obama does it!

There is a God! Finally, after almost a hundred years of political effort the US House of Representatives has passed a universal health care bill guaranteeing some form of health coverage for all Americans, especially the poorest. What seems like a no-brainer for the rest of the developed world somehow proved to be a massively wide Rubicon for the United States of America. American conservatives, the inheritors of the freedom-loving frontiersman Davy Crockett mentality, perceived a universal health care plan for which the tax payer would have to foot the bill as an unwarranted intrusion by government in the lives of its citizens. Many still believe this and it looks likely that Obama’s health care plan will prove to be a rallying cry for Republican opposition at the US mid-term elections come November. But for the moment something unparalleled and extraordinary has been achieved. One member of Congress likened the achievement to walking on the moon!

And, as an interesting sidelight, one of the significant contributors to stiffening the resolve of Democrats especially to vote for the bill was the support from the 59, 000 Catholic nuns who came out publicly in its favour, thereby allaying the fears of some that the bill had not sufficiently accommodated the concerns of pro-life voters. Some had interpreted support for the bill as support for public monies paying for abortions. Even some of the US bishops saw it this way.

Anyway, one small step for Obama, one giant step for America’s poorest!

Papal Letter to Ireland

I read Pope Benedict's Letter to the Catholic Church in Ireland while on a weekend retreat (yes, I know I should have resisted the temptation to hit the web!). My first reaction was one of utter dismay. Yes, there was the acknowledgement of the serious sinful and criminal nature of what had occurred. Yes, the letter recognises the many failures of church authorities. And,yes, it was at least heartening to see some recognition of the need for "a new vision". But what alarmed me was the underlying assumption that the way forward involves a "restoration", a return to the Ireland that we once knew where traditional practices of piety routinely shaped our faith and spirituality. Equally, for the second time within the last few months Pope Benedict XVI informs us that it is our adoption of more secular ways is the root cause of what has gone wrong. How can this possible be true?

As a member of a religious congregation that has been prominently associated with the commission of some of the abuses, I can state without fear of contradiction that almost ALL of the abuse occurred in the period when traditional practices, traditional theology and ultra-montane clericalism were at their height. It was the pietistic assumptions of that period with it's all too facile designation of abuse as "weakness" and "sin", linked to the adoption of a religious culture of blind obedience, that permitted and legitimated the culture of secrecy and cover-up that we now rightly condemn. Prayer and penance have a role in our response. But, God forbid that we should assume that Vatican II or a culture of freedom in the Church have been to blame for the abuses of the past. What is needed is more freedom, greater transparency and stronger accountability, not less.

Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk

Yesterday the weather was clear with further confirmation that spring may finally have arrived in an Ireland that endured one of the coldest winters in over thirty years. Was it pathetic fallacy the literary device explained to us in school long ago that had weather events mirror emotional states? Well, this long and bitter winter certainly was not found wanting in giving full vent to the seething depression that has gripped this country as we mire further into this mother of all economic depressions.

Anyway, I awoke to clear skies and I vowed that today would be the day when I would undertake a major outdoor physical event, as in undertake a gentle hike! I placed the Bray to Greystones cliff walk on the agenda, phoned a friend so that I was publicly committed to doing it, searched the web for the DART timetable and packed my small rucksack.

Well, everything went well. The sun shone, the skies remained clear and only a gentle breeze stirred the sea. The views along the route where as stunning as I remember them. This walk is Ireland's answer to the Cinque Terre (which I walked in 2008), albeit a less indulgent one. No stops along the way, no picturesque villages tucked away in sheltered coves and no vineyards cheering you on. Still, it was worth it. Early spring heathers and the yellow gorse in bloom made up for the absence of vineyards.

And, then the glory of the descent into Greystones, the little bay spread out before me and the beckoning houses with the promise of comfort and rest. But wait, what happened those welcoming meadows by the railway that normally usher the walker to the outskirts of the town. Gone! Instead, the route is now diverted around a massive building site that purports to be the new super-marina and shopping complex that will from now stand at the town gates. You endure thirty minutes of hoardings, concrete plants, mud and scrawled re-direction signs. Absoltutely dispiriting.

But then, just as the spirits are about to flag totally, there is the sign for Poppy's coffee shop. A little extra effort brings you right to the snug warmth and chatter of this little nineteenth century gem. Inside, apple cinnamon cake and coffee in abundance awaits.

Life is wonderful after all!