Archbishops’ prayers for family of murdered Garda; Meath electoral college meets today; Cork events; Media review – Peace walls should ‘come down by 2022’; President urges children not to engage in bullying; Irish foreign aid squandered; Calls for Ireland to (finally) outlaw corporal punishment in the home
Archbishops’ prayers for family of murdered Garda
The Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke, Archbishop of Armagh said –
‘In the aftermath of the brutal murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe last night in Bellurgan our first thoughts must be with his wife Caroline and his family. Those of us of religious faith will hold them in our prayers.
‘The callous taking of any human life is a vicious insult against humanity and against the God who gives us life. In addition, the murder of a servant of society in pursuit of his or her duties is an assault on society itself and each one of us. Let us never become indifferent to the reality that we have all been attacked by this deed.
‘My colleague, Archbishop Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin, joins with me in expressing on behalf of the whole Church of Ireland our absolute censure of this action and our sincere sympathy to Detective Garda Donohoe’s family.’
BBC – Prayers were said at Masses in Ireland for a detective shot dead in an attempted robbery near Dundalk in County Louth. More at –
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21220635
Meath electoral college meets today
The Electoral College to elect a new Bishop of Meath and Kildare in succession to Dr Richard Clarke, who has been translated to Armagh, will be held in the Chapter Room of Christ Church cathedral, Dublin. The Electoral College will meet at noon and will be preceded by a celebration of the Eucharist at 11am.
Cork events
On Saturday in Clonakilty, the Bishop of Clork, Cloyne & Ross, the Rt Revd Paul Colton, presented certificates to those who had completed the Cork Diocesan Youth Council’s Leaders in Training Course, and yesterday (Sunday) he was in St Colman’s cathedral, Cobh, for the ordination to the episcopate of the new Roman Catholic Bishop of Cloyne, Canon William Crean. Yesterday morning RTE Radio broadcast ‘Finding God in Unexpected Places; a Service of Reflection for the End of Epiphanytide’ from Cork University Hospital, led by the Revd Daniel Nuzum, the hospital’s chaplain, and Ms Tara Kavanagh.
Media review
Walls should ‘come down by 2022’
BBC – Belfast’s peace walls should be brought down by 2022, a draft report on developing a new community relations strategy says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21187673
President urges children not to engage in bullying
Examiner – The President, Michael D Higgins, has urged young people not to get involved in cyberbullying or ganging up on vulnerable classmates.
He said he has been encouraged by the responses of young children as he appeals to them on the issue in visits to schools.
“I have been speaking of the importance of ensuring that no child is ever pushed to the margin, or the collective used against a child suffering from deep, deep loneliness,” he said.
“New and sophisticated technology is now available and competes for pupils’ attention and may assist them, but has also led to the increased current danger of deeper and more far reaching bullying of vulnerable children,” he said.
The President told the Irish Primary Principals’ Network annual conference a proper aim of education and a true measure of a country is being able to value its shared health, and have the mental wellbeing of its citizens — and particularly its smallest ones — as its concern.
He was greatly concerned by the IPPN survey finding, featured in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, that one in five principals are reporting that more pupils are arriving at school hungry. More at –
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/president-urges-children-not-to-engage-in-bullying-220745.html
Irish foreign aid squandered by the pool
Independent – At home, the taxpayer faces cuts and hospital waiting lists while aid funds are spent on €1,312 flagpole
Some of Ireland’s €623m in foreign aid to poorer countries has been squandered on chauffeur uniforms, swimming pool maintenance, a witness protection project, expensive cutlery, New Zealand wine and a flagpole that cost €1,312, the Sunday Independent can reveal.
With an economic situation so dire that some elderly people go to bed in the afternoon to save on heating bills or families survive on nothing but cornflakes for days, the money given by taxpayers to developing countries in Africa and Asia has come under increased scrutiny. The waste of Irish money on swimming pools or lavish VIP lounges is certain to cause fury among hard-pressed workers – especially as more than 1.59 million people here are left with less than €50 per month after paying their bills.
Documents obtained by the Sunday Independent under the Freedom of Information Act detail spending on goods and services above €500 per item by Eamon Gilmore’s Department of Foreign Affairs’ Irish Aid organisation in 2012. The funds are designed to improve the lives of poor people in developing countries but have also been spent on paintballing and expensive cutlery.
The taxpayer spent €517.15 to replace a “swimming pool pump” for the ambassador’s residence in Uganda in the sticky hot days of October last year. Swimming pool maintenance in Zambia, saw Omali swimming pools paid €1,353 between January and June last year. Last February, €1,312 in Irish aid was used to pay for a “flag pole replacement” in Uganda. That’s the equivalent of the annual household charge for four homes under Michael Noonan’s hated new tax grab.
More at –
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/foreign-aid-squandered-by-the-pool-3367774.html
Calls for Ireland to (finally) outlaw corporal punishment in the home
Journal.ie – Corporal punishment was banned in schools in 1982 but is still legal in homes – despite repeated calls for it to be stopped.
http://www.thejournal.ie/corporal-punishment-ireland-764931-Jan2013/