Tuesday 30 August 2016

MAYNOOTH - BISHOP DONAL McKEOWN

MAYNOOTH - BISHOP DONAL McKEOWN


VISITORS TO BLOG YESTERDAY ....................  9,500




DONAL McKEOWN the current Bishop of Derry is basically a waffler and a manufacturer of soundbites.

He likes to give the impression that he is "KOOL" by occasionally riding a bike and by retaining the dirt from his garden under his finger nails. But if you are looking for substance - look elsewhere. 

Like JOHN FLEMMING whom we looked at yesterday he was in charge of a seminary before he became a bishop - but what a DISASTER that seminary was during his "pontificate". Let me tell you the story.....

The seminary in question was THE WING in Belfast - which was then part of St Malachy's College. McKeown was the president.

During his presidency a now jailed parish priest - Father James Donaghy - used to visit a seminarians room there and lock himself and the seminarian inside that room for up to FOUR HOURS while he sexually abused the seminarian. 




Even in the court case that happened later the seminarian was never named but was called VICTIM A. 

Father Donaghy befriended Victim A when he was just 14 years old and was an altar boy. Donaghy convinced Victim A's parents to let the boy come and live with him in the presbyters so that he "could start his training for the priesthood"! Victim A lived with Father Donaghy from that time until he entered THE WING seminary - a period of some 4/ 5 years during which he regularly sexually abused him. Donaghy then arranged to get A into the seminary and continued to abuse him in his seminary room! 

Donaghy also showered A with gifts - computers, designer clothes, foreign trips, expensive aftershaves and meals out in top class restaurants. 

Remind you of anyone else?

Anyway all this happened during Donal McKeown's presidency of the seminary.

I'm sure that Donal McKeown says that he did not know about the abuse at all.

But he should have known !!!

The buck stops with the president. If you have the authority and prestige of being the president you also have the responsibility to make sure that all is well on your watch. If a ship goes on to rocks the one with the ultimate responsibility is the captain!

If you were in charge of a seminary would you not be suspicious about a 40 or 50 year old man locking himself into a room with a 19 year old man for 4 hours? 

And now Donal McKeown is ONE of the BISHOPS responsible for Maynooth. 

SEMINARIAN CONAN McGONAGLE:

CONAN McGONAGLE - INJUSTICE?


CONAN McGONAGLE is the DERRY seminarian who was dismissed from Maynooth a few months ago after discovering two other seminarians involved in "goings on" in one of their rooms.

Conan, out of fear, dis not report what he say to the Maynooth authorities but did speak to other seminarians about his experience. Eventually the Maynooth authorities got to know and summoned Conan before them and dismissed him - giving him their reasons:

1. He had been "mistaken" in what he saw!

2. He had failed to report the matter to the authorities!

3. He had written an anonymous letter about what he saw to one of the seminarian's bishop.

4. He was intimidating the two seminarians he had "discovered".

And just for good measure the Maynooth junta gave him a 5th reason:

5. Anyway you are too rigid and conservative in your views.


Conan, who still wants to be a priest was devastated. So what did he do? Yes, he went to his bishop - his supposed "Father in Christ" - Donal McKeown.

McKeown, in his wishy washy way told him not to worry and that he would sort it all out.

AND THEN - Donal met him again and told him that he had to accept the decision of the Maynooth Junta - and that he was over and out !!!

See what I mean about good old, caring, never waver from you word Donal McKeown ?


Now, I have never met or had any communication with Conan. I have spoken to a seminarian who was and is his best friend. He tells me that Conan is probably the best example of a good seminarian you would get.

But even if Conan is excessively conservative - surely that is not a reason to dump him unceremoniously? Surely he can be talked to? Surely it can be explained to him that the last thing the Church needs in the 21st century is rigid priests? 

Surely he can be guided, supported, enlightened? 

Conan was a MAYNOOTH WHISTLE BLOWER. Maynooth destroys it's whistle blowers and takes its Midnight Cowboys by the hand. 

My information is that Conan is devastated.

God will one day demand justice for Conan and so many others.


RORY COYLE FINALLY REMOVED FROM ARMAGH PARISH WEBSITE:

The GRINDR priest and Master of Ceremonies to AMY MARTIN has finally being removed from the Armagh Parish website. 




He was removed immediately after he was caught on GRINDR but when I reported his removal on this Blog they put his picture back up again -  NA NA NEN NA NA .


Amy


But now that she (Amy), a self professed heterosexual (Hot Press) has poor Rory firmly installed in the US Sex Addiction Clinic she has finally removed Rory - leaving Armagh with only 3 instead of 4 priests. 

RORY.......................GONE

So now the Senior curate of Armagh Cathedral is Thomas (Tomasina) McHugh. By the way Tomasina has blocked me from following her Social Media accounts. I wonder why?



How am I going to cope - emotionally I mean - with not being able to gaze upon and follow the activities of Armagh's most desirable senior curate?

Ah well!  I'll just have to up my dose of diazepam for a few weeks.

By the way seminarian BRENDAN MARSHALL is a pal of Tomasina's 

BRENDAN MARSHALL



RORY'S REPLACEMENT IN ARMAGH:

Father Peter Kerr has been appointed to replace Rory in Armagh Cathedral:


FR PETER KERR


ARMAGH DIOCESAN CHANGES 2016



CLERGY APPOINTMENTS

The Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, announces the following clergy appointments, effective 3 September 2016.
Archbishop Eamon thanks the priests for their continued ministry and service in the Archdiocese and wishes them well in taking up these new appointments.  He also thanks the people of the Archdiocese of Armagh for their ongoing prayers and support of their priests. He encourages them to welcome their new pastors in the coming weeks.
Rt Rev. Mgr Christopher O’Byrne, PE, AP, Magherafelt, to retire and to be Priest-in-Residence, Magherafelt.
V Rev Sean F Quinn, PP, Louth, to retire and to be Priest-in-Residence, Tallanstown.
Rev Thomas McNulty, CC, Cooley, retired on 12 May 2016, to be Priest-in-Residence, Cooley.
Rev Fergus Breslan, CC, Middle Killeavy, to become Assistant Pastor St Patrick’s, Dundalk (part-time), and Diocesan Liaison Priest with Redemptoris Mater House of Formation, Dundalk, / Neocatechumenal Way in the Archdiocese.
V Rev Peter Kerr, PP, Killcluney (Ballymacnab, Clady & Granemore), following a period of sabbatical leave, to be PE, AP, Cathedral Parish, Armagh (effective from First Sunday of Advent.)
V Rev Gerard McGinnity, PP, Knockbridge, retired on 30 May 2016.
Rev John McGoldrick, returning from sabbatical leave, to be CC, Aughnacloy (Aghaloo & Carnteel), residing in Caledon and to act as Adm Aughnacloy (Aghaloo & Carnteel) pro-tem.
Rev Sean McArdle, SM, to be PP, Louth.
Rev Kevin Donaghy, retiring as Principal of St Patrick’s Grammar School, Armagh, to take a period of sabbatical leave.
Rev Desmond Branigan, CC, St Patrick’s, Dundalk, to be CC, Magherafelt.
V Rev Gerard Campbell, PP, EV, Kilkerley, also to be PP, Knockbridge.
V Rev Joseph McKeever, PP, Crossmaglen, to retire on medical grounds (effective 30 September 2016.)
Rev Gregory Carvill, Adm, Aughnacloy (Aghaloo & Carnteel), to be PP, Kilcluney (Ballymacnab, Clady & Granemore).
Rev Patrick Rushe, VF, in addition to chaplaincy duties, to be part-time CC, Kilkerley, and Diocesan Education Secretary (Co Louth).
Rev Neil O’Donoghue, CC, Holy Redeemer, Dundalk (part-time), to be full-time Vice-Rector of the Redemptoris Mater House of Formation, Dundalk.  Fr Neil will assist with the parish of Crossmaglen (Creggan Upper) until January 2017.
Rev. Brian White, CC, Hagardstown and Blackrock, also to be Director of the Permanent Diaconate, Archdiocese of Armagh.
Rev Liam McKinney, CC, VF, Crossmaglen (Creggan Upper,) to act as Adm, Crossmaglen (Creggan Upper) until appointment of a new Parish Priest in January 2017 (effective 30 September 2016.)
Rev. Thomas McHugh, CC, Armagh, also to be Chairperson, Armagh Diocesan Youth Commission.
Rev Sean McGuigan, CC Cookstown (Desertcreight & Derryloran), to be CC Holy Redeemer, Dundalk, and to offer support in the Armagh Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Dundalk.
Rev Damien Quigley, newly ordained, to be CC, Middle Killeavy, and a member of the Chaplaincy Team to Daisy Hill Hospital, Newry.  He will also become a member of the Diocesan Vocations Commission.


CATHOLIC SCANDALS SPREAD TO NORWAY:

A priest reader of our Blog would like to draw out attention to the Catholic Scandals of Norway - whose priests are trained in LONDON'S GAY SEMINARY - ALLEN or "ALICE" HALL:


Catholics’ scandal spreads to Norway


The Norwegian Catholics’ former bishop in Trondheim left his post last summer after admitting that he’d sexually molested an altar boy around 20 years earlier, reports newspaper Adresseavisen. Church officials chose not to publicly acknowledge the molestation, claiming the bishop was “relieved of his duties” because of “cooperation problems” within his congregation. The disgraced bishop reportedly moved to Germany, but his current whereabouts remain unclear.
The bishop in Oslo, Bernt Eidsvig, finally had to answer questions about the Trondheim bishop's departure. PHOTO: Wikipedia Commons
The report in Adresseavisentopped all national newscasts on Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) Wednesday morning and comes just after claims made during the Easter holidays by the bishop in Oslo, Bernt Eidsvig, that the Catholic Church shouldn’t excuse itself from sexual assaults by priests or remain silent about them. Eidsvig had said on NRK during the weekend that Pope Benedict XVI “missed an opportunity”by not addressing the wave of reports of sexual abuse within the church during the Pope’s traditional Easter appearance at the Vatican.
Now questions are being raised as to whether Eidsvig himself, and Catholic officials in Norway, missed an opportunity for openness themselves. Eidsvig toldAddresseavisen, however, that the victim of the molestation in Trondheim himself asked that it not be publicized.
The victim is now in his 30s, “well over the legal age” to make such decisions, said Eidsvig, and had also kept quiet for decades himself about the assault by former Trondheim Bishop Georg Müller. The assault occurred when Müller was still a priest in Trondheim.
The victim finally told another priest about it more than a year ago. Eidsvig said an investigation was begun and the accusation was forwarded to the Vatican in February of last year. Müller, when confronted with the charge against him, immediately confessed and ultimately gave up his duties in Trondheim. Eidsvig said the former bishop has since “been under psychological treatment, or therapy, and spiritual guidance.”
The church granted Müller’s victim the equivalent of a year’s salary, between NOK 400,000 and NOK 500,000 (about USD 75,000), in compensation.
The case was never reported to police, Eidsvig said, because it was so old and the statute of limitations for such crimes had run out. 
‘No other victims’
Eidsvig told Adresseavisen that the archbishop who is the Vatican’s ambassador to the Nordic countries questioned Müller repeatedly as to whether he assaulted anyone else in addition to the victim. Müller claimed he had not, according to Eidsvig, who added that no one else has reported any sexual assaults to either the police or church authorities as far as he knew.
Asked whether Eidsvig is secure that Müller now is telling the truth, Eidsvig said: “I can’t be 100 percent sure about that.” By midday on Wednesday, new reports were emerging that church officials are now aware of four cases of sexual abuse, but some of them go back to the 1950s.
Asked how the case affects confidence in the church, Eidsvig conceded that it can’t do any good “other than that the church acted quickly and has done its best for the victim.” He also said Müller “will never again have a position within the church.” 
Müller himself left Trondheim and reportedly has since “kept a low profile” in Germany. His exact whereabouts remained unclear and Adresseavisen’s attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful. One church official in the German province that’s home to Müller’s order, Picpuspatrene, said Müller remains a bishop but hasn’t had any official roles since leaving Trondheim.

Norway Catholic Church denies 'aggravated fraud'

Norway's Catholic Church has denied committing fraud in its first official report responding to charges that it deliberately exaggerated its membership numbers to obtain more state aid, although it admitted its past methods were "unsatisfactory."
The Oslo diocese and two officials, the bishop and the financial officer, are suspected of fraudulently registering thousands of people on its membership lists between 2010 and 2014, which enabled it to obtain 50 million kroner (more than $6.0 million or 5.8 million euros) in state subsidies. 

In Norway, a predominantly Protestant country, the state provides subsidies to organised religions, the size of which is determined by the number of members.

"The opinion of the diocese is that we have done nothing illegal," the interim head of the Church, Lisa Wade, said at the presentation of the Church's report on the affair.

Police have accused the Oslo diocese of going through the telephone directory in search of immigrants whose names appear to signal that they come from Catholic countries, and adding them to the membership list, sometimes without their knowledge.

Norway's Roman Catholic minority had 140,000 registered members in 2014, more than double the number in 2010.

To explain the jump, the Church has claimed it benefitted from a large wave of Catholic immigrants, notably Poles, who practised their religion but did not register with the Church, which in turn cost the Church more but did not result in increased state subsidies.

"The diocese never intended to do anything other than identify the Catholics in the country," Wade said. "Unfortunately, the method that was used led to some incorrect registrations," she added.

Wade said 7,000 people had been mistakenly registered, including Catholics who did not want to be included on the list and non-Catholics. Their names have now been removed from the list.


More than 21,000 other cases have yet to be clarified.  Police raided the Catholic Church's offices on February 26 on suspicions of "aggravated fraud.”

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:



TODAY'S CATHOLIC PICS:



64 comments:

  1. I don't feel this is correct.

    I have found Bishop McKeown to always be an honest, and good man.
    I had a dealing with him once before and he was more than helpful and was more than honest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some of us beg to disagree.

      I would like to hear some comments from former Down and Connor seminarians from THE WING.

      Delete
  2. For info:

    Very Rev Peter Kerr has been assigned to Armagh Parish.

    See other Armagh Archdiocese Clerical changes at the following link:

    http://www.armagharchdiocese.org/2016/08/19/clergy-appointments-2/

    No mention of Rory in the changes though.

    Kind Regards

    ReplyDelete
  3. Why is Müller still a bishop? Why wasn't he laicized?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Down and Connor appointments for this year should be very interesting indeed!
    I wonder will Mulhall remain in place torturing the people of Coleraine

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    Replies
    1. Brendan Mulhall is a very troubled and unhappy man. He was out of the priesthood for a while and was working in the Downpatrick Credit Union - a town where he worked as curate. He is estranged from his Redemptorist Order. +Noel keeps slotting him in to places in Down and Connor where there is a vacancy due to illness (e.g. Turf Lodge, Coleraine). Everywhere Mulhall goes, he upsets and hurts people. Does D&C not have enough trouble without this troubled and troubling man adding to the confusion and discord?

      Delete
    2. He caused massive trouble in Turf Lodge, the people hated him.
      I strongly agree that +Noel needs to send him back to where he came from and stop inflicting him on the Parishes of D & C.
      But saying that; he did bring John McManus back last year, which was completely wrong. So I would of the opinion that +Noel has very little sense!

      Delete
    3. Fr Mulhall has made some changes to coleranre which were needed. He is an honest man and gets the job done, he puts his neck on the line. He has worked well in Coleraine getting some problems sorted. Give the man a break. Maby we should look at ourselves before we throw shit at others

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    4. That advise would be best given to Mulhall... From what I've seen he fights with people, verbally abuses them and generally does as little as possible! but I suppose being down in Coleraine he can have plenty of time and space for his evening calls from his young gentleman friend

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    5. I'm sure he couldn't have put that better himself

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    6. You wouldn't be Brendy's Percy by any chance would ya?

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    7. I've absolutely no idea what that even means...

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    8. I don't even know what that means...

      Delete
    9. Anonymous at 21.13 I believe your spot on

      Delete
  5. The sexual contacts and romantic unions among gay seminarians create intense and complicated webs of intrigue and jealousy. I don’t think senior clerics and/or staff can do much about it really and prissy, tattle-tale-tits like Conan McGonagle don’t help matters much either.

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    Replies
    1. Is it fair to speak that way of whistle blowers no matter what personal faults they may have?

      Senior clerics are surely charged with promoting suitable candidates to the priesthood?

      Delete
    2. Yeah, we should allow them to do whatever the f**k they want, quite literally!!!! You absolute idiot 31.8.16 at 12.27

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    3. The problem is that the Seminary Council in Maynooth can do exactly what the f**k they want. They sneeringly give the metaphorical two fingers to Bishops, seminarians and laity. They do courses and Masters when they are bored all paid for by a fooled laity who think that Maynooth has responsible men in charge who genuinely care about fostering vocations to the priesthood.

      Delete
    4. I imagine most of these young people haven’t taken a vow of celibacy, so you can’t have informers and peeping toms, or snitcholics like Conan roaming the halls and corridors of the college, so for the sake of the others he had be let go.

      Delete
    5. If you are actively homosexual, why are you in a Roman Catholic seminary, vow of celibacy or not? For the love of God, go back to rural Ireland and just tell your mammy the truth, she probably knows anyway!

      Delete
    6. The laity, who pay for the seminaries, would be horrified to hear what goes on there. Also it must be very alarming for a heterosexual man to be in such a closed in toxic environment. My friend's son went to be a priest in a seminary in England. He left in a state of shock and wouldn't speak to his mother about it. I often wonder what happened to him.

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    7. Your friend's son must have lived a sheltered live, or he snitched like McGonagle. The priesthood is not for the faint hearted.

      Delete
    8. Your friend's son probably went on to look after his mother and most normal gays do.

      Delete
  6. Bishop Pat, Remember I went to you about my priest who was not only treating me badly but had a woman in his life?

    You wrote to McKeown and he never answered you.

    He simply moved the priest to another parish!

    Derry Parishioner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember it well.

      I told you not to expect anything of McKeown.

      Delete
  7. +Pat It always amuses me when you refer to EM as Amy.It reminds me that my late brother in law, a priest, used to refer to our retired bishop as Auntie Winnie.I took it as a joke but am wondering now did he know something I didn't !
    Ann

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  8. Pat, with regards your comment "Remind you of anyone?" about Donaghy showering Victim A with expensive gifts, designer clothes, etc.

    Please remember Victim A was being groomed by a criminal. He was targeted for sexual abuse by a "ruthless predator" (Judge's description of Donaghy at his sentencing).

    Victim A was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Donaghy who is now in jail for his crimes against him and others (including a seven-years-old boy).

    The person about whom you "remind" us is not a victim (in so far as we know). He is a narcissistic and hedonistic manipulator who uses his "charm" and "good looks" to get what he wants.

    There is a huge difference between the Pro-Cathedral scenario and what Donaghy was up to, under McKeown's nose, in "the Wing".

    The Pro-Cathedral is a sugar-daddy lavishing gifts and attention on the complicit current object of his fascination/obsession. There is no victim.

    The Wing, on the other hand, was a crime scene.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did not mean to compare Victim A and Gorgeous.

      I was simply drawing attention to the modus operandi of older priests - the showering of gifts.

      If you are well acquainted with the Donaghy case yuu will know I was Victim A's champion for 10 years.

      Just explaining :-)

      Delete
    2. Among the designer clothes Donaghy was buying for Victim A were designer underpants. Yes, UNDERPANTS!!

      A middle-aged man buying a young man in his late teens underpants. This was known to McKeown, Murray and Symonds. The lads knew and joked about it.

      Yet, Dicky McKeown and co never batted an eyelid about Donaghy's visits and attentions to Victim A. None of them thought it remotely suspicious.

      Another famous incident from Dicky's presidency is the Sunday morning at the end of mass when he told all the students to go f**k themselves. Yes - not "go in peace to love and serve the Lord" but "f**k yiz".

      You see, Dicky was big into manly pursuits. A hike had been organised in the Mournes for the students and Dicky was pleased that the lads would all be engaging in a healthy pursuit with designer cacks to keep them warm.

      At the end of mass, Dicky enthused about the hike and casually asked how many students were going. Only two put their hands up. Dicky lost the bap and his end of mass greeting was "F**k yiz! F**k yiz! Bunch of f**kin' pansies!" With that he stormed off the altar.

      Yep. A great and deeply spiritual man.

      Ex-Wing.

      Delete
    3. Well at least fome seminarians did what he advised and went and f***** each other :-)

      Delete
  9. Is there any comeback for seminarians who have been wrongly dismissed. Nothing worse than a stifled good vocation

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wrongly dismissed in whose eyes. Maynooth et al are never going to admit they made the wrong decision re some of their best seminarians whose only error was to not stand idly by or turn a blind eye to what was going on around them.

      Delete
  10. Go elsewhere usually means having to leave the country. These Seminarians get no support from their own bishops and no other bishop will take them on and go against Maynooth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Could they not go to DM now? Despite his waffling, he has made a firm move against Maynooth.

      Delete
  11. To my mind you would think DM should be seeking out these Seminarians and figuring out what he can do to help them.

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    Replies
    1. Good question Sean@12.39. If I remember correctly this question [Is there any comeback for seminarians who have been wrongly dismissed ] was posed directly to Pat a good while back in a blog comment, and Pat answered that he would put this question to DM, and would report back to blog. Any progress on that? Would DM have the authority if indeed he has the courage to overrule unfair decisions made in the last year, or the last few years. It does seem to be the case that no bishop will take ex-seminarians back and go against Maynooth. The bishops definitely won't go against a 'brother bishop'. So AB Diarmuid, the least you can do if you really believe in fairness is have a look at why 'candidates' for the priesthood were recently 'dismissed' from Maynooth, or why they left. Or get someone independent of it all to investigate.

      Delete
    2. DM is absolutely free to take on any person - seminarian or otherwise - and give them a second chance.

      Most bishops will not do it in case they offend other bishops.

      DM has already offend most of them.

      The question is: Is DM willing to give people who have been done an injustice a second chance.

      If he is a Man of God his answer must be YES.

      Delete
    3. I believe this blog should be backing the cause of genuinely disgruntled seminarians provided they ask for and was t the help

      Delete
    4. I do back them.

      I want to help CONAN McGonagle

      Delete
    5. I hope the lad sees justice done and is not labelled by others for life.

      Delete
    6. I am afraid Sean that Conan - like other Irish Church whistle-blowers - will be labelled with every vile, malicious, lying label under the sun in an effort to undermine his credibility. Some of the heinous b******s that run round in collars in this country would struggle to say the 10 commandments in proper order, if at all.

      Those scummy Seminary Council in "Gaynooth" will have to give an account to God for their horrific lack responsibility and utter laziness when their time is up.

      Delete
    7. The following is taken from a piece written in Alive!about Russian Bishop A Schneider.
      Recently he warned Catholics not to allow themselves to be misled by prominent figures in the Church who do not fully profess the Church's teaching.

      The crisis in the Church today consists in the fact that people who don't fully believe and profess the integrity of the Catholic faith frequently occupy strategic positions in the life of the Church.

      More specifically these people include Professors of theology, Educators In Seminaries, Religious Superiors, Parish Priests and even Bishops and Cardinals.

      Bishop Schneider continues...
      Such clerics are really wolves in sheep's clothing, often flirting with the world.
      They are Not courageous shepherds, but cowardly rabbits.

      Delete
  12. 'Rigidity' is newspeak for orthodoxy i.e. actually believing what the catechism says. It's not something to be 'dealt with' as so many seminaries and bishops seem to think, it is those who aren't 'rigid' that they should worry about as we now see.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Can I point out how offensive it is that you choose to feminize our clergy in an attempt to belittle and degrade them? What is so wrong with women that they are worthy of being utilized as an insult?

    This part of the web continues to get more and more poisonous. As a so-called man of God you have veered so far away from our Lord and have become so wrapped up in the works of the devil that you're too blind to know it has even happened. Do you really want this to be your legacy in life? Stop now while you still can....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is a long tradition in seminaries and the priesthood of giving each other woman's names.

      Many clergy call each other by women's names.

      In GRINDR MAYNOOTH - many of them have women's names.

      Where's you sense of humour ANONYMOUS

      Delete
    2. Are you serious mate - "feminize the clergy"?

      They are doing that themselves!

      Never heard of a man called GORGEOUS until I came on here.

      Delete
  14. I think he is just mad Pat that he never had a wonans knick name. LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I could give him one :-)

      Aggie short for aggressive :-)

      Delete
  15. One issue that concerned popes in the past was the accountability of the episcopal leaders of the Church to the body of the faithful - the clergy and people. The issues raised recently in this Blog relate in part to the present lack of accountability of bishops and clerical authorities for their acts and omissions.

    In his 10th letter St Leo the Great, who was pope from 440-461, wrote in the challenging times of his own era 'qui praefuturus est omnibus, ab omnibus eligatur' ([he] who is to preside over all should be elected by all). He was directing his teaching to the arrangements for appointing bishops. The pope was clear that bishops should be appointed by election from amongst all the faithful and the clergy. Over the centuries this important principle of accountability has been lost. Indeed many bishops are appointed to dioceses with whose faithful they have had no prior connection.

    There is no disputing that Pope Leo the Great, saint and doctor of the Church, was other than orthodox. While his views may no longer suit the incumbent hierarchy, they can and should be heard loudly by the faithful. The members of the Church are entitled to insist upon reform of the hierarchy so that their leaders are clergymen appointed to episcopal office by the people they will serve.

    Donegall Square

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  16. Any word on what the priests of the Derry Diocese think of +Donal?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From talking to ones from Derry they say their priests are always saying how wonderful McKeown is and the laity like him. What evidence do you have Pat that they don't like him?

      Delete
  17. Donegal square.....how correct

    Rasputin

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  18. Several comments above ask whether a seminarian ever gets a second chance. One of the seminarians in my diocese was asked to leave Maynooth several years ago for being too 'rigid/ conservative'. His bishop agreed with Maynooth but the current bishop gave him another chance and he's now preparing for diaconate. He's a good lad, a wee bit intense and yes, conservative, but he did deserve, and got another chance. Well done to the bishop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Was the 1st Bishop still living, retired or deceased when the current bishop made his decision.

      Delete
    2. First bishop was (and is) still living.

      Delete
  19. It would be a very welcome improvement if diocesan laity and priests had, as suggested, a say in the appointments of their Bishops!
    People have a genius for seeing through the so called 'nice' priests who are game-players seeking their own advancement! They have can see who visits the sick, who cares for their dying, who will be with them in their troubles, and who cares for them!
    We do not need former presidents of Maynooth, Colleges, professors who know nothing of the lives, financial problems and day to day difficulties of ordinary people!
    Furthermore, is it not way past time to abolish mitres, croziers, the gold rings etc.
    Willie Walsh, I have been told, did not use mitre and crozier at Confirmations - until some critter reported him to the Nuncio - who carpeted him and told him to wear them in future!
    Great suggestion, Donegal Square!
    Pip

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    Replies
    1. Willie Walsh was happy to share with a journalist (after his retirement of course - don't risk the pension)that he 'isn't sure that there is an afterlife'! I don't suppose liturgical niceties would have mattered to someone like that, but please don't let him near my granny when her time comes.

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  20. What's the definition of a 'long tradition'? I can't imagine that this habit of seminarians/priests calling each other by women's names can possibly be dignified in this way. I recall that, back in the seventies, a new arrival at an Anglican theological college in England was shocked to discover that some students played the roles of young housewives living in a tower block and chose working class female names for their 'characters'. God help us! This is one tradition we could usefully lose, it is a symptom of the rot.

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