tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post4407235210803104084..comments2024-03-12T19:57:41.861+00:00Comments on THINKING CATHOLICISM: BISHOP PADDY WALSH - AN ASSESSMENT.Thinking Catholicismhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16589713565062075036noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-66405372164784948502016-03-10T15:44:54.559+00:002016-03-10T15:44:54.559+00:00That's right, "Asshole" @ 14:37. I o...That's right, "Asshole" @ 14:37. I offered to keep him warm one night, out of the goodness of my little heart. <br /><br />It was during the Big Snow of 1996 I do recall. As you rightly guessed - Paddy spurned me and I have never gotten over it. <br /><br />He said he was happy enough with his leaky hot water bottle. I was crushed. <br /><br />I will now look closer to home as you have advised. Thanks Asshole.<br /><br />Obnoxious Prick.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-59191686485894025772016-03-10T14:49:30.910+00:002016-03-10T14:49:30.910+00:00To Anonymous at 22:44
Huh?To Anonymous at 22:44<br /><br />Huh?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-90695809042315168602016-03-10T14:37:33.265+00:002016-03-10T14:37:33.265+00:00Anon. at 08:29, I take people as I find them, and ...Anon. at 08:29, I take people as I find them, and I never found any cause to dislike Paddy Walsh. <br /><br />The fact that my memory of the man needles you so much makes me wonder about your behaviour towards him. What did you do to have him <br />treat you so badly? To leave you with such a reeking memory of him? Did you offer to keep him warm one winter's night only to be spurned? He must <br />have got up right up your nose, given the heat and bile of your post. Or perhaps you're just one of those obnoxious pricks (I remember the type <br />from my time in the 'Wing') who gets right up everyone's nose, in which case chum, look closer to home to explain why you habitually don't get on with people.<br /><br />Asshole.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-61961714709465368062016-03-10T14:17:59.996+00:002016-03-10T14:17:59.996+00:00I too became a priest in order to save my soul - j...I too became a priest in order to save my soul - just like Paddy. <br /><br />I, too, willingly sacrificed my burning desire, to sire a tribe of childer with comely wenches, so as to finally squeeze through them Pearly Gates.<br /><br />However, it has been furthered revealed to me, by a series of revelations, that if I really, really, really want to save my soul, then I really, really, really MUST become a bishop - just like Paddy.<br />TimmyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-68443599054838801202016-03-10T13:00:30.468+00:002016-03-10T13:00:30.468+00:00So, due to "the environment of fear and trepi...So, due to "the environment of fear and trepidation in which Catholics were raised", poor old Paddy became a priest so as to "save his soul"??<br /><br />That explains it all! What a sacrifice! What a man! What a tragedy! <br /><br />It would make you weep to think that Paddy Walsh - instead of marrying Debbie from Dunmisk and having 9 or 10 kids - which was what he really wanted to do - felt compelled instead to join the priesthood coz he was afeard of going to Hell. That explains why he's so sad and miserable all his life! Poor old Paddy.<br /><br />Ah well, Debbie and the Andytown gene pool's loss was the priesthood's gain, I suppose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-29117387988931002542016-03-10T12:47:10.584+00:002016-03-10T12:47:10.584+00:00So Paddy wondered if his motivation for becoming a...So Paddy wondered if his motivation for becoming a priest had simply been a desire to save his soul? <br /><br />Always knew him for a selfish old sod.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-20881446608661429592016-03-10T11:19:30.740+00:002016-03-10T11:19:30.740+00:00Anonymous, 9th March at 19:30: your observations o...Anonymous, 9th March at 19:30: your observations only go to show that every dictator has a "nice" side.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-52333026295573872562016-03-10T11:17:24.858+00:002016-03-10T11:17:24.858+00:00Of course he became a priest to save his soul! Wha...Of course he became a priest to save his soul! What Paddy should be worrying about now is - "what shall it profit a man should he gain the whole world and lose his own soul". <br /><br />Did he become a priest to save his soul and then, to gain honour and prestige in the Church, go off and sell his soul? Will Paddy's attempt to "save his soul" be a success?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-24478107297475647542016-03-10T09:59:15.405+00:002016-03-10T09:59:15.405+00:00"On one occasion, during a sermon in the semi..."On one occasion, during a sermon in the seminarians' oratory, he (Paddy Walsh) made a surprising and honest admission: he wondered if his motivation for becoming a priest had simply been a desire to save his soul".<br /><br />Wow! I bet that was a real show stopper! How did they ever manage to keep that revelation from the front of the Irish News???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-85597357193146457112016-03-10T08:29:08.817+00:002016-03-10T08:29:08.817+00:00Well shock horror shock horror!! What a scandalous...Well shock horror shock horror!! What a scandalous "admission" by Paddy??? I'm sure the seminarians left the oratory in stunned silence and walked around in a daze for the rest of the month!!! <br /><br />ARE YOU FOR REAL? Anonymous at 00:34, March 10 - what planet do you inhabit? Who are you trying to kid? Paddy Walsh was a bad aul' bastard. His nickname among diocesan priests was "the ice queen". A man utterly consumed with himself, his legacy is to be seen all around us. <br />Former seminarian.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-1135468390559629602016-03-10T00:37:39.464+00:002016-03-10T00:37:39.464+00:00A faint human look appeared on his face.A faint human look appeared on his face.Thinking Catholicismhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16589713565062075036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-458816476802689052016-03-10T00:34:12.748+00:002016-03-10T00:34:12.748+00:00Yes, I, too, found him kind, understanding and hel...Yes, I, too, found him kind, understanding and helpful. I was a seminarian in 'The Wing', and I never found any cause whatever to dislike the man.<br /><br />On one occasion, during a sermon in the seminarians' oratory, he made a surprising and honest admission: he wondered if his motivation for becoming a priest had simply been a desire to save his soul.<br /><br />Given the environment of fear and trepidation in which Catholics were raised, <br />his admission shouldn't have surprised me at all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-9711148824263758762016-03-10T00:21:52.829+00:002016-03-10T00:21:52.829+00:00How did he react?How did he react?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-65180276320770748902016-03-09T22:44:36.645+00:002016-03-09T22:44:36.645+00:00Well said that man !Well said that man !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-32673031159610335682016-03-09T21:21:43.542+00:002016-03-09T21:21:43.542+00:00It strikes me forcefully, as a priest of Down and ...It strikes me forcefully, as a priest of Down and Connor, that the foundations of this diocese are filthy, rotten, corrupt and perverted. <br /><br />Pat Walsh and his cronies (most of whom are now dead) spent a lot of time tittering into their lace handkerchiefs. Walsh gave a lot of prominence to undesirables like James Donaghy. <br /><br />Walsh enjoyed his ride but now the party is over and the account books, on the Other Side, will soon be opened.<br /><br />This diocese needs a purifying fire from Heaven to move through it. An old Pentecostal hymn puts it thus: "Let the Fire from Heaven fall... from the Glory of Thy Presence, let the Pentecostal Fire descend".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-24983091251697093962016-03-09T19:30:19.275+00:002016-03-09T19:30:19.275+00:00I do not recognise the portrayal of Fr Walsh. I se...I do not recognise the portrayal of Fr Walsh. I served as his altar boy on a few occasions before he became a bishop. But I never attended St Malachy's. So I have no experience of him as a teacher or headmaster. As a kid altar-boy he seemed to me to be a very nice priest, always appreciative of the service of the altar boys. He was never nasty, mean or intimidating. He never complained about any mistakes we made. He was encouraging and complimentary. I liked him. He was not a 'touchy feely' person. None of the priests I knew or served for were like that. As ministers of Christ they kept an appropriate distance. The flaws in some priests, identified in Bishop Pat's blog, arose when appropriate distance was not kept. I met Fr Walsh a couple of times as an adult through certain shared academic interests. He was unaware that I had been his altar boy, and I never reminded him. But I found him to be exactly the same as he was when I was a kid: intelligent, professional and very nice. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-58594658926265574802016-03-09T17:22:29.078+00:002016-03-09T17:22:29.078+00:00Paddy was a regular visitor to the Irish College i...Paddy was a regular visitor to the Irish College in Rome in my day. Aloof-sat at the top table and generally did not mix with the commonality to the best of my recollectionFly on Th Wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12520198020314816276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-11375247719426282192016-03-09T15:28:12.322+00:002016-03-09T15:28:12.322+00:00A few reminiscences sparked by the posters' re...A few reminiscences sparked by the posters' response to Paddy's 60th.<br /><br />Tom Bartley (The Bart) was one of Paddy's closest friends - whether they "loved" each other, in the conventional or any other sense, I don't know. <br /><br />I always used to think that if you dressed "The Bart" up in a flowery apron, furry boots and a hair net - with his high squeal of a voice - he could have been anyone's wee granny.<br /><br />Charlie Agnew was Paddy Walsh's "spiritual director" and used to refer to Paddy (when he was auxiliary bishop) as "My Lord Ros Cré (Ros Cré was Paddy's titular see as aux bish before he got a "real" diocese). <br /><br />Aul Charlie, as well as examining the wedding tackles of husbands-to-be, out of his anxious desire for brides-to-be not to be disappointed on the nuptial night (his pastoral interest and zeal knew no bounds), is also fondly remembered, by Garron Tower boys, for his character-forming discipline. <br /><br />Having to take their trousers and pants down, so that Charlie could administer a well-deserved thrashing, never did any of them a bit of harm. <br /><br />In his more tender moments, Fr Charlie loved to have boys sit on his knee. After all, beating their bare bottoms used to hurt Charlie more than it hurt them.<br /><br />Having listened to many St Malachy's boys who were under President Walsh, I would definitely conclude that Paddy had sadistic tendencies. He gleefully enjoyed humiliating the boys. I am aware that some past pupils have confronted him with his past behaviour.<br /><br />Looking at Paddy now, a sad and friendless old man (coffin-dodger), you can only feel sorry for him. I do not think, for all his cloying "piety" that he ever really knew God. Probably, he didn't even have a genuine vocation to be a priest.<br /><br />It is often said that he sold his soul for a mitre. Other episcopal wannabes should take how Paddy has ended up as a cautionary tale.<br /><br />Paddy Walsh made his choices. He was conceited, arrogant and scheming. He was not beyond telling whopping great lies when it suited his purposes. <br /><br />My hope for him, after he dies, is that he will discover that God is kind and that, despite everything, Paddy will get to Heaven too. He will probably have an interesting assignment in Purgatory first though. <br /><br />Observer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-42111919821911068202016-03-09T12:50:24.572+00:002016-03-09T12:50:24.572+00:00Yes on both countsYes on both countsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-9774228262958312772016-03-09T12:41:47.878+00:002016-03-09T12:41:47.878+00:00Did Charlie hold these clinics on Donaghy road nor...Did Charlie hold these clinics on Donaghy road north? Was a junior practitioner there a certain James Donaghy?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-44925886849384675572016-03-09T09:15:20.510+00:002016-03-09T09:15:20.510+00:00Yes Charlie - who later went on to dabble in genit...Yes Charlie - who later went on to dabble in genitourinary medicine in West Belfast.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-47100591507507118502016-03-09T08:56:24.936+00:002016-03-09T08:56:24.936+00:00Paddy Walsh was the leader of that select little g...Paddy Walsh was the leader of that select little group "The Garron Tower Mafia". They were a small group of clergy who taught there or were students there and who seemed to look out for each other. Other notable members are/were Monsignor Tom Bartley, Tony Farquhar,Donal McKeown, Raymund Fitzpatrick,the brothers O Hagan and their co-star Daveboy Delargy and of course the redoubtable Charlie Agnew!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-50554850607767231512016-03-09T07:57:17.571+00:002016-03-09T07:57:17.571+00:00I think that Paddy and Raymund Fitzpatrick loved e...I think that Paddy and Raymund Fitzpatrick loved each other. I attended Raymund's funeral and extended my sympathy to Paddy.Thinking Catholicismhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16589713565062075036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-71198444874176175012016-03-08T21:54:55.600+00:002016-03-08T21:54:55.600+00:00Pat,
If we accept that God is love, then what you ...Pat,<br />If we accept that God is love, then what you say is true. Perhaps he saw God as a Policeman who had to be placated, rather than a loving merciful father, who desires only that we love him. (Bishop Patrick's father was a police officer )<br />A dutiful Priest with no love in his heart, is not what God wants of any man.<br /><br />LUX.<br />Anonymous.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17023668968702738409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3543129696041324861.post-3949854172009765872016-03-08T21:12:17.309+00:002016-03-08T21:12:17.309+00:00If what you say is true that means he has never kn...If what you say is true that means he has never known the REAL GOD!Thinking Catholicismhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16589713565062075036noreply@blogger.com