by Bill O'Donnell
Is Pope John’s Case Buried—What in God’s name is happening at the Vatican and the long-delayed canonization of Pope John XXIII? The case for Pope John, who died in 1963 and was beatified in September 2000, remains in some ideological backroom queue while Pope John Paul II has been fast-tracked for sainthood by the current denizens of the Vatican Curia.

For those of us who grew into adulthood in the early 1960s, the era was highlighted by the short, dynamic reigns of John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Angelo Roncalli, the patrician Gael and the peasant son of sharecroppers who would have an impact far in excess of their brief tenures. Some eleven years after Pope John was anointed as “Blessed John,” his path to sainthood appears to be a casualty of the increasingly conservative Vatican hierarchy, led by Pope Benedict XVI, a close ally of the late John Paul II.
Pope John Paul may deserve to be canonized, despite some well-based naysaying, but not before Pope John, who convened the Second Vatican Council, throwing open the Vatican windows to a fresh appraisal of its role in the world and offering a friendly face of Catholicism to the world. There are forces today, represented by a narrow, entrenched bureaucracy in Rome and an equally conservative council of American Catholic bishops, who operate like an arm of fundamental, evangelical Christianity, mostly eschewing “born again” theology but otherwise social and political clones of their Protestant, largely Republican Party brethren.
Respected Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, Jr., in a column earlier this year, said, “...John Paul’s most widely admired acts were built on John’s legacy. It’s hard to imagine St. Augustine without St. Paul, Washington without Jefferson, John Paul without John. A church that needs to open windows again would do well to honor the pope who freed it to be refreshed by modernity’s bracing breezes.”
Where are those voices inside the Catholic Church, from the American church pews to Saint Peter’s throne, who will speak up for this sainted man, Pope John XXIII?
Former Anglo Chief Lawyers Up—David Drumm, the former CEO of the now state-owned Anglo Irish Bank who has been hiding out in Boston seeking a favorable bankruptcy court ruling, has gone to the blanket and hired two relatively low-rent law firms in Braintree and Burlington. The reports out of the legal community suggest that Drumm is paying an hourly legal fee of $250 after an “initial retainer” of $150,000 and an agreed-on $10,000 payment each month. One law firm will handle the paper volume and filings, while the second firm, which labels itself a courtroom firm, will apparently handle the federal court trial proceedings.
The back story on Mr. Drumm is that he personally received and authorized tens of million of euros in loans while the bank he led was sliding into the abyss, which ended in the Irish state takeover. In his most notorious caper, Drumm allowed Anglo Bank chairman Sean Fitzpatrick to borrow over $100 million and to park that loan off the books in a different bank so as to conceal the loan while Anglo Irish Bank was being audited. Drumm now claims in his bankruptcy petition that regulators knew and approved of the Fitzpatrick “warehousing arrangement.” (Duh!) The bank involved in the Drumm court case, which also includes a $10 million debt owed by former banker Drumm to Anglo, has been the subject of a state takeover and has been the recipient of billions in ratepayer bailout funding from the Republic of Ireland.
Given the large ownership stake the Irish state now has in the Anglo Irish Bank, it is at root, quite simply: Drumm & Wife vs. the taxpayers of Ireland.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny Not Going Quietly—Ireland’s prime minister is still getting his feet wet in the Eurozone financial big time, but so far he seems to have exhibited more spine than his opponents had credited him with. The Fine Gael party leader and coalition chief has not displayed any of the timidity that the feisty German Chancellor, Angela Markel, expects as her due from smaller borrower states like Ireland. In a recent visit to Berlin Kenny clashed on several key points with Merkel and her Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble.
Kenny told the German leaders that he believed that the European Central Bank should be the lender of last resort, the “ultimate firepower,” in Kenny’s words. The taoiseach earlier disagreed with Merkel, who had advocated treaty changes that would have penalized poorer EU countries that did not strictly abide by growth and stability rules.
It is probable that Kenny had safely tucked away in his coat pocket a new report from the credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s that found that among all the Eurozone countries struggling with debt levels, Ireland and Estonia “have made the biggest budgetary adjustments” and demonstrated greater flexibility, and restored their competitiveness. Nuf said!
Not A Good Career Move by Sinn Fein’s McGuinness—Despite repeated assertions by the North’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness that he was “glad” that he ran for the Irish presidency, the reviews are in and the news for the former IRA commander isn’t good. Truth to tell, McGuinness got clobbered during his campaign by all stripes of fellow politicos and the man in the street and ended up with a scant 14 percent with only one out of seven voters saying Yes.
While McGuinness could, and artfully did, evade tough questions about distant paramilitary operations when questioned by the media in the North, there was no similar “immunity” from the irreverent press types in the Republic who had little invested in the McGuinness legend.
He had a near impossible task once the boys in the Members Bar began outlining for the media the shark-jumping difficulties of an ex-IRA leader talking financial stability and inward investment with skeptical corporate types who sought stability, a peaceful status quo, and a solid return on investment.
Another strand of thought about the McGuinness electoral strategy is that he took a bullet for his Sinn Fein party. It was, some insiders strongly suggest, all a tactical part of a long term plan to “broaden the battlefield” as a way to achieve electoral success in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. Jim Cusack in the Irish Independent last month, citing well informed sources, wrote that the IRA still exists and “its central tactical goal was to have Sinn Fein at the core of the 1916 centenary ceremonies in Dublin,” just a few years away. It gambled this time with the McGuinness presidential bid and failed. What might come next?
A Quiet Profile In Courage—His political pedigree is solid; his father, Michael Connolly, was a well-liked former Massachusetts Secretary of State. John Connolly, a Harvard graduate and attorney, was a school teacher before beginning his law career and in a short time has become a solid performer in Boston City Council elections since his initial 2007 victory.
John, moreover, did something in this recent council that I had never seen in watching elections for decades. He jeopardized his personal clout and vote by partnering and sharing the electoral spotlight with another at-large councillor-candidate, African-American Ayanna Pressley, who many predicted would fall short of reelection due to the re-emergence of former councillor Michael Flaherty on the ballot. Pressley surprised the pundits in topping the ticket, while Connolly was reelected, finishing third.
Some observers called Connolly’s performance “disappointing.” I don’t think so. It was clear evidence that politics as usual is disappearing and John Connolly and his public action in reaching out to help Pressley in the council election was impressive and honorable.
Peter Robinson Might Count His Blessings—Peter Robinson, successor to Ian Paisley as Democratic Unionist Party leader and First Minister of the North’s Stormont government, is a lucky man. Despite some questionable real estate transactions, errant political moves, a surprise election loss, and the very public political and marital difficulties of his wife, Iris, Robinson is surprisingly still at the top of the unionist political heap. He would be a sure thing on one of the ubiquitous Survivor TV shows.
Recently Robinson began a concerted campaign to broaden his electoral clout, reaching out to appeal to Catholic nationalist voters. Some critics have characterized Robinson’s efforts as a late inning try to present himself as a “modern, inclusive, and liberal unionist,” a far cry for nationalists who know the unionist leaders’ political history and background. It’s a tough sell.
One disbeliever certainly is the Irish News, the principal newspaper serving the mainstream nationalist community in the North. The News has been trying to get an interview with Robinson for the past two years (!!) with no success. It is bewildering that the leader of the Northern Ireland government administration continues to avoid talking to the moderate nationalist paper, representing just the type of voter that Robinson claims to be interested in. The Irish News, clearly at wit’s end at Robinson’s stonewalling, called him on it late last month, citing his interview in the London Times but not in his hometown paper. The Irish News finds it difficult to believe Robinson is serious about reaching out to nationalists. I’m with the News.
A Bill Of Rights For The North—The idea for a Bill of Rights in the North has been mooted about for years but more often than not it’s merely a casual discussion with nothing to jump start the proposal. That may be changing. A public opinion poll carried out in the summer by the Human Rights Consortium reflects “overwhelming cross-community and political support” for the idea.
More than 83 percent of the unionists and 86 percent of the nationalists polled believe that a Bill of Rights is important and should be introduced in the North. The human rights issue was first raised by the civil rights movement in the late 1960s, close to the eruption of the Troubles. Poll takers in the recent survey suggest that in talking to those polled it is no longer seen as an orange/green issue; most voters favor the Bill of Rights for its potential to enshrine basic living standards.
It had been conventional wisdom that there was reluctance within the unionist Protestant community to accept a Bill of Rights, but when provisions of the legislation were translated in terms of health, education, and housing, support shot up in all parties across the board.
Gatherings With Diverse Agendas—There were hundreds of former blanketmen who came together for an emotional reunion at the Emerald Roadhouse in Finaghy in West Belfast last month. They came to greet old friends and survivors of the H-Blocks at Long Kesh Prison and they were joined by women who had served in Armagh Prison during that same 1976-1981 period. They were Irish republicans all and at final count numbered 1,200 people. Father Raymond Murray was there as were the families of Blanketmen Brendan Hughes and Kieran Nugent, along with a note of thanks to organizer Seamus Kearney from the family of the hunger striker Patsy O’Hara.
A ferry ride away, it was the members of the Orange Order who descended on Downing Street to deliver a message to the British prime minister. They were in London for their annual Remembrance Day march and they took a detour to make a point. They were there to tell all who would listen that changes in the Act of Settlement would call into question the future role of the monarch as the supreme governor of the Church of England.
In a nutshell, they were at Downing Street to oppose the recent changes that now allow Catholics to marry British royals. “We believe,” unionist leaders said, “this is part of a long-term plan to disestablish the Church of England by damaging the link between the crown and the church.”
SDLP Leader: No Exit From Power-Sharing—Alasdair McDonnell, the newly elected leader of the Social Democratic Labour Party, in his first post election party conference in Belfast said emphatically that the SDLP would not be pulling out of the power-sharing executive at Stormont to become part of an opposition bloc. McDonnell emphasized that he was keenly interested in “collective and inclusive government where everybody shares in the responsibilities and the benefits.”
The SDLP Leader also warmly greeted the creation of the Tip O’Neill and John Hume peace chair at the University of Ulster on the Magee Campus. McDonnell welcomed the Hume/O’Neill chair, calling it a “worthy tribute to two political giants who played a pivotal role in the peace process.”
RANDOM CLIPPINGS
You see the name on signs at Fenway Park: One of the world’s leaders in global health care products, Covidien, has newly invested some $33 million in R & D in Galway and Athlone. … Paddy power, Ireland’s biggest bookmaker is now the Europe’s most valuable betting firm. … Jim Carroll continues on most days to be the most thought-provoking columnist in the Boston Globe lineup. … Retired Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) retirees want to erect a monument at Glasnevin. The only catch is that the memorial would also honor the Black & Tans. … I’m OK with Theo leaving and even Francona (best Sox manager ever), but Heidi Watney heading home to California. That’s a downer. … Anne Sullivan Macy, the brilliant, kindly teacher of the indomitable Helen Keller, died 75 years ago this fall. … A reminder that Glasnevin Museum in Dublin is now open and one of the memorable stops on any tourist tour. … The last I heard, old maritime friend the Jeanie Johnston, now at berth in Dublin, was looking for $135,000 to finish some badly needed repairs to get back out to sea.. … Limerick City has a new attraction: The Frank McCourt Museum, which is located on the site of the Leamy school attended by the McCourt children.
The Irish people in the recent election turned thumbs down on two referendum questions, one of which would have granted stronger investigative rights to the Irish Parliament. The people win this time. … Changes in the 300-year-old Succession Laws still bar Catholics from the throne. No big deal, really. … Massachusetts native Peter Fuller, our top general in Afghanistan, said aloud what most top brass there believe—President Karzai is isolated from reality. He was canned. They got rid of the wrong guy. … I loved the article about a tiny medieval Irish town in Kilkenny. The 13th-century village was unmistakably Irish. Home to only 500 people, it had 14 pubs. … It’s not Nantucket Sound, that’s for sure. Two new wind farms were just approved by the planning board in south Connemara. … At deadline there was still an impasse between the occupy Galway protestors and the city of Galway, which wants the Eyre Square space for a Christmas Market.
Another Brit paper has to eat its words as the Sunday World apologizes to Sinn Fein’s Gerry Kelly over 2 false articles from 15 years ago !! … The vandalism in Derry city against the town’s community center simply because it hosted an event for the Police Service of Northern Ireland was the work of the malign Real IRA. Shameful. … Here we go again. The new street signs for Dingle in Irish and English are too long for existing road signs and new ones, costing thousands, are being built. … It only took them seven weeks in Clonkeen, Co. Kerry, to notice that the national school there had no pupils. It finally pulled the plug. I’m withholding the principal’s name in a mercy move. … Sister Susie wore a Celtic cross and was a full-time financial officer at Iona Collage in New York. On a part time basis she thought she was a gambler. Bottom line: she lost $850,000 to Atlantic City casinos. … Foster & Allen, the popular singing duo who have over the years been frequent visitors to our shores, owe the Irish Revenue Office some $8 million. Royalties & records sales revenue slipped between the cracks. … I will not be viewing the new so called Thatcher Biopic, “The Iron Lady,” starring my favorite actress, Meryl Streep, as Baroness Thatcher. It reportedly shows Thatcher sliding into dementia. Sad, but sorry, I’ll skip it on general principle.
Happy Christmas to one and all. May the news be better in 2012.