It’s difficult to think of many philosophers articulating a publicly consumable Christian perspective on life’s meaning
There was an interesting and insightful moment during writer Michael Harding’s recent appearance on The Late Late Show. Harding, a former priest, is gifted with an uncommon ability to trace the contours of his emotional landscape.
On this occasion he talked about the final moments of his late mother’s life. He spoke in particular about the painful frustration of realising he had failed to hug the good woman during her final hours.
Host Ryan Tubridy was absorbed by Harding’s articulate excavation of this tender moment and, no doubt, many in the audience could identify personally with the experience.
Even though it didn’t progress in any depth to a discussion about God or the next life, it was a rare, emotionally intelligent discussion of a precious moment of life.
As I watched it, I couldn’t help but contrast it with an appearance by a Catholic bishop. Now, a bishop’s daily bread is also the wonder of life and the great mystery of God. But, in all likelihood, a bishop would end up being treated like a government minister defending an unpopular austerity budget. If there was to be any discussion of God, it would very likely short circuit to a contentious debate about the merits of organised religion.
That’s just a reflection of the reality of the Church’s relationship with Irish society today, but it also illustrates how frustratingly far we are from being able to talk in any depth about the real essence of faith.
Some might even question whether a Catholic voice could contribute anything incisive to a conversation about life’s bigger questions. Apart from John Waters, it’s difficult to think of many philosophers articulating a publicly consumable Christian perspective on life’s meaning.
Freedom
In contrast, Catholic religious are “top of mind association” on issues such as charity and challenging injustice. For instance, Fr Peter McVerry SJ and Br Kevin Crowley OFM Cap have earned the freedom of Dublin for their work. And there is widespread admiration for the work of Sr Stan and Sr Consilio, while Fr Seán Healy and Sr Bridget Reynolds are peerless in their grasp of the roots of social inequality.
However, when it comes to offering insightful perspectives on the intriguing philosophical questions of life, it’s difficult to provide a line-up of Catholic contributors as credible and well known. Perhaps it reflects the Church’s tradition of acta non verba or just the reality that for the last 20 years tremendous energy has been spent discussing Church failures and Church-State clashes.
Happily, there is a demand for a calm exploration of the deeper questions of life – the success of RTÉ’s The Meaning of Life and The God Slot seem to confirm this.
We just need to make sure that the Church isn’t cosseted into a zone where contributions on these questions are impossible. And we need to make sure we have an honest language to articulate the Christian understanding of life and death both gently and intelligently.
More medals
Two correspondents have helpfully supplied some more names for our list of All Ireland winning clerics.
Fr Michael J Ryan, then a student at St Johnís seminary, won an All Ireland medal playing minor hurling for Waterford in 1948. He went on to play senior hurling and football for the DÈise in the early 1950s.
Former clergyman the late Professor Se·n Freyne of Trinity College captained the Mayo minor footballers in 1953. Se·n was a seminarian in Maynooth and the college authorities refused him permission to play in the All Ireland final. In a nice gesture of solidarity, the victorious Mayo team stopped off in Maynooth on their way home to show him the cup.
Cry of the earth
The bishopsí conference made the wise decision to launch an updated version of their 2009 document The Cry of the Earth last week.
One should never assume that once a document has been published it has been read.
Indeed, in the world of political communications it is widely accepted that just when politicians are almost physically sick from repeating a particular policy message that is when the public might be beginning to hear it for the first time.
The updated The Cry of the Earth publication, which is beautifully produced, reflects recent developments in how we approach the subject of climate change: the front cover now mentions climate justice, indicating our increased awareness of how the poor of the world suffer disproportionately from the Westís over-consumption.
Thereís also a helpful companion, Glas, produced by TrÛcaire which aims to facilitate discussion on the major themes from The Cry of the Earth.
