THE IRISH TIMES     7th April 0033

SELF STYLED “RABBI” EXECUTED IN JERUSALEM

PAHTSY MAGARRIA – RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT

(Translated from Hebrew by Bishop Pat Buckley)

The self-styled “Rabbi” Jesus Christ was executed yesterday afternoon in Jerusalem after a short trial that ended with a unanimous verdict of guilty. International jurists at the trial have described the proceedings as “probably the one of the fairest trials we ever witnessed and a true sign that Israel is at last one of the most just nations on the earth today”.

The Christ story has preoccupied Israeli and international new media for over three decades. It began shortly before the birth of Jesus Christ himself when the village authorities were made aware that his mother Mary Joachim  was pregnant at sixteen – two years before the age of consent. The sixteen year old had been seen frequenting the home of suspected paedophile Joseph David. David was arrested but DNA evidence was inconclusive and charges had to be dropped.

However some month’s later neighbours noticed that David’s family donkey was missing from his driveway and Mary Joachim was also missing. It later emerged that the couple had fled to the village of Bethlehem, north of Jerusalem. When Bethlehem police later searched a remote outbuilding in which the teenager and suspected paedophile had hidden they found evidence that a birth had taken place. Herodian police questioned local shepherds and it was reported some type of “rave” had taken place in the vicinity of the outbuilding at the time of the birth with loud music, flashing lights and strangely dressed people coming and going on camels. Police discovered the remains of strangely smelling substances and some foreign gold coins.

On the same night a number of young male children in the district were mysteriously murdered in their beds. The fact that David and Joachim fled to Egypt leads police to believe that they were involved in these crimes. However Israel and Egypt do not have an extradition agreement in place and the prospect of bringing the couple and their accomplices to justice in the short term is not good. King Herod spoke of the tragic events from his summer palace outside of Jesusalem saying: “I am devastated that so many of our beautiful children were slain in this cold blooded manner. My heart goes out to their parents and family. We in the government will be doing everything we can to bring the perpetrators to justice. We will not rest until the blood of our innocent children is avenged”. King Herod has received messages of support from world leaders. Pope Caiphias today asked pilgrims in Jerusalem to observe a minutes silence at 3 pm in honour of the deceased and bereaved.

After Herod’s death, a change of government and a general amnesty the Joachim-Davids were said to have made their way back to the obscure village of Nazareth. David set up business as a carpenter making furniture and other items for locals.

They disappeared from the headlines for twelve years and only came to public attention again when their son Jesus was reported missing at a Jerusalem festival. After three days Jerusalem Social Services found the child in the presbytery in the temple in the company of a number of middle and older aged priests. The presbytery housekeeper reported to Social Services and police that she had overheard the child and priests talking about things that a child of that age should not know about. She had also heard the child telling the priests that his Father had asked him to do things for him.

After an investigation and lack of evidence no action was taken against the priests and the child’s father but the Jerusalem Social Services passed a file to Children’s Services at Capernaum Borough Council in North Galilee. The Archbishop of Jerusalem Dermud Maritan said that a full internal Temple investigation would be carried out and that Temple child protection measures were more stringent than ever.

For the following eighteen years the Joachim Davids seem to fade into the woodwork and the authorities had no reason to have any concerns about any activity at Nazareth. However the local Rabbi at Nazareth, Abraham Cohen, said that he thought that it was very unusual and unhealthy for a Jewish male to be still living at home at the age of thirty and never having a girlfriend. Some neighbours commented on the amount of time Jesus spent alone with his father in the carpentry workshop at the back of the family home.

However all that was to change dramatically just three years ago. Inexplicably Jesus Christ suddenly left his Nazareth home and became overnight a homeless nomadic. He began posing as a “rabbi” and a “messiah” and visiting fishing villages along the Galilee shoreline encouraging other young men to abandon their families and jobs and embrace his own irresponsible “new age” lifestyle. He seemed to target youths from poor fishing backgrounds and the children of unpopular tax officials. He fooled some naïve comfortably off women to travel with his gang and use their inheritance for the group’s upkeep. By all accounts he had a hypnotising effect on apparently feeble-minded people and within a very short time he was the leader of what can only be described as a dangerous cult. At the village of Bethany just outside Jerusalem he persuaded three members of a local family to make their home a base for him and his followers. The family – two sisters and their brother – provided him with food and lodgings and a local shopkeeper at Bethany reported that one of the sisters, Mary, was besotted with him while the other sister Martha spent all her time and money on cooking for him and looking after his material needs. The sisters even believed that Jesus had brought their brother Lazarus back from the dead after he had been unconscious and in a fever for several days!

Another well-known associate of Christ was the keeper of a brothel at Magdala just outside of Jerusalem. He was also seen by several witnesses lying intimately on a couch beside a former young fisherman.

Matters came to a head just 6 days ago last Sunday when one of his gang stole a colt from outside a house on the outskirts of Jerusalem and Jesus rode into Jerusalem on it claiming to be the King of the Jews. For a few days hysteria spread among the city’s population and for some inexplicable reason many believed his claims to be a king and the son of God.

However on Thursday evening sense prevailed and one of his followers Judas went to the authorities and gave them the evidence they needed to finally take action against him. Apparently early on Thursday evening he had brought his followers together in a private dining room in the city and convinced them to eat human flesh and drink human blood. He was arrested later that evening in the Gethsemane district and brought for questioning. He was first arraigned before the Herodian Magistrate’s Court and committed to trial before the superior Governor’s Court. Police reported that he obstinately pleaded his innocence even in the face of intense interrogation under the Special Power’s Act. However at one point he did arrogantly proclaim himself to be the nation’s king.

He was sentenced to die by crucifixion and insisted on making  his own way on foot from the prison to the place of execution at Golgatha just outside the city. On his last journey he once again played on the emotions of gathered women, including his mother. He convinced one woman locally named as Veronica to wipe his face with a towel and spoke briefly to a group of other women who became hysterical at whatever he had said to them.

He was crucified on Golgotha with two other criminals and died about 3 pm after mumbling something incomprehensible. It was interesting that most of his cultic followers had abandoned him. The only ones near him at the time of his death were the aforementioned prostitute from Magdala, the young fisherman he had been seeing lying with, his long suffering mother and his mother’s cousin.

According to government sources last night permission had been given to some of his followers to remove the body to a secret place of burial. Before his arrest he had told his followers that he would rise again after his death. It is suspected in the coming days that a small number of cult members may spread a rumour that he has indeed risen from the dead. However the same government source said that his execution will bring an end to a thirty three year saga of propaganda and scandal.

In Jerusalem today there will be great relief that the last has been seen and heard of the trouble maker from Galilee whose short life was surrounded with accusations of murder, corruption, homosexuality, paedophilia, sexual scandal, alcohol abuse and political rabble rousing. The residents of Jerusalem and Galilee can now, once again, return to the simple, respectable and quite lifestyles as God’s chosen people.

HANS KUNG - PROPHET

AND WORLD'S GREATEST LIVING THEOLOGIAN

Few problems for chaplains as gays now serve openly

ONLY CATHOLIC CHAPLAINS ARE HOMOPHOBIC IN US FORCES !

Few problems for chaplains as gays now serve openly

Col. Timothy Wagoner has been an Air Force chaplain for 20 years, serving a denomination — the Southern Baptists — that rejects same-sex relationships.

Yet here he was at the chapel he oversees, watching supportively as an airman and his male partner celebrated a civil union ceremony.

"I wouldn't miss it," Wagoner said at the McGuire Air Force Base chapel, days later. "I don't feel I'm compromising my beliefs ... I'm supporting the community."

Wagoner didn't officiate at the ceremony — he couldn't go quite that far. But his very presence at the gathering was a marker of how things have changed for active-duty clergy in the nine months since the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was repealed and gays could serve openly.

Before repeal, various conservative groups and individuals — including many conservative retired chaplains — warned that repeal would trigger an exodus of chaplains whose faiths consider homosexual activity to be sinful. 

In fact, there's been no significant exodus — perhaps two or three departures of active-duty chaplains linked to the repeal. Moreover, chaplains or their civilian coordinators from a range of conservative faiths told The Associated Press they knew of virtually no serious problems so far involving infringement of chaplains' religious freedom or rights of conscience.

"To say the dust has settled would be premature," said Air Force Col. Gary Linsky, a Roman Catholic priest who oversees 50 fellow chaplains in the Air Mobility Command. "But I've received no complaints from chaplains raising concerns that their ministries were in any way conflicted or constrained."

Wagoner, who commands five other chaplains at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in central New Jersey, said the chaplaincy corps was responding professionally and collegially to what he called a "balancing act" precipitated by the repeal.

"We're good at this stuff — we want to take care of our folks," he said. "We have to respect the faith requirements of the chaplain and we have to take care of the needs of the airman."

That attitude meshes with the official Pentagon guidelines on the repeal: "The Chaplain Corps' First Amendment freedoms and their duty to care for all have not changed. All service members will continue to serve with others who may hold different views and beliefs, and they will be expected to treat everyone with respect."

Wagoner would not have been willing to officiate at the June 23 civil union ceremony at the McGuire chapel, nor would his Catholic or Mormon colleagues. But he had no problem with another member of his team, Navy Chaplain Kay Reeb of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, doing so.

Lending support

Reeb, who will be will leaving the Navy in a few weeks after 20 years as a chaplain, held a couple of pre-ceremony consultations with the couple — Tech. Sgt. Erwynn Umali and civilian Will Behrens — and was impressed by their commitment to each other.

On hand at the chapel were the couple's family and friends, several gay-rights activists, and Sgt. Elizabeth Garcia, the chaplain's assistant who handled logistical arrangements. And then there was Wagoner, whose denomination preaches that homosexuality is sinful and is "not a valid alternative lifestyle."

"As a Southern Baptist, why was I here? I was here to lend support," Wagoner said. "I was here supporting Airman Umali. I've worked with him. He's a comrade in arms."

"I'm also supporting Chaplain Reeb," he said. "She gave a beautiful ceremony."

According to the latest Pentagon figures, there are about 2,930 chaplains on active duty, most from theologically conservative faiths and organizations. The Southern Baptist Convention has the largest contingent, with about 450 active-duty chaplains; the Roman Catholic Church is next with about 220.

The Catholic official who oversees those chaplains, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, had vehemently opposed repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" and issued a statement after repeal conveying ongoing concerns "in this difficult time."

"This archdiocese remains resolved in the belief that no Catholic chaplain will ever be compelled to condone — even silently — homosexual behavior," he said then.

However, Broglio said he was unaware of any major repeal-related problems that had arisen for his chaplains during the first nine months of the new era.

"There have been no overt difficulties," he said. "It's more a question of what might occur in the future."

Broglio remains concerned that Catholic chaplains might somehow be pressured to participate in or facilitate ceremonies or programs that bestow recognition and approval on same-sex couples — "As time goes by, it will be a challenge, to make certain you're not silently condoning."

As for preaching the Catholic doctrine that homosexual behavior is a sin, Broglio said he expects chaplains to retain the freedom to do so as part of their religious services. But he said there is confusion as to whether that freedom extends to other settings where chaplains might face pressure to deliver inclusive messages.

Broglio said he has not given his chaplains specific instructions to either emphasize church teaching on homosexuality in their preaching or to avoid the subject.

He concurred with the estimates that only a handful of chaplains have left the military because of the repeal. He said "two or three" Catholic chaplains had resigned their commissions in recent months, and guessed that repeal may have been a factor though they didn't cite that specifically.

Another conservative denomination with a large contingent of chaplains — 114 on active duty — is the Assemblies of God.

Scott McChrystal, a retired Army chaplain who oversees them, said the concerns that preceded repeal had not been borne out.

"Since the actual repeal, I cannot recall a single instance where I've gotten a call from one of our chaplains who's had a problem," he said. "Our goal as an organization is simply to provide as much help as we can to anybody we can."

Likewise, Frank Clawson, director of military relations for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said none of the 42 active-duty Mormon chaplains with whom he works has reported problems linked to the repeal or expressed a desire to leave the service.

Yet Clawson remains wary that the military could become increasingly inhospitable to religious conservatives.

"I don't know if the vote is in yet," he said. "The pendulum has swung the other way, to where if you do have a faith, you're almost looked down on."

Some dismayed

The loudest assertions that conservative chaplains face problems come from outside the active-duty ranks, notably from a coalition of retired chaplains and other religious leaders called the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty. 

In a letter to a Republican congressman in March, the alliance contended that repeal has been implemented "with an open and palpable hostility" to chaplains and service members who disapprove of homosexuality.

The alliance supports a measure backed by House Republicans that would ban the use of military chapels for same-sex weddings and other similar ceremonies. The Pentagon says it will allow such ceremonies when in accordance with state law.

The alliance's executive director, retired Army chaplain Ron Crews, says some active-duty chaplains are dismayed by repeal-related changes but don't speak out publicly because they 

fear retaliation or do not get permission from superiors.

However, Crews agreed that few chaplains have left the military because of the repeal.

"We've been encouraging our chaplains to stay the course — we don't want to see an exodus," Crews said. "Some of my chaplains have stated they are going to stay, but they realize there may come a day where they may have to choose obedience to God or their career, and they're going to choose their obedience to God."

With an eye toward the future, when the military community is likely to include more same-sex couples, Crews' alliance has drawn some lines in the sand for chaplains from its affiliated denominations: no role in any ceremony for same-sex couples, no jointly presiding over religious services with gay or lesbian chaplains, no pre-marriage or marriage-strengthening counseling to same-sex couples.

Wagoner suggested there were "no hard answers" to some potential dilemmas, such as if a conservative chaplain objected to participating at a marriage retreat that included a same-sex couple. Perhaps a substitute chaplain could be found, or perhaps the gay couple could pick another date for a retreat, Wagoner said.

"Think of it as an experiment," Wagoner said of the post-repeal era. "It's evolving."

The chaplain coordinators for some relatively liberal denominations suggested that the Chaplain Alliance and its allies are exaggerating the impact of repeal for political purposes.

"They are grasping at straws, in terms of getting something substantial to counteract the repeal," said the Rev. Stephen Boyd of the United Church of Christ, which has about 18 active-duty chaplains and was an early supporter of same-sex marriage.

Bishop James Magness, the coordinator for about 75 active-duty and reserve Episcopal chaplains, said he'd heard a common, positive verdict about repeal from his more conservative Catholic, Mormon and Southern Baptist colleagues.

"The whole argument about religious liberty is so incredibly uninformed, and inflamed by some of the very conservative legal groups," Magness said. "In reality, there's been very little if any of the services forcing any ministerial activity on a chaplain against his or her will."

Chaplain Linsky said he'd respect any chaplain who did leave the military out of principled objections related to the repeal, but knew of no such instances.

"The chaplain corps," he said, "has navigated this issue with great calm and prudenc

ORANGE ORDER BEHAVIOUR OUTSIDE ST PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BELFAST
 12TH JULY 2012

CLICK LINK BELOW:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151896598970427&set=vb.111907769567&type=2&theater#

LEADERSHIP

But how do we know what it means to really be a leader and how do we know who should do it?
There are some clues to those answers in folk literature, I think.

The first story is about two boats that meet head on in a shipping channel at night.
As boats are wont to do in the dark, boat number 1 flashed boat number 2: “We are on a collision course. Turn your boat 10 degrees north.”
Boat 2 signaled back: “Yes, we are on a collision course. Turn your boat 10 degrees south.”
Boat 1 signaled again: “I am an admiral in her majesty’s navy; I am telling you to turn your boat 10 degrees north.”
Boat 2 flashed back immediately: “And I am a seaman 2nd class. And I am telling you to turn your boat 10 degrees south.”
By this time, the admiral was furious. He flashed back: “I repeat! I am an admiral in her majesty’s navy and I am commanding you to turn your boat 10 degrees north. I am in a battleship!”
And the second boat returned a signal that said: “And I am commanding you to turn your boat 10 degrees south. I am in a lighthouse.”
Point: Rank, titles and positions are no substitute for leadership.

CATHOLIC PRIESTS NURSE SICK FROM "PROTESTANT" SHANKHILL 

By 1800 the Shankill was absorbing part of the Belfast population which at that time stood at 20,000.

Isreal Milliken opened Belfast´s first public baths at Peter´s Hill during 1805.

Brown Square School opened during 1815; night classes for adults cost one penny.

The first Cholera out break was in 1832 the Shankill graveyard was used.

The population of Belfast in 1841 was 75,000.

Crumlin Road jail was finished in 1846 in a ´radial´ pattern from  Belfast´s best known architect Charles Lanyon. It was altered again in 1905. It had the capacity to hold 426 prisoners.

Outbreak of typhus 1847 claiming 50 victims a day, reports state Shankill graveyard full. Added to the misery of the typhus was the influx of people pouring into the city and the Shankill due to the potato famine that began in 1845. The Shankill was now becoming a built up area with industry in and completely around it.

Second outbreak of Cholera during 1849, 33% of those infected die. Three streets in the Shankill were named after priests that helped the people during this time they were Meenan, Brennan and Blaney Streets.

The County Courthouse, Crumlin Road was built in 1850 once again from the designs of Charles Lanyon. It was connected to the prison across the road by a tunnel. It remained in service until the 1990´s.

As well as ordinary working class people moving into the Shankill there were also upper class families taking up residence.  One of these families who moved to the Ballygomartin area of the Shankill Parish was the Cunningham´s. In 1856  Josias Cunningham purchased land in that district and named it after his ancestral home in Scotland, the name Glencairn has remained with the area since. The family would go on to be known throughout the Shankill for their work in politics the Orange Order, church, education, and social work during both world wars. At their peak the Cunningham family controlled the three ´big´ houses being Glencairn, Glendivis and Fernhill employing as many as ninety people in positions such as gamekeepers, grooms, household staff and drivers.  Both Glencairn and Glendivis were demolished whereas Fernhill is today the Shankill Peoples Museum.

The ordinance survey map 1860 shows practically no housing in streets above Agnes Street, however a business map of Belfast produced in 1892 shows the extent and speed of the building program. It was during this period that the tightly knit streets spread up the Shankill.

RESCUE OF STREET NAME PLATES

When Blaney, Brennan and Meenan streets were being demolished in the early 1980s I asked Belfast City Council for the name plates that honoured the three Catholic priests who had nursed the Shankhill people in 1832.

The City Council said “NO”!

So, one dark night Father Vincent McKinley and myself drove up the Shankhill with a ladder and while Father McKinley held the ladder I went up and removed the name plates. As we were doing it an RUC landrover stopped. The two back door opened and 4 RUC men saw 2 Catholic priests removing name plates on the Protestant Shankhill! They looked at each other in bewilderment and then drove away.

I brought the name plates to the woodwork teacher at St Peter’s School, Briton’s Parade, Belfast and had them mounted on wood.

Two of them – BRENNAN STREET and BLANEY STREET still hang in my kitchen in Larne.

I would be happy for them to eventually find a home in a museum.

Bishop Pat Buckley

2/7/2012