Christian Character the focus for St Patrick’s Day Celebrations; Survivors of Protestant care homes ‘left in limbo’; PhD for Former Connor Training Co–ordinator; Media review – Israeli Ambassador ‘torn over Israel flags in NI’; Call on Brady not to attend conclave; Catholic priests should be able to marry – NI born British cardinal; Cardinal ‘accused over behaviour’; Abuse inquiry to focus on 35 NI residential facilities
Christian Character the focus for St Patrick’s Day Celebrations
Pilgrims are warmly invited to The Diocese of Down and Dromore’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations on Monday 18 March at Down Cathedral and Saul.
The speaker at the Festival Service is Bishop Ken Clarke and the theme is ‘Character’ with a special emphasis on uniformed organisations. Bishop Ken has recently taken up the role of SAMS Mission Director after serving as Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh for almost 12 years.
Bishop Harold Miller will welcome Jasper Rutherford as the speaker at Saul. Jasper served in the diocese as youth ministry coordinator in Willowfield Parish before leaving for England to train with Church Army. He has returned to the new post of Outreach and Development Officer among young people and young adults in Ireland, working for both Summer Madness and Church Army.
The annual St Patrick’s Day event gathers hundreds of visitors, from Ireland and abroad. It begins at 9.15am with a service of Holy Communion at Saul Church, followed by a pilgrimage walk to Down Cathedral. The pilgrims are greeted at the bottom of the Mall then piped to the Cathedral doors and into the Festival Service at 11.45am. After the service, a wreath is laid at St Patrick’s grave by local clergy of all denominations before lunch is served to invited guests in the Cathedral grounds.
Please note the date of this year’s celebrations as 18 March.
Programme
• 9.15 am Holy Communion at Saul
• Preacher: Jasper Rutherford (Outreach and Development Officer Church Army/Summer Madness)
• 10.15 am Pilgrimage from Saul to Downpatrick
• 11.45 am Festival Service in Down Cathedral
• Preacher: Bishop Ken Clarke (Mission Director SAMS)
• Wreath laying ceremony at St Patrick’s Grave
• 1.00 pm Irish stew lunch in the marquee
Transport to Saul
Please park along the Mall leading to the Cathedral in Downpatrick and board one of the private buses.Buses to the communion service depart between 8.30 and 9.00 am. The last bus for the 35 minute pilgrimage leaves at 10.00 am.
Survivors of Protestant care homes ‘left in limbo’
News Letter – A Northern Ireland-based group is seeking “justice” for former “inmates” of the controversial Bethany mother-and-baby home in Dublin and the children’s Westbank home in nearby Co Wicklow – both run by Protestant churches from the Province.
In the light of this week’s state apology by Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny over the “slave labour” Magdalene laundries, and the establishment of the child abuse inquiry in Northern Ireland aimed at 15 children’s homes, the Bethany and Westbank campaigners are intensifying their two-pronged attack on the authorities.
Richhill man Sidney Herdman, 48, has a foot in both camps – he is vice-chairman of the Bethany Home Survivors’ Group and chairman of the Westbank Survivors’ Group – and has a burning ambition “to bring closure to both these terrible blots on the dignity of human beings”.
His mother, Caroline Herdman, “ended up in the shocking mental cruelty and neglect of Bethany, the Protestant parallel to the laundries”, and Sidney spent much of his childhood “suffering the terrible physical, sexual and mental abuse of Westbank”, which was in the seaside town of Bray.
He added: “We have been left in limbo by the authorities north and south. The homes were financed and run by Protestant churches in Northern Ireland, yet situated in the Republic. As a result, the Northern Ireland government washed its hands because it was outside their jurisdiction. But the Dail always insisted that it was the responsibility of the north, who paid the bills.”
Sidney said that the first target – “we’re taking this one at a time” – was the Bethany Home “which has many parallels with the laundries – inmates were regarded as fallen women and treated abominably”.
He said that his mother ended up destitute in Dublin with her first-born son, Sidney’s elder brother, and that she was taken into Bethany. His elder brother, and later Sidney himself, ended up in Westbank.
He claimed the main abusers in Westbank “were church people who used to travel to the home from the north and subject us to physical, mental and sexual abuse”.
It is reported that over 200 children born in Bethany were buried in unmarked graves, and Sidney is campaigning on behalf of around 20 survivors of both regimes.
“The Bethany situation has been raised in the Dail by Gerry Adams, and my two local Newry and Armagh MLAs – Danny Kennedy (UUP) and William Irwin (DUP) – are taking up the case,” he said.
“And we are pressing Sir Anthony Hart to include Westbank in the Northern Ireland historical child abuse investigations – so far, without success. But we won’t be giving up.
“We are confident the Dail will listen and act over Bethany, and then we will focus everything on Westbank.”
The News Letter contacted the NI Historical Abuse inquiry (See Media Review below), but had not received a response at the time of going to press.
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/headlines/survivors-of-protestant-care-homes-left-in-limbo-1-4821498
Bethany Home survivors: “They will have to realise we are not going away”
The Journal.ie – The group representing the survivors said that they will continue to push for redress and a memorial to children at the home buried in unmarked graves.
http://www.thejournal.ie/bethany-home-survivors-805093-Feb2013/
PhD for Former Connor Training Co–ordinator
Peter Hamill, former Training Co–ordinator for Connor Diocese, recently graduated from the University of Warwick with a PhD in Education and Religion.
Dr Hamill’s thesis was based on research carried out with Children’s and Youth leaders in Connor Diocese and the wider Church of Ireland. Dr Hamill said “My thanks to those in Connor Diocese who supported me through this work and I hope it provides a legacy for supporting the leaders in such a vital ministry.” A tutor on the CITI Children’s Ministry course and with the Centre for Youth Ministry, Ireland, Dr Hamill is about to publish his first article based on his research in the Journal for Youth Ministry in the USA.
MEDIA REVIEW
Israeli Ambassador ‘torn over Israel flags in NI’
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/ambassador-torn-over-israel-flags-in-ni-1-4810799
Call on Brady not to attend conclave
A survivor of child abuse says the Catholic primate of all-Ireland should not attend the conclave that will elect the next Pope.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21540319
Catholic priests should be able to marry: British cardinal
Roman Catholic priests should be able to marry and have children, Britain’s most senior cardinal who was born in Ballycastle, has said.
http://www.thejournal.ie/catholic-priests-should-be-able-to-marry-british-cardinal-806211-Feb2013/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-21552628
Cardinal ‘accused over behaviour’
Cardinal Keith O’Brien, head of the Scottish Catholic Church, is reported to the Vatican over historical allegations of inappropriate behaviour, say reports.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21563345
Abuse inquiry to focus on 35 NI sites
The inquiry into historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland will initially investigate 35 residential facilities, it has been announced.
http://www.u.tv/news/Abuse-inquiry-to-focus-on-35-NI-sites/63714fef-490e-4f3f-bc18-759b3d540e5e
The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry in Northern Ireland is to launch a promotional campaign later in an attempt to get more victims to come forward.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21510278