Sunday 30 April 2017

WHO IS FR MICHAEL COMMANE???



The name FATHER MICHAEL COMMANE has been appearing on this blog in the past few days and I must say, to my surprise I have never heard of him before ???


Who is he?

From Google he appears to be a Dominican / ex Dominican priest of the Irish Province of Dominicans.

He seems to write a blog called Occasional Scribbles which is about a great variety of things but never has any "comments" on it.

Is this because he does not allow comments or because no one wants to comment on what he writes.

He appears to have been an "assistant priest" in Rathgar Parish in South Dublin at one time?

He appears to have written columns for some newspapers.

He appears to like Hill Walking with an English friend of his?

He appears, like myself, to be a dog lover?

One comment maker on this blog wrote this about him:

"A few years back Commane took a 'leave of absence' from his province. He went to Kerry (where he also owns a house in Castlegregory). It was said he entered into a relationship with a German lady, but 'returned' to the province after the relationship ended. His hatred for all things traditional is well known and he labels anyone who like traditional expression as gay. This led to the joke 'why doesn't Commanes' girlfriend wear lace underwear? In case Michael thinks she's Gay! Commanes' one of these men who should have probably left the priesthood years ago, but probably cannot exist without the safety net of institutional support, even though he hates the institution. Whenever challenged about his behaviour Commane threatens to write a book cataloguing the scandals of his province. But he won't as he is dependent on the institution he hates. Compared to this situation, Pat Buckley is a pillar of personal integrity".

I must say all this is new to me. 

If he talks about there been scandals in the Irish Dominican Province he is certainly right.

I did read a piece he wrote about not liking the new Mass translation that Pope Benedict brought in a few years ago - and I agree with him. I have NEVER used it.

If you type "Commane" into the search section of the Irish Dominicans his name does not appear?

He did write a piece recently on Pope Benedict's 90th birthday and carried a pic showing the Bavarian Pope having a Bavarian beer:




Michael wrote the following recently about a Dominican ad for vocations:


Ad with pious cliches must spell doom for Dominicans

The Irish province of the Dominican Order has published new promotional vocations' literature.

It seems the Irish Dominican province has been hijacked by a group of right-wing culture warriors.

Reading  the leaflet one could easily get the impression that Dominicans have exclusive rights on truth.

It's insulting to the bus driver, the nurse on the hospital ward, the IT worker, the gardener, the cleaner, the teacher in the classroom, the journalist, everyone, who is not a cleric.

Is this really what has become of the Irish Dominicans? It can't be as ludicrous as this? Does the material tell us anything about the work Irish Dominicans do?

It tells us that "Dominicans live in imitation of Christ". Self-centred gobbledegook. Far too universal a statement to have a shred of truth about it. 

The layout, the style, the typeface is unattractive. 

On the accompanying prayer card one reads:  "... Our Blessed Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and patrones(sic) of the Order.

"The form of life of the Dominican friar draws him to enter more perfectly into union with Christ and to be transformed along the way." In this awkward sentence it's still possible to get a sense of the pomposity of the leaflet. Indeed, an insult to the parents of every single Irish Dominican.

What sort of people would or could be attracted to this view of life, the world, God?

Does it say a meaningful word to 21st century readers?

The vocabulary throughout the leaflet is simply alienating and couched in pious cliches.

I have been involved as a seminarian, priests and bishop in Irish church affairs for the last 47 years and had never heard tell of Father Commane. I find that unusual.

Maybe he is a free thinker?

Maybe he is "different".

Does anyone know any more about him?

Does Father Commane want to tell us here on THINKING CATHOLICISM more about himself?

I would be very interested.

34 comments:

  1. Sorry, Bishop P., but my impression of him is that he's a boring old fart...like so many ageing clerics.

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    1. No need to be sorry. I wonder if the Dominicans still support him financially?

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    2. He's been dipping his face in the chip pan for years... and that doesn't come cheap.

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    3. Among some of his fellow Dominicans Michael Commane is known as the Ayatollah Commane, after the Ayatollah Khomeini the former Iran leader.

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  2. In fairness he's spot on in relation to the Dominicans holier than thou attitude in the leaflet. They also love announcing all their novices etc. They have a former Man Utd football player who was originally going for one of the dioceses and studying in Rome. I thought this was absolutely amazing until I read in a Sunday Paper recently that he was declared bankrupt a couple of months ago. He also has a story on his blog or perhaps I read it elsewhere that there was a priest in Drogheda who didn't want to leave the Dominican Priory there which was closing and he walked to the priory in Tallaght with a group of people in protest and the Dominican in Tallaght who opened the door to them was rude and wouldn't let them in and told them there was no milk or tea in the priory etc. Very weird altogether.

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  3. Maybe the footballer's troubles had the effect if making him turn to God or deeper things?

    There's a bigger story behind the Drogheda Dominican - involving computer pictures and the Gardai!

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    1. Have you seen their Facebook page 'save the Dominican church'. The central figure seems to be a fr Jim Dunleavy who wants to stay in Drogheda. He speaks of wanting to give his life for the Dominican church in Drogheda. It sounds a bit OTT.

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    2. This is a video, freely available on YouTube,showing a meeting about the Drogheda Dominican church. Some members are sent by the provincial to answer question from locals, and Dunleavy takes center stage.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUGrG_LsFQY&t=3s

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  4. There is another answer to the joke above about why she doesn't wear lace underwear. So many of the newer members (i.e. those aged 55 and below) wear white sports or orthopaedic socks following the example of two ageing queens in the province, both of whom are currently/were recently in prominent positions, to show that they are not wearing trousers but instead lace or frilly knickers. To call this practice a fetish is a major and humorous understatement. It's not part of the habit. It's one way those so inclined can recognise one another. Those currently in authority display a lot of tolerance towards this dress practice.

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    1. Dirty old buggers, I've always said that about them.

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    2. That you fr. Michael?
      that's right, try to steer the blog onto talk of socks, while you try hiding those skeletons :-)

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    3. I think your own fantasies may be getting the better of you. I've met lots of Doms from various provinces and a lot of them wear white socks. I was curious about it too so I asked. They know that it wasn't part of the habit, but it was traditional for a long time that clothes worn under the habit would be white. They failed to mention lace or frilly nickers even once.

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    4. So you've met a lot of Doms from various provinces wearing white socks.

      All that that tells us is that fetishism exists in places outside of Ireland too. I don't think anyone was denying that claim.

      Perhaps the reason they didn't mention lace and lingerie is that you were either too polite, or too clueless to ask.

      Anyway if you have to ask you're not at the races.

      It's said that some wear the socks up as far as possible and nothing else. I believe it's called going commando. No doubt it gives them a thrill thinking about each other along these lines.

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    5. I don't think Fr Michael's (if it is indeed him) mentioning of socks' colour is steering this blog away in another direction. Take a look above and you'll see the piece cut and pasted from his own blog is calling time on the piousity of the recent Dominican vocations literature. The leaflet exudes mawkish sentimentalist piety totally out of touch with the 20th century - not to mention the 21st.

      When you put that leaflet in the context provided by the comments here it really adds up to a crisis for the institution in question.

      Let him/her who has no skeleton in the cupboard cast the first stone.

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    6. Yes, being pious and focusing on increasing virtues is out of touch with this century. Very out of touch. But that speaks more damningly about this century than it does about practising Catholics following the traditions past down through the centuries. People should focus instead on someone who walked on this earth long ago (yes, even before your beloved 20th century and the 21st century), Jesus.
      Some people considered him very out of touch with the times too, so they killed him. Thankfully, we know that wasn't the end.
      As uncomfortable as it sounds, living a Christian life is supposed to be counter-cultural. We need to stop worshipping the values and practices of the Zeitgeist of our times - and try instead to follow the counter-culture some more.

      Also as a public voice (who has no qualms about attacking others in public) Fr Michael does not get a get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to public scrutiny just because someone paraphrases about casting no stones, as he has cast many a stone already

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  5. Funny I did notice the non use of the new roman prayers not be used in the Oratory which I thought was fine, whatever you're into so to speak. I thought it was a question I'd raise with you but you beat me to it and thats fine, you just don't like it. One otger question I had though was why the apparent alligence to the Pope and praying for him?

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  6. Dermot Farrell threw a seminarian out of Maynooth for dropping the hand on a seminarian. Dominicans ordained him afterwards and Maynooth's then gay circle (Geraldine Cremin & co) attended. They also bullied the seminarians who reported that the hand was dropped on him, and bullied anyone who befriended him.

    ... It must be frustrating to live as a Dominican in Ireland.

    A big number of novices is no advert if the novice class included actively gay man/men.

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    1. Yea I remember that guy, dave something or other. Absolutely scandalous behaviour from the lace and liturgy brigade.

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    2. Scandalous behaviour is right.

      He wasn't the brightest spark around so I was surprised afterwards to hear that he had been sent to Oxford. He may even still be there. I saw him in an Ordination photo in Ireland some time ago so if he still in the UK he visits Ireland.

      Wasn't the person who was on the receiving end of the unwanted advances straight and wasn't he from Donegal?

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    3. From Fr Michael Commanes blog.
      http://michaelcommane.blogspot.ie/2016/05/priests-and-their-titles.html

      This may throw light on your question.

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    4. Interesting. So he's back in Ireland after all. I wonder what the reports from Newbridge are like.

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    5. @11.04
      Yes David was his name. Ordained by John Buckley, a man who has wilfully turns a blind eye to abuse and homosexuality in Maynooth for decades.

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  7. There was a book written by one of their biblical scholars a while back called 'Beyond the quest for the historical Jesus' in which said Irish Dominican layed out whyour he did not believe Jesus actually existed. Unsurprisingly he is no longer in active ministry. Tom Brodey was his name.

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    1. Apologies it's spelt Brodie, Thomas L Brodie

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  8. If you google their head of students Fr Crotty you'll see that he was involved in a condemnation of homosexuality. His superiors were obliged to issue an apology when someone at Mass complained.

    Wasn't there a Cardinal in Scotland who spoke out the loudest against homosexuality and who turned out to have been sexually active with younger seminarians/priests? He wasn't allowed to attend the last conclave.

    It would be interesting to see whether Crotty (50s by the looks of him) is one of those sporting the socks.

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  9. Arlene's on fire.3 May 2017 at 10:48

    The Big Brotherhood section of Dominicans.ie contains videos of the students wearing white socks. I think people are reading too much significance into hosiery. Fr Crotty is a fine priest, orthodox, and he gave up a lucrative career as a dentist to join the Order.

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  10. Keith O'Brien was a fine priest, orthodox too.

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    1. Arlene's on fire.4 May 2017 at 10:05

      Keith O'Brien obviously wasn't a fine, orthodox priest given his misdeeds.

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  11. https://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0222/369112-vincent-mercer-court/

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  12. you told us that there's a story behind the Drogheda Dominican. Are you going to tell us any more?

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  13. A few years back Michael Commane had a public spat with the then Canon, now Bishop William Crean of Cloyne.
    http://michaelcommane.blogspot.ie/2012/06/cahersiveen-priest-criticises-priests.html

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    1. M.Commane actually makes a good point about resolving things person to person. The talking about people instead of to people is a fundamental weakness in the Irish church. It is also the reason why the bitches get to run Maynooth through idle gossip and defamation.

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  14. Fr Michael Commame used to say mass in the church of the three patrons in Rathgar. I don't know if he still does. He used to boast that he got 50 euros a mass! Imagine 50 euros for 25 minutes on a weekday. Taking that money from an institution he is so critical of. Charlatan. But then if he wasn't a priest in good standing he could not do it. The Doms obvuously have a wide interpretation of 'a priest in good standing '

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  15. Bishop Pat I have a pastoral question. If a clergy man has used language in public that is demeaning of people, is such a person suitable to hold a pastoral post say with vulnerable people? What responsibilities would someone have, in your opinion, as a Christian to bring any such reservations that they might have to the appropriate authorities or institution involved?

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