Murdered in Limerick

Shane Geoghegan, who was murdered in Limerick on 9th November, in a case of mistaken identity, was a past pupil of Crescent College Comprehensive. When he graduated in 1999, his certificate from the school stated that the school took pride in Shane’s achievements, and Shane was well known and loved by his fellow students and his teachers. His parents Mary and Tom and his brother Anthony (also a past student of Crescent) were given great cross-community support, from Shane’s school friends, his sporting companions and his work colleagues. The chief celebrant at the funeral Mass was his former teacher and friend, Fr. Jim Maher SJ.

Angles on Hugh O’Flaherty

Jesuit Archives and Todd Morrissey SJ helped TnaG make a documentary on Mgr Hugh O’Flaherty, the extrarodinary Kerry-born, Mungret-educated priest who saved the lives of thousands of Jews and Allied prisoners from the Nazis. Our picture shows him as a senior apostolic (he was already a qualified teacher) in the 1919 Mungret Annual. His obituary, in the 1964 annual, is curious: no mention of Jews (though he was the first Irishman to be hailed by Israel as “Righteous among the Nations”); just a grudging reference to his relief of suffering among escaped prisoners, followed by an expansive paragraph about his golfing prowess. Read on: Read more »

Peter McVerry stirs up the drugs debate

The Northside People West on 12 November published an interview with Peter McVerry SJ in which he urged a discussion of the legalisation of all drugs. “We have already legalised one drug, methadone, and there has not been a huge explosion of methadone use. In fact, the selling of methadone on the street has almost stopped. I feel we should at least explore doing the same with all other drugs. We have to realise that the present system is not working, despite the spending of millions of euro to stop the importing and selling of drugs.” The debate started at once, with a response in the same newspaper, and no doubt will continue.

Israel, our elder brother

In a public lecture given at Haddington Road Church, John McDade SJ, Principal of Heythrop College, explored Catholic-Jewish relations since Vatican II. He drew twice the usual attendance at this lecture series. He described the enormously influential contribution of Pope John Paul II, especially by his symbolic visit to Jerusalem and his prayer at the Western Wall. His listeners responded warmly to the vision of Israel as our elder brother, but they heard also, in a couple of questioners, some atavistic hankering for old animosities.

Fr Sullivan: the last witness

Fr John Fitzgerald SJ, the last surviving Jesuit to have been taught in Clongowes by Fr John Sullivan, shared some precious memories at the commemorative Mass which takes place in Gardiner St at 1pm on the third Saturday of every month. A new biography of Fr John Sullivan by Fr Todd Morrissey SJ will soon be published. For Fr Fitzgerald’s homily on 15 November, read on. Read more »

Art and the spiritual

On the 6th November Colm Brophy SJ led ten spiritual directors in a Galway workshop on art. His first objective was to free them from any perfectionism, or sense of inferiority about drawing. Starting with their signatures, he got them to own what was unique to them From drawing simple things like a sun or a moon he moved them to the more personal, to express a feeling in colour and draw an incident from childhood. The workshop aimed to release in the learners a simple, carefree and uninhibited use of oil pastel crayons to express emotions before or after a session of spiritual direction. It opened up a simple but powerful means of self-expression and healing. Colm, whose own watercolour of a summer garden is pictured here (see more), began and ended with that enigmatic line from John 8.7 “Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger.”

In the news

As well as Fr Todd Morrissy, Jesuit historian, featuring on the TG4 documentary on the life of Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, Cathy Molloy, theologian with the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, took part in a panel discussion on the ‘Spirit Moves’ programme on RTE Radio One on Sunday Nov 16. The hour-long programme presented by Tom McGurk was exploring the implications of the Civil Partnership Bill currently being drafted by the Government. The bill proposes to legislate for couple-relationships which fall outside the scope of traditional marriage. Other panellists included Fr Joe Mullan, Sentator Ronan Mullen, Ciaran Cuffe TD and Patrick Lynch. To listen to the programme click here and select ‘Listen to Latest Show’.

No continental divide

The Jesuit-run parish of Matero in Lusaka, Zambia this week linked up offcially with Star of the Sea Parish, Sandymount, Dublin. Fr Leonard Chiti SJ spoke at all masses in the church on Sunday Nov 16 and outlined how the parishes could help each other. He said Matero parish was spritually rich but materially very poor. The Jesuit Missions Office in Dublin has helped fund classrooms and computers for the many children orphaned by AIDS there (school in Matero pictured here). Parishoners from Sandymount will now assist the Jesuit-run projects in the parish. Fr Leonard, a native of Zambia, spent two years working in Matero Parish and is currently studying in Dublin and living with the Manresa community in Clontarf.

Richard O’Dwyer in Addis Ababa

Richard O’Dwyer SJ has been assigned to work with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Ethiopia for the next two or three years, and he generously registered his first impressions of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, and sent them back fresh to AMDG Express. The country has experienced some dramatic shifts in power in recent decades, but the most palpable problems concern the many people without proper housing or health care. Read his account below. Read more »

Induction course at IMI

The Partners in Mission office hosted an induction course on 13 November for a group of seven people who have recently begun working with various apostolates in the Province. The seven were Sr Teresa Brogan and Majella Moloney (JUST), Elizabeth O’Neill (JRS), Edel Roddy and Eoghan Keogh (Slí Eile), Patrick Muldoon (Sacred Space), and Triona McGee (The Messenger). The course provided them with an opportunity to meet the curia staff and to learn about the Province and the mission of the Society of Jesus. See more photos here.

Gonzaga hosts fundraisers

Fiachra Etchingham, Director of Finance at Gonzaga College (visible behind the magnificent beech tree in picture), assembled representatives of 12 Dublin schools including Gonzaga, Belvedere and Clongowes, to pool their collective experience and to plan fundraising for schools. They worked through an agreed set of topics: motivating donors, alumni relations, the use of fundraising consultants, and recruiting fundraising staff, and found that, irrespective of the type of school or the size of the fundraising goal, their challenges and solutions were quite similar. They agreed to organise further meetings, and possibly invite experts to address them.

Short notices

• A meeting of the Pastoral Coordinators from the Jesuit Schools took place in Clongowes, 6-7 Nov, to look at the RE programmes in place and to share resources and best practice. The picture shows Peter Sexton, Brian Flannery, Frank Clark, Brendan McManus, Danny McNelis, Helen Barden and Grainne Delaney.
• On 16 November. the annual Mass for dead Jesuit missionaries drew the biggest congregation yet to Milltown.
• Slí Eile, the Jesuit Centre for Young Adults, extends an invitation to young adults (18-35 years) to volunteer to work with the poor in Colombia, Jamaica or Zambia for 3 weeks in July 2009. The closing date for applying is 28 November. For more information contact Debbie at Slí Eile 01 8880606/8943165 or e-mail debbie.moore@sli-eile.com.
• The Irish School of Ecumenics in TCD will host the launch of Dr. Gladys Ganiel’s book ‘Evangelicalism and Conflict in Northern Ireland’: at 4.30 p.m., Wednesday, 26 November: by Prof. Jennifer Todd of UCD.
• The Pioneer Association is seeking to recruit an Advocacy and Communications manager, as part of a program to contemporise its message and make it better heard. For full details of this post, click here.

CFJ: advocate for women offenders

Tony O’Riordan SJ was quoted by the Irish Examiner for his advocacy of non-custodial alternatives to prison for women offenders. Using the JCFJ’s research into female prisoners, he pointed out that more than three quarters of them are being punished for ‘non-serious offences’, and are imprisoned for six months or less. “If, as is planned, the number of prison spaces in Thornton Hall is doubled so as to accommodate female offenders, it will discourage the search for alternatives to prison for women.” JCFJ has also brought out the November issue of Working Notes. Read below for a write-up of it. Read more »