Tuesday 21 August 2018

Back after a long silence!

It is impossible to come up with a good excuse for not attending to the blog since May this year! Mea culpa! I like writing the blog and some most kind people recently brought to my attention that I had gone silent and no words were to be found. Thanks to those for their interest and encouragement.

A lot has happened since May. At this moment I am thinking of the many people in Kerala, India, who have died in the worst rainfall for a century. May those who died, rest in peace. Many others have lost everything and must start all over again. At Masses this past weekend, prayers were offered for the people who have died and suffered. A man from India came along after Mass to express thanks for St Joseph's community remembering his people. The collapse of the bridge across the beautiful city of Genoa, was an appalling tragedy. Having lived in the '90's in Italy, I know Genoa well and love the beauty of Italy. May those who lost their lives in this tragedy rest in peace.

Our church is going through a time of learning more horrific details about what has happened to God's special ones - children - by sexual abuse by priests and consecrated people who not only broke the law of love but also broke the law by these crimes. It is my hope to come back to this tragedy soon again and perhaps by this blog we could examine together how we might be able to say and most of all, do something. At present, words are weak. Strong action is long overdue and more needed than ever.

This weekend, Pope Francis arrives in Ireland for the World Meeting of Families in Dublin and to visit the Shrine of Our Lady in Knock. The pain of many people who have suffered at the hands of priests and religious in Ireland must be part of this visit. The Pope can't change the past. He must continue to give guarantees about the conduct of clergy and religious for the future. I hope that I can find something more to say on this in the near future.

It had been my hope to be in Dublin this weekend for the visit of Pope Francis.
However, since last week I am the only Passionist assigned to St Joseph's, Paris. It is my hope that the Passionist superiors will be able to send at least one other Passionist to join me here. There are priests, both in Ireland and here in Paris, who are always willing to help out when an urgent need arises. I have written my thoughts on this and if you wish to read my reflection, you may wish to follow the link www.stjoeparis.org 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

If you read this far - thank you for your perseverance! Hope to be back with you soon. AT

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