the Visitation found.  Like the sister above, Sr Brigid, it seems, is pro-abortion.  Is it not time for an official to pop over to the US from Rome with a briefcase??  Here's an interesting article on obedience from Fr Bevil Bramwell.  He notes: "Interestingly, people who have trouble with obedience to the Church will still obey their boss and the weatherman or the cop on the beat and not note the inconsistency."  I would go further and say, from my own experience, that those who reject obedience to the Church demand obedience from those under them and they can be tyrannical superiors.  

Anyway, to cheer us all up on this Bank Holiday Monday, some music.  Today is an easy day for many, another day of rest - not here - I have a funeral later and lots to do.  But sit back and enjoy a little piece of Mozart - always puts you in the right mood!   From The Marriage of Figaro, this is Figaro's fantastic aria at the end of Act One, "Non piu andrai".  It was the piece I used for auditions when my heart was set on an operatic career. "Sometimes I wish....." Ah no, stop now, Father, serving God is better. 

Happy Anniversary!

Congratulations and best wishes to Mother Angelica and her sons the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, who celebrate the 25th anniversary of their foundation.  The friars, founded by Mother on the 2nd May 1987 - feast of St Athanasius, the Doctor of Orthodoxy, serve EWTN, while conducting various other ministries living the charism of their spiritual mother, Mother Angelica.    

Let's remember them in our prayers as they put themselves in the service of Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word, and his Church.  May the Lord make them prophetic through what they say, how they live and who they are.

Bits And Pieces

Happy feast day to you all: today is of course the optional memoria of St Joseph the Worker (I think that needs an upgrade - it should be a memoria at least).  Every blessing to all our workers who, like St Joseph, faithfully serve their families, their society and God through their toil.  Through the intercession of St Joseph may they be sanctified through their work and encourage others to see the true dignity of man and woman revealed through honest labour.

I see the case of the Chinese dissident is causing problems for both the US and China: he is the elephant in the parlour as the two countries work out their trade deals.  Human rights tend to get in the way of economics, so best to ignore them - at least that is the message that seems to becoming out of Ireland, the US and other countries who covet China's business.  Another reason why Chen Guangcheng might not be top of Barak Obama's Christmas card list is because the dissident is opposing China's forced abortion and sterilisation policies.  Seeing as Obama, Sebelius and their cohorts are trying to force Catholics to pay for contraception and abortaficients the parallels are just a little too similar for comfort.  Lucky then that they can "eat around" the issues. 

In other news, I refer you again to Christopher McCamley's blog: he's been doing a bit of investigation into the ACP and how they run their website.  It seems, despite all their talk of tolerance, censorship and their anger over priests being silenced (they were censured - different thing), they employ a rather tough line in censoring the comments that are left on their site: they delete those comments they don't agree with.  What's new?  Self-styled liberals tend to be the most illiberal of all.  Indeed a friend of mine refuses to call them liberals or progressives because they actually want to limit freedom and make their own view the only valid one. 

I remember when in seminary we were constantly being lectured to by these "liberals" - I can say this now because the Visitation Report is out.  Time and time again our formators tried to quash orthodoxy and expose us to "progressive ideas" which, funnily enough, always contradicted the teaching of the Church, the will of the Holy Father and at times even the Commandments.  To contradict their opinions, to expose them, was to bring wrath on your head - which many of us did many times.   There was no room for dialogue - to question (even innocently) what they were preaching was to expose yourself as bigot: "You're so closed".  There was one way to do things: their way.  There was one way to "do liturgy" - their way.  There was one way to be a priest: their way.  Veer from this and they would do what they could to get rid of you.  So am I upset that certain "liberal" priests are being investigated?  Not at all. 

Another interesting opinion for you, from a friend of mine.  Looking at the moves which the government seems to be taking to legislate for abortion here, he wondered if there was an economic reason for this.  His argument goes like this:  Ireland is the best place to have a baby - the safest.  Pregnant women are well cared for (absolutely true - our health professionals are fantastic, God bless them).  If a woman has a difficult pregnancy, everything is done for her and the baby; hospitals will even keep a pregnant woman at risk of serious complications in care for the duration of her pregnancy to make sure that she is looked after and any emergencies are dealt with quickly (the pro-aborts don't tell you about that when they are raking up the hard stories).

However, such care costs money - lots of money, money Ireland is struggling to find in these hard times.  Is it possible, my friend has asked, that abortion is being seen as a cheaper option for a difficult pregnancy? That abortion is cheaper than having to provide for babies and children that have serious medical needs?  And so in order to keep the national budget on course, certain cuts have to be made??  Would a government be so cynical, so uncaring? What do you think?   Are the Minister of Health and the Fine Gael/Labour government considering the financial benefits of legalised abortion?