Posted by Christopher Mc on Monday, July 26, 2010,
In :
Church
Mc Camley's Third Law was "when people say 'it's not about the money', it is". An alternative version is "when people say they don't want power, they do".
I was thinking of this last nigth watching Would You Believe on RTE, yet another RTE programme about how awful the Church is and how wonderful it would be if only liberals ruled the Church as well as the world. There was a panel of about twenty. The programme opened with a five minute filmed section about how awful the Church was and ho... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Sunday, June 20, 2010,
In :
Affairs
In the last post I mentioned the murder of the Quinn brothers in Ballymoney back in 1998. I've occasionally mentioned Bishop Patrick Walshe in these columns, not always favourably. But he spoke rather eloquently at their funerals and I thought it was worth repeating a line as we approach the 12th anniversary of their deaths: "For all too long the airwaves and the printed page have been saturated with noises - strident, harsh, discordant noises - carrying words of hatred, of incitement, of recr... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Thursday, May 6, 2010,
In :
Church
 Is it just me or does he look like a cross between the outgoing bishop and Larry Grayson?
As Christians we are people of hope. We'd need to be. I should say up front I know nothing about the new bishop of Clogher, Liam Sean MacDaid, beyond his published CV and have no personal gripe with him. But do we really need another bishop who is 65, a chancellor, a former teacher, former president of a diocesan college (how many times have we tried that before?)? Does this mean the structural reforms a... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Sunday, April 4, 2010,
In :
Affairs
Is it just me or did the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, over-react a little to comments made by the Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury?
Dr Rowan Williams, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Start the Week, to be broadcast on Monday, said: "I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who was saying that it’s quite difficult in some parts of Ireland to go down the street wearing a clerical collar now.
"An institution so deeply bound into the life of a society suddenly becoming, suddenly los... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Saturday, March 27, 2010,
In :
Humour
...just go go go I don't care how
you can go by foot, you can go by cow
Irish bishops will you please go now.
You can go on skates, you can go on Skis
You can go in a hat but please go please
I don't care, you can go by bike
you can go on a zike bike if you like
If you like you can go in an old blue shoe
Just go go go, please do do do
Irish Bishops I don't care how
Irish Bishops will you please go now!
Just looking at a round up of the news on abuse. We have the person who is suing Cardinal Brady c... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Thursday, March 25, 2010,
In :
Church
 The lasting legacy of Bishop Josephy DuffyI've just been upstairs cleaning up my four year old's vomit - I wonder was she reading the Irish Catholic. Sometimes you think you can't be any more shocked by the scandals and then you get a little more. Front page of tomorrow's Irish Catholic has headline "Irish Church is crying out for reform - Bishop". Oh, says I to myself, I wonder who this can be. Well, well. Joe Duffy of Clogher, apparently has discovered a conscience and some insight half a min... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Saturday, March 20, 2010,
In :
Humour
 Bishop Clouseau: it is, eh, em, aye, a minekey riseling. Gavin Esler: minekey? Bishop Clouseau: Aye, aye, minekey, the Peep's former See. (Editor: That's enough - no one knows what you're talking about). Well it was good to see Bishop McKeown swinging into action in the media, bravely defending his position as next in line for the next available diocese. Clogher would be handy cos, you know, hardly any grammar schools and that's what's important. Children come first and if we don't want to... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Wednesday, March 3, 2010,
In :
Church
 Prime Minister Berlusconi manages to overcome his embarrassment
Just when you thought bishops couldn't sink any lower in our estimation along comes the good bishop of Kerry in this story. Bishop of Kerry says he was embarrassed to kiss Pope's ring
The Bishop of Kerry has claimed that he was surprised as he stooped to kiss Pope Benedict’s ring during the visit of the Irish bishops to the Vatican.
Speaking to the Kerryman newspaper Dr Bill Murphy said he was surprised with the protocol but h... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Monday, February 15, 2010,
In :
Church
So the Irish bishops are off in Rome for two days of meetings/dressing down with the Holy Father. I have to say the whole thing has me appalled and outraged. So many of our bishops seem to have learned nothing - even after all these years, countless meetings etc they still don't know how to wear their pectoral crosses. Almost all of them are wearing them like Anglican bishops. What hope is there for the Church?  And then the attempts of some of them to kiss the Holy Father's ring, or in the... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Thursday, November 12, 2009,
In :
Church
I was standing in sombre silence yesterday watching the Remembrance Day service from Westminster Abbey. I was thinking about Ekklesia's call for a more inclusive way of remembering. Perhaps there wouldn't be enough room to bring in everyone but how nice it would be if we could get someone to represent the Germans, Italians, French, Poles and Russians - someone perhaps who could speak all those languages, someone who could represent the Irish involvement in British wars. And suddenly I see hi... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Monday, November 2, 2009,
In :
Church
Enjoying the blog of the Archbishop of New York who has strong Drogheda connections. He did a great interview on EWTN with Raymond Arrayo last week. Wish we had at least one like him here. Anyone in this blast he didn't miss and hit the door with his four recent examples of anti-Catholic bias in the media. Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Sunday, June 28, 2009,
In :
Humour
Posted by Christopher Mc on Sunday, June 28, 2009,
In :
Church
I think the game is up for Archbishop Martin's attempts to turn the religious orders into a bad church for toxic abuse. It only works if people don't realise it is happening. But this morning on Joe Duffy's TV programme on RTE1 the cat came out of the bag. Joe began with a bland "the bishops have come out of this controversy well", his tongue firmly in his cheek. Fr Tony Flannery paused but a moment before laying in to their attempts at scape-goating religious orders. I thought he would ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Saturday, June 27, 2009,
In :
Church
"Senior Irish football managers are said to be concerned about the drift of many young Irish men towards football clubs in other countries. It comes after three under-21s and a full professional opted to join Inter Milan. One senior manager told the Daily Mirror that the four players are the latest in a steady trickle of Irish players going abroad. He cautioned that the style of play found in clubs like these is very much geared towards a continental experience and they may not even speak ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Monday, June 22, 2009,
In :
Church
I seem to be apologising for my absence a lot recently. Last week a good friend died. It was sudden, but not unexpected. And I just didn't feel like blogging. Then it was just too busy. He was buried on Saturday morning and for the first time in God know's how long we had a paid baby-sitter in. Mary was so excited about it but ever practical - "will she give us something to eat?" The poor girl hardly got through the day before Mary pounced with questions, conversation, stories - tales ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Wednesday, June 3, 2009,
In :
Church
The Archbishop of Dublin is not particularly noted as a teacher. But some people are learning from him. Last week I noted his efforts at establishing CORI as what I called a "bad church" to deal with the toxic debt of child abuse. In tomorrow's The Irish Catholic, CORI will be doing the same with the eighteen religious orders involved in the Ryan Report. In turn David Quinn has noted that of the eighteen orders mentioned in the report, some are far "guiltier" than others. I suspect as th... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Friday, May 29, 2009,
In :
Humour
Did you know this? You know the zucchetto, the skull cap worn by prelates? Well the word comes from "zucca", the Italian for pumpkin. I wonder who first made the connection between bishops and pumpkins.
This nugget is from the Catholic Dictionary published by Our Sundary Visitor, a book I recommend for all. And cheap too - €6.40 new in book shops.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Wednesday, May 27, 2009,
In :
Church
 Mary Kenny in tomorrow's Irish Catholic has an excellent proposal which I heartily endorse. She thinks the Archbishop of Dublin should sell his house and give the money to the abuse victims and then go and live in the centre of Dublin. Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Sunday, May 24, 2009,
In :
Affairs
Someone left this comment on the blog: "I am not really to sure you are or if you even know your self. But I wonder are you living in the real world and I mean it from the point of view that in the biggest report to have hit the Irish Church you can only find space to try and defend a bishop It scares the hell out me that it was people like your self who in the past both in side the church and outside of the church inside and outside of other bodies buried their heads in the sand and claim no... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Friday, May 22, 2009,
In :
Church
 I find myself forced to break my self imposed silence on the Commission on Child Abuse because I have to comment on the disgraceful behaviour of the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin. His Grace has always, frankly, been a bit holier than thou when dealing with this issue with his attempts, not just to do the right thing, but to show that other bishops and religious orders are doing the wrong thing. But his attack on the new Archbishop of Westminster on the day of his installation has me f... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Sunday, May 3, 2009,
In :
Church
 The first public extraordinary form Latin Mass in the Killala Diocese since the enactment of Summorum Pontificum will take place in the Church of the Assumption, Ardagh, Crossmolina, Co Mayo on Saturday 16 May at 3pm. The celebrant will be Father John Loftus, CC, Belmullet, Co Mayo and chaplain to the Connaught Provincial Chapter of the LMSI. This Mass will take place on a quarterly basis initially, but will be subject to review pending demand. This, of course, is part of Bishop Fleming's po... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Sunday, April 26, 2009,
In :
Church
One of the good guys - Bishop Walter Mixa: "A society without God is hell on earth."
You know the way bishops sometimes can be accused of being on the verge of taking a stand. Well here's two who have taken stands - and they're not good stands either.
Firstly from Germany: The Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference and archbishop of Freiburg, Robert Zollitsch, believes that Christ’s crucifixion is just a psychological support for those who suffer.
On Holy Saturday, the archbishop denied...
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Posted by Christopher Mc on Thursday, April 2, 2009,
In :
Church
So tomorrow (Friday) there will be an announcement at 11 o'clock that Vincent Nichols is to be the next Archbishop of Westminster. You heard it first here - unless you read it somewhere else - but definitely before the official announcement. Increasingly it is becoming impossible to keep any Papal Secrets.
I guess it's not bad news, given the names that had been floated - Cardiff and Leeds. Archbishop Nichols is definitely improving with age, becoming more conservative and courageous - a go...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Friday, March 13, 2009,
In :
Humour
 If you're looking for some light entertainment and a way to meet new people, here's a fun new game I've discovered. You see someone wearing a Liverpool FC top (or scarf, hat, coat whatever); you stop them and say "excuse me, do you know you're wearing a Liverpool top?". They usually reply "what?" in some shape or form - depending on where you are - it may include an explitive. You then reply "I thought perhaps it was a mistake". Usually best to move off quickly at this point, although many... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Wednesday, March 11, 2009,
In :
Church
A bit busy today. I discovered there was no facility on this site for comments so I've had to link to a different site and copy html and I am very pleased with myself that it seems to be working. If you want to leave a comment you have to click on the title of the post and then leave a comment. You must leave a name and email but they can be fake so don't worry if you want anonymity. Every evening is spent painting and I suspect this will continue for a long time. Painting over new plaster... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Tuesday, March 10, 2009,
In :
Church
I wonder has the Irish Times been reading my blog post of yesterday, as they've just picked up the fact that the arrangements announced for Cloyne are somewhat extraordinary and extra-canonical. Always good to stay ahead of the press. Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Monday, March 9, 2009,
In :
Church
 Back to Cloyne for a moment. This is all very strange. I had a quick flick through the Code and I cannot find any legislation governing the current situation in Cloyne. As the various news reports and press releases have made clear, Bishop Magee has not actually resigned. I presumed originally he'd resigned as allowed for by Canon 401.2:
A diocesan Bishop who, because of illness or some other grave reason, has become unsuited for the fulfilment of his office, is earnestly requested to offe... Continue reading ...
Posted by Christopher Mc on Monday, March 9, 2009,
In :
Church
DISCLAIMER – meant to put this in the first post - anything I write is my own opinion and is not intended to represent the views of any organisation of which I am a member or have any connection.
Oh yes, the name – Seen and Unseen. Well obviously from the Creed, but in particular it was mentioned in some context in the Vicar of Dibley and I thought that would be a good name for a blog. (Although a few others had the same idea as well I see).
Keen observers will notice the timing... Continue reading ...
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About Me + Disclaimer + Email + How to Comment
| Christopher Mc Camley |
| Drogheda, Ireland |
Catholic, Carmelite, Husband, Father, Reader of all sorts of books, Writer of occasional letters, Viewer of lots of TV and movies, Lover of tea, Hater of coffee. Anything I write is my own opionion and is not intended to represent the views of any organisation with which I have a connection. You can email me at "blog at live.ie" (replace the "at" with @). Don't be shy. To comment, click on the title of post. You have to include a name and email but fake ones work fine. Make sure there's an @ in the email.
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