Monday 9 July 2018

WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES MASCOT!!!

WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES MASCOT IS A GALWAY SHEEP!

HOW MUCH DID THIS STUNT COAT?

Meet Éirinn, THE WMOF2018 MASCOT!

Éirinn is the official mascot for the World Meeting of Families 2018! She loves to play, sing and dance and would like to say a big “Hello” to all the boys and girls attending the World Meeting of Families in Dublin, 2018!

Why is she called Éirinn?

Éirinn means ‘Ireland’. Ireland is home to the World Meeting of Families 2018.

Where is Éirinn from?

Éirinn is from Galway, a county in the West of Ireland. She is a breed of sheep known as ‘The Galway’, one of the native sheep breeds of Ireland.

Why a sheep?

The Sheep is a very special animal that appears in the Bible. The Parable of the Lost Sheep is one of Jesus’ great stories that appears in the Gospels. It is about a shepherd who leaves his flock of ninety-nine sheep to find the one which is lost.  Just like each sheep is a member of the flock, each one of us is an important member of God’s family.    

Who created our Mascot?

Éirinn was created by Mårten Jönmark, a two-time Emmy award winning Director, Animator and Storyboard Artist who has worked on TV shows such as Peter Rabbit, Doc Mcstuffins and The Octonauts. He is currently working hard on the second Season of the Disney show Vampirina at Brown Bag Films.
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US Catholic priest apologises for burning KKK cross in garden of black couple
Father William Aitcheson has written a letter apologising to Philip and Barbara Butler for the attack in January 1977


The Independent  - Caroline Mortimor


 A Catholic priest and former Ku Klux Klan member has apologised to a black couple for erecting a burning cross in their front garden during a campaign of abuse more than 40 years ago. 
Father William Aitcheson wrote a handwritten letter to Philip and Barbara Butler saying he “sincerely regrets the suffering he caused” when he burned a cross in front of the heir home in College Park, Maryland in January 1977. 
The priest, who was 23-years-old at the time, was arrested and charged for multiple cross burnings and sentenced to 90 days in jail for criminal misdemeanor. 
The money is what the family were expected to receive after they filed a lawsuit over the incident in the 1970s. Rev Aitcheson did not pay the money at the time. 
He wrote: “You became my target at the time because I did not believe that people of different races should live together. I was blinded by hate and ignorance. … I believe now that all people can live together in peace regardless of race.”   
He said he was motivated to speak out after the escalation of violence at a far-right rally in the nearby city of Charlottesville led to the death of a 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, when she and several others were deliberately rammed into by a car.
He wrote: “The images from Charlottesville brought back memories of a bleak period in my life that I would have preferred to forget.”
He described his actions as “despicable” and reflecting on that time he added that it was “hard to believe that was me”.
 “We must condemn, at every opportunity, the hatred and vile beliefs of the KKK and other white supremacist organizations. What they believe directly contradicts what we believe as Americans and what we, as Catholics, hold dear”, he added. 
But in a statement the Catholic Diocese of Arlington acknowledged that he had decided to speak out when they were contacted by a freelance reporter who had found his legal name matched that of a man arrested in the 1970s.
It said: “A freelancer reporter, who introduced herself as a parishioner, contacted the Diocese and stated that she learned that Fr Aitcheson’s legal name matched that of a man arrested in the 1970s. 
“Fr Aitcheson was approached about this, he acknowledged his past and saw the opportunity to tell his story in the hopes that others would see the possibility of conversion and repentance, especially given the context of what occurred in Charlottesville. The Diocese agreed to publish his account.
Charlottesville, Virginia Protests
asked for the disclosure of names of any others who cooperated in the cross burning at their home. Fr. Aitcheson agrees to fully cooperate with law enforcement addressing details of this case that were not gathered previously.”
Fr Aitcheson announced he was temporarily stepping down from his role as a parochial vicar at a church in Fairfax City “for the well-being of the church and parish community”.
But for the Butlers an apology is not enough. 
The couple, who are now in their 70s, are reportedly still in pursuit of a further $68,000 (£50,000) of interest on the original $23,000 which was not paid in 1977.

Their solicitor Ted Williams told NBC News that they were also planning a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Church as they allege it knew about Fr Aitcheson’s past and should have reported it. 
They also say that allowing him to write his opinion piece on a public platform caused them more harm. 
The couple were newlyweds at the time of the incident and Mr Butler had just returned from serving in the Vietnam War. 
The case attracted huge media attention at the time and in 1982 then-President Ronald Reagan visited the Butlers’ home with his wife Nancy

He described it as “not something that should have ever happened in America”

PAT SAYS:

This is a strange story that has lain hidden for 41 years until the priest himself wrote about it some months ago saying how he regretted his actions back then.

I find it hard to imagine how anyone who is even a nominal Christian, could support, much less be a member of some thing like the KKK.

And then we remember that priests are mere human being and not saints on pedestals like they told us they were.

That is why we hear about priests and seminarians having sex on altars, taking illegal drugs, abusing children, stealing church funds and downloading child pornography.

The transformation from being servants of Christ and people, to being a hierarchal and clerical caste is at the centre of the problem.

The church needs to become declericalised completely and return to the model of the early church where the community had the authority and ministers were servants.

As a retreat master once said: "He went out to do good - but instead did well".


85 comments:

  1. Pat, the imminent arrival of Pope Francis seems to evoke in you hysteria and hatred that causes hyperbole and exaggeration that we have not witnessed until now. Your'e behaving like a demon about to be cast out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And your imagination needs to be kept on a tighter leash.😆

      Delete
  2. 23.58 I haven't noticed that. Even Pope Francis recognises the church is corrupt. I like the Pope but I suspect he will be able to do very little before he steps down or dies. The church is in rapid decline in all the first world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @8.25
      You "haven't noticed that"!!
      Being observant is not exactly your thing, is it??

      Delete
  3. Try your best Pat to be positive, kind and affirming of some good things the Catholic Church is doing and achieving. We are tiring of repeated narratives and unjust, disingenuous comment, whose aim is to ridicule, undermine and mock. Give praise when appropriate. The above story has been reported many times before in American journals. Very strange but even stranger are the bizarre conclusions you arrive at. Think Mary McAleese must be your spiritual director!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank heaven, then, it isn't you!😆

      Delete
    2. It could be worse! Thank God and His Holy Mother it isn't you!

      Delete
    3. And it could be worse still, Little B. .

      Cos it could be...YOU!😅

      😆

      Delete
  4. A mascot of sheep. How appropriate.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Sure is appropriate.

      Sums up the clergy's view of tha laity (who, incidentally, are paying for this papal jamboree):

      BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!🐑

      Delete
  5. Don't fret your little brain Magna. The faithful are happy to support their shepherds and do so with great generosity. Deo Gratias!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is only one shepherd...Jesus. In fact, he makes claim to this in the Gospel.

      Don't you believe Jesus? Or would you rather submit to the wolves in shepherds' clothing?

      (Just askin', like.😆)

      Delete
    2. Y'know, 10:39: perhaps 'wolves' is the wrong word to describe the clerics you adulate. Jesus himself has a better word: 'hireling'.

      Let Jesus tell his own story:

      'The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

      He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep.' (Jn 10: 11-13)

      Doesn't all of this have a familiar, but depressingly modern ring?

      Yes, hirelings abandoning people, like popes, cardinals, bishops and priests who sacrificed the lambs (sexually abused children) to preserve their reputations as holy men, and the pseudo-theological basis for their self-declared doctrinal authority.

      I can see why you'd want to adulate such men.😆

      Delete
    3. The Lord also promises in Jeremiah that he will give his faithful ones 'Shepherds after (His) own Heart'.

      Delete
    4. Jeremiah was referring to the Jews of the Old Testament, not to the Christians of the New.

      Yahweh, ever faithful, would not abandon the Jews, despite their constant infidelity to him. But the shepherds 'after his own heart' were but pale forerunners of the one and only shepherd, Jesus the Christ.

      Jesus is the only 'Good Shepherd', the one who lays down his life for his sheep. And this makes sense, since only he can lead the flock to the Father (Remember Jesus said: 'I am the way the truth and the life'. No other can say this; thus no other can lead...or 'shepherd'...people to God.)

      Delete
    5. Why the arbitrary distinction between the Old and New Testaments? Isn't that an artefact of ecclesial imposition on the otherwise organic development of the Biblical texts?

      Yahweh would not send 'pale forerunners' - he sent 'types' that certainly received the fullness of their meaning in the Incarnation.

      If, as you say, no one can lead or shepherd people to God, why then did Jesus take the trouble to call his disciples from their labour, teach them that he was fulfilment of the Law, and then send them out into the world, with the Spirit of His authority breathed over them? Why did the Apostles, having had a direct knowledge of Jesus, then think it proper to turn all of their time over to the preaching of the Gospel throughout the world, if their work was unable to lead people to a saving knowledge of the Son of God? How else was the world to know of Christ?

      Delete
    6. I made no 'arbitrary' distinction beween the Old and New Testaments: they are, of themselves, naturally distinct forms of biblical literature, representing differnt timelines in the chronology of salvation history.

      Whatever one chooses to call those who preceeded Jesus as 'shepherds' in the Old Testament period (and I chose to call them 'pale forerunners'; you choose to call them 'types'), they were not Jesus and could not, therefore, perfectly fulfil Mosaic Law, the requirement for the redemption of humanity. To put it bluntly, Yahweh had no choice but to send these pale imitations of his son, since this is precisely what they were by their moral nature.

      Jesus makes it clear, in more than one part of the New Testament, that though he will send out others, it will be in HIS name, and empowered by HIS spirit. This makes clear that he, and he alone, is the animation and guide of the assembly (or following) that he founded and will be with 'to the end of time'.

      Delete
    7. We have both fallen into the 'trap' of using theological terms to talk about the development of the Bible - but this isn't such a problem if you trust that the visible Church as Christ's Bride has the authority to interpret and teach the content of divine revelation.

      I don't think any church, whether catholic, orthodox, or Lutheran Pietist, has ever claimed it exercised a legitimate authority independent of that given by Jesus in the Gospels, especially in matters concerning faith and morals.

      Yahweh always had a 'choice' - salvation is for our benefit, not His.

      Delete
    8. Did he? Did he really?

      And what were the alternatives to human beings?

      Delete
  6. Sheep? Yes, keep them in a corral, fleece them of their assets (wool) and then devour them. Catholic sheep indeed.

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    Replies
    1. What an appropriate metaphor! All the more so for its accuracy and truthfulness.😆

      Delete
  7. Really Magna you'll give yourself blood pressure. Despite your distorted thinking the church flourishes! The people value and support their priests. Huff and puff as you wish it makes no odds! Deo Gratias!

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    Replies
    1. The church flourishes?

      Maynooth - 20 now 600 in the 60s.

      Parishes closing.

      58 French dioceses no ordination this year.

      Cardinals and archbishops in court for abuse cover up.

      etc.....

      Delete
    2. Patsy, I usually don't agree with you but Thanks for pointing out that in the early "60's" The Church was indeed flourishing!
      Vocations High!
      Seminaries Full !
      Religious Vocations High!
      New Parishes being created!
      French Seminaries Packed!
      No Cardinals or Archbishops
      in Court!
      etc.

      Delete
    3. 'Flourishing', Little B. ? Yes, with perverts, paedophiles, ephebophiles, cover-up, financial corruption, triumphalist clericalism, etc. You know: the kind of stuff that really would make Jesus and Mary glow with indulgent pride. And the kind of stuff that 'traddies' like you love to wallow in.

      This is probably the first, sensible thing you've said. And it really stands out...from the smug, triumphalist tripe you usually post.😅

      (Just sayin', like.)

      Delete
    4. 12:22 Telling the truth does not harm blood pressure, 12:22: it's when we lie that blood pressure can rise.

      Mine's absolutely fine, but I think yours may need some attention.

      The Church flourishes?

      As if.😅

      😆

      Delete
    5. Bishop Pat and Bellarmine it is Great to see you both in Harmony and living in the past Thankfully the Church moves it is not a fixture but moves.
      It shows both your age likely 60 plus if not older.
      So come into the real Church with it's Great Leadership and the one to follow someday will keep the Church afresh and moving with the Spirit.
      + pat ask yourself how big was your family and I am sure Large but in the current situation a family is now maybe One or Two children.
      However the UK Government you know the ones that do the Census insists there are MORE single household than every so the Church must be prepared for the Future.

      It shows your true Catholicism when you need female names to each other and then use a saints name and the Bishop Pat a one man Bishop.

      In Five years it will be Pope Leo or Pope Pius as the Spirit moves the Church and always will Not vestments and Buildings.

      Delete
    6. Magna Carta at 16:03

      Yes Paul, Oh I mean Magna!

      Flourishing it certainly was!

      The Litany of pejoratives you use, only started when you lot "The Mad Mods" and "The Liberal Elite" came out of the closet, and it's been downhill ever since! I'm so glad you thought my comment was sensible. I'm sorry I can not return the compliment as this is just the same smug pedantic crap you always spout!
      I do not worry about "Dross" like you as Our Blessed Lady said "In then My Immaculate Heart shall Triumph" Eviva Maria!

      Delete
    7. Little B., it's not just your standard of written English (specifically, your immature style) that has tightened brows with incredulity, but your adolescent standard of comprehension and debate as well.

      If you want to be taken seriously (and not as the blog clown), you really need to brush up your literacy skills (or, rather, their obvious dearth).

      (Just advisin', like.😆)

      Delete
    8. Anonymous at 16:15

      I don't think Patsy and I will ever be in harmony. you say Come into the real church with its great leadership are you MAD! you keep talking about moving with the spirit what spirit is that gin,vodka.brandy its certainly not The Holy Spirit. I do not live in he Past Thanks to Benedict XVI I am able to worship at The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass, and not at the "proddy communion service" foisted on us by karyokeys like you! My Catholicism shows when I could not possibly call Patsy "Bishop" and the reason for calling him Patsy is that I am only returning the compliment as Patsy calls almost the whole Hierarchy and priests he does not like by female names. What is sauce for the Goose is sauce for the Gander! I hope you are right that in five years we have a Pope Pius, it is my fervent prayer. Eviva Maria!

      Delete
    9. Magna at 00:12

      Woof! Woof ! must have been bitten by You!

      Delete
  8. White is right! Look at the decline of Africa since they threw out the white man!

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  9. The only way is the Pat Buckley way, A true servant of Christ! Old school and quality not like the dross they are ordaining today.

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    Replies
    1. I thought Jesus said he was The Way, can’t remember him mentioning a Pat Buckley Way.

      Delete
  10. There are more priests 8nthe world today than the 1940's 50's 60's. Yes Pat the church flourishes! Your grandiose plans for a new reformed church have come to nothing, the Little brothers have disappeared and advancing years will soon enough ensure your disappearance from the landscape. Sic transit Gloria mundi! The church will endure, don't worry your pretty little head.

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    Replies
    1. 14% of Irish going to Frank's gig in the Phoenix Park.

      86% not going.

      1% of Irish going to Frank's Knock gig.

      99% not going.

      That's some "flourishing".

      Delete
    2. 12.52: Pat, Your jealousy knows no bounds. You're making a fool of yourself behaving like a spoiled best.

      Delete
    3. And you're throwing a hissy fit...cos you know he's right!😅

      (Just pointin' out, like.😆)

      Delete
  11. 12.27 - Pat, you have absolutely nothing to show apart from your hatred and vengance. Even Jesus isn't safe from you since you trample on his SACRED MEMIRY every day. Hypocrite and delusional idiot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The absolutely corrupt Roman lot have been trampling on Jesus since the 4th century.

      Now it's payback time!

      Delete
    2. A little early for the LIDL voddy methinks.

      Delete
  12. 12:27 Pat successfully established a successful independent ministry after being hatcheted by Cahal Daly and has sustained it since. Is he bitter at the way he was treated, of course he is, who wouldn't be. Is he biased against the RC church, yes he is. Is he a good and holy priest who works tirelessly on behalf of his flock? Yes he is, he will be remembered long after his contemporaries!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cahal Daly told my successor in Larne that he would give me 6 weeks of survival. That was 34 years ago.

      Personally, as the one involved I would not be a good judge of whether I am bitter or justifiably angry?

      I am biased against the RC institution - not the catholic Body of Christ which I love.

      Am I "Good and holy"?

      Again, not for me to judge.

      I try to be good.

      I try to say my prayers.

      I keep an open door to all.

      Like the French writer Peguy said"

      I am a sinner. But I am a good sinner".

      Delete
    2. You are a good man Pat that is all that Christ asks of us. You would not lasted as long in ministry if you did not have a true vocation. Your congregation would not attend if they did not feel that you had something to offer. Don't mind the haters Pat they are not half the man or priest that you are.

      Delete
    3. I am as happy to be a priest today as I was 42 years ago.

      My faith in God is totally intact.

      That's all that matters.

      Delete
    4. Pat at 13.28: It's a shame your faith in God - intact - doesn't reflect itself in your respect, tolerance, mercy, truth and fairness for others - all of which Christ asks of us...You do not get it right all the time. Very frequently you are wrong in your judgment.

      Delete
    5. Wrong in his judgement?

      Evidence?

      Delete
  13. Pat what a sad jaundiced mind you have. Every available ticket for EVERY Papal event is fully booked. 27,000 on a waiting list for the Park. So don't go having the party just yet! What will your legacy be to the world? I'm afraid nothing but the lunatic ravings of a misfit malcontent! I will have a Mass offered when you do snuff it.....a Mass of thanksgiving!

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    Replies
    1. How unchristian!

      Delete
    2. 13:09

      Is celebrating the death of anyone a Christian thing to do? Just asking.

      Even if all the seats booked are filled it is still 14% for the Park and 1% for Knock.

      Even if 700,000 turn out to see Frank there were 3,000 000 there to see John Pole.

      You are down by 2,300,000

      Delete
    3. A limitation imposed by health and safety restrictions. The official figure for JP2 was 1.4 million.
      Sure he's tr s your 16 on a good Sunday in Larne!

      Delete
    4. It's only one day of WMF not an official visit, Patrick. But then again you know that.

      Delete
  14. What's unchristian about a Mass of thanksgiving? I'd say it's magnamous! In fact I'll have one offered also.

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  15. Here, here Pet's demise will be an occasion for great thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Especially among the Pucks, Horny Andy's, and their clerical RING masters :-)

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    2. 13:25's at the voddy again!

      Delete
    3. Hi Brendan

      Delete
  16. It's an interesting phenomenon this religion business. Those that profess it mainly tend towards two extremes: concepts of a "vengeful God", just waiting to catch us out and punish us; or a loving god wishful to forgive our weaknesses and urging us to love Him and care for one another.
    Whichever concept one follows, the key element of how we should live seems to be to 'do good'.
    So why is it that so many commentators to this blog who profess to have religious beliefs seem consumed with hatred, viciousness and anger toward what they don't agree with?
    Just asking like!
    Strange thing this religion business.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 'Strange thing'? Hmmm

      Evil thing?

      (Just wonderin', like.😆)

      Delete
  17. 'Tis a mystery!

    ReplyDelete
  18. It'll be three old Unitarian Church I suppose when Pat snuffs it! As an excommunicate no RC will accommodate him. Although it would be as gesture of Mercy to give him as convent chapel somewhere.

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    Replies
    1. I am very happy to be in a Unitarian church when I'm there.

      I would not want my funeral to happen in an RC Church.

      I have yet to plan it.

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    2. 17:07

      Where would you find a convent these days :-)

      Delete
  19. Wishing you dead now Pat! You must really be annoying them

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  20. Contributors should leave Pat's demise to himself. He deserves to be left alone! Why all this fuss? We're not talking about Pope Francis here!!

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    Replies
    1. Pat, you need to correct the Irish grammar or you risk looking lije those D&C priests who sneer at it, or the curry my yoghurt Unionists. Eirinn is meaningless on its own without a preposition. It is the dative case, as in Ireland, etc. Eire is the nominative case and this is what it should be. Complicated, I know, but so is Latin grammar. I don't want to embarrass anyone, but I want to spare you the impression that you might not care about the niceties of Irish grammar, which in turn could be taken as disrespect for speakers of Irish. I'm sure this is not your intention.

      Delete
    2. I always use Eire.

      It is the organisers of Frank's gig that used Eirinn.

      Delete
    3. I thought this too, at first, and thought that Little Timmy didn't have much Irish. But I checked the website before writing and here's the link and it says 'Eire'.

      https://www.worldmeeting2018.ie/en/About/Meet-our-Mascot

      Delete
    4. What happened to the Israeli flag story from Sunday? Gone silent. Who is Pat protecting in Co Louth?
      You know the behaviour of Eamon Martin bullying that priest in Monasterboice is typical of how Armagh bishops behave, doing other people's dirty work for them. Why can't the people in the parish speak up directly to their priest if they have a problem instead of going behind his back? Long history of this in Armagh. Poor Msgr Denis Faul didn't get much support either and Sean Baptist couldn't be bothered going to his funeral, afraid he might offend Sinn Fein and the IRA. There's Christian courage for you!

      Delete
    5. Little Timmy has no Irish. He only speaka da Inglish.

      Unusual though for a man, who speaks only one language, to be given charge of an international event (Kevin Doran had the Eucharistic Congress and he is fluent in Irish, French, Italian and pretty sure German).

      But then when you’ve Seán Baptist Brady in your corner rootin for ya ..... ;-)

      Delete
    6. Who cares about the Family meeting? Nothing better to write about Buckley? We need to hear more juicy stuff on Armagh priests and bishops. Come on. Have your sources dried up? Must be the weather!

      Delete
  21. 18.54: You mean Pope Francis - at least be respectful. RESPECT is part of Christ's memory!!

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    Replies
    1. 18:54 Respect is earned, not a right. Francis has failed to ACT on abuse. Fine words but no action. Ask Marie Collins.

      Delete
    2. St Benedict tomorrow, one of the patron saints of abusers here in England. He is often shown with a finger in the shush gesture at his lips. Interpret that how you will.

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    3. Maybe thr shush gesture is a reference to shutting up and listening? After all the first word of his Rule is ' Listen' or 'Hear' depending on the translation.

      Delete
    4. Why do you need to denigrate a saint who lived in the 6th century? Not his fault that among his modern day followers are some abusers. Why do you bother with Christianity if you dislike the tradition so much?

      Delete
    5. Did I say I'm a Christian? The holy monks are the reason I'm not.
      Rotten to the core.

      Delete
  22. +Pat, I hope you're still keeping an eye on the 20 odd fruit flies at Gaynooth.

    ReplyDelete
  23. The silencing gesture expresses in a symbolic way the first words of the prologue of the rule: ‘Obsculta o fili.’ ‘Listen, oh son,’ Nothing more.

    To interpret it as an affirmation of cover up of child absue is so far removed from authorial intention as to be laughable. An indication of a sick mind.

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    Replies
    1. Actually it's an indication of a mind made thus by a Benedictine'education'.
      But you are blind to the effect of abuse by Benedict's disciples aren't you.
      Wait for the few bad apples argument...

      Delete
    2. No. I’m not blind. And if that is your experience I accept that. Like any group of human beings they are not all good and not all bad. Pax.

      Delete
  24. Dromore in the news again. Will they ever learn?

    https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2018/06/07/news/priest-in-child-safeguarding-probe-moves-into-house-near-four-schools-1349937/

    ReplyDelete