MARCH 1998
MAKE THE POPE APOLOGISE!!
In the "Irish News" of 31st January it was reported that a Mr. Doherty, addressing a Memorial Service for thirteen Nationalists shot in Londonderry in 1972, said that Queen Elisabeth should apologise to the Nationalists of the city because she had decorated military personnel from the Parachute Regiment involved in the death of the Romanists.
NOW WE CALL ON THE POPE TO APOLOGISE FOR:
AND THESE ARE BUT A FEW EXAMPLES OF ROME'S HOLY WAR IN IRELAND. PERHAPS WHEN THE POPE FINISHES APOLOGISING TO THE PROTESTANTS OF ULSTER, HE MIGHT GET TIME TO APOLOGISE FOR:
WHEN THE POPE OF ROME APOLOGISES FOR ALL OF THIS, THEN WE MIGHT HAVE TIME TO CONSIDER THE THIRTEEN ROMAN CATHOLIC NATIONALISTS WHO DIED IN LONDONDERRY A QUARTER OF A CENTURY AGO.
ARISE SIR RUPERT, THE PAPAL KNIGHT For an outspoken republican and a non-Catholic, a papal knighthood must come as a double embarrassment. But media baron Rupert Murdoch is to be made a Sir by the Pope. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced that the Australian-born mogul - nick - named the "Dirty Digger" - will be entitled to style himself a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory. First he must be inducted alongside another famous Hollywood resident, comedian Bob Hope, at a mass conducted by the Cardinal of Los Angeles, Roger Mahoney. In a departure from the more formal British ceremony, this will be followed by dinner in the Universal Studios entertainment complex. Hope is also not a Catholic, but a spokesman for the Archdiocese said Pope John Paul II bestows the title on people of unblemished character who have promoted the interests of society, the Church and the Holy See. Also - and perhaps significantly - both men have Catholic wives and have made large donations to Roman Catholic institutions, according to the announcement in the Los Angeles Times. The church spokesman said that the titles are honorary and therefore legal for American citizens to accept. Sir Rupert joins several Americans elevated in the Queen's Honours List, notably former President Ronald Reagan, who uses the letters "KBE" after his name. No one at News International in London was available to comment on Sir Rupert's honour, but a receptionist asked:"Does that mean I have to curtsy to him now?" A R.C. TV CHANNEL IS COMING A mother Angelica-style Catholic television channel may be coming to Britain in the new year, following the decision by the Independent Television Commission to license 24-hour religious television programming. |
Rory Alex, chief
executive of the Christian Channel, which owns the franchise for the six new stations,
told the Catholic Herald this week that "A 24 hour Catholic TV channel is a
very realistic possibility." Mr. Alec, an evangelical who describes his work as "a
mission from God" and his programmes as "a dream come true for a
Christian home", said he was also keen to talk to members of the Charismatic
Movement. "There was a feeling that one of the six channels should be
Catholic," said Mr. Alec. "As much as God loves Anglicans, Methodists,
Pentecostals, God loves Catholics. They have a real understanding of the grace of God and
his tenderness." Catholic Herald 5th December 1997 ANTI-CHRIST'S SKULL CAP FETCHES £26,000 The Pope's skull cap fetched £26,000 at Cardinal Winning's Annual Charity Ball last Friday. "Next year I'll ask the Pope for his overcoat," a delighted Cardinal Winning quipped. Catholic Herald, 12th December 1997 RCs GET THE TORONTO BLESSING TOO 1,200 Roman Catholics filled the "Presentation Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church" in Philadelphia to experience a charismatic revival featuring Rodney Howard-Browne. The congregation laughed hysterically after they were struck with what Howard-Browne calls "the joy of the Lord". POLICE PIPE BAND GETS VATICAN CALL Lothian and Borders Police Pipe Band has been asked to play for the Pope at a pre-Christmas concert in the Vatican. The Christmas in the Vatican Concert, an annual event for charity, is held in the Nervil Hall, seat of Papal Audience. It attracts extensive media coverage, including a worldwide television broadcast The event is supported by the Italian Government and patronised annuallly by Monaco's royal family. Chief Constable Roy Cameron will ask the Police Board to approve the December 19 visit when members meet at Haddington next Monday. The Herald 07.08.97 |
BAPTISTS ON THE ROAD TO ROME Just two years after sampling the delights of Blackpool, Britain's Baptists are once more setting their sights on the famous Lancashire resort for next year's Baptist Assembly. A highlight of Saturday morning will be the visit by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Basil Hume, for what are called "Spiritual Reflections". The morning also includes a longer than usual session devoted to the debating of public resolutions. Baptist Times, 27th November 1997 ANOTHER FALSE MIRACLE Cleaner saw Christ's face on her duster Cleaning lady Patricia Cole has claimed a miracle - the face of Jesus formed in dirt on her duster. Mrs. Cole (50) was polishing a brass rail when "I had this strange urge to look at the cloth and there was the face of Our Lord on it. "I was shaking and went to pieces. I had to stop working, the face was so clear - I knew it was him immediately." Mrs. Cole, a Catholic who works for Leeds City Council, said she usually did not give her duster a second glance. She added: "I am going to carry Our Lord's face everywhere and then get it framed." "I see it as a miracle and I'm blessed it has happened to me." She had been told by her parish priest, Monsignor Anthony Boylan, at St Athony's Church, Beeston, Leeds, to think of it as a blessing. Leeds Council said it could not comment as Mrs. Cole had not reported the matter. Her claim comes after a 10-year old boy said he found a pebble with Christ's face on it in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, last year. Michael Burrows was kicking stones in the street with friends when he stubbed his toe on one and fell over. When he picked up the three- inch oval rock, he claimed the face of Jesus was imprinted on it. And Australian outback farmer Julian Webb said he found Christ's face staring at him from the surface of a slab of granite on his farm 120 miles east of Perth. |
ROME'S GRIP ON IRELAND SLIPPING
LOSS OF VOCATIONS
The time when Ireland produced Roman Catholic priests and nuns like a conveyor belt to take up postings around the world is long gone, if current trends are an accurate guide. These days, the Irish Church barely turns out enough clergy to supply its own needs. Falling attendance at masses nationwide has been matched by a dramatic drop in the number of school-leavers seeking a religious vocation. Where once it was common - almost traditional - for large Irish families to "provide" at least one son or daughter for the Church when they reached near-adulthood, it is now rare for any child to prepare for a life devoted to God.
As a senior bishop recently put it, Ireland's clerical well has dried up. And all available figures merely underscore the prelate's point:
In 1970, there were almost 8,000 priests in Ireland.
Going into 1998, the figure is close to just 50% of that.
In 1970, there were more than 18,660 nuns; now there
are fewer than 7,500.
In 1970, 261 youths entered seminaries after leaving
school; now the entrance rate is down to single figures at best, with some institutions
reporting no new recruits at all.
In the mid-1970s, 91% of Irish Catholics went to
church weekly; current estimates are that regular worshippers are down to 54% nationwide
and have fallen to just 10% in some Dublin parishes.
The recruitment problem has been recognised by Dublin Archbishop Desmond Connell, who reported: "Perhaps for the first time in our history, sufficient numbers of young men are not coming forward to answer the needs of the Church." His comment was prompted by the failure this year of Dublin's Clonliffe College seminary for the archdiocese to attract a single entrant. On the other side of the Eire capital - at Maynooth, the college that has produced most of Ireland's priests for years - the inflow was a record low, 21. Church leaders blame an apparent loss of faith and smaller families, as well as a rash of sex abuse-linked scandals that have rocked the Roman Catholic establishment throughout the 1990s. In an effort to turn things round, the Church in Dublin has launched a publicity campaign based on the question: "Who are the Men in Black?" On its success could depend the long-term future of the church in Ireland.
But some religious observers claim it is too little too late.
DROP IN ATTENDANCE AT MASS
The number of Catholics in the Republic who attend Sunday Mass regularly has fallen sharply, a new survey revealed. It found that only 60% of Catholics now attend weekly Mass, compared to 77% four years ago. The equivalent figure in 1983 was 87% and in 1973 it was 91%. The most common reason given by those who did not attend Mass regularly was that they found it "dull or boring" or because they considered priests to be out of touch.
The survey also disclosed that more than half of Catholics disagreed with their Church's teaching on divorce, contraception, priestly celibacy and women priests. Only 14% of the 1,000 people questioned "totally agreed" with the Church's teaching on divorce, only 8% with its teaching on contraception, 11% with its views on priestly celibacy and 50% with its stance on women priests. The survey, which was carried out by the Market Research Bureau of Ireland for the RTE Prime Time programme, found that 40% of Catholics rarely or never went to Confession.
73% of respondents said that child sex abuse scandals involving members of the clergy and the Bishop Eamon Casey scandal have "damaged the Church's authority a lot." Less than one in ten felt it had not damaged the church.
Spokesman for the Catholic hierarchy Fr. Martin Clarke said that while the figures for Mass attendance were a "cause for concern", 60% regular attenders compared very favourably with other countries.
He described as "very significant" the finding that 82% of Catholics considered their religion to be important in their lives.
