The Popes And Their Special Friends – The news that broke recently about Pope John Paul II’s close relationship with a Polish-born American philosopher, Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, revealed a rarely seen private side to Karol Wojtyla, who died in 2005. The newly released letters exchanged between the pontiff and the married woman provide a closer look at the 30-year tie that existed between the two.

Their friendship began in 1973 when Mrs. Tymieniecka contacted the future pope, then the cardinal-archbishop of Krakow, regarding a book on philosophy that Wojtyla had written. On an invitation from the prelate, the lady in question traveled to Poland from the United States to discuss the book. From that first meeting, their relationship grew intense and deeply personal. The cardinal invited his new friend and constant letter-writer to join him in country walks and skiing holidays, and later, following his election as pope, she visited him often in the Vatican.

In the latter years of his 27-year papacy, St. John Paul II endured serious health problems that were no doubt exacerbated by an attempted assassination in May 1981 that impacted his mobility and endurance for the remainder of his life.

From 1973 to St. John Paul II’s death in 2005, Teresa Tymieniecka provided a lifeline for him beyond the Vatican that is evident in the expansive collection of private letters between the two. And nowhere in any of the books and other writings by or about Pope John Paul II is there ever a suggestion that he broke his vow of celibacy.

The story of St. John Paul and Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka is a tale of two people who met and were friends for over three decades until his death. One has to think about the comfort, the support, and the solace that the pope derived from that relationship in the painful, wearying days of his papacy.

The story of that deeply personal friendship is neither the first nor the only account we have of a special relationship between a pope and a woman. In a similar, but also vastly different scenario, there is the story of a Bavarian-born nun, Sister Pascalina, brilliant and beautiful, and Eugenio Pacelli, later to be better known as Pope Pius XII.  In 1918, at age 23, Sister Pascalina was assigned as Pacelli’s aide and housekeeper when he was the Vatican’s nuncio, or envoy, to the German empire. In time, she became a trusted adviser who ran not only his household but also his office and his official schedule. She was the first woman to witness a papal election, she was at the pope’s side throughout the Second World War, and she lived as a resident in the papal quarters from 1939 until the pope’s death in 1958. She was called La Popessa, not always a compliment as uttered by envious papal aides who resented her influence with Pius. She was, by every measure and terms of service, an extraordinary woman.
It is an amazing, true story as the author-priest Andrew Greeley attested to in recommending this “powerful and moving love story, no less interesting because the two lovers were always chaste celibates: one a pope, the other his confidante, adviser and friend.” In a remarkable book (“La Popessa,” written by the Boston author Paul I. Murphy) Pascalina emerges, in Greeley’s words, as “one of the great women of the twentieth century.”

Cameron Supports UK Stay in EU; Voting in June – The battle lines –stay or leave – have been drawn. The referendum on the so-called Brexit, the question on whether Great Britain remains in or exits the European Union, is set for June 23. The subtext of the debate was set by British Prime Minister David Cameron when he spoke out in favor of continued membership in the EU following a two-day summit in Brussels.

In Ireland, the Northern government, led by DUP leader and Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster, announced that her party’s intention is to campaign for an exit. Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers also joined those advocating a leave-taking. The other three parties in the Stormont Executive —Sinn Fein, the SDLP, and the Alliance Party all support the UK remaining as members of the EU. The Ulster Unionists have not yet announced their position.

Grace Notes And Other Good Things – A young mother in Edinburgh returned to her car after spending an unexpected overnight in hospital with her sick son only to find two penalty parking notices on her windshield. Tired and upset, the woman reached for the tickets and discovered under them two pound notes worth $35 to cover the penalty costs. The notes were accompanied by a message: “Pay it, then forget it happened.” The young mother, touched by the random act of kindness, opted to pay it forward by doubling it and using the cash to start a fundraiser for the hospital that treated her son. Donations to her appeal for the hospital have already exceeded $2,300. The mother, Mairi Holden, has generated a thank you on her Facebook page, saying “Would love to find who did this. I am still in a lovely state of shock. I’d love to be able to thank them.”

Ryanair Boss Joins Elite Club – Michael O’Leary, founder of the airline Ryanair, has had a stretch of good luck since he decided to pull in his bad guy horns and start treating his customers with some civility. His airline has enjoyed stunning passenger numbers in recent months, and on a personal basis, this has meant that O’Leary is the newest member of the Irish billionaires club. I’ve never tried Ryanair and find trips to Ireland on Aer Lingus comfortable and affordable, especially in the shoulder months. But maybe I will try for one of those truly cheap fares.

NOTABLE QUOTE
“Democrats need to insist that while much work remains to be done, the United States is in far better shape economically than most other countries in the world. The nation is better off for the reforms in health care, financial regulation, and environmental protection enacted during Obama’s term and should be proud of its energetic, entrepreneurial and diverse citizenry.
“If Clinton, Sanders and their party don’t provide a forceful response to the wildly inaccurate and ridiculously bleak characterization of Obama’s presidency that the Republications are offering, nobody will. And if this parody is allowed to stand as reality, the Democrats will lose.”

– E.J. Dionne, Washington Post columnist

Bumps In The Road For Liverpool FC – John Henry, owner of the Boston Globe and the Boston Red Sox, and with his Fenway Sports Group also owns the Liverpool Football Club. That’s usually good news but not recently as the spirited and competitive Liverpool team has announced a ticket price increase. Fans there, especially when it comes to their football team, are a loud and generally supportive group, but last month anti-ticket increase groups were threatening to protest by walking out of Anfields arena.

There is no late news on the planned walkout, but Henry’s management has mounted some rebuttal to the protesters. Liverpool chief executive Ian Ayre reminded his unhappy fans that “we have great owners — that 100 million pounds came interest free and they don’t take a penny out of this football club.” 

Scott Brown, Remember Him and The Jacket? – Briefly a Bay State US Senator and more recently an also-ran in the Granite State senate race, Scott Brown is still a popular choice at Fox News headquarters where he joins other idle Fox contributors. Fox TV hosts are touting Brown as a possible Donald Trump VP if and when the New York realtor wins the GOP nomination. In a recent pat on the Brown back, Trump used one of his patented empty throw-away lines, saying, “He’s central casting! A great guy and a beautiful wife and a great family. So important.”  Well, the Donald would know.

Brown, in case you missed the coverage, formally endorsed the Trump effort, calling him “a change agent.” Fox anchors and desk-minders there have been very kind to Brown, with a plethora of praise from his pals at the mic, including Trish Regan, Charles Payne, Maria Bartiromo, Martha MacCallum, and the irrepressible Neil Cavuto. All have found time for Scott.

Where Is Eddie Cronin When We Need Him? – A recent item in the Belfast Telegraph caught my eye and instantly reminded me of Ed Cronin, a super stand-up friend since the second grade at St. Clement on the Somerville-Medford line. Ed spent some time for the army in Germany, came home to Medford, took the exam for the T, then drove a bus with kindness, civility, and no accidents for 30 plus years. He went to heaven a short while ago and Bernice and the Ball Square crowd miss him.

Full of froth and fun, Ed talked to anybody or everybody who didn’t look angry. He was the guy who visited with pals to see a friend in the Soldiers Home in Chelsea. As soon as the door opened, Ed would loudly announce that “We are here for the will” and laugh uproariously.

Anyway, getting back to Ed and that Belfast story. The Telegraph piece related the sorry tale of a pregnant woman who had just gotten on the 7A near Belfast’s Great Northern Mall stop when the driver suddenly headed in the opposite direction of her destination. She asked about it and was told that the driver’s shift had ended. In so many words, this pregnant lass had to hoof it home. That’s it.

The weather was freezing, the hills in that area were steep and unyielding, it was now dark, and it took the women 25 minutes to get up the cold, dark hills. And she had her bus ticket in her pocket. Her husband is probably still murderous!

I thought of Ed, who would sometimes talk about his days with the T. He would have cut off a limb before ever allowing that pregnant woman to get over the hills on her own. Ed was famous for knowing your house if it was near the bus route and dropping you at your front door. What were a few hundred yards between Ed and the T when a woman was dragging after getting the groceries at the First National and wrestling them home for dinner.

Crackdown in Ireland on Border Fuel Laundering, etc. – The cross-border illegal activities by alleged former paramilitaries have provided a continuing source of criminal revenue in recent years, but there are signs that law enforcement on both sides have intensified monitoring and shutdowns. The illicit laundering, smuggling, drug trafficking, and pollution along the Armagh-Louth border have led to constant battles between criminals (many reputed to be former IRA colleagues) and newly reinvigorated law enforcement teams.

Currently, illegal laundered diesel accounts for eight percent of market share and costs the Northern Ireland economy $75 million a year. Authorities also believe that the illegal sale of laundered diesel provides funding for organized crime such as drugs and human trafficking.

A solid signal that there has been substantial headway in the crackdown is that between April and December last year, 12 illegal sites were shut down, according to Ulster Television News.

The crackdown has improved as a result of the increased cooperation between police on both sides of the border, but there still remains an ongoing problem that will take time and continued cooperation to resolve.

Suffolk University Doesn’t Need Regan PR Firm – As a Suffolk alum with fond feelings for the Beacon Hill institution, I have been wondering why the school and its board ever got together with George Regan and his communication company. Why pay Regan almost $300,000 a year to tell the public about Suffolk when about one of every three politicians and lawyers in Boston (and some journalists) got their higher education there.

After 27 years it’s past the time to retire George Regan and Co. The press secretary to Kevin White when he was Boston’s mayor back in the seventies, Regan is by all accounts a decent if overpaid press maven and problem-solver, but $294,000 a year for PR help with all the Boston heavyweights walking, living memorials to the great job that Suffolk does, George and his team seem a bit redundant.

Retire, or Lose, Get a Lofty Parachute – Elected members of the Northern Ireland’s Local Assembly make a bit less than, say, the Boston City Councillors, but the Stormont crowd does even better if they retire or are rejected at the polls. New numbers for those leaving, either voluntarily or due to voter fatigue (election loss), receive on departure $100,000 to fund such items as resettlement allowance and office closing costs.

The Assembly parachutes have been described by the Northern Taxpayers Alliance as “totally unjustifiable” and “too big.” Members insist that the generous payments help them to “adjust to life outside Stormont.”

Then there are the cynics who believe that a large payment to each departing assembly member might be a good way of cleaning out a legislature that has been widely excoriated for being a do-nothing body. What few can deny is that the political leaders in the North have failed miserably in doing their priority job: providing leadership.

RANDOM CLIPPINGS
Sorry to learn of the passing of the Boston journalist Bill Buchanan, who informed and entertained the Boston public for 40 years. He was versatile, knowledgeable, and a delight to read. RIP. … A property tax surcharge is coming for Boston property owners. The good news is that the new funding will go to pay for affordable housing, parks, and historical preservation. … Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close advisor to Pope Francis, has affirmed the church’s position on abuse, saying “But even beyond these civil requirements, we all have a moral and ethical responsibility to report suspected abuse to the civil authorities protecting our society.” … Former US Treasury honcho and Harvard  president Larry Summers has a good idea: stop issuing high-denomination banknotes like the $100 bill, which are the currency of choice for drug dealers. … While the GOP’s presidential wannabees regularly lash President Obama, newest reports show that the US has had the best two-year job growth since the 1990s. … The Titanic exhibit that is a Belfast showplace will soon have a floating Titanic exhibit/cruise ship. Some history with a view. Also ready for construction is a $40 million hotel coming to the Titanic Quarter. … The ECB, Europe’s banking center, has come under recent criticism from an Irish government inquiry into the 2007/2008 financial collapse.

Carly Fiorina may have some competition from other GOP candidates as the worst candidate for US president ever, but she certainly has my vote. Is she still around? … An Irish Treasury agency says that Ireland could have saved around $10 billion if they had forced repayment by senior bond debt holders instead of giving a “home free guarantee.” … The Tyco and Johnson Controls corporate merger, or inversion in the slippery parlance, is key to the new firm’s $150 million in tax savings. … Van Morrison is a favorite here, but it’s a trifle sad that he accepted a knighthood from the Price of Wales. … It has been years but still no resolution about the future of Dublin’s Moore Street buildings that are closely linked to the 1916 Easter Rising. Are they going to raze these historical treasures, and to what end, especially in this centennial year? … The jerk from Manhattan leading the GOP squirrel hunt now dismisses his Irish purchase, Doonbeg Golf Club in Clare, calling it “small potatoes” … Everyone to his or her own poison, but I turned off Joe Scarborough and company in the morning on MSNBC a year ago. Nothing much there. … Bernie Sanders is a good man and his criticism of Maggie Thatcher’s treatment of the hunger strikers and his public distaste for war criminal Henry Kissinger makes for wishing here that his policies and finance issues had more reality to them.

A happy and healthy Saint Patrick’s Day to one and all.