Month: Jul 2021

I am beginning to get reports of another Lonasney – like altar sex incident, again involving priests, but this in another church and diocese.

The picture above was taken by the group involved in the second incident.

It appears there are a small number of priests and others involved in these increasing incidents.

I cannot fathom why priests woukd do things like this – which, lets be honest, sniff of the Satanic.

This incident happened after Lomasney’s death but it is believed that he was involved with this group before he died.

In fact one priest member of the group, when asked about Fr Lomasney said that thempriests was dead and he did not aant to speak about Lomasney’s personal life when he was alive.

I have been told that the bishop of the diocese in which the second incident happened has been informed but has not acted.

You will see that some of the pictures indicate that one incident happened only 10 months ago.

It is very worrying that even a small number of priests are engaged in the type of kink that targets churches and altars.

There are other issues around this story that I cannot go into now as there are Gardai implications and investigations.

One of the groups of people I have worked with in my 45 ministry to date – are those women who have had relationships with priests and then become priestly cast-offs.

One of the first women in this position I met was also the mother of an Irish religious order priest’s three children.

At the time was working in Birmingham diocese and the woman came up against the coldness of the then archbishop Courve de Meuville.

Having got nowhere with that particular snob she contacted that other snob of the time – the Westminster monk and archbishop Basil Hume.

He was as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.

So decided to send him a shock for Christmas.

We bought a large doll, dressed it as a priest and sent it by courier to Hume which included the note:

“Basil, would you please put the enclosed baby priest in your cathedral crib this Christmas in remembrance of all the priest’s babies that are denied and forgotten by the Roman Catholic Church”.

KILDARE AND LEIGHLIN

Another woman I met was made pregnant by a priest in the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin.

Her and I travelled on a cold winter’s day to meet the bishop at the time, Larry Ryan.

Ryan sat as far away from us as he could in a large room

We arrived drenched from the windy rain.

He never offered us as much as a cup of tea.

He listened but said nothing.

He did nothing.

Pat and sister Margaret RIP circa 1955

Personally, I think the lady vicar above looks ridiculous.

A black clerical collar inside a gay rainbow dress or dressing gown.

To me it looks gimmicky, frivolous and like something someone with no taste would wear in a Pride march.

And this lady is an ITV religious presenter.

Sadly, for many, the clerical collar has become the symbol of sexual abuse and corruption of all kinds.

Thats sad. I can renember when the clerical collar attracted warmth, acceptance, confidence and was a sign that anyone, especially anyone in any kind of trouble, could approach you or come to you.

I am quite a dedicated wearer of the collar.

For me, the collar is two things:

1. A public reminder of Christianity and Christian ministry.

2. An invitation to approach for help, support, understanding and service.

I persevere with wearing the collar for the two ideals above.

I do understand that in many ways it may now represent various kinds of barriers.

If we are going to have female ministers, and we already have, why can they not create a new symbol for themselves – perhaps a symbol representing all that the feminine brings to ministry and caring?

Lots of priests have not worn the collar for a long time either:

1. To be KOOL.

2. Out of fear of abuse or attack.

Of course some priests don’t wear the collar because they don’t want people to see them misbehaving in some way.

Im sure Dick Purcell never wore the collar or habit to the sauna 😀 – even though some there would find it a turn on.

Our symbols should always be appropriate, meaningful and inspiring.

I dont think the clerical collar goes well with a rainbow gown 🤮

PATS PICS

Bishop Russell and Joe Seery are both dead. RIP.

Information from his British Museum.

Legendary Christian saint and martyr, daughter of a pagan king of Portugal. Together with her brothers and sisters she became a Christian, but to resist marriage to a suitor chosen by her father she prayed to become unattractive: she grew a beard and moustache, her suitor was dissuaded and, as a result, her father had her crucified. She is also said to have rewarded a young fiddler for playing in front of her crucified body by giving him one of her golden boots, and by giving him the second boot when he was accused of stealing the first one. It is now assumed that her name is a corruption of ‘Hilge Vartz’ (‘holy face’) and is to be related to the ‘Volto Santo’ of Lucca, an early wooden effigy depicting Christ as a man wearing a long regal tunic, which was misinterpretated as a dress.

St Wilgefortis on the cross looks like Jesus in a dress and I’m sure many will find this offensive?

Mind you, the “trans” isdue is a bigger issue than ever with more and more men and women choosing to change to the other sex.

I have some experience in ministering to trans people.

Its a very controversial area with very strong views on either side.

Some people feel very strongly that scare NHS money should not be spent on trans surgery while the waiting lists on life saving other surgeries are surging.

Some are not willing to accept it is a medical condition at all.

Yet the doctors do accept it and call it gender dysphoria.

Patients have to jump through all kinds of hoops and live fully for two years as a member of the sex you want to change to.

My own approach is to listen and journey with people without judgement.

It is very hard for those of us who do not have gender dysphoria to fully understand.

What do readers think?

Saint Wilgefortis pray for us.

The above quote from the small Irish diocese of Clonfert is very interesting. I don’t know who thye author is but appeared on the Clomfert Facebook and a reader sent to me.

You don’t ever really hear much about Clonfert.

The comment highlights the problem facing Clonferrt and indeed all Irish dioceses at the current time:

1. People no longer attend Church in the way they did.
2. Most of those who attend are in the upper age bracket.
3. Every year the pews get emptier.
4. Parish finances are challenging almost evryywhere.
5. Some parishes can not be maintained as parishes.
6. No / few ordinations in years.
7. Priests getting older.

As you can see from the map of Ireland Clonfert only covers a tiny part of the country.

And as Mass attendance is generally better in the rural areas it is quite telling that in the rural area of Clonfert the situation is dire.

What it must be like in the towns and cities?

We are heading for a time when a very tiny minority of “catholics” will be attending church.

Add that to the dwindling and disappearance of people offering themselves for the priesthood.

Add that to the dwindling income of parishes, dioceses and the national church.

If it were happing to any other big “company” the directors would be engaged on a quick process of closing branches and making workers and managers redundant.

In the case of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland “branches” are already closing and the managers and workers will not have to made redundant – they will simply be allowed to die.

The RCC will trundle along for a while on the massive investments they own.

But when these run out there will be massive sale of buildings.

Your parish church will become you new pub or leisure centre or nightclub.

Some RCC churches will be converted into crematoria, mosques, temples and evangelical places of worship.

26 dioceses will be reduced to 3 or 4.

All schools will be run by the state or parents.

There will be as many practising Catholics in the whole country as there are now in a few big parishes.

Some are asking can the RCC in its present form be changed?

I say NO and should not be.

Some are asking if it can be changed.

I SAY no because the managers don’t want to change – and the image of the RCC globally is now one of evil.

The Irish RCC will have been destroyed not by materialism, secularism or lack of faith.

It will have been destroyed by bishops and priests – who have been arrogant, cruel, materialistic, lazy and sexually promiscuous and scandalous.

Of course, Christianity will survive.

 

The new bishop has sold developers a plot of land for more than €1million that had been gifted to the Church.

Ashbourne, Co. Meath, is where a man called Ned Nulty signed over land he owned close to Old Killegland graveyard to the diocese with the stipulation it was to be used only if the graveyard needed to be extended or priests need a new parochial house. But Deenihan has sold developers the land for more than €1million.

Mr Nulty died in 1998, aged 78, and is buried in Old Killegland cemetery. The land was zoned residential but in a submission to the Meath County Development Plan (CDP), five councillors proposed zoning the lands to open space with the intention of creating a public park there and when this motion was discussed it was voted through.

However on May 12, Deenihan disposed of it to a development company called Killegland Estates while it was still able to be built on. Angry locals only discovered this when a planning notice appeared on an entrance gate to the land earlier last week causing fury.

A sales document shows it sold for €1,050,000. The seller is named as St Finian’s Trust, a limited company which administers the affairs of the Diocese of Meath and has Bishop Deenihan listed as a director along with a number of priests in the diocese. The move sparked fury among politicians and parishioners as their village did not see a cent of the cash for the site that was left for their benefit.

Relatives of the late Mr Nulty still live in the area but did not want to comment on the sale. However, a source said: ‘I doubt they are happy over it, anyone who knew Ned would know he wanted the lands to be used for parish needs and I’d imagine he would have wanted any money from this sale to go the people of Ashbourne.’

Several of the councillors who wanted to use the lands to provide a park are furious. Fine Gael’s Suzanne Jamal said: ‘This has come out of the blue, it was land that was there for years and years and we applied for it to be zoned differently to serve the community needs.

‘We have no influence over the proposed application, I am just an ordinary Joe Soap, when this arises all I can do is make a submission expressing my feelings and supporting my constituents and I intend to do that.’

Aisling O’Neill, of Sinn Féin, said: ‘The church never built on it, so we as a group of five councillors put in for a green space for the community but the church is after selling it to the developers. My opinion is the developers should have been aware of the county development plan and aware of the community’s plans for that area so we are going to fight that planning application.’

PAT SAYS:

If Mr Nulty left the land for an extended graveyard or the building of a parochial house then the land should have been used ONLY for those purposes.

Surely these instructions are the conditions of the will?

I think it is VERY HIGH HANDED and INDECENT of Deenihan to ride a horse abd coaches through the wishes of a deceased man with family still in the parish of Ashbourne.

But this is the kind of behaviour people have come to expect from Tom Deenihan.

There was a great sigh of relief when he left Cork – especially from the clergy of Cork and Ross.

Mind you, the clergy of Meath are generally a snobbish lot and maybe God has sent Deeniham to them as a penance?

During Francis’ visit to Ireland the retired bishop of Meath, Michael Smith, was standing in the foyer of a Dublin hotel and Deenihan was standing behind him. A parish priest of another diocese went over to Smith and said to him: “Your crucifixion is standing behind you”. Smith replied: ” I know”.

Come back John Charles. All is forgiven!

AND WHO SAYS THEY ARE JUST A LITTLE BUNDLE OF CELLS?

Francis had surgery for diverticular stenosis at the weekend and is apparently well and in recovery.

American Society of Colon and Rectan surgeons site:

• Diverticulosis: The presence of diverticula without associated complications or problems. The condition can lead to more serious issues including diverticulitis, perforation (the formation of holes), stricture (a narrowing of the colon that does not easily let stool pass), fistulas (abnormal connection or tunneling between body parts), and bleeding.
• Diverticulitis:  An inflammatory condition of the colon thought to be caused by perforation of one of the sacs. Several secondary complications can result from a diverticulitis attack, and when this occurs, it is called complicated diverticulitis.

Surgery for diverticular disease is indicated for the following: 

• A rupture of the colon that causes pus or stool to leak into the abdominal cavity, resulting in peritonitis. Rupture of the colon often requires emergency surgery. 
• An abscess than cannot be effectively drained. 
• Severe cases that do not respond to maximum medical therapy, which includes hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics. 
• Patients with immune system problems (related to an organ transplant or chemotherapy). 

• A colonic stricture or fistula. 
• A history of multiple attacks, a patient can undergo elective surgery in order to prevent future attacks. 

Surgery for diverticular disease usually involves removal of the affected part of the colon, and may or may not involve a colostomy or ileostomy, where a part of the intestine brought out through the abdominal wall to drain into a bag. A decision regarding the type of operation is made with your surgeon on a case-by-case basis. 

MY CROHN’S DISEASE:

In the late 1980s I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.

From Comfizz.com

Crohn’s Disease is classed as a chronic illness which means it is lifelong. There is no cure, but people who have Crohn’s Disease can go through periods of active disease where they experience “flare-ups” and then through periods where the disease goes into remission, is more under control & causes less symptoms. Medication and in more severe cases, surgery, can be options to help reduce the activity of the disease and symptoms.

MY EXPERIENCE:

I was diagnosed with Crohns in the late 1980s and think the stress of my bust-up with the church contributed to my illness.

I became very ill with severe abdominal pain, bleeding and diarrhea.

For a while my condition was managed with steroids but eventually became out of control.

In 1991 I had surgery in Belfast where a portion of my bowel was removed – the tail end of the ilium, the ileocecal junction and the beginning of the colon.

I was in hospital for 4 weeks after surgery and could not swallow water or food.

The prognosis was dim – surgery every couple of years ending up with a colostomy.

I decided to find another solution.

PROFESSOR JOHN HERMON TAYLOR

I read about Professor John Hermon Taylor in St. George’s Hospital in Tooting, London.

Prof. John Hermon-Taylor is a molecular scientist, retired surgeon and internationally renowned Crohn’s Disease expert whose research into Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) and its relationship to Crohn’s Disease has spanned over 30 years.

John qualified as a doctor from Cambridge University in 1960 and went on to obtain Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1963. He was appointed to the Chair of Surgery at St George’s Medical School, London in 1976. From this time, John dedicated himself to the care of people with Crohn’s Disease. Many of his former patients attest to his kindness, generosity and personal approach as well as his wisdom and skill as a surgeon. His determination to help his patients led his career down a research pathway. He led a team of scientists at St. George’s, focussed on the causation of Crohn’s Disease and increasingly on the involvement of MAP, which he believes to be the predominant cause of Crohn’s. He retired from the practise of surgery in 2002, to focus full-time on his research.

Between 1997 and 2007 he developed a modern therapeutic vaccine against MAP (together with Dr Tim Bull at St George’s and Prof. Sarah Gilbert at Oxford University) designed to treat Crohn’s. He believes that the vaccine holds the best hope of Crohn’s cure we have ever had.

In 2008 he moved to King’s College London where he continues to work full-time as a Visiting Professor in the gastrointestinal research group run by Dr Jeremy Sanderson.

He is currently occupied with the phase 2a trial of the vaccine in people with Crohn’s Disease, whilst working on the completion of a much-needed diagnostic test for MAP in humans.

Publications by
Prof. Hermon-Taylor

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, Crohn’s disease and the Doomsday Scenario.

A Novel Multi-Antigen Virally Vectored Vaccine against Mycobacterium avium Subspecies paratuberculosis. 

Immunity, safety and protection of an Adenovirus 5 prime – Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara boost sub-unit vaccine against Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis infection in calves 

PAT CONTINUES

I went to Prof HT in quite ote a bad way.

He blasted me with three very strong TB drugs that made me very unwell.

Then everything settled and I was really good.

I have not had any trouble with Crohns for over 25 years.

Every time I get a colonoscopy they tell me they can find no Crohns.

Because of my diagnosis and surgery I have a couple of small issues. But Prof HT did the trick for me.

Brülhart, Msgr Carlino, Crasso, Di Ruzza, Marogna, Mincione, Squillace, Tirabassi, Torzi, and Cardinal Becciu will be brought to trial following investigations into London property deal.

By Vatican News

The long and complex investigation carried out by Promoter of Justice Gian Piero Milano, Adjunct Alessandro Diddi and by Gianluca Perrone followed from an inquiry undertaken by the Vatican Gendarmeria led by Commander Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti. The probe led to the examination of an enormous number of documents, electronic equipment sequestered from the suspects, as well as the comparison of witness testimony. The president of Vatican City State’s Tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, has ordered the subpoena of ten people after receiving the request presented by the Office of the Promoter of Justice, referred to in the Holy See Press Office’s statement. The first phase of the investigation ends with this summons. Now the documentation gathered will be examined by the Tribunal during the public debate involving both the prosecution and the defense. The first hearing is scheduled for 27 July.

The following persons will be going to trial: René Brülhart (former president of AIF), who is charged with the crime of abuse of office; Msgr Mauro Carlino (former secretary of the Substitute of the Secretariat of State), charged with extortion and abuse of office; Enrico Crasso (financial broker who managed investments for the Secretariat of State for decades) is charged with the crimes of embezzlement, corruption, extortion, money laundering and self-laundering, fraud, abuse of office, materially falsifying public deeds committed privately, and falsifying internal agreements; Tommaso Di Ruzza (former director of AIF, Supervisory and Financial Information Authority) is being charged with embezzlement, and violating confidentiality; Cecilia Marogna (a woman who received considerable sums from the Secretariat of State for intelligence services) is being charged with extortion; Raffaele Mincione (financial broker who allegedly made the Secretariat of State underwrite large shares of the fund that owned the London property at 60 Sloan Avenue, and who then used that money for his own speculative investments) is being charged with embezzlement, fraud, abuse of office, appropriation and money laundering; Nicola Squillace (a lawyer involved in the negotiations) is being charged with fraud, appropriation, money laundering and self-laundering; Fabrizio Tirabassi (employed as a notetaker in the Administrative Office of the Secretariat of State, who allegedly played a leading role in the matter) is charged with corruption, extortion, embezzlement, fraud and abuse of office; Gianluigi Torzi (the broker called to help the Holy See get out of the fund owned by Mincione, and who succeeded in liquidating a total of 15 million so the property could return to its legitimate owners) is being accused of extortion, embezzlement, fraud, appropriation, money laundering and self-laundering.

Some elements also emerged against Cardinal Angelo Becciu, reads the statement from the Holy See Press Office. In his case, charges include embezzlement, abuse of office in complicity with others, and subornation.

2019 investigation

The press statement confirms that the investigation got underway in July 2019 after the Istituto per le Opere di Religione [commonly known as the Vatican Bank] and the Auditor General’s Office reported that “there was complete collaboration between the Office of the Promoter and the Judicial Police section of the Gendarmerie Corps. Preliminary activities were also carried out through close and productive collaboration with the Prosecutor’s Office in Rome and the Economic and Financial Police Unit (G.I.C.E.F.) of the Guardia di Finanza in Rome. Cooperation between the Prosecutor’s Office of Milan, Bari, Trent, Cagliari and Sassari and their respective judicial police offices was also appreciated.”

“Initial activities carried out with rogatorial commissions in numerous foreign countries (United Arab Emirates, Great Britain, Jersey, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Switzerland) brought to light a vast web of relationships with operators in the financial markets that generated substantial losses for Vatican finances which also drew from those resources destined for the Holy Father’s personal acts of charity.”

“The judicial process,” the statement emphasizes, “is directly connected to the directives and reforms” of Pope Francis, “in his work of transparency and remediation of Vatican finances, a work that, according to the hypothesis of the prosecution, was countered by illicit and detrimental speculative activities on a reputational level in the terms indicated in the request to press charges.”

Mincione’s investment fund

A primary and important chapter in the investigation concerns the Secretariat of State’s investment in Raffale Mincione’s Athena Capital Global Opportunities Fund operative between June 2013 and February 2014. The Secretariat of State borrowed 200 million dollars from Credit Suisse to invest in Mincione’s fund (100 million in movable goods, 100 million in immovable goods related to the property in London). The high-risk investment brought a serious loss to the Holy See. By 30 September 2018, 18 million euro of the initial investment were lost on these shares. The overall loss, however, is estimated to be a much larger amount. Mincione used the Vatican’s money in imprudent transactions and in attempts to take over banking institutions in crisis. Before such disastrous results, the Secretariat of State tried to get out of the investment by purchasing the property.

Torzi and extorsion enter the picture
Provided in the transaction was the payment of 40 million pounds by the Secretariat of State to Mincione in exchange for his shares. To this end, the Secretariat of State decided to entrust the transaction to another broker, Gianluigi Torzi, who later succeeded in maintaining control for himself, circumventing the Holy See, allegedly thanks to internal complicity.

From the documentation produced by the Vatican magistrates, it appears that Mincione and Torzi were actually in agreement to execute the transaction with the Secretariat of State. The Vatican Magistrates indicate that Enrico Crasso and Fabrizio Tirabassi were two key figures.

They believe they may have obtained commissions from Mincione and cash payments from Torzi for bringing him into the Vatican. Thanks to internal complicity, Torzi managed to get a Share Purchase Agreement signed that removed control of the London property from the Secretariat of State. He did this by creating 1,000 shares in GUTT SA but granted voting rights only to these shares he held. Meanwhile, the other 30,00 shares owned by the Secretariat of State did not carry the right to vote. Thus, the Secretariat of State found itself with another broker in the Vatican who solely possessed the power to make decisions.

Officials deceived

The Vatican magistrates hold that “neither Msgr. Perlasca, who signed the Share Purchase Agreement, nor his Superiors, the Substitute Edgar Peña Parra, and above all Cardinal Pietro Parolin had been effectively informed to be fully aware of the juridical effects that the different categories of actions would cause.” The Substitute’s signature, necessary to conclude the agreement because he holds power of attorney, was obtained after the fact and without the superiors being made aware of the “tactic” that allowed Torzi to maintain control of everything. To obtain control over the property, and force Torzi out of the picture, 15 million euro was extorted from the Secretariat of State through payments to the broker for irregular reasons, thanks to the internal complicity of the suspects against whom indictments have been requested.

Cardinal Becciu

The Cardinal, former Subsitute of the Secretariat of State, did not become a suspect immediately. He became involved because the magistrates accused him of “interference” and allege that he was behind the offers to acquire the building that emerged suddenly at the end of May 2020, just a few days prior to the interrogation of Torzi.

According to testimony, Cardinal Becciu also tried to get Perlasca to recant. Payments made by the Secretariat of State to Cecilia Marogna at Becciu’s request were added to the investigation. Between 20 December 2018 and 11 July 2019, the company she owned received payments made by the Secretariat of State for 575,000 euro. A letter rogatory allowed the investigation to ascertain that this sum “was mostly used to make purchases that were not compatible, and therefore, unjustifiable, with the corporate purpose of the company.”

In the end, the magistrates contend that Becciu financed his brother Antonino’s cooperative with 600,000 euro that came from the funds belonging to the Italian Bishops’ Conference and 225,000 euro that came from funds belonging to the Secretariat of State. The donations were allegedly “used for purposes other than the charitable purposes for which they were intended.”

PAT SAYS

This is a very damning report into corruption in the Vatican and its global financial dealings.

Some very senior figures, including a cardinal are castigated and are to face charges.

A great deal of money, originally given by loyal Catholics found its eas into the dark, deep pockets of Roman clergy, their families and contacts.

There is one great lesson:

DONT GIVE ANY MONEY TO ANYONE OR ANYTHING WITH THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

NORTHAMPTON CLERICAL CHANGES

This blog has a special place in its heart for Northampton diocese and it’s ex Oscott bishop David Oakley.

OAKLEY’S FIRST APPOINTMENTS:

Bishop David has announced the first set of clergy moves since his appointment as Bishop in March 2020.

Fr Andy Ollard is appointed Parish Priest to St Bernardine of Siena at Buckingham, with a brief also to reach out to the students in the neighbouring University.

Fr Roy Karakkattu, MSFS is appointed Priest in Charge to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour at Chesham Bois and also at St Aidan’s, Little Chalfont.

Fr David Donaghue is appointed to the Cathedral hub of parishes, which now comprises of the Cathedral, Kingsthorpe, East Hunsbury and Towcester. His principal ministry will be with Mission Northampton as we seek to develop models and best practice in evangelisation.

We welcome Fr Ebin Thomas to the Diocese, a priest belonging to the Syro-Malabar Eparchy. Fr Ebin is appointed Assistant Priest at St Edward’s, Kettering, and will have a particular ministry with the Syro-Malabar community.

Canon John Udris is returning to the diocese following 10 years as a spiritual director at Oscott Seminary. He is appointed Parish Priest of St Peter’s, Marlow.

Canon Brendan Killeen is appointed Parish Priest of The Sacred Heart, Weston Favell and Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Great Billing.

Fr Jerry Manomey is appointed Priest in Charge to Sacred Heart, Flitwick.

Fr Pius Amoako is appointed Parish Priest of St Paul’s, Thrapston, St Thomas More, Raunds and The Most Holy Name of Jesus, Oundle.

Fr James Evans is appointed Priest in Charge at St Thomas More, Towcester. This appointment is in addition to his responsibilities as Bishop’s Secretary.

Fr Andrew Coy is appointed Assistant Priest to the Cathedral.

We welcome Fr Martin McDonald OCD back to the Diocese. He returns to Gerrards Cross where he will be Parish Priest.

Fr Ken Payne is stepping down as Parish Priest in Little Chalfont and will continue to live in the presbytery there for the time being.

Fr Michael Turner will be retiring as parish priest of St Peters in Marlow.

An Oscott pal of Oakley’s – Canon John Udris (pronounced “Uterus” by Oscott seminarians) is being sent to the “plumb” parish of Marlow near Henly on Thames and isvalso being appointed “amicus clero ( the priest’s friend 😁 ) by Oakley.

Jobs for the boys 😬

EARLY DUBLIN APPOINTMENTS

News from the Archdiocese of Dublin.

Fr. Paul Callan is going on sabbatical.

The three new VGs are:

a)Fr. Gareth Byrne, lately of Mater Dei, DCU;

b)Fr. Ciaran O’Carroll, newly appointed as PP as opposed to Administrator of Donnybrook Parish, who has relinquished the office of Vicar for Clergy to Fr. Eoin Thynne; and,

c )Fr. Donal Roche.

Majority of appointments in September.

GROWING ON MY GARDEN WALL

Two new comnents submitted by email:

COMMENT ONE

“Two former staff board members of clonliffe at the time of reports made to the board are now Bishops. + Paul Tighe and Bishop of Limerick + Brendan Leahy”

COMMENT TWO

“As a former seminarian and student of Clonliffe I never had any issues with Fr. Slattery, however it was very obvious to most that he had his ” favourites” and some of these ” friendships” did seem a little inappropriate or even obsessive….”

PAT SAYS

A priest who did a doctorate in Rome and spent a lot of time there once said to me:

“The way to get promotion in the Roman Catholic is to give your superior sexual favours and services”.

But another important way to get promotion is having the ability to keep quiet about all the horrors and scandals you come across.

DIARMUID MARTIN as archbishop of Dublin must have known all about the Slattery scandal.

And yet the man with a reputation for openness and transparency, kept the Slattery scandal quiet.

It is clear that Slattery had a weakness for teenagers and young men.

But the teenagers and young men he might have met in the last 14 years of his life were left totally ignorant of his “weakness”.

And, as the homily at the funeral made clear Fr Slattery continued to be a “priest in good standing” as far as the public was concerned.

And that image of him was fully confirmed ar his funeral Mass celebrated by the Dublin Moderator of the Curia, Monsignor Paul Callan and with the new archbishop, Dermot Farrell presiding in full choir dress.

The Slattery scandal runs very deep and its roots go to a lot of interesting places.

THE ORATORY – THEN AND NOW.