Rome Watch Winter 2010

The Pope is to waive his own rules so he can preside in person over the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman during the papal visit to Britain next year. The Pope paved the way for tens of thousands of disaffected Anglican worshippers to join the Roman Catholic Church.

The Pope's offer follows secret talks last year with the two Church of England flying bishops' whose job is to minister to Anglo-Catholics who do not recognise women priests. They admitted to the meeting for the first time.

Bishop of Ebbsfleet, Andrew Burnham and Bishop of Richborough, Keith Newton said in a statement:-

"We were becoming increasingly concerned that the various agendas of the Anglican Communion were driving Anglicans and Roman Catholics further apart. It was our task, we thought, to take the opportunity of quietly discussing these matters in Rome."

Disaffected Anglican Dioceses in Papua New Guinea, the United States and Australia might consider switching to Roman Catholicism under a new constitution offered by the Pope, a traditionalist Anglican group said a figure of 1,000 Church of England priests, reported in the media, was "credible."

The Pope is to waive his own rules so he can preside in person over the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman during the papal visit to Britain next year.

In an unprecedented decision, Benedict XVI will take charge of the ceremony which will confer the title 'Blessed' on the Victorian convert from Anglicanism.

The Pope has previously insisted that all beatifications - the last step before sainthood - are carried out by a Vatican official in the diocese in which the candidate died, which in Newman's case is Birmingham.

But because the Pope has such a strong devotion to Cardinal Newman and his theological writings he has decided to beatify the cardinal himself.

With one rule already set aside, Vatican officials may now agree to the ceremony being held in London, the city of Newman's birth, rather than Birmingham, say Roman Catholic sources. This would enable the beatification to take place at
Westminster Cathedral - or even before a congregation of 80,000 in Wembley stadium.

The beatification comes as some fear the Church of England is breaking up over the ordination of women bishops and homosexual priests. And the timing will prompt speculation that it is designed to persuade Anglicans to follow Newman
into the Catholic Church.

But Father Ian Kerr, a biographer of Newman, said: 'The problems in the Church of England are nothing to do with it. Many popes have been anxious to canonise Newman. They look to him as a man who welcomed modernisation but in fidelity to Church authority. 'By breaking his own rules Pope Benedict clearly shows he regards Newman as a completely exceptional case, one of the great theologians of the Catholic Church.' Pope Benedict announced the beatification in July after Vatican theologians ruled the healing in 2001 of Jack Sullivan, an American with a severe spinal condition, was a miracle brought about by praying to Cardinal Newman.

Newman was born in London in 1801 and converted to Catholicism at the age of 44 after leading a movement to try to unite Anglicans with their Catholic roots. He was made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879 and died at the age of 89.

But Father Ian Kerr, a biographer of Newman, said: 'The problems in the Church of England are nothing to do with it. Many popes have been anxious to canonise Newman. They look to him as a man who welcomed modernisation but in fidelity to Church authority.
'By breaking his own rules Pope Benedict clearly shows he regards Newman as a completely exceptional case, one of the great theologians of the Catholic Church.' Pope Benedict announced the beatification in July after Vatican theologians ruled the healing in 2001 of Jack Sullivan, an American with a severe spinal condition, was a miracle brought about by praying to Cardinal Newman.
Newman was born in London in 1801 and converted to Catholicism at the age of 44 after leading a movement to try to unite Anglicans with their Catholic roots. He was made a cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879 and died at the age of 89.

The vicar of an Anglo Catholic church has received a threatening phone call warning him of violence if his parish goes over to Rome - and his noticeboard has been defaced with the words "C of E No Pope" daubed across it in white paint.

The outrageous attack on a Protestant church hall in County Fermanagh is yet another reminder that malign forces are determined to heighten sectarian tensions and create an atmosphere of fear. Fortunately for all concerned, the petrol bomb thrown outside the Church of Ireland hall in Clogh, near Roslea, failed to cause any damage or injury.

However, anyone who throws a flammable device in the vicinity of a building containing a number of people, including children as young as 10, shows a recklessness that is almost breathtaking.

Dissident republicans are being blamed for this appalling act, which took place around 9.30pm while around a dozen people were playing bowls. There could hardly be a greater contrast between those engaged in this benign parish activity in a country hall and the malevolent behaviour of the disaffected malcontents who skulk about, planning death, injury and destruction.

This hall has, unfortunately, been targeted in the past but this was some time ago and certainly local people would now be entitled to believe they could use a community facility without worrying about petrol bomb attacks. A further alarming aspect of this incident is the extended delay in a police response.

A 45 foot statue of the Pope lies unwanted in a Santiego square. Officials said the statue would be completely out of character in the town square. It is thought that a remote hillside nearby would be a more suitable location.

A recent conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome has confirmed the Vatican's unequivocal belief in the theory of evolution.

The 5 day conference, held specifically to 'celebrate' the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, was one of two major conferences sponsored by the Vatican on this subject this year. Scientists, philosophers and theologians from around the world gathered at the University in Rome to discuss the compatibility of Darwin's theory of evolution with Catholic teaching.

In 2006 Cardinal Christoff Schoenborn, of Vienna, a former student and friend of Pope Benedict XVI, briefly caused controversy by saying that Darwin's theory of natural selection was incompatible with Christian belief. Earlier, Pope John Paul had taken the Papacy a step towards endorsing evolution in 1996 when he said that" evolution is more than just a hypothesis", while in 1950 Pope Pius XII had described evolution as "a valid scientific approach to the development of humans".

A leading American biology academic, Professor Francisco Ayala, told the conference that the theory of 'intelligent design' is flawed:- "The design of organisms is not what would be expected from an intelligent engineer, but imperfect and worse. Defects, dysfunctions, oddities, waste and cruelty pervade the living world".

The conference organisers had originally planned to ban all discussion of 'intelligent design' from the event, but in the end conceded it could be discussed, but 'only as a cultural phenomenon'.

Roman Catholic Archbishop Ravasi told the conference:- "Biological evolution and the Christian view of creation are complementary".

Father Giuseppe Tanzella Nitti, Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Santa Croce University, Rome, claimed that "Darwin had been anticipated by St. Augustine of Hippo". He added:- "The 4th century theologian had never heard the term evolution, but knew that. . .forms of life had been transformed slowly over time. Thomas Aquinas made similar observations
in the Middle Ages. It is time that theologians as well as scientists grapple with the mysteries of genetic codes and whether the diversification of life forms is the result of competition or co-operation between species".

Pope Benedict XVI recently called for a "world political authority" to confront the biggest global economic recession since World War II.

The Pope's call for a rethink of the way the world economy came in new encyclical which touched on a number of social issues but whose main connecting thread was how the current crisis has affected both rich and poor countries.

Entitled Caritas In Veritate (Charity in Truth), parts of the encyclical appeared to have upset conservatives because of its underlying rejection of unbridled capitalism and unregulated market forces, which he said had led to "thoroughly destructive" abuse of the system.

The Pope said every economic decision has a moral consequence and called for "forms of redistribution" of wealth overseen by governments to help those most affected by crises. The Pontiff said: "There is an urgent need of a true world political authority" whose task would be "to manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result".

The United Nations, economic institutions and international finance all had to be reformed "even in the midst of a global recession", he said in the encyclical, a booklet of 141 pages.

·An encyclical is the highest form of Papal writing and gives the clearest indication to the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics as well as non Catholics of what the Pope and the Vatican think about specific social and moral issues.

Ian paisley and Martin McGuinness fostered an unlikely amicable working relationship

Ian Paisley has praised Sinn Fein for keeping its word on power sharing despite the dissident threat.

The former DUP leader said he was encouraged and hoped relations between First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness would "steady".

Mr Paisley told RTE:- "What encourages me is the fact that, so far, the Sinn Feiners have kept their word."

"I think there's no reason why that relationship should not steady itself with Peter in a minefield that is very explosive in Ulster politics and they need to work with great care," he added.

"I don't think that the majority of Roman Catholics and the majority of Protestants would go back to what we had. There's a
great relief, people are beginning to get back to normality."

"There are some hiccups. But I would not be a Christian if I did not take them at their word," he added.

Dr Eamon Phoenix reveals some of the details contained in classified government files released under the 30 year rule:-

The possibility of DUP leader Ian Paisley agreeing to share power with nationalists at some point is highlighted in confidential government documents released.

The comments were contained in a memo on 'Political Strategy' by a senior official, Kay Kirby. The memo was dated 29 October 1976, but has just been released under the 30 year rule.

Reviewing the political landscape in the wake of the collapse of the 1974 power sharing experiment, Ms Kirby notes: "It is not inconceivable that Paisley would seek a political accommodation with the SDLP if he felt his position to be unassailable."

Presenter William Crawley pictured with all those who spoke at the 'Hymns of Faith and Hope'.
Pictured (L to R) are Canon John McKegney, Deborah Doherty from Christian Aid, Cathal Doyle.Nursing Manager in Mullinure Hospital, Melanie Higgins, from Kesh, presenter William Crawley, Baroness Paisley, Barbara Wilson, Event Organiser, Ronnie Watt, Parish Reader and Mike Nesbitt.

St. Mark's Parish Church's recent 'Hymns of Faith and Hope' event was a well attended, memorable and at times moving evening, which has been able to assist three charities.

The event presented by the BBC's William Crawley involved interviewing six people, who spoke about themselves, their faith and their chosen hymn.

All stories were well received, with the most moving coming from Melanie Higgins, who was horrifically burned in an accident 20 years ago which sadly claimed the life of her three year old sister.

Killylea Silver Band - under the baton of Raymond Clarke - led the music, and St Mark's Choir, under Theo Saunders, led the singing. Refreshments were provided in the Crozier Hall by the Armagh Christian Aid Committee.

Three cheques for approximately £488 pounds each will be handed over to the chosen charities: "Changing
Faces", "Mullinure Patients' Comfort Fund" and "Christian Aid".

This is the third occasion of 'Hymns of Faith and Hope', and Canon John McKegney is already looking forward
to the fourth.

Some of the darkest secrets of the IRA killings during the Troubles in the North are set to be revealed in the coming years as direct participants' accounts, under lock and key in the US, are released.

The accounts were given to academic researchers from the prestigious Boston College on strict condition that they could only be released with the express permission of the ex-terrorists or in the event of their deaths. The college's Irish Institute has spent the last six years and millions of dollars paying researchers to interview the former IRA men.

Two sets of accounts from the archive are set to be published early next year by Faber & Faber in a book provisionally entitled "Voices from the Grave". The accounts are by Brendan "Darkie" Hughes, one of Gerry Adams'
closest associates in the IRA in Belfast in the Seventies and Eighties.

Speculation has been rife in republican circles that the account by Brendan Hughes could cause huge embarrassment.
Hughes and Adams were very closely associated in the early years of the Troubles. He fell out with Adams and was openly critical of the IRA's decline into criminality and Sinn Fein's acceptance of the Good Friday Agreement.

Hughes was part of the west Belfast IRA responsible for the abduction and murder of widow Jean McConville in
December 1972, claiming she was an informant for the British Army.

Mrs McConville's daughter, Helen McKendry, said:- "That's the lie they put out to cover up what they did. They even told people that I was a runner for my mummy taking stuff to Hastings Street (the local police station then doubling as an army base)."

She said she had asked Adams directly what had happened to her mother but he had never given any answers - he still denies even having been in the IRA. "When Adams came to my house, he showed up at the door. He said he needed to go to the toilet. It took him 15 or 20 minutes to come out."

"He put out his hand for me to shake it but I wouldn't. He could not look at me. When I said I didn't think what they were saying was right, all he said was he would look into it. He couldn't wait to get out of the house."

Hughes almost certainly knew the truth of what happened to Jean McConville, whose body was eventually found at Templetown Beach on the Cooley Peninsula, County Louth in 2003. He was imprisoned along with Adams in 1973, but he escaped six months later.

He was re-arrested in 1976 when police raided a house in south Belfast and found a bomb factory. He was "officer
commanding" of the IRA prisoners and led them into the three year "blanket" and "dirty" protest that preceded the first hunger strike in 1980, refusing food for 53 days.

A relative of Iris Robinson has revealed that she and another nine cousins of the controversial DUP politician are all Catholics

Jo confirmed that her late father James McCartney and Iris's mother Mary were brother and sister. She added:-
"My dad couldn't wait to get out of Northern Ireland and he went to sea at 15. He met my mum Georgina, a Catholic from Sligo, in Southampton and they had five children, me and my four brothers, who were all raised like our mother as Catholics. My father even converted to Catholicism on his deathbed, just two days before he passed away. Coincidentally, my father's other brother, Cecil, also met an Irish Catholic girl who he then married in England."

Jo Surtees, who moved from England with her husband Richard to develop a luxury holiday complex in the rambling
grounds of their home near Pamiers in the south of France, says she has no plans to get in touch with Iris Robinson. She says she only realised that her cousin had become a prominent politician in the Nineties when she saw her on television along with her husband Peter, who is now First Minister.

In her biography, Iris revealed her parents and other Protestant neighbours stoop up to people who tried to intimidate Catholics out of the Cregagh estate.

Locations outside the United States where catholic bishops have resigned in connection with sex scandals.

Impact of sex scandals felt worldwide Since 1990, 11 Catholic bishops outside the United States have resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct, on their own part or of those they supervised, became public.


A R G E N T I N A Archbishop Edgardo Storni of Santa Fe resigned on Oct. 1, 2002, after a book accused him of abusing at least 47 young seminarians. The Vatican had investigated allegations against Storni in 1994, but found insufficient evidence to act. Storni said his resignation did not signify guilt.	G E R M A N Y Auxiliary Bishop Franziskus Eisenbach of Mainz resigned on April 16, 2002, after a female university professor accused him of sexually assaulting her during an exorcism. Eisenbach denied the allegation and the Vatican said his resignation was not an admission of guilt.	I R E L A N D Bishop Brendan Comiskey of Ferns is the first known member of the church hierarchy to resign voluntarily over his management of an abusive priest. Comiskey stepped down on April 1, 2002, after coming under fire for his handling of the Rev. Sean Fortune, an accused pedophile. Comiskey apologized for his conduct and the church launched a probe of the scandal.



P O L A N D Archbishop Juliusz Paetz of Poznan, a close associate of Pope John Paul II, resigned on March 28, 2002, amid accusations he had made sexual advances on young clerics. Paetz denied the allegations, but said he was resigning "for the good of the church." The Vatican conducted an inconclusive investigation of the case.	W A L E S Archbishop John Aloysius Ward of Cardiff, Wales, was forced by the pope to resign on Oct. 26, 2001, after he was accused of ignoring warnings about two priests who were later convicted of child abuse.	S C O T L A N D Bishop Roderick Wright of Argyll and the Isles resigned on Sept. 16, 1996, after admitting an affair with a mother of three who he met while counseling her during her divorce. After his resignation, Wright and the woman married. Wright acknowledged that he had fathered a son by another woman earlier in his career.



C A N A D A Bishop H O'Connor of Prince George, British Columbia, was sentenced on Sept. 13, 1996, to 2 1/2 years in prison for sexually assaulting two teenage girls at a boarding school in central British Colombia while he was principal there in the 1960s.	S W I T Z E R L AND Bishop Hansjoerg Vogel of Basel resigned on June 2, 1995, after admitting he had impregnated a woman following his appointment to the hierarchy the year before.	A U S T R I A Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer of Vienna was forced by the Vatican to retire in April 1995 following allegations he repeatedly abused students at an all-male Catholic high school in Hollabrunn in the 1970s. Groer rejected the accusations.



I R E L A N D Bishop Eamonn Casey of Galway stepped down on May 7, 1992, after admitting he had fathered the son of a Connecticut woman while having an affair with her in 1973. Casey used church offerings to pay the woman thousands of dollars in child support.	C A N A D A Archbishop Alphonsus Penney of St. John's, Newfoundland, resigned on February 2, 1991, after a church commission criticized him for failing to prevent extensive abuse of boys living in Newfoundland orphanages.

Sources: The Boston Globe- Spotlight Investigation, Associated Press, BBC, Catholic World News, Globe archives, and other news reports

VERONA, Italy - It happened night after night, the deaf man said, sometimes in the priest's bedroom, sometimes in the bathroom, even in the confessional.

When he was a young boy at a Catholic run institute for the deaf, Alessandro Vantini said, priests sodomized him so relentlessly he came to feel "as if I were dead." This year, he and dozens of other former students did something highly unusual for Italy: they went public with claims they were forced to perform sex acts with priests.

For decades, a culture of silence has surrounded priest abuse in Italy, where surveys show the church is considered one of the country's most respected institutions. Now, in the Vatican's backyard, a movement to air and root out abusive priests is
slowly and fitfully taking hold.

A year long Associated Press tally has documented 73 cases with allegations of sexual abuse by priests against minors over the past decade in Italy, with more than 235 victims. The tally was compiled from local media reports, linked to by Web sites of victims groups and blogs. Almost all the cases have come out in the seven years since the scandal about
Roman Catholic priest abuse broke in the United States.

The numbers in Italy are still a mere trickle compared to the hundreds of cases in the court systems of the United States and Ireland. And according to the AP tally, the Italian church has so far had to pay only a few hundred thousand euros (dollars) in civil damages to the victims, compared to $2.6 billion in abuse related costs for the American diocese or $1.5
billion due to victims in Ireland.

However, the numbers still stand out in a country where reports of clerical sex abuse were virtually unknown a decade ago. They point to an increasing willingness among the Italian public and slowly within the Vatican itself to look squarely at a
tragedy where the reported cases may only just be the tip of the iceberg. The Italian church will not release the numbers of cases reported or of court settlements.

The implications of priest abuse loom large in Italy: with its 50,850 priests in a nation of 60 million, Italy counts more priests than all of South America or Africa. In the United States where the Vatican counts 44,700 priests in a nation of 300 million
more than 4,000 Catholic clergy have been accused of molesting minors since 1950.

The Italian cases follow much the same pattern as the U.S. and Irish scandals: Italian prelates often preyed on poor, physically or mentally disabled, or drug addicted youths entrusted to their care. The deaf students' speech impairments, for example, made the priests' admonition "never to tell" all the more easy to enforce.

In this predominantly Roman Catholic country, the church enjoys such an exalted status that the Pope's pronouncements frequently top the evening news, without any critical commentary. Even those with anti-clerical views acknowledge the important role the church plays in education, social services and caring for the poor.

As a result, few dare to criticize it, including the mainstream independent and state run media. In addition, there's a certain prudishness in small town Italy, where one just doesn't speak about sex, much less sex between a priest and a child.

"It's a taboo on top of a taboo," said Jacqueline Monica Magi, who prosecuted several paedophilia cases in Italy before becoming a judge. "This is the provincialism of Italy."

Breaking the conspiracy of silence, 67 former students from Verona's Antonio Provolo institute for the deaf signed a statement alleging that sexual abuse, paedophilia and corporal punishment occurred at the school from the 1950's to the 1980's at the hands of priests and brothers of the Congregation for the Company of Mary.

While not all acknowledged being victims themselves, 14 of the 67 wrote sworn statements and videotaped testimony, detailing the abuse they say they suffered, some for years, at the school's two campuses in Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet. They named 24 priests, lay religious men and religious brothers. Vantini said he, too, was silent for years. "How could I tell my papa that a priest had sex with me?" Vantini, 59, told the AP one after afternoon, recounting through a sign language interpreter the abuse he said he endured. "You couldn't tell your parents because the priests would beat you."

TORONTO - Canada's first openly gay Catholic priest is to mark another milestone. Father Karl Clemens is getting married
Saturday to his partner Nick. He says he'll be the first man of the Catholic cloth to enter into a same sex marriage in
Canada, and maybe even in North America.

"I'm not doing it to start a revolution, but if people want to exercise their right, and so forth, that's terrific," Clemens told Sun Media. "I feel very strongly about it. I'm leading the way, or pioneering, as it were, in something that I think is very important," Clemens said. "It's a human right."

Clemens, who is approaching 70 and who retired from the Kingston, Ontario diocese after serving there for 33 years, moved
to Toronto more than a decade ago to work in, and advocate for, the city's gay village. Regarding his same sex marriage,
he's prepared for a backlash from the church and some of its followers, as he was when he came out of the closet in 2005.

"There will be Catholics who feel, because of their lack of understanding, that this is a very wrong thing and therefore will not be pleased," Clemens said. "But those are consequences we have to be wilting to deal with because we feel strongly
about the issue at hand, which is the right to be able to enter into same sex marriages."

A priest in Londonderry has sent shockwaves through the Catholic Church by resigning after he became involved in a relationship with a woman. Fr Sean McKenna, parish priest at the Holy Family Church in Ballymagroarty, told his stunned
congregation during Mass services that he had fallen in love.

The 5I year old priest, who has been a popular member of the local Catholic clergy for over 20 years, said he had taken the
decision to leave after embarking on a "loving" and "beautiful relationship". It is believed he is involved with a mother of two, who is separated from her husband. He also said that the celibacy clause inherent in ordination to the priesthood had forced him to make the decision to leave. Fr McKenna received a standing ovation from the congregation after speaking
directly to the people.

Despite their shock, messages of support have been pouring in from parishioners throughout today with many people expressing admiration for his honesty and openness. It is understood the priest tendered his resignation to a shocked Bishop of Derry, Seamus Hegarty, over the past few days.

Fr McKenna was keeping a low profile, but in a statement to his parishioners delivered from the altar over a weekend, he
said:- "I am here today to tell you that I have decided to leave the priesthood. After a long period of reflection and discernment, I have approached Bishop Hegarty to inform him of what I have decided."

"He has, with great regret, agreed to accept my decision." Father Michael Canny, the spokesman for the Derry Diocese, said he and Bishop Hegarty were shocked to hear the news.

The trials and tribulations continue for Catholic Priest Alberto Cutie, who was caught on a beach with a woman.

Cutie had previously caused a controversy by saying the Vatican should ease up on celibacy rules, but in an interview with
CBS' Early Show, the apologetic, telegenic priest said he doesn't want to be seen as "anti celibacy."

"I think it's a debate that's going on in our society, and now I've become kind of a poster boy for it," said Cutie, "But I don't
want to be that. I believe that celibacy is good, and that it's a good commitment to God."

Cutie, who had a popular television show and was often referred to as "Padre Oprah," was suspended from his post last
week when a tabloid ran photos of him and a lady friend on the beach. He and the woman have been together for about two years, he explained. Now he says he's using the time to reconsider his future, one that's been complicated by matters of
the heart. And the fact that he had sex with her.

"I entered the seminary 22 years ago. And in 22 years I've never had a sexual relationship with anyone. I committed myself
fully to my vows. I've never been sexually inappropriate with anyone. I've never had any type of scandal. This is the only person that I've had sexual contact with. I believe I've fallen in love. And I believe that I've struggled with that. You know, between my love for God and my love for the church and my love for service. Of course, it's something that a man should never have to deal with in the sense of his commitment, you know. If I was clear in my commitment, I should have stuck to it 100 percent. And I didn't.

A damning report into child abuse in the Dublin archdiocese has criticised the Catholic Church hierarchy for covering up the abuse.

The report investigated how Church and state authorities handled allegations of child abuse against 46 priests.

It found that the Church placed its own reputation above the protection of children in its care.

It also said that state authorities facilitated the cover up by allowing the Church to operate outside the law. Reacting to the report, the current Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said "no words of apology would ever be sufficient" and offered "to each and every survivor, my apology, my sorrow and my shame for what happened to them". He added that the "many good priests of the archdiocese" shared his sense of shame. The "Report of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin" covered a period from 1975 to 2004. It has laid bare a culture of concealment where church leaders prioritised the protection of their own institution above that of vulnerable children in their care.

Instead of reporting the allegations to civic authorities, those accused of horrific crimes were systematically shuffled from parish to parish where they could prey on new, unsuspecting victims.

The report stated:- "The Dublin archdiocese's pre-occupations in dealing with cases of child sexual abuse, at least until the mid 1990's, were the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the Church, and the preservation of its assets." It also said that the archdiocese "did its best to avoid any application of the law of the state".

It found that four archbishops - John Charles McQuaid who died in 1973, Dermot Ryan who died in 1984, Kevin McNamara who died in 1987, and retired Cardinal Desmond Connell - did not hand over information on abusers. The report said that authorities in the Dublin archdiocese who were dealing with complaints of child sexual abuse "were all very well educated people". It added that, considering many of them had qualifications in canon law, and in some cases civil law, their claims of ignorance were 'very difficult to accept'.

Civic authorities in Ireland, especially the police, were also criticised for their cosy relationship with the Church. The report states that senior members of the force regarded priests as being outside their remit and it claims some police officers reported abuse complaints to Church authorities instead of carrying out their own investigation. The commissioner of the Irish police, Fachtna Murphy, said it made for "difficult and disturbing reading, detailing as it does many instances of sexual abuse and failure on the part of both Church and State authorities to protect victims". He added:- "The commission has found that in some cases, because of acts or omissions, individuals who sought assistance did not always receive the level of response or protection which any citizen in trouble is entitled to expect from An Garda Siochana (the Irish Police)."

Two priests in the Diocese of Down and Connor have been removed from their ministries pending abuse allegations. One case involves a priest who was asked to step aside in 2004. That case is subject to an ongoing police investigation. The other priest, Ballymena based Father Paul Symonds, stood down from all public ministries. Bishop Noel Treanor said he could not make any comment on the cases because the authorities were investigating.

The move comes a day after the findings of the Dublin report into cases of child abuse. Bishop Treanor said the findings of the report were horrendous.

It is understood one of the priests who have been stood down is Father Paul Symonds, a curate in the parish of Kirkinriola, Ballymena.

'Presumption of innocence' The 65 year old was arrested by the Metropolitan Police. He was arrested on suspicion of child abuse. The accusation against Father Paul Symonds dates back to the 1970's when he worked in England. Bishop Treanor, said the diocese and Fr Symonds were co-operating fully with the investigation.

It then wrote to the papal nuncio in Dublin in February 2007 requesting that he forward documents in his possession relevant to the commission's terms of reference. The papal nuncio did not reply.

The introduction to the report highlighted the case of Fr Brendan Smyth, a Norbertine priest who was jailed in 1994 for 74 cases of indecent and sexual assault. It stated that the case was the catalyst which led to the development of guidelines for dealing with clerical child abuse.

MORE than half a million pounds has been spent protecting the president of the Republic on visits to Northern Ireland, it was revealed recently.

Motorcycle outriders and armed police stand guard for hours outside the buildings which Mary McAleese and other VIP's use.

The four year bill for the Republic's head of state was run up in policing costs - more than all tours from other international leaders combined, figures released by the PSNI showed.

Mrs McAleese has supported the peace process in Northern Ireland through 41 engagements in the country with groups from both sides of the community.

"Since her election as Irish president, Mary McAleese has had a disconcerting habit of treating Northern Ireland as an extension of her nation's territory and indulged in frequent and regular jaunts north of the border."

"While this attitude and behaviour has been regarded as inappropriate by many unionists, it is only now that the practical implications of her actions have become apparent."

Mrs McAleese's trips since 2005 came to a total of £542,991. These included meeting the Queen and attending Church of Ireland services in Armagh. She was at Sullivan Upper School in Holywood, Co Down.

Separate significant costs incurred, released at a Policing Board meeting included last summer's stop in the north by former US president George W Bush, at a price of £306,000.

In comparison, the Queen's visit, which included East Belfast and the Maundy Service in Armagh last March only came to £39,191.

"At a time when many police stations around Northern Ireland are faced with closure, mainly through budgetary constraints, and the PSNI are forced to make other cutbacks to make the books balance, it is surely irresponsible for the Irish president to create such a financial burden."

With Europe becoming less religious, the Pope faces a dilemma whenever he visits - how far to push the sort of big Catholic issues that might meet a hostile response.

This was Benedict's second visit to the dominions of the former Austro-Hungarian empire.

His first was to Austria two years ago, where he found a strongly critical and somewhat apathetic Catholic flock.

In order not to antagonise his Czech hosts the Pope deliberately chose not to mention some common contentious issues of Catholic teaching such as that. on abortion, or same sex marriages, or the problems of dealing with paedophile priests and compensating their victims, which have dominated his visits to other parts of the world.

During his three day visit to the Czech Republic, he had to tread carefully through difficult historical, political and linguistic minefields.

Because of persisting bad memories of the country's World War II Nazi occupation he could not use his native German in public - except for a few words addressed quite properly to a group of German pilgrims who crossed the border to see him.

Without his predecessor John Paul II's broad knowledge of Slavonic languages, in order to maintain political correctness Pope Benedict decided to speak in English or in Italian most of the time.

What we were seeing was the new slimmed down Czech church, a small but well organised minority of believers co-existing within a much larger community of agnostics and atheists in a country that, to a large extent, no longer believes in God.

There were no portraits of the Pope in the streets of Prague, no yellow and white Vatican flags or bunting on display.

One of the men accused of trying to kill a police officer in County Fermanagh was a reserve soldier in the Irish Army, it has been confirmed. Gerard James McManus, from Fern Hill in Letterkenny, County Donegal, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempting to murder a trainee officer.

The 26 year old was arrested after shots were fired during an undercover police operation in Garrison village.

A spokesman for the Irish defence forces said Gerard McManus had joined the Irish Reserve Defence Force in 2000, and was a member of the Carndonagh unit in County Donegal.

The commandant added that Mr McManus had not taken part in training or shown up for parading duties for the last two years. He explained that reservists undertake training on a voluntary basis and that if they do not report for training for a period of more than 18 months they can be dismissed.

The commandant said that even before he was arrested, a process had already begun to dismiss Mr McManus as a reservist. At the court hearing on Wednesday, a defence solicitor asked a detective if it was true Mr McManus had given a version of events in which he said shots had been fired at him, he had fled, and that while doing this, he had fired a shot away from the undercover police officers. The detective confirmed that this was the version of events the accused had given. Mr McManus was one of two men who were remanded in custody, charged with the attempted murder.

His co-accused is 32 year old Kevin Barry Nolan, from Main Street, Blacklion in County Cavan. Mr Nolan stood as independent republican candidate in local council elections in County Fermanagh four years ago.

The pair were also charged with having a gun and Mr McManus was further charged with using a gun to resist arrest.

Pope John Paul II regularly, whipped himself In 'remorsefor his sins', a nun has revealed.

John Paul II is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church, a process for which the Vatican is collecting supporting testimonies.

One, submitted by Polish nun Tobiana Sobodka, who worked In the Pope's private Vatican apartments and at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo near Rome, said:- 'Several times he would put himself through bodily penance: We would hear it - we were in the next room at Castel Gandolfo. You could hear the sound of the blows when he flagellated himself.' Self flagellation is sometimes used by devoted Catholics as it reminds them of the whipping endured by Christ at the hands of the Romans before he was crucified.

Sister Sobodka's submissions were supported by bishop Emery Kabongo, who was a secretary to Pope John Paul II for several years.

He said: 'He would punish himself and In particular just before he ordained bishops and priests. Before passing on the sacraments he wanted to prepare himself.

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has been Investigating the case for Pope John Paul II to be made a saint since he died in April 2005.

It has approved his 'heroic virtues' and the paperwork has been sent to his German successor Benedict XVI. For beatification to be granted, evidence of a miracle performed through praying to the candidate has to be proved and verified by the Vatican.

The key one being examined at the moment is the case of French nun Sister Marie Simon Pierre, 47, who is said to have been cured from Parkinson's Disease - the same illness suffered by Pope John Paul II after praying to him.

Sister Sobodka's leaked statements were published in Italian newspaper La Stampa and are part of a new book on Pope John Paul II by its Vatican correspondent.

10TH ANNIVERSARY OF PROCLAMATION OF ST BRIDGET OF SWEDEN,
ST CATHERINE OF SIENA AND ST TERESA OF THE CROSS, CO-PATRONESSES OF EUROPE

In 1999, Pope John Paul II declared, "The unity of the Continent, which is gradually maturing in people's consciousness and receiving a more precise political definition, certainly embodies a great hope.

"In order to build the new Europe on solid foundations it is certainly not enough to appeal to economic. interests alone; for these, while sometimes bringing people together, are at other times a cause of division. Rather there is a need to act on the basis of authentic values, which are founded on the universal moral law written on the heart of every person. A Europe which would exchange the values of tolerance and universal respect for ethical indifference and scepticism about essential values would be opening itself to immense risks and sooner or later would see the most fearful spectres of its past reappear in new forms."

Pope John Paul II's, "Motu Proprio" proclaiming Saint Bridget of Sweden, Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross co patronesses of Europe, was given in Rome, at Saint Peter's, on the first day of October in the year 1999.

"A Mass was celebrated on Thursday 1st of October 2009 at 8 a.m. in the European Parliament meditation chapel room ASP 00 H 152 (ground floor, on the left after the kiosk)"

"The Mass was celebrated (in Latin, DE, FR and EN) by Father Lubomir Fabcin of the Slovak Catholic Mission in Brussels."