Should Ireland leave the Euro?

After the heady patriotic stuff of yesterday's demo in Dublin's O'Connell Street, it is back to dealing with reality this morning. The Sunday Independent is forthrightly raising the possibility that the only option left to Ireland is to leave the Euro. The argument appears to be that even with the EU/IMF bailout the Irish economy does not have the capacity to generate the levels of growth to get us out of hock anywhere within the next ten years or so. Neither the economy nor the people could endure the levels of hardship and penury that on-going austerity may inflict. The conclusion drawn is that it is only by leaving the Euro and reverting to an IR£ Mark II that we can regain the kind of fiscal control needed. Severe devaluation of a new Irish punt would be the mechanism to build new growth. Apparently the emerging economies, like Brazil, are using this particular strategy to fuel indigenous growth.

The arguments against leaving the Euro are also powerful. As one commentator on politics.ie noted, leaving the Euro would leave us unprotected in the struggle with the markets. Foreign direct investment that saw our membership of the Eurozone as a decided commercial advantage would take flight. Indigenous industry could take a generation to catch up with places like Sweden or Denmark. Our economy would revert to the bipolar Anglo-Irish (the geographical kind) relationship.

And, of course, holidays on the Costa del Sol would be out of our financial reach. A step too far?

New Campaign against Inhuman Treatment of Children

A new global campaign to combat the cruel and inhuman treatment of children and minors within national juvenile justice systems is getting under way at the international level. To find out more about this campaign go to the CRIN (Child Rights Information Network) website.

And has it not always been thus ...

When I was a young boy in primary school in the Christian Brothers, Templemore, County Tipperary some fifty years ago, we always railed against the tragic and hapless plight of the Irish whenever we decided to make a bid for independence, or even maintain it. First, there was the lamentable performance of the various petty kings during the time of Diarmuid Mac Murrough of Leinster when faced with the prospect of a Norman invasion. Then, there was the inability of the Irish chieftains to band together in solidarity against the Tudors. Come 1798 and the multiple ill-fated French invasion attempts, compounded by a total lack of coordination among the United Irishmen, we once again displayed our predilection for local and selfish interests. Let us not speak of Parnell and all of that lamentable carry-on. And, lest we forget, 1916 wasn’t exactly a shining example of solidarity either. So it is with his background that I read with interest Justin O’Brien’s recent article in the November 24th Irish Times, commenting on the total failure of the Irish political elite, the chattering classes and the academic analysts to provide any kind of a united front either during the Celtic Tiger years or in the present sorry state in which we find ourselves.

O’Brien notes:

It is time for some hard thinking. It is time for a full and frank admission of abject political, corporate, regulatory, and academic failure. This centres not in the handling of the boom but in the increasingly pathetic attempts by each sector to advance solutions. These, in fact, serve only to enhance the self-interest of each specific community of experts rather than the collective good.

A new Ireland: is it possible?

While everyone yesterday was transfixed by the news coverage coming out of Ireland the accelerating political crisis there, a gentler and more collegial event was taking place on the Isle of Man. There, the British-Irish Inter-parliamentary Council was having one of its regular meetings. No doubt there was much commentary on events a few miles to the west across the Irish Sea. No doubt that the British decision to provide some goodwill bilateral aid to a "friend in need" (George Osborne in the Commons yesterday). However what made the news in today's Irish Times was some comments from an Icelandic politician, Mr Hjorvar, a member of the Icelandic Parliamentary Council.

Mr. Hjorvar said: “There are opportunities in crisis to reset your values, to rearrange how you organise things in your society, to do things better." He went on outline how Iceland is following through on the popular demand for a total re-imagining of Icelandic society. The Icelandic parliament is putting the finishing touches to a new Icelandic Constitution. The tax regime is being returned to its factory default following the catastrophic outcome from the recent adoption of the discredited 'free money' approach advocated by the gungho liberal soft regulation economists. There is a recognition that a departure from traditional social values and a commitment to societal solidarity established the kind of permissive ethos that allowed the irresponsible free-wheeling consumerist culture to flourish.

Hopefully, the Irish parliamentarians who were present at the meeting will have been taking notes.

Christianity and the Religions

We are living in an era of a rediscovery of the religions. Not just 'a religion' but the plurality of the religions. Here in Ireland we are now living in a culture which has become more diverse from a religious and cultural perspective. On my own street I pass each day Muslims, mostly young immigrant men from North Africa. Ten years ago the street presented a wholly monocultural and monofaith appearance. The engagement with Islam has been forced upon us. But it is also welcome challenge to our own somewhat sterile Christian faith.

The new encounter with the world religions, and Islam in particular, brings with it new questions. We grew up in an era when we believed that Christianity was THE religion, in fact, if one were a Catholic, one accepted as a defining doctrine of faith that Christianity is the singular and complete divine revelation to the world. It is difficult for us to get our heads around this.

That is why it is refreshing when one comes across a Christian writer and theologian who bring some light to bear on the question of where Christianity fits with the panoply of the world religions. Just this morning, for example, I read the following passage in Cynthia Bourgeault's in The Wisdom Jesus: "If you were to imagine the great world religions like the colors of a rainbow, each one witnessing in a particular way to some essential aspect of the divine fullness, Christianity would unquestionably hold down the corner of incarnation - by which I mean the vision of God in full solidarity with the created wolrd, fully at home within the conditions of finitude, so that form itself poses no impediment to divinity."

Ideology or Theology?

But the suggestion that Catholic theology is just another ideology roaming the marketplace of ideas ultimately only serves to diminish the transcendent truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is a quote from a comment on the NCR blog in an article on the recent election of Archbishop Dolan as the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). John Allen, the respected analyst and commentator with the NCR, has pointed out that with Archbishop Dolan’s election the Bernardin era of the ‘seamless garment’ approach to moral teaching has ended. From now on the ethical and theological teaching of the US Bishops will be carefully aligned with the narrowed perspectives of Vatican views on abortion, same-sex relationships, civil partnerships, and liturgical matters. It is difficult not to see in this narrowed perspective the imposition of a Roman ‘ideology’ on Catholicism in the West. Equally, it is difficult to see how Benedict XVI’s justified critique of ‘aggressive secularisation’ can be carried through in any credible fashion without a broad vision of how the Church enters into dialogue with the secular world. Transcendence and one-dimensional thinking do not sit well together.

Could the European Union collapse because of Ireland?

This week the President of the European Union (yes, it does have a President!)m Herman van Rompoy did a ten-second summary of the current financial situation in which he linked Ireland’s financial difficulties, the fate of the Euro and the possible collapse of the European Union itself. The ultimate domino effect. Could it happen? Yes, it could. Only now are commentators (and ordinary citizens such as myself) beginning to wake up to the inconvenient truth that the real problem is the Euro itself. A single currency presupposes unitary and consolidated financial and economic control. We don’t have this in Europe. We have a very cumbersome and inflexible set of relationships among the member states overseen by the Council of Ministers and the European Central Bank. No wonder the Germans are worried.

Alister Heath, a UK economist and commentator, reminds of the extent of the problem when reflecting on the current crisis: “The EU’s treaties are not worth the paper they are written on, especially the nonsense about fiscal sustainability; the euro is a giant with feet of clay; monetary union will either lead to fiscal centralisation and destroy democracy in small countries or break up completely. Another absurdity: as part of the moves to force banks all over the world to hold more liquid assets, they have all been told to buy vast amounts of supposedly safe government bonds. This wasn’t exactly the cleverest strategy. What a mess.”

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!

Back teaching again

These days that I am spending time running a little French workshop for my two nephews and their friend, Seán, have reminded me of what teaching class used to be like: the frustrations, the pleasures, the time spent preparing, the misunderstandings, and, oh the joy, when you realise that progress is being made. These guys are good to work with. They are motivated and eager to make this work for them. Seán has ambitions of becoming a primary school teacher so I'm fine-tuning what we're doing to play to his interests. We watched a YouTube trailer on the French documentary movie, Etre et avoir, and I urged him to rent it out at the local Chartbusters here in Galway.

My two nephews are pragmatic. They what they need to do to get the grade in the Leaving Certificate. It seems that there is a sharp divide between teachers who teach for the exam and those who communicate the heart of their subject. The latter are the ones who really educate, I think. One of my nephews has had a really exciting economics teacher who used books like Jeff Sach's The End of Poverty to get across key theoretical ideas. My nephew is now majoring in economics in college. It is what happens when a fire is lit.

Brother David Steindl-Rast

Just recently while tidying up my room I came across a copy of David Steindl-Rast's book, A Listening Heart. I had read it in the Nineties when I was a member of a spirituality reflection group. It was the word 'abundance' that leapt out from the pages at that time. It was a word that has stayed with me ever since. We need to spend each day in gratitude for the abundance of God's gifts.

Now that I am re-reading this book I am even more convinced of the wisdom of Brother David's spiritual teaching. It is harmony with so much of our contemporary appropriation of the Universe Story and of the Buddhist call to detachment, gratitude and letting things be. It is called 'life affirming spirituality'. It finds an echo with me. Especially at this time as I am recovering from what is euphemistically caled a 'cardiac event'.

For all that is, we give thanks.
For all that is yet to be, we say, let it be.

Creative spirituality for those who believe in the divine call to be creators and dreamers, rather than cynical seekers of self-assertion.

Galway Christmas

This has been a Christmas holiday to spend indoors. Unusually, Galway and Ireland have had a white Christmas. Temperatures have plummetted to below Zero. Something that rarely happens, especially here in Galway where we have the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream to bathe our shores in a warm current. No, instead, we've had polar blasts sweeping across the country. Lots of reports of accidents on the roads. Many roads are impassible. Our own N17, fortunately has been kept free as it is a national route. But the sideroads are very icy and dangerous.

I've been spending the last few days helping my nephews with their French Leaving Certificate preparation. Tough work. For them, especially. French verbs, especially those of the irregular kind, are not exactly fun at this time of the year. We spend every morning working on oral conversation, comprehension, verbs, bits and pieces of grammar with a sprinkling of French idiom thrown in. A poor alternative to the XBox waiting next door.

My reward each evening is some quiet time with a glass of Jameson and soulful music on the CD player. It is a great way to keep warm!

In Galway

I have come by train to Galway this morning (Sunday) to visit my family in Castlegar. The trip was largely uneventful except being the first train since Christmas the crew had not shown up except for the driver. So, there was no train manager (aka controller of tickets etc) and, believe it or not, no refueling crew. We had to stop on the way out of Heuston Station to fuel up. It was like stopping at a Topaz garage off the motorway before heading off. And, also, to my chagrin, there was no food service. Since I had had no breakfast before leaving the house (it being so early in the morning), I was pretty famished by the time I reached Galway at 11.30. Luckily, I had texted my brother, Noel, who made sure that there was some leftover breakfast available for me (a big unhealthy Irish fry-up).

Darragh and Tadhg (and their friend Sean) will be participating in a Leaving Certificate revision programme that we are about to run in house. I shall be responsible for the French component, Gregory for the Maths, and Mum for the Busines Studies/Economics end, as well as chasing up overdue assignments (Geography and Rural Science projects).

Happy Christmas and New Year

If anyone out there is still reading this, I wish you a Happy Christmas. I was perusing some blogs this afternoon and the thought came to me that I was once, in a former life, a fervent blogger. In fact, I introduced quite a few people to the art and pleasures of blogging but then, to my shame, realised that I had not blogged in a long time.

I wasn't altogether sure which platform I had used. Was it LiveJournal or eBlogger? So just on a whim I went over to eBlogger and sure enough my name and password were both intact. So, here I am once again.

On January 4th I start my cardiac rehab programme at James Hospital, Dublin 8. It is not too far away and the walk (or bike ride) there will do me good. The nurse in charge of the programme has told me that the first day will be quite gentle. On January 5th we do a stress test which will really push me to my limits. Hopefully, it will all go well. And it will, with God's help.

Back Again

Well, here I am back again after a long period away from Ireland. I have rediscovered my blogsite and I hope to return to regular blogging very soon.

I am recuperating following a period of illness. Illness concentrates the mind wonderfully. So I am busy at the moment discerning my priorities and wondering if I will be going back to work. An interesting oasis in the course of life.

Sunday before Christmas

It is the Sunday before Christmas. I hope you like the photograph of our crib here in the apartment. I took the photograph last night. The figurines were purchased by Denis on his last visit to Ireland. They look well. The blue material is blue tensel and the lamp was one I purchased in Manor a few months ago. Our crib is a bit like living in Geneva in that it is on three levels. The Three Kings are on the very topmost layer. Our magazine rack is doing duty as a crib support.

As always, Sundays are very quiet here. And today is no exception. There is very little of the Christmas spirit that one associates with Ireland. No carol singers. Scarcely any lights except for a few corporate buildings like the railway station and a few of the banks. None of the streets have Christmas lights. However, if one goes across the border thirty minutes away to France, there you will find lights and lots of them. Now there is something to ponder there. Does the absence of lights in Geneva suggest, yet again, something of the Calvinist influence. If so, pour Jean Calvin has a lot to answer for.

I went to Mass this morning in the Basilica. As always the singing was good. We had our last of a series of four broadcast Masses on Radio Suisse Romande (Espace 2). The reading from Romans appealed to me. I always enjoy Paul when he waxes eloquent on the love of God outpoured in the world. Always a consolation.

Yesterday, I did my book thing. I escaped up to Gaillard where there is a tolerably good “librairie” just at the frontier tram stop. I intended purchasing the current issue of Le Monde Diplomatique but ended up buying a copy of Bernard Henri-Levy’s latest book. Bernard Henri-Levy (BHL) is one of France’s foremost contemporary philosophers and a personal friend of one Nicolas Sarkozy. It is one of the interesting aspects of French politics that it is almost expected that a French President be not only a politician but an intellectual as well. And maybe there lies the problem! Maybe a dash of Bertie would suit them a lot better.

Anyway I am looking forward to getting stuck into BHL over Christmas. He has lots of interesting things to say about the collapse of the Left in Europe. Compulsory reading for ERI people, I should imagine!

Circus in Town and other stuff

I know some of you thought this Circus Apartment thing is a bit of romantic kitsch! No, it is real. The circus has been in town for the last few weeks and is parked outside my door. This is circus on a grand scale. At least two hundred or more trucks, vans and mobile homes to support the whole venture. They have two performances each day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. I now know all the circus tunes by heart. Thankfully, the show finishes at 9.30pm in the evening.

I have a day off today because of a public holiday unique to Geneva. By rights I should be fasting as the holiday is called Jeûne Genevois (Geneva Fast). It celebrates a famous Protestant victory over the Catholics during the Reformation that was supported by a massive public fast of biblical proportions. Nowadays I guess no one knows why there is a public holiday today. At least no one in the office knew. The information came to light from a Wikipedia search. Anyway I am glad of a day at home.

Michael Murray and John Burke arrive on Saturday. This morning I did more laundry to get ready. I now know that I need to purchase two duvets, can't find where the others have gone. I imagine the students must have taken them away. I have now three complete sets of bed linen which spares me the embarrassment of trying to explain to the guy in the department store why I want single bed sets rather than doubles. Try translating "fitted sheet" into French. If you want to know it's a "drap-housse" or in German, a "Fixleinrtuch". The learning curve is steep here.

Brian Bond has been in touch and we are exchanging emails. I'm full of tips and pieces of advice. But he's on the ball and is looking forward to coming. He will then be the replacement Aussie for Julie Morgan in the office. Incidentally, I have discovered that the Australians have exceeded their national quota for employees at the UN. I discovered that piece of trivia during the week. It puzzled me as I never even knew there was such a thing national quotas. Affirmative action gone haywire. That explains why there are so few Irish. Afraid we might take ove!

Food continues to be a problem. There is a mystery here that I am trying to solve. Why, I ask, is it cheaper to eat at McDonald's than to cook for oneself. I just don't get it. You can have a full Mega-Burger plus Chips meal in McDs for about 12 CHF but it costs at least one and half times that to purchase and cook the stuff yourself. Someone please explain.

Weather still cold. That wind from the north is still slicing across the Plainpalais. The vineyards up in Nyon and along the lakeshore will be worried.

Jim Donovan called on the house phone. I was delighted to hear his voice. He was lucky he caught me at home, though. Normally, I would be in the office.

Greetings to all of you out there in N17man land! And special greetings to MC in Lusaka!

Brian Bond and other Matters

Yesterday I received the news that the third person joining the Geneva team is Brian Bond. I am delighted. Brian is from Australia and is a Christian Brother of the current St. Patrick's Province in Melbourne. I stayed with Brian and Sean in their place in Sunshine in 2006 and have very happy memories of my visit with them. In fact Sunshine as a suburb of Melbourne is not unlike our proposed location in Gaillard, France, on the edge of an industrial area with a mix of long-established residents and incomers. Brian has been working in the social justice field for a long time and has been responsible for some interesting initiatives. He hopes to arrive here towards the end of October. I am gradually getting used to the people in the office here. It is so international. So many languages. Everyone uses English, of course, but it is nice to be able to converse with people in their own language. Sr. Madeleine who is a French-speaking Franciscan Sister keeps on reminding us that we are after all in French-speaking Switzerland. I have enormous sympathy for her point of view. It is always a challenge for international organisations not to get caught in the trap of the Anglophone culture. Diversity is all. The weather has turned much colder. The wind has definitely veered towards the North so something is coming down over Germany from Russia towards us. It is amazing what a difference this makes. Until last night I slept with the windows wide open to catch the fresh breezes. Now I am closing the windows. Soon it will be time for the famous "La Bise", the Alpine winds that seek to sever the legs from the body. But that's another story. I am in a listening and learning mood here. "So listen to wise people and be willing to accept every wise counsel", the Book of Tobit advises. I agree. When starting in a new venture it is essential to keep the head down and to spend a lot of time listening. There are so many nuances of culture and personality to come to terms with in such a short time. I was speaking of windows. I am in the process of getting simple curtains, ready-made, from the department store across the street. Not a simple matter. First, there is the issue of the size of the windows. That requires measurements. Which in turn spawns the purchase of a tape measure. Fine. So now we have curtains. But now they have to be hung. New problem. I can't reach the poles. So this requires a small set of steps. This is how my purchasing cycle goes. Need, assessment and purchase. And always keeping in mind the question will this purchase transfer to the new house when we get there. As if life were not complicated enough. Now some people would find all this fun. Not if you are trying to fit in housekeeping around the work and commute to the office.

Thunderstorm II

It is 9.00pm in the evening here in Geneva. The rain is pouring steadily down, a prelude to another night of rolling thunder and lightning rending the skies. For my own sake, I hope it is not so. I don't want another sleepless night.

I went to work this morning over at the Franciscans. The place is slowly getting back to work after the holidays. It has that beginning of term feeling. There are meetings of a planning sort going on. As the new boy I am not participating in any these just yet. I expect I will once John and the main players come back next week. We had our Wednesday prayer today. MPK would be pleased. It was straight up. Mike O'Neill who led the prayer is an environmentalist so he was saving on paper. We just had one set of sheets which was passed around. The theme was Harvest Blessings. A plate of Autumn fruits was set in front of each person. At various points during the prayer we sampled the fruits. Now there's an idea for Synge Street.

I tried to do two things this afternoon. Get a Swisscom SIM card and purchase a monthly travel pass. Failed in both. The travel pass requires one to have a passport photograph. There are three in the railway station. About a million teenagers on back-to-school business were also on a similar quest. Against that lot I lost out. When I finally got to a machine, I found it only accepted coins and I had just notes in my pocket. Arrgh! As for the SIM card. I have yet to see a phone shop. Where is Camden Street when you need it!

So I came home to the apartment and set to work putting it to rights. I hauled some funiture around to create the beginning of a community room. There is a TV but the cable is dead, frayed and looks like it was chewed by a dog. There is a small Hi-FI system that has nothing attached. Dead. And in addition there are two bunk beds that are pretty immovable. Moy Hitchen will have to sleep there when he comes. But I did succeed in setting up lights, moving a set of shelves. Another week, a few lights, candles and some pictures and it won't be too bad. Who said Geneva has to be drab!

Supper this evening consisted of the second half of my steak. Meat is expensive here, I'm finding out. I also had rosti, sort of hash browns. Very popular in Switzerland and easy to cook. Spuds just don't seem to exist in their native form. Maybe they take too much energy to cook.

I'm going to ask Colm Griffey to provide Michael Murray with a few small Edmund Rice items. I need to have a connection with the congregational spirit.

There is a church nearby. German-speaking Dominican parish. I tried to get in the church this morning. It appeared to be locked. Will try again over the week-end. Parish of St. Boniface. Across the Circus Square is another parish, the Latin American Spanish parish of St. Gabriel. Choices, choices, choices.