Tag Archives: Catholic

Best of the Blog, 2013

This is my first annual “Best of the Blog,” a look at some of the most important news stories, historical anniversaries and personal favorite posts of the past year. I am not numbering the list to avoid the appearance of rank. Most links are to my original posts.

Enjoy, and Happy New Year:

  • The most significant personal milestone of the year was the centennial of my grandfather’s May 1913 emigration from County Kerry. I detailed Willie Diggin’s trip in a series of posts and recently published book, “His Last Trip: An Irish-American Story.”
  • The year 2013 marked the 150th anniversary of the Irish Brigades fighting in the Battle of Gettysburg and Irish-Catholic anti-conscription riots in New York City. It was the 100th anniversary of the Dublin labor lockout and the formation of the Irish Volunteers.
  • Ireland also noted the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s return to his ancestral homeland in June 1963. November marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of America’s first Irish-Catholic president.
  • Ireland liberalized its abortion laws in 2013 after a contentious debate with the Catholic Church, including a controversial appearance at the Boston College commencement by Irish PM Enda Kenny. Kenny won the abortion battle, but his effort to abolish the Seanad Éireann was defeated in a nationwide referendum.
  • The Irish community in Boston was in the news with the trial and conviction of mobster James “Whitey” Bulger, and the election of new mayor Martin J. Walsh.
  • The Irish Independent obtained recorded telephone conversations between former Anglo Irish Bank executives that revealed the depth of deception leading up to a government bailout of the failed financial institution. The Irish banking scandal and property bust reached all the way to Tampa, where I have covered problems with a retail and entertainment complex called Channelside Bay Plaza.
  • The Gathering Ireland 2013 focused on increasing visitors to their ancestral homeland. Project officials said it delivered more than a quarter million overseas tourists as of Dec. 23.
  • RIP: The passing of Seamus Heaney, 1939-2013, was probably the most significant death in Ireland during the year. Watch New York Times video tribute. The death of Margaret Thatcher also caused quite a stir on the island, though hardly as affectionate.
  • U.S. President Barack Obama and other global leaders attended the G8 Summit at County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, something that would have been unthinkable a generation ago. Nevertheless, as the year ended, U.S. envoy Dr. Richard Haass and Northern Ireland political leaders were still trying to finalize on agreement to solve ongoing problems with flags, parades and the past.
  • The past year was the 125th anniversary of the murder of Kerry farmer John Foran, a victim of the agrarian violence so widespread across Ireland in general and Kerry in particular during the last quarter of the 19th century. I look forward to doing more research and writing about this episode and the period in the new year.
This image of Kerry was used to illustrate a New York Times story headlined "Lost In Ireland. I've had it posted at my desk since it was published in October 2010. In 2014, I'll be moving to Washington, D.C. and look forward to seeing what's beyond the hill.

This image of rural road in Kerry illustrated a New York Times story headlined “Lost In Ireland. It was published in October 2010. I’ve kept the picture posted at my work desk ever sense. In 2014 I’ll be moving to Washington, D.C. and look forward to seeing what’s beyond the hill.

Old St. Patrick Church, Pittsburgh

I wrote the post below for the ‘Everyday Soul’ blog of the Franciscan Center in Tampa, Fla. I was on the board of directors when it was published March 17, 2011. The images are from the original 2013 post on this site. MH

This image of the courtyard outside Old St. Patrick’s Church in Pittsburgh is from 2013. A new statue was installed in 2018. See images.

Visiting Sacred Places: Old St. Patrick’s Church

The admonition to “Preach the Gospel at all time; use words when necessary,” is generally attributed to St. Francis, though there is some dispute about this among scholars, which I will not tackle here.

Rather, I want to urge a variation on the theme: “Visit sacred places often; go there when necessary.”

I’m flying home to Pittsburgh on St. Patrick’s Day to visit my family. I hope to wander off on my own for a quick visit to one of my favorite places for spiritual renewal.

Old St. Patrick’s Church, founded in 1808, is the city’s oldest parish. Read about the church’s colorful history, including a priest who ran for president during the Great Depression.

I discovered Old St. Patrick’s in the mid-1970s. I don’t remember how I came to wander through the opening in the red brick, ivy-covered walls of the Monastery Gardens fronting the church. I found an oasis in the middle of city ward packed with produce warehouses and slashed by railroad sidings.

The garden is divided into lush, grassy quadrants shaded by trees and dotted with evergreens and seasonal flowers. A statue of Ireland’s great patron saint commands the center of the garden from a stone pedestal. The surrounding brick walls contain the Stations of the Cross. In a corner near the front door is a grotto modeled after Lourdes.

It is amazing how quiet and peaceful the garden is in the middle of busy industrial and commercial district.

Inside the church is a replica of the Holy Stairs, which represent the 28 steps between Christ and Pilate in the Passion. They are meant to be ascended prayerfully on one’s knees, a devotional exercise I’ve done on several occasions, though not with every visit.

Replica of the Holy Stairs. “Ascend on knees only.”

The second floor church and sanctuary (reached from side stairs) now hosts only a mid-day Mass twice a week, the neighborhood that once surrounded the church having long since moved away. It is more like a chapel than a church.

It is a joy to partake of the Eucharist with others in this intimate setting, though I am just as grateful for the times I visited alone. This is a place where you just have to light a votive candle. Inside or out, the purpose of the visit is prayer and reflection.

I don’t get to visit Old St. Patrick’s every trip to Pittsburgh, but I put myself there frequently during my meditative time. The church door and garden gate are never locked.

We work and pray to make the Franciscan Center in Tampa “an environment of peace, simplicity and hospitality for all those seeking spiritual renewal.” We invite you to come away and rest awhile.

And Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Note the green sanctuary lamp (they are usually red) top left and the small harp on left side of the tabernacle.

Moore Street, partition demographics and abortion updates

Last October I wrote about efforts to block the redevelopment of Dublin’s historic Moore Street, scene of the rebels last stand in the 1916 Rising.

Happy to report that not only are the buildings being saved, but they will be repaired and conserved, the Irish Independent reports.

*** 

In May I wrote about the “People’s Referendum” that showed support for ending partition and noted a Facebook page for “Protestants for a United Ireland.”

Gerry Moriarty of The Irish Times filed this very interesting piece about “The Catholic unionists.”

Many nationalists – and quite a number of unionists – dismiss the notion of Catholic unionists. “They are like unicorns,” is an often-repeated line. “They don’t exist.” But though they are small in number, they are not mythical creatures, and they could have a role in determining the constitutional future of Northern Ireland.

***

I’ve written about Ireland’s abortion bill several times over the summer, most recently this July 11 post that compared and contrasted legislative debates in Ireland and Texas.

Nine days after I posted the blog, columnist Roth Douthat filed this column in The New York Times. I am not accusing him of copying me, only pointing out that somebody else was drawn by the coincidence.

Pro-life supporters rally in Dublin, Washington, D.C.

Pro-life campaigners rallied over the weekend in Dublin and Washington, D.C. against the Irish government’s proposal to change the nation’s restrictive abortion law.

Estimates of the Merrion Square crowd range from at least 20,000 to more than 40,000. About two-dozen people gathered outside the Irish embassy in the U.S. capitol.

In Ireland, spokesperson Caroline Simmons of the Pro Life Campaign said:

The turnout today shows that the middle ground of Irish opinion is increasingly concerned about the Government’s abortion legislation. There are people here who never attended a pro-life event before. The message is getting through that this legislation is not restrictive or about saving women and children’s lives, despite the repeated claims by the Taoiseach and his Government.

picture of crowd vigil(1)

June 9 rally in Dublin. Image from Pro Life Campaign

At the core of the debate is when to allow exceptions to Ireland’s restrictive abortion law to save the life of the mother. The issue flared last fall when a woman having a miscarriage died for lack of the procedure. The government’s bill is perhaps most controversial because it allows for abortion when the woman says she is suicidal.

The government’s vote is expected later this month or July. Prime minister Enda Kenny has said he will not allow ministers of his Fine Gael government a “free vote” outside the party voting block, putting him further at odds with Catholic church leaders.