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Acknowledgement - Family and Life

On Wednesday evening I attended a meeting organised by my friends in Family and Life addressed by Dr Philip Blond and Deputy Lucinda Creighton.

Dr Philip Blond

Lucinda Creighton TD

It was very encouraging and I intend to reflect upon when I have more energy. But it seemed to address the frustration I felt at the political process by people almost everywhere in the west. Some of Dr Blond's observations were scary - that there would be a Front National President in France within ten years for example. Then given the performance of Francois Hollande, I would hardly be surprised. Certainly the heavy handed way he used the riot police against those who demonstrated against same sex marriage has politicised a new generation in France. France is far from unique in the west.

The January-February Brandsma Review will feature an article by Monika Barget on the Alternativ für Deutschland, the new political initiative in Germany. The gathering in Dublin's Davenport Hotel suggested an appetite for a new group in Ireland. Nor was this confined to the crowd of good people who attended. A number of ex-members of the Fine Gael parliamentary party were there: Peter Mathews, Terence Flanagan and Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames. Senator Ronan Mullen was also there, with the Irish Times columnist John Waters. I was disappointed to miss John Waters, but I talked to Senators Mullen and Healy Eames and to former leader of the Christian Solidarity Party, Dr Gerard Casey.

So there is sign of hope in Ireland. Just watch this space.

Retrospective: Last year's Flag Riots in Belfast

Just found this piece in my system today. It was displaced by the editorial about Pope Benedict's resignation just before going to press:

Observing the Riots

I picked up The Irish News a couple of days into the New Year to cast an eye over events in Northern Ireland. I was shocked to see the headline “Shoot Tagues” on the front page. A tague is a derogatory word for a Catholic and the quote came from Twitter. But the disgusting term conveys the spirit which has been apparent in East Belfast and other loyalist areas of Antrim since early December. And for those out there who believe integrated schooling is the answer, the Twitter account holder was a graduate of one of these enlightened establishments.

Belfast City Council voted to restrict the flying of the Union Flag to 15 designated days on 3 December. The motion was proposed by Sinn Féin and the SDLP and supported by the Alliance, enabling the vote to be carried. This triggered a serious of ongoing riots by loyalist thugs since then which has caused much injury to person and property since then, not to mention the cost to businesses in Belfast which will lead to economic hardship to a great many people in the medium term.


Belfast City Hall

The loyalist enclaves in the North have become a powder keg which has not greatly improved since the Peace Process began. In fact, it has worsened. The best demographic group to be in to gain employment in the North is to be female, rural and Catholic. Correspondingly the worse situation to be in is male, urban and Protestant. The lowering of the Union Flag over City Hall by a bunch of Fenians (this is applied to Irish nationalists by this community) and their sympathisers is a red flag to this group, to whom it seems that Sinn Féin delivered goods to their counter-parts in republican enclaves in Belfast in ways their own politicians have been unable to do for them. It does not take much to ignite a conflagration among unemployed working class young men with chips on their shoulders.

There is an ugly sense of déja vu here. The troubles we all remember began with loyalist mobs attacking the Catholic Short Strand district in 1969. This happened again, with a group of special needs children under siege in St Matthew’s Church hall in the enclave. Police officers have been seriously injured and even First Minister Peter Robinson’s car was stoned, indicating how far he has come since his invasion of Clontibret in 1986. However it is hard to sympathise with Unionist politicians. A previous generation of loyalist paramilitaries were fired by Rev Ian Paisley’s preaching; the source of much discontent now lies in unionist rhetoric. Respectable unionists are always quick to put distance between themselves and trouble.

Peter Robinson in 1984

Peter Robinson now

The scary feature here is continued rumour of consolidation of dissident republican groups. No one imagines the North will flair up again, but we cannot take the Peace Process for granted. Sustained rioting by loyalists does not help. If the security forces cannot protect nationalist areas, someone else will. That is a variable none of us can afford to see happening.

November-December 2013

At present the November-December number is in Veritas and will be posted and e-mailed over the next week.

Peadar Laighléis editorialises on Pope Francis and "that interview"; with David Manly following up on the Mater Misericordia Hospital's capitulation on the new abortion legislation.

Mel Cormican leads off with an analysis of Pope Francis' interview in La Civiltà Catolica; Professor Jim Lothian draws a line on the importance of money re: Catholic social teaching; Dr Joe McCarroll reviews The Human Voyage of Self-Discovery; Paul Fournier retells his father's experiences in Germany after the end of the First World War while serving in the Canadian Army; Dom Mark Kirby OSB, Prior of Silverstream Priory preaches for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception; Joe Aston reviews Patrick Pye: Life and Work; and Peadar Laighléis tells the story of the Stalingrad Madonna.



Dr Kurt Reuber's Stalingrad Madonna.

Hibernicus reviews Mary O'Rourke's autobiography and the Hurler on the ditch has stories relating to Church, State and the Media in Ireland.

Who noticed the Closure of the Holy See Embassy?

I just got a chance to look at last week's Irish Catholic this evening. Which is not a good thing to admit since I had a breakfast meeting with its editor last Wednesday morning. Anyway, I enjoyed this column, a review of a book on the current coalition by the Sunday Business Post political editor Pat Leahy.

I suppose the thing that surprised me was the report of the cabinet meeting when the closure of the Holy See was announced. Who do you think reacted?



Alan Shatter TD, Minister for Justice and Defence

The sole Jewish member of the cabinet is quoted as saying

Hey, maybe I’m not the person to raise this but are we really closing the Irish embassy in the Vatican?

Meanwhile, no reaction from eight colleagues from the Fine Gael party. They either didn't notice or didn't care.

As for the figure who I believe debases the good old Irish insult of luadarmáin:



Ard-luadarmáin na hÉireann (Supreme luadarmáin of Ireland)

It seems his conviction that he instinctively knows what the Irish people want was debunked long before the Seanad referendum defeat.

September-October Issue

There are two editorials: Peadar Laighléis deals with the legalisation of direct abortion in "A Black Day for Ireland"; David Manly reacts to The Irish Times handling of the alleged first legal abortion in "The 'Paper of Record' Fouls its Nest". "From the Editor's Desk" highlights Hungary and some of the parallels between Irish and Hungarian history. Mel Cormican deals with the position of politicians who "happen to be Catholic" in "Catholic Politicians, Communion and the Protection of Human Life During Pregnancy Bill"; Father Aidan McGing CM concludes his reflection on Darwin in Darwin Reconsidered - Part II; Rachael Hardiman addresses the tragedy of infertility in "Infertility and its Relevance to the Abortion Debate"; John Heneghan looks at the translation of the Bíobla Uí Fhiannnachta in "The First Catholic Bible in Irish"; Peadar Laighléis documents the post-war treatment of ethnic Germans in Eastern Europe in "Disorderly and Inhumane: Expulsion of Ethnic Germans from East 1945-1948"; Paul Fournier retells a Quebecois ghost story in "Le Cheval Noir"; and Joe Aston tackles the new situation in Ireland in "Meekness: Drawing Victory From Defeat". Hibernicus dissects "Fintan O'Toole's Rogueries"; there is a letter from Eric Conway and the Hurler on the Ditch has more political observations.



Available from Veritas, Dublin; Bendictus Books, Cork; Church of the Guardian Angels, Newtownpark Ave, Dublin; Ss Peters and Pauls, Cork; or e-mail: brandsmareview@gmail.com

The Senate survives

As someone who was never going to vote against the abolition of the Seanad regardless of who was in favour or against, obviously I am going to gloat here. Especially as it is at the expense of this luadaramáin:



For the benefit of my readers who neither understand Irish nor read Flann O'Brien/Myles na gCopaleen, a luadaramáin is a complete fool and the only reason is that I am not thoroughly ashamed of saying this is because I know that I didn't vote for his party nor their partners in government in the Labour Party. But I am not here to rant against Enda Kenny as there are plenty of others who are doing that now, not least within his own party. I am happy to leave them to it.

When we consider the Senate as a body, we need to think of two very different men, both of them capable leaders (whatever one's opinion of some of their policies):



On the left Seán Lemass and on the right Éamon de Valera

The Constitution of Ireland was enacted on 1 July 1937 by plebiscite and came into force on 29 December 1937. The constitution was principally informed by Anglo-American parliamentary practice and created a tri-cameral legislature (Oireachtas) with a president, senate and house of representatives. Be careful of the first one. At present, the president is the head of state, but he is not named as such in the constitution. For the first decade of the constitution’s operation, Ireland was a constitutional monarchy and the country only became a republic following the enactment of the Republic of Ireland Act in 1949. Then the position of head of state was vested in the president. Should the Oireachtas be minded to revert to the original position and restore the de facto British monarch to the position of head of state; or invite the de jure British monarch in Munich to come over; or invest The O’Neill or The O’Connor Don or The O’Brien of Thomond in the High Kingship, there is nothing in the constitution to prevent them from doing so. I should stress this would not abolish the presidency; the president would remain with all his current functions and powers, with the exception of sending and receiving of ambassadors. A monarch would be confined to this function and would be very much like the ceremonial monarchs in Scandinavia or the Netherlands.

In spite of the foregoing, there is a lot in the constitution and it proves the undoing of politicians from time to time. First of all, it makes the Supreme Court very powerful. What does the Irish Constitution say? Whatever the justices of the Supreme Court say it says. In the early years of the constitution’s operation, this didn’t make much difference as courts here tended to rely on English precedent (I deliberately use “English” rather than “British” here; Scots Law is civil law). But eventually, US precedent became more and more common; particularly with the careers of jurists such as Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh and Brian Walsh. This made things most inconvenient for the Government, but also for several other agencies, from An Garda Síochána to private industry, as the activist justices found all sorts of rights in the document.


Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, Uachtarán na h-Éireann 1974-76; Príomh-Bhreitheamh 1961-1973

Anyway, you might ask what’s positive about the Irish constitution. A lot. We tend to forget that independent Ireland, as exists at present, is the one state that came into being after the First World War which has maintained its democracy since then, notwithstanding the continued occupation of the north-eastern six counties and British tolerance of a discrimatory regime there which created the infamous troubles of recent decades. Our constitution is the oldest substantially unaltered written constitution in Europe and it is also the oldest written constitution anywhere which includes fundamental human rights in the original document. The Irish constitution was used as a model in the drafting of a number of other constitutions such as the German Federal Constitution and the Indian Constitution. India is the world’s largest democracy and some of our historical experience is similar. When Australia considered becoming a republic, the Irish model was one of six cases studied by the Australian authorities when they considered becoming a republic (a little ironic given the foregoing). These are things few Irish people are aware of, but give a lot of reasons to take pride in. In addition, the Constitution of Ireland, whether in Irish or English, is written in remarkably clear language. You don’t need a doctorate in jurisprudence to understand it. I am told that one of the few other clear constitutions is that of the Fifth French Republic. Clarity is rare in legal texts.



So why aren’t people aware of this? One reason is the historic perception of Éamon de Valera. I don’t object so much to de Valera being misunderstood as wilfully misunderstood. Of course the problem is not so much Dev as good old Hibernophobia, which seems to infect the greater proportion of this country’s chatteratti. This is true of the media and academics here and particularly manifests itself in hatred of Irish nationalism and Catholicism. There’s no great affection for other aspects of Irish culture either, but folk music and Gaelic games are far too popular to dislodge at the moment. Don’t laugh too much – these are two forces Ireland has to counteract globalism and we need any of these we can get. Anyway, the Constitution is suspect for these reasons:

In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred,

We, the people of Éire,

Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial,

Gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation,

And seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations,

Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution.

It is easy to see how this preamble is a red rag to a bull. The problem is allowing this anti-Catholic bull loose in a china shop. The case in point is the abolition of the Senate. There is a great deal of cynicism about the Senate, but very little consideration was given to what the Senate actually does. The fact that all political parties have abused the Senate by electing would be deputies or retiring deputies or deputies between terms is not an argument against the Senate but against its electors, which can be changed by statute law. The fact it was sometime in the 1960s that the Senate last held up a bill for three months is not an argument against the Senate either – the middle house regularly sends revised legislation to the bottom house. Indeed, there is more of a legislative character to the Senate than to the Dáil. No senator has been a minister since James Dooge in 1981, though the Constitution allows two to sit in any cabinet (though they may not be Taoiseach, Tánaiste or Minister for Finance). Most importantly, Article 27 provides an explosive power. Under Article 27, a majority of senators (30 members) and one third of Dáil members (at present 55) may petition the president to refer a bill enacted by Dáil and Senate to the people. This has never been used, but it is a very useful constitutional safeguard which I would not be willing to see go.

The campaign in favour of abolition emphasised the cost of the senate – stated in posters to be €20 million annually but found in reality to be more like €5.6 million and the fact that many other smaller jurisdictions have unicameral legislatures. Politically, Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin were on the same page, with Fianna Fáil and a variety of independents opposing abolition. The media were relatively mute. Polls strongly suggested that abolition would carry. In the event, the public decided otherwise. Which impressed me greatly. The Irish people made a wise decision. Right now, everyone is talking about Senate reform. But a lot of the talk revolves around further constitutional change. Statute law provides a few solutions. Firstly, Dáil and Senate elections should take place on the same day. This way, there will be no second chance or reducing the middle house to a substitute bench between matches. Secondly, the constitution was amended in 1979 to allow graduates of other institutions in the state to vote in the university constituencies, but no one has acted to extend the constituencies which leaves many thousands of graduates disenfranchised. For now, my final point is that the vocational panels should also be open
to a popular vote and this should only wait until the next general election. But as in all matters, constitutional law should never be considered until all other options are exhausted. This is the fatal mistake the abolition made in putting it to the people first. But nobody expects someone like Enda Kenny to know any better.

Fine Gael at prayer?

I don’t go in for conspiracy theories. Part of the reason for this is that they are a waste of time. They give people the sense of superiority by “knowing” the inside story of why things are going wrong (I have news for them: things started going wrong with Original Sin) and they seem to absolve people of responsibility for doing anything (this is not my fault because of the great Judaeo-Masonic-Marxist-Golfing conspiracy). Really, if you want light entertainment, try reading The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and have a laugh at the fact some people take this stuff seriously. My favourite nugget in the book is that John XXIII and Marcel Lefebvre are both members of the quasi-Masonic Priory of Sion: the first became pope and used the position to modernise the Church; when Paul VI tried to row back, John’s confrere in the Priory, Archbishop Lefebvre deliberately adopted a neo-traditionalist stance to force Paul continue with the programme. I think this bit was probably too complicated for Dan Browne to copy in writing The Da Vinci Code. Reminds me of the little Martian sitting at the table in episode of The Simpsons which sent up the Masonic Order as the Stonecutters’ Lodge.

Archbishop Charles Brown (right) with Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam (left) at Croagh Patrick

However, it may be that The Phoenix is on to something in Charlie Brown and Benny (September 20, page 6) as they respectfully call the Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland the Pontiff Emeritus. Goldhawk was able to tell us that Terry Prone organised the publicity for Rev Anthony Flannery’s book launch and Bill O’Herlihy actually launched it. Ms Prone (a former nun married to a former priest, Tom Savage) is Fine Gael’s main PR advisor whereas Bill O’Herlihy is a long-term Fine Gael organiser and fund raiser, when he's not commentating on soccer matches. Quite recently, Mr O’Herlihy received the supreme Blueshirt honour of addressing the Michael Collins commemoration in Béal na mBláth. You can tell the man by the company he keeps and Father Flannery moves in some exalted company. A pity that quite a lot of us find it a bit rich to hear Fine Gael either pointing their fingers at alleged right-wingers or talking about radicalism in general. But then again, publications like The Phoenix and socialist groups are remarkably capable of suspending their censorious attitude to Fine Gael hard line economics when it comes to social issues or the Church or both. However, The Phoenix speculates that Enda Kenny has given his approval to this. It’s hard to believe he hasn’t. Many of us believe that Father Flannery wrote, or at the very least advised on, the famous “elitist, narcissistic, dysfunctional” speech (use "Enda" as a mnemonic and you’ll remember it). All of us know Father Flannery’s brother Frank is one of Enda’s right-hand men. The Brandsma Review commented earlier that the January Vigil for Life were in direct competition with Father Flannery for headline space in a manner which could only benefit the government in their proposals to legalise direct abortion. So, why shouldn’t Enda show some gratitude?

Meeting of the ACPI in Portlaoise.

The Phoenix is astute enough to recognise that the vocal liberal clergy have become very brave since the election of Francis I and point to a recent attack on the Nuncio by another ACP leading light, Father Brendan Hoban. Father Hoban criticises the Nuncio for not having been trained as such – in another context he could cite the lack of training as a virtue. The Phoenix recognises that the tactic is to portray Archbishop Brown as Benedict’s man, but it doesn’t challenge the ACPI’s perception that Francis is one of their own. The Pope has already re-stated the traditional teaching regarding the ordination of women. So Mary McAleese’s introduction to Father Flannery’s book won’t cut any ice there.

At one time, the Church of England was known as the Conservative Party at prayer. I wonder if the ACPI don’t see an inherent disadvantage in being labelled Fine Gael at prayer, especially given the behaviour of their accepted political masters in government since 2011?

Father Iggy's Parting Shot

Before I say anything further about the departure of the Very Rev Ignatius O’Donovan OSA, let me remind people that Father Iggy, as he is universally known, is an Augustinian and the Augustinian Order has a constitution. Under that constitution, a friar may serve as a prior for four years and may serve for a second consecutive term in the same house. Following this, he may go on to serve as a prior in a different house and return back to the original house for another two terms as prior. Alternatively, he may step back to be an ordinary member of the community in the house he has served as prior for eight years, but this could be difficult for his successor, so it is normal to move priors on after eight year. Father Iggy has served as prior in the Augustinian community in Drogheda and now he is moving on. But not without making a couple of points first.

The Irish Independent salute him with a report of his last Mass in Drogheda which was attended by 1500 people, including Moslems and Baha’is from the town. Just has the Indo would only be called a pinko liberal rag by some mad barking fascist on the extreme right, hearing the Worshipful the Mayor of Drogheda, Councillor Richie Culhane, said he believed that Father Iggy was leaving because

ultra-conservative elements within the Church have forced the hierarchy to push Iggy further afield and out of Drogheda here.

The Mayor continued:

I hope and pray to God that you are never silenced.

And then he concluded to a standing ovation :

I will call on the hierarchy ‘Give him back to us.’

The Mayor may be forgiven his lack of understanding of both Canon Law and practice within the Augustinian Order, but I wonder why no one notes the irony of a Fine Gael member complaining of ultra-conservative elements. Then Enda Kenny referred to the radicalism of the Roman Church in his elitist narcissistic and dysfunctional speech.

Father Iggy himself originally tried to distance himself from the conspiracy theories around his transfer, that he was looking forward to a sabbathical, but he couldn’t resist some performance to the gallery:

I cannot leave here today without making some reference to a distinguished colleague of mine in the priesthood. I speak of Fr Tony Flannery. If I had not been made aware first hand of the details of this case I could not have given it credence. Even hardened veterans are shaken by the murkiness of the devious world of ecclesiastical politics. How has it come to this, that a great and good priest like Tony, who has dedicated his life to the preaching of the Gospel is persecuted with a zeal that is as pathological as the paranoia that feeds it?? How has it come to this, that intolerant and extreme right wingers – encouraged apparently by certain authorities, and career-orientated priests can meet in solemn conclave to determine who is guilty of what these people label heresy? How has it come to this that sincere thinking Catholics are walking away from our Church believing that the battle for sane Catholicism is lost?

I still believe and am strongly of the conviction that Catholicism is compatible with modern culture. I deeply welcome the arrival of Pope Francis. So we dream on. I cling to my foolish dream when to paraphrase the words of the late Fr George Tyrell, himself a victim of oppression, “when the Catholic people represented by their bishops and their Pope will assemble not to decide and impose points of theology, ethics and politics under the threat of excommunication, but to proclaim the gospel of God’s Kingdom upon earth as it was proclaimed by Jesus Christ; to preach unity in essentials, liberty in non-essentials, charity in all things”

Dear Lord, it’s hard to get away from these extreme right wingers. A now departed friend of mine used to sign his e-mails as a “proud member of Hilary’s vast right wing conspiracy”. Listening to the Mayor and to Father Iggy, one would think it reached Drogheda with a vengeance, but I haven’t seen much evidence of it.

Father Ignatius O'Donovan OSA

Fr Iggy’s 15 minutes of fame was the Easter Sunday Mass in 2006 where he invited local Church of Ireland rector, Rev Michael Graham, to “concelebrate”. He told Patsy McGarry in The Irish Times that he miscalculated the consequences for all involved and the genuine hurt it caused

This is the event he is most closely identified with. Most of you will be aware Mary McAleese taking communion in Christchurch Cathedral shortly after her election.

There was an incident I was made aware of where a curate serving in a large Irish town administered communion at an Anglican service in 2004 which passed beneath the radar, but Father Iggy’s Mass in Drogheda was flagged by the media beforehand.

Needless to say, most Catholics don’t see the problem. Why would they? For over forty years, ecumenism has been presented as the highest virtue (especially in the context of the poor analysis that. Catechesis has been weak in the schools and the lines have been blurred to those Catholics of an older generation who know their faith. Priests are even confused. I recall the interviews given by Father Iggy not long after the Easter Sunday Mass in 2006 and he seemed to me to be at sea in regard to the distinctions between Catholic and Anglican belief on the Eucharist. When he talks about the genuine hurt, could he be referring to his Augustinian confreres Fathers Noel Hession and Richard Good who were presented with the concelebration as a fait accompli and had to share in the fallout.

Was Father Iggy aware that two German priests were suspended for distributing communion to Lutherans at the Katholikentag in Ulm in 2004? Probably not. Does he know anything about intercommunion between Catholics and Orthodox? He should, but I would be surprised if he did. I recall in the late 1980s, a delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church visited Ireland at the height of the Glasnost era. When they visited Maynooth, a deacon brought the chalice over to the Metropolitan of Odessa during Mass. The hierarch refused it, as was inappropriate for him to take communion from a Catholic minister. Catholics and Orthodox share an understanding on the Eucharist which neither hold in common with the Reformation Churches. This includes an understanding, rooted in the theology of St Augustine, that communion is a sign of unity. Even Martin Luther would have appreciated this.

Father John Hennebry is on the left above.

To return to the vast right wing conspiracy, the decision to transfer Father Iggy rests with his ordinary. This is the current Irish Augustinian provincial, Father John Hennebry. Father Hennebry is anything but a right winger. But no doubt some scapegoat will be found.

Research vs Opinion: Father Flannery makes political points on others' pain

Just glanced through this week's The Irish Catholic today and my eye fell on the front page headline 'No evidence' celibacy leads to abuse

The headline is taken from a quote from Professor Philip Jenkins who re-iterates what he has being saying for years based on his own extensive studies in the area: there is

no evidence whatever that Catholic or other celibate clergy are any more or less likely to be involved in misconduct or abuse than clergy of any other denomination - or indeed non-clergy or secular professionals dealing with children

This is from a specialist in history, criminology and religious studies, whose CV might be seen here and who has published a number of studies in the area.

Professor Philip Jenkins

Consider this is the light of one of Ireland's most vocal "silenced" priests, Rev Anthony Flannery CSsR (yes, it's Tony Flannery again), who seems to think

nobody within the official Church has looked at the deeper issues and seriously asked the question why so many priests and religious did these things, because it raises fundamental questions about the lifestyles of priests.

Can they say with any degree of definiteness that the fact that so many priests abused children is not connected to celibacy and clericalism and the whole style of life that a priest is forced to live today? I don't think they can and until such time as the Church authorities face up to that and seriously discuss it and investigate it, the problem will not go away.

Father Tony Flannery CSsR in the distinctive Redemptorist cassock

This may look ok to the naked eye, but Professor Jenkins would ask for

the evidence on which they base that opinion. "Everybody knows" does not constitute social scientific evidence.

In other words, Father Flannery may be throwing out a catchy sound byte, but he doesn't know what he's talking about. I've been down this road before. Father Flannery's confrere and fellow "silenced" priest, Father Gerard Moloney CSsR published an editorial in the Irish Redemptorist magazine Reality making the connexion between celibacy and child abuse, and also using the crisis to attack Benedict XVI's liturgical reform. I and a good number of other people wrote to Father Moloney about this and I enclosed a copy of an article I wrote on the topic in an earlier Brandsma Review based on research in the area. To be fair to Father Moloney, we received courteous replies. However, given the amount of research there is on paedophilia by clergy of all denominations and of secular professionals dealing with children and I will cite Philip Jenkins and Leon Podles as particular authorities who have studied several churches and several cultures over many years. Neither these nor any other scholar in this area I have read would back up Father Flannery's assertions. This is area is fraught with controversy. To take a look at the struggle a support group has in a different denominational context, visit the Awareness Center website.

As a parent, it pains me to say this, but the most significant factor in where paedophiles are found is easy access to children. As a Catholic it pains me to say the conduct of Catholic Church authorities in this regard across several countries and continents has been appalling and has done immense damage to the Church's mission. That this happens in other denominations is quite irrelevant as I expect more from what I believe to be the Church of Christ and from a priesthood I believe to be instituted by Christ Himself, which is an area Father Flannery has a problem with and which is why he has restrictions on his ministry. But to make, as many dissenting clergy do, a political point out of the pain of the victims and their families through unqualified linkage of paedophilia and celibacy adds to the pain. If he's not prepared to read up on the subject, he should close his mouth.

Neanderthal Politics

In the essays presented to Father Brendan Purcell, there is an account of evidence to suggest that politics was already a feature of society at the time of Neanderthal Man. Interesting.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources here in Ireland, Pat Rabbitte wishes to replace the television licence with a broadcasting charge, which everyone is liable to pay. When challenged that not everyone has a television and not all of these possess i-pads or i-phones, he said in characteristic arrogance that he doubted such cavemen existed in Ireland.

As a matter of fact, people who don't rely on television do exist in Ireland and given that they read and communicate more than your average TV addict, Mr Rabbitte was made look very silly in a series of letters on the topic in The Irish Times, a paper which is normally quite enthusiastic about the Labour Party. Wouldn't be the first time. That politicians break election promises is a given, but Mr Rabitte admitted that promises were made despite an awareness that they couldn't be kept.

But has the Minister ever read the Parable of the Cave in Plato's Republic? It is the chained cave dwellers that are compelled to watch the unreal images on the wall and they that laugh at those who see the real world and try to convince them otherwise. The correspondence reminds me of that and suggested one politician has yet to move beyond the Neanderthal stage.

Backlog on blog

I have not been active of late as I have been trying to correct the situation where the magazine was frequently late. At the moment, the September-October draft is with the printer; last year, I believe I sent it to the printer on some ridiculous date like 9 November. I am pretty hopeful that the November-December will be available in the first half of November; last year I had it out just in time for Christmas on 19 December (which given when the September-October appeared, was a real achievement). So, all the energy has gone into the hard copy magazine while the blog languished in neglect and the website disappeared. These are matters which will be addressed soon, or else the magazine will be neither early nor late as it will not appear at all.

July-August Brandsma Review

Courtesy of my friend Hibernicus on the Irish Catholics Forum http://irishcatholics.proboards.com/thread/722/brandsma-review
Contents summary for the July-August BRANDSMA
Peadar Laighléis' editorial requesting the ACPI to clarify their position on abortion - reproduced in the post above
The Editor's Desk discusses devotion to the Precious Blood (notes it was promoted by Bl.John XXIII), regrets that Nick Lowry is currently not writing for the BRANDSMA due to a disagreement, and asks for prayers for the soul of Marie Celine Morgan
Tom O'Gorman of the Iona Institute spells out the problems involved in the ongoing push to legalise same-sex marriage (both in its presentation of sex differences as illusory and in its implications for religious freedom) and appeals for more effective opposition to it.
Éanna Johnson contrasts Pope Francis' frequent references to the reality of the devil with the unsatisfactory treatment of devils and angels in the ALIVE-O religious education programme for schools, and describes the widespread ignorance and confusion on the subject of devils and angels produced by bad catechesis.
Part I of an article by Fr Aidan McGing CM criticising Darwinism (in the sense of natural selection being a purely random process without any inner teleology).
Monika Barget reviews some post-feminist German publications (by women authors) on the problems created for family life and the long-term wellbeing of society by the downgrading of marriage and family (by both feminists and laissez-faire capitalism).
Peadar Laighleis discusses the Russian Revolution as represented in contemporary Russian literature (with special emphasis on Bulgakov's THE MASTER AND MARGARITA) and notes a dark and destructive side which is often downplayed.
Hibernicus criticises Desmond Fennell's new book THIRD STROKE DID IT as simplistic and despairing in its analysis of Western civilisation or post-civilisation.
Fr Brendan Purcell offers a reflection on the Transfiguration through the life of the focolarina Fiore Ungaro.
Hibernicus offers some reflections on how pro-lifers are demonised by certain commentators, on the need to document the history of the Irish pro-life movement to give pro-lifers a clearer sense of what it has all been about (the pro-choicers are taking care to set down their own version of events for propaganda purposes) and how some poorly-chosen tactics play into the hands of those doing the demonising.
Letters; Eric Conway discusses a recent anti-Church rant from Senator John Crown, and Fr Anthony Scully dissects Herod Endipas's recent equivocations and weasel words concerning the PLP (i.e. abortion) Act.
Hurling Shots from the Ditch comments on the contributions (generally of the minus variety) made by various deputies and commentators during the abortion debates, including Herod Endipas's selective use of John F Kennedy's speech on the relationship between his political role and his Catholicism.

Sede Vacante

This is one of those rare occasions when the Seat of Peter is vacant; but this time it is diffent. The Pope is still alive and we are in a situation whose precedents go right back to the Middle Ages. Several popes abdicated in the First Millenium; only three universally recognised popes did so in the Second Millenium - none since the end of the Great Schism of the West. Now we begin the Third Millenium with a retirement.

Pope Benedict was steeped in patristics and took seriously not only faith, but the practices and disciplines of the Apostolic Age. In so many ways, he wished to point us in that direction. He would have seen the Petrine office in this way too; in a very different way, for example, from an historian with an elegant turn of phrase afforded column space in The Irish Times to entertain readers who presume they know everything. Benedict's principal legacy will be his writings. He would not want us to hold them up and revere them simply because he wrote them, but to study and absorb them. And to bring them into our spiritual life. And to allow this guide us in our action. We are all called to be evangelical and apostolic. St Francis said we much always preach and if necessary, to use words. But we all have different capacities. Pope Benedict has given us material to reflect upon. Let us pray for him in his retirement and that the Holy Ghost will choose a worthy successor. Or at least to shower multiple gifts on he whom the cardinals select.

January-February Issue

The January-February Brandsma Review is now out with Dr John Monaghan arguing that the abortion proposals will turn doctors into killers; David Manly telling us careless talk costs lives; Professor James Lothian lamenting four more years of Obama; David Manly dealing with Fr Tony Flannery's efforts to challenge Rome to make him a martyr; Mel Cormican elaborates on Youth Evangelisation; Nick Lowry does an obit for the late Fr George Duggan SM; and Peadar Laighléis gives a dummies guide to icons. Editorials cover Benedict XVI's resignation; Venerable Jerome Lejeune and the situation pro-lifers are in. Hurler on the ditch points out Patsy McGarry's lack of content on the history of the Catholic Church'es stand on abortion,the conflict between leader and chairman in the Labour party and more possible pro-lifers in Sinn Féin. Stramentarius posts another challenge to Fr Flannery and deals with the abortion problem from several angles.

WHY WE MUST NOT LOSE THE INITIATIVE

When I tookthe helm of the Review last year, I did not foresee how real the Pro Vita arm of the mast-head would become so quickly as I relive the immediate aftermath of the 1992 X Case. Standing in Merrion Square on January 19 brought the events of 21 years ago back to me sharply.

It has never been more dangerous for the Irish unborn than it has been in the past few months. The government, it appears, is about to legislate for abortion and is determined to do so quickly. Enda Kenny, who wishes to deflect the issue by protesting he is not King Herod, (handing a convenient nickname for himself to The Phoenix) does not seem to be aware of the dynamic of abortion worldwide. There is no such thing as limited abortion. Some jurisdictions can keep the lid on abortion for a short period of time following legislation (former West Germany could until unification),but none has done so indefinitely. No matter how narrow the framers of legislation assume the law will be, practice will inevitably broaden. David Steel did not envisage his 1967 bill in Britain leading to the abortion industry that exists on that island today. Bill Clinton’s sound-bite about abortion being “safe, legal and? rare” rings very hollow in our ears.

Some advocates of abortion in Ireland were surprised at the numbers at the Vigil for Life. That comes from paying too much attention to The Irish Times and RTÉ. According to Garda estimates, thirty thousand people gathered outside Government Buildings on a cold Saturday afternoon. Some came from great distances. I briefly talked to an old friend who is now a Derry diocesan priest and I heard accents from every county in Ireland. The speakers were impressive and I am happy to include David Manly’s address in this issue. I found those there, young and old, clergy and laity, came away energised and the political and media establishment took notice.

Pro-lifers must not rest on their laurels. If abortion becomes legal in the next six months, this rally will seem like an exercise in futility. It is important to keep up the pressure. If a greater rally can be organised in more clement weather, this should be done. Meanwhile, all sources must be tapped. Much has been said about lobbying Fine Gael and reminding them of their unequivocal commitment not to legislate for abortion prior to the last election. It is also important to lobby the main opposition party. Fianna Fáil are happy to sit on the fence on this one, and party health spokesman Billy Kelleher (Cork North-Central) has used the word “consensus”. From a pro-life point of view, it is crucial that the 19 Fianna Fáil deputies and 14 senators oppose any proposed legislation. If they do, they will put Fine Gael under a great deal of pressure and make life very uncomfortable for the wavering Fine Gael TDs. If I believe The Phoenix, it will also cause difficulties for Sinn Féin who are far from unanimous on the issue. We cannot leave a single stone unturned, no matter how distasteful approaching some politicians may be. Meath East is a good constituency to start as it is facing a by-election in the near future.

It is also necessary to co-opt any allies to our side. The only criticism I have of the two vigils was that both were Catholic affairs. There are many pro-lifers in other denominations: Protestants, particularly of the evangelical variety, Orthodox in growing numbers, Moslems, and even people of no faith. Ian Paisley is reputed to have once said he would walk arm-in-arm with the Pope to oppose abortion. Whether this is true or false is immaterial; this is the spirit we must adopt at present. I also imagine there must be many opponents of abortion among our immigrant communities: the Filipinos, Poles, Lithuanians and Slovaks among us include many strong Catholics, and a lot of our Africans are either Catholic or evangelical. To involve these groups will deflate the caricatures commonly used against pro-lifers.

Aside from that, it is essential to maintain the tremendous pro-life unity which has been built up this time and to find other ways of perpetuating the spirit which existed in Merrion Square in January for as long as this threat lasts. The future starts here.

Peadar Laighléis

Sting of a dying wasp - Enda Kenny, former Official Sinn Féin and the push for X-case legislation

In 1994, a parliamentary question was put to the then Minister for Justice, Mrs Máire Geoghegan Quinn (Galway West, Fianna Fáil) about the existence of the Official IRA. The minister answered that An Garda Síochána were satisfied they did exist. The deputy who asked the question was the then Fine Gael front bencher, Enda Kenny (Mayo West).

In recent weeks, The Irish Times highlighted correspondence unearthed in Berlin between the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Ireland, Seán Garland, and the East German government. Mr Garland was looking for financial support for his party and he made clear in the letters what his fellow party members were consistently denying at the time. That the Official IRA not only existed, but contributed to the Workers' Party.

I recall this time very well. Workers' Party spokesmen hypocritically condemned the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin while denying their own paramilitary wing existed. Those who questioned this were treated as cranks. Few journalists made a point of highlighting reports of continued Official IRA activity. Vincent Browne was one of the very few who did so (at great personal risk) and he is also one of the few journalists to ask about the relationship of two of Mr Kenny's cabinet appointees to this body.

Many members of the Workers' Party did not have a clear picture of what the Official IRA were up to in the 1980s. It is hard to credit that this was true of serving Workers' Party T.D.s such as Pat Rabitte and Éamon Gilmore (both of whom had been activists in the Party since the days it was known as Official Sinn Féin), but this may have been the case. What these two men were not blind to was their party's relationship with totalitarian regimes behind the Iron Curtain and elsewhere. This is altogether a more serious issue than the Official IRA and raises questions about the ministers' views on human rights.
Civil war within while face massacre without
At present, the Labour Party is facing an electoral massacre and behind the scenes there appears to be a battle royal between Old Labour types and ex-Democratic Left members. The principal target of the former Democratic Left grouping's anger is the Labour Party chairman, Colm Keaveney (Galway East). Deputy Keaveney has already challenged the leadership consensus on a few issues. One of the most noticeable was the closure of the Irish Embassy to the Holy See.

At the time of the last general election, Labour made all sorts of promises about keeping the public sector intact. The Labour Party leader, Deputy Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour, before that Democratic Left, before that the Workers' Party, before that Sinn Féin the Workers' Party, before that Official Sinn Féin) became Minister for Foreign Affairs. The department gave him proposals to save money by cutting back on staff in the various Irish legations overseas. This plan did not involve closing any embassys or consulates. The department is aware that when diplomatic missions are closed, there are significant costs in re-opening them. The new minister came up with his own plan, which involved closing three embassys – the Holy See, Iran and Timor Leste. There was no trade function connected to the Holy See, he said. If trade was the only reason, there was no reason to close the Iranian embassy given the very favourable trade balance between Ireland and Iran. There are many reasons to keep all three embassys open: as long as the Church maintains its presence in education and healthcare in Ireland, the state requires a mission to the Holy See; that most of us have no great sympathy for the current regime in Iran is a very good argument for maintaining an embassy there; and what sort of message regarding human rights does closing the Timor Leste embassy send out?

The announcement regarding the Holy See embassy was preceded by Mr Kenny's infamous “elitist, narcissistic and dysfunctional” speech about the Vatican. This was not a Labour Party initiative and if Deputy Kenny sings about praise he received from many parish priests, God help them, he had no answer for the detailed rebuttal of the speech by the Holy See. One wonders if it was the Association of Catholic Priests that drives policy here? Be that as it may, the government were forced to back-track on the embassy issue and are now pleading economic circumstances to get the Vatican allow them open an office for the Embassy to the Holy See separate from the Embassy to Italy in the Villa Spada complex. Hard to be sympathetic to people who shot themselves in the foot.

There is no doubt that the government are facing serious challenges on the economic front and that difficult decisions have to be taken. Both Fine Gael and Labour should have been aware of that prior to the 2011 General Election when they made promises they knew they could not keep. The two parties also made promises which could not be mutually accomodated in a programme for government. In the situation Education Minister Ruairí Quinn (Dublin South-East) finds himself, he cynically masks the wholesale cuts he is making in services by cheerleading the voices for secularism in education, going back on some of the reasonable comments he made on the rights of Catholic parents while in opposition. Mr Quinn, of course, was in Labour all along. But one does suspect someone who was a Vladimir Illyich Lenin lookalike in his younger years. Seriously though, some of Deputy Quinn's rants would not be too foreign to the Orange thugs who chased his father and uncle out of Newry in the 1920s.
Sting of a dying wasp
As Labour's support collapses in the polls, civil war continues within the party . Deputy Gilmore did consider expelling Deputy Keaveney from the party, but has apparently dropped the plan. It makes little difference. Labour had the opportunity of being the main opposition party last year with a good chance of leading government after the next election. Fortunately for the rest of us, they were too greedy. They wanted cabinet seats immediately. Which leaves us with another problem. The sting of a dying wasp is very dangerous.

Labour have swallowed the climate of cut backs which Fine Gael have demanded (though it is true that on their own, Fine Gael would have devestated the public sector). There has to be a quid pro quo in the matter. In this regard, the horrid spectre of abortion has raised its head. Labour has a policy, not shared by everyone in the party, of legislating for the X-case; Fine Gael gave a pretty unequivocal commitment not to. I gather the wording was that of the present Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny) who was Fine Gael's Director of Elections at the time.

After the election, Fine Gael already backtracked by setting up an expert group with a clear pro-abortion bias rather than the promised all party Oireachtas committee. Then the Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly (Dublin North) announced six governments had failed to legislate for the X case, and this would not be the seventh to do so. This in itself was not a problem. The issues were somewhat obscured by the so-called Children's Rights Referendum which registered a low turnout and low margin after a campaign in which the government was found to be in breach of the law. The referendum took place a couple of days after Barack Obama won a second term in the White House. Then the Savita Halappanavar case hit the headlines. One has every sympathy for Mrs Halappanavar, her widower and their family, but abortion is a red herring in the case. The woman was suffering from septicaemia and E-coli at the time of her death and an abortion would not have made any difference. However, an impression was created which gave the government an opportunity to move quickly on the matter.
Whip your people into line
There are Fine Gael deputies with misgivings about X-case legislation. In this case the problem appears to be a commitment given by Enda Kenny to the Labour Party on the matter. We all know how much Deputy Kenny's promises are worth, but this is exceptional. The Labour T.D. Anne Ferris (Wicklow) foolishly went on radio to say Deputy Gilmore told Mr Kenny that he had to whip his people into line on the matter. This should be something to make any committed Fine Gael member writhe in anger, but this does not appear to have happened. What is wrong with a party which was overbrimming with confidence at the time of the last election, especially when the threats are coming from another party that is facing electoral oblivion in the polls and are in no position to make demands about anything.

Abortion is the most obnoxious of a basket of issues which the former Irish cheerleaders of the Stasi and KGB want. Fine Gael are showing themselves to have no backbone in the matter. Both deserve the wrath of the electorate, but I rather fear the larger party in government will survive with a slap on the wrist. Which means had Enda Kenny any guts, he could refuse Labour's demands and call their bluff. But it seems he has more courage towards his own backbenchers than with the Labour Party, led as it is by members of the former Official Sinn Féin.

Miner, Journalist, Martyr: Blessed Nikolaus Gross

MINER, JOURNALIST, MARTYR: BLESSED NIKOLAUS GROSS By PEADAR LAIGHLÉIS Oboedire oportet Deo magis quam hominibus. (Acts V, 29) I WAS RECENTLY in Frankfurt Airport and called into Terminal 1’s Orthodox Chapel. I saw one icon of a young man wearing a white medical coat over a grey Wehrmacht uniform, holding a white rose in his hand. This is St Alexander Schmorell, the German Russian Orthodox member of the White Rose resistance group who was canonised as a martyr by the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad on February 5, 2012. I asked myself how likely was it for the Catholic White Rose members, Willi Graf, Christoph Probst and Dr Kurt Huber, to find their causes advanced for sainthood. For the same reason, one might ask the same of the Catholics involved in the July 20 conspiracy, such as Colonel Claus Schenk Count von Stauffenberg. However, the Church is extremely prudent about whom she venerates as martyrs among political activists and conspirators, even among those who oppose a regime as evil as the Third Reich. For all that, many Germans and other Europeans have been beatified and even canonised for their stand against National Socialism. Most are familiar with Ss Maximilian Kolbe and Edith Stein. Our last issue had my predecessor outline the martyrdom of Blessed Titus Brandsma, the Dutch Carmelite academic and journalist for whom this Review is named. In early issues, Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, the Austrian conscientious objector was described in these pages. Blessed Titus and Blessed Franz present contrasts among the vast gallery of ordinary Catholics—clergy, religious and laity—who opposed Hitler. One was a university rector who was close enough to the Dutch Bishops to have an input into the drafting of the Bishops’ pastoral letter on Nazi racial policies. The other was a married Franciscan tertiary, a peasant with little education and a wild background who served as a church sacristan. Blessed Franz opposed the Anschluss in 1938 and was guillotined for refusing to serve in the Wehrmacht as a combatant. Blessed Franz was born in Sankt Radegund, close to Hitler’s birthplace in Braunau am Inn and not distant from Pope Benedict XVI’s birthplace in Marktl on the other side of the border. Nikolaus Groß (given in English as Gross) is less well known. Nikolaus was born in Niederwenigen (now Hattigen) near Essen (Diocese of Essen) in the Ruhr District on September 30, 1898. His father was a miner. Nikolaus attended the local Catholic primary school between 1905 and 1912 and then went to work in the mines himself, spending five years underground. He used his limited spare time to study and in 1917, he joined the Gewerkverein Christlicher Bergarbeiter (Christian Miners’ Union). In 1918, he became a member of the Centre Party. The following year, he entered the Antonius Knappenverein (St Anthony Miners’ Association). At the age of 22, he was youth secretary for the Christian Miners’ Union, soon after he was assistant editor of Bergknappe (“The Miner”). His organisation work as a trade unionist brought him as far as Silesia. He married Elisabeth Koch, who was also a native of Niederwenigen and together, they had seven children. One of his greatest concerns was the education and religious formation of his family, something he described in a pamphlet Sieben um einen Tisch (“Seven around one Table”). Moral dimension At the beginning of 1927, he became assistant editor of the Westdeutschen Arbeiterzeitung (“Western German Workers’ Paper”), the publication of the Katholishen Arbeiter-Bewegung (KAB or Catholic Workers’ Movement). Soon afterward, he became editor-in-chief. He saw his duty to give Catholic workers guidance regarding society and the world of work, but it became clearer to him that political and social questions involved a moral dimension and demanded a spiritual contribution. In this, he followed the ideas of the 19th Century Bishop of Mainz, Wilhelm Emmanuel Baron von Ketteler (1811-77). Ketteler, known as the “Workers’ Bishop”, believed that reform of society must be preceded by reform of attitude. In Nikolaus Groß’ own day, Ketteler’s grand nephew was Blessed Clemens August Cardinal Count von Galen, Bishop of Münster. From 1929, Nikolaus Groß was based in Ketteler House in Cologne and he already formed a clear opinion of the rising National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Since 1927, he had co-operated closely with figures such as Mgr Otto Müller, Bernhard Letterhaus and Jakob Kaiser, who would become leading figures in the resistance movement many years later. Groß saw Nazism as political immaturity and absence of discernment. He believed the success of the Nazis to be a temporary glitch that would fail as soon as Germany returned to normal politics. He showed this by pointing to the lack of ideas emanating from the National Socialists and the refusal of Hitler to answer questions of policy while pursuing unlimited power. Groß supported Heinrich Brünning’s (Chancellor 1930-32; Centre Party) policy of attempting to integrate the Nazis into political and constitutional office in the hope of diluting their ideological edge. It is only in retrospect, we see this to have been illusory. For all that, Groß opposed Nazism. He identified with the left of the Centre Party (still present in the post-war CDU/CSU). Pointing out the developing relationship between Hitler and the industrialists while the former was appealing to the working class, he said: “This is a pretty division of power: the National Socialists dominate politics, the entrepreneurs the economy. The worker is a carrier donkey for both.” On the incompatibility of Nazism and Catholicism, he wrote: “We reject National Socialism as Catholic workers, not only on political and economic grounds, but decisively and resolutely on our religious and cultural position.” He had already described the Nazi Party as the “Mortal enemy of the present State”, so it is not very surprising that Robert Ley, leader of the Deutschen Arbeiterfront (German Workers’ Front) described the Westdeutsche Arbeiterzeitung as hostile to the state after 1933. Obey God more than men After the Concordat between the Reich and the Catholic Church in 1933, the Westdeutsche Arbeiterzeitung was renamed Kettelerwacht at the urging of Bishop Berning of Osnabrück. Nikolaus Groß had to adapt to the new regime and attempt to write between the lines following a three-week ban on the newspaper. His first priority as a trade unionist and journalist was to maintain the Church’s autonomy. The newspaper was permanently banned in November 1938. The reason seems to have been an understated comparison between National Socialism and Bolshevism: It cannot be said of either world view with the same right that the life of mankind was worthy to be lived and meaningful to the end if everyone would follow it. From then on, Groß had to work through producing pamphlets and speaking personally in attempt to immunise his readers against Nazism. Nikolaus Groß was no orator; he had had to work very hard to obtain the learning he had. However, circumstances transformed him into a persuasive speaker. Henceforth, he was part of the growing resistance to Hitler within Germany, on the simple conviction that one must obey God more than men. Active resistance Mgr Otto Müller, Bernhard Letterhaus and Nikolaus Groß formed the leadership of the Cologne Circle, a network of Catholic opponents of Nazism in the Rhineland and Westphalia. The group had been evolving towards active resistance for some time. Groß established contact with the more extensive Kreisau Circle through the academic Father Alfred Delp SJ. More importantly, links were forged with the Berlin resistance group around Carl Goerdeler. Though there were differences between the Kreisau and Berlin circles, at this point the Cologne Circle were integrated into a comprehensive web of German opposition that ran from Protestant and Catholic conservatives, aristocrats, the military, liberals, trade unionists, social democrats and communists. Members of the various groups took risks to perform dozens of functions to enable to the network to continue to exist. From 1940, Nikolaus Groß experienced arrests, interrogations and house searches. He made every effort to continue his work. He wrote two pamphlets, “Is Germany Lost?” and “The Great Tasks”, which ultimately fell into the hands of the Gestapo. The conscription of Letterhaus increased Groß’ work in Düssseldorf but also meant that the Cologne Circle had regular contact with Goerdeler. Groß spent this time considering his position and the relationship between his faith and the political milieu. In 1943 he put together his personal Profession of Faith. To select a quote: “If it is demanded of us to do something which goes against God or the Faith, not only may we, but we must refuse this obedience. For God’s Law always stands higher than man’s law.” The next question was whether it could at times permissible to take active steps to subvert the authority of the regime. Church on trial for treason The day before the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944, Mgr Caspar Schulte of the Paderborn Diocese spoke with Groß, saying “Herr Groß, remember that you have seven children. I have no family for which I am responsible. It’s a matter of your life.” Groß answered: “If we do not risk our lives today, how then do we want one day to justify ourselves before God and our people?” Nikolaus Groß was arrested on August 12, 1944, and imprisoned in Berlin. His wife visited him twice and saw signs of torture on his hands and arms. His letters from prison to his wife and children request their prayers but also show one who was himself in constant prayer. On January 15, 1945, he was sentenced to death by Roland Freisler, President of the People’s Court, with the words: “He swam in treason and now he must drown”. Freisler’s trials of Groß, Mgr Müller, Father Delp and other representatives of the Kreisau Circle was an attempt to convict the Church herself of treason. He was executed on 23 January 1945, following which he was cremated and his ashes were scattered over a sewage farm. One may reject the notion of tyrannocide if one imagines John Wilkes Booth hovering over Abraham Lincoln in Ford Theatre in Washington in 1865 and crying “Sic semper tyrannis”. The July 20 plot was altogether different. It was a conspiracy to displace one of the most evil tyrants ever to take power in world history. Many hundreds of considerate and thoughtful people came to this conclusion and prepared for a coup d’état to replace the entire government of the Third Reich. When Count von Stauffenberg placed the brief case under the table in the Wolf’s Lair, it was to signal a provisional government led by Carl Goerdeler as acting Chancellor which would seek to end the war. Perhaps the traditional criteria of the just war might apply: Were all other options exhausted? Certainly. Was there reasonable chance of success? Yes. Would bloodshed be at a minimum? Had the conspirators succeeded, this would have been the case. The question remains how the Church will evaluate this type of reasoning, however complex it may have been. Nikolaus Groß had no part in the planning or the execution of the assassination attempt, but played a role creating the network that was to enable a new civil and military administration to come to power in Germany following an assassination. As to whether he was right or wrong in the circumstances, the Church herself passed judgement on October 7, 2001 when Pope John Paul II beatified Nikolaus Groß. His feast is kept on January 23. Ora pro nobis.