St Anthony Brief IRISH FRANCISCAN MISSION MAGAZINE No .1 DEC/jAN 2013 €1.00 Nativity: en and Now Who Can You Trust? Witnesses to the Gospel in Haiti Spirit and Life COME, LORD, COME! Every year we celebrate the holy season of Advent, O Lord. Every year we roll up all our yearnings into one word: "Come!" But it won't really be "another" coming, because you have never really gone away. In the human existence that you made your own for all eternity, you have never left us. But still you will come again, because your coming must continue to be revealed ever more clearly. It will become progressively more manifest to the world that the heart of all things is already transformed, because you have taken them all to your heart. – Karl Rahner, SJ St Anthony Brief SStt AAnntthhoonnyy BBrriieeff 2 Spirit and Life. 4 From the Editor. Who Can You Trust? $ieran Cronin, OFM, looks at the serious 5 issue of ethics within the various professions. A Place Apart. Gerald Evans, OFM, tells of the hermitages 8 being set up by the friars in Costa Rica. Among the Poor in Latin America. Franciscan Sister, Ancilla 10 Grenham, FMIC, writes of the work of the Sisters among the poor of South America. 12 Church Brief. Something Precious in the Cooking-Pot. Liam McCarthy, 13 OFM, tells of the celebration in Zimbabwe in memory of Servant of God, John Bradburne, martyred friend of the lepers. Repairing the Church… Building the Kingdom. Adrian Peelo, 14 OFM, travelled from Mission San Luis Rey in California to preach the St Anthony Novena in Killarney friary this year. The experience gave him food for thought! The Nativity Story – Then and Now. Sr Mary Burke, FMDM, 16 has been deeply moved by the Nativity play that takes place each year in Wintershall, Surrey. She ponders the Then and Now of the timeless story. 19 Missing God. Blessed Conor O’Devany, OFM. This year is the 400th 20 anniversary of the martyrdom of Irish Franciscan bishop, Conor O’Devany, who died for the faith in 1612. Pat Conlan, OFM, tells his story. News from Around the Franciscan World. Volume 73 No.1 22 The Gospel of Life. As a Christian people we are called to Missionary Magazine of the Irish Franciscans. Published bi-monthly by 24 protect life. Francis Cotter, OFM, looks at the painful issue of the Franciscan Missionary Union, abortion. 8 Merchants Quay, Dublin 8. Editor: Fr Bernard Jones, OFM. Witnesses to the Gospel in Haiti. Gearóid Ó Conaire, OFM, Production: Fr Francis Cotter, OFM. 27 finds a passion for Christ and a passion for humanity among the Subscription & Distribution Secretary: friars in Haiti. Helen Doran. Tel: (01) 6777651. Design, Layout & Printing: Mission Digest. Mutemwa: Celebrating the Servant of God, Corcoran Print & Design. Tel: (053) 9234760. 30 John Bradburne. Subscription including Postage: Ireland – €12.00 per annum Letters to the Editor. Britain – Stg£12.00 per annum 31 Overseas – €15.00 per annum Dec/jan 2013 3 From the Editor… Advent Candles Light the Path to Christmas Fr Bernard Jones The colour of the Advent season is purple. This colour is the colour of penitence and the colour of royalty. As we prepare for Jesus’ coming into the world, we use the time to pray and repent of our sins so that we can be worthy of Jesus’ coming. We focus on thanking God for Christ’s first coming, that very first Christmas so long ago; we spend our time preparing our hearts and homes for Christ’s final coming when the world as we know it now will end. A common Advent tradition is the making of and lighting of the Advent wreath. Advent is a time of preparation and awaiting the coming, it is important to have a way to mark the time. We use three purple and one rose coloured candle for this celebration. During week one, we light the first purple candle as a symbol of hope. Week two, peace, is marked by the second purple candle along with the first candle. Week three the rose coloured candle is lit in celebration of Mary, the Virgin Mother, who gave birth to the child Jesus and this is the candle of joy. The final purple candle, the candle of love, celebrates that the preparations are complete and we wait for the birth of Jesus. The lighting of these candles is a way to remind us that Christ is the light of the world and each candle we light shows His light to the world, sadly a world that sometimes exists in the darkness of sin. For each of us this time of Advent is a time of reflection to acknowledge that Christ came to earth to live the human struggles of life right alongside us. It is a time to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming and to thank God that we have Jesus in our lives to help us with our daily struggles. Advent prepares us for the coming of the Lord and the celebration of hope, peace, and the joy that is Christ, the light of the world. We pray that during this time we will open our lives to the wonders of the crib and the love of God. On behalf of the staff here in the Franciscan Missionary Union I wish to thank you for your gener - ous support and to wish you every blessing and good health for 2013. – Bernard Jones, OFM ([email protected]) St Anthony Brief 4 Who Can You Trust? any of the pressing ethical con - ing up scandal and at times refusing to cerns of our times are directly For good or ill, take seriously allegations brought by vic - Mrelated to what is called “role professional people tims. Although we must emphasise that in morality”. Most of our moral obligations all of these examples, just “some” of the stem from the socially defined roles we exercise influence profession’s members violated their code occupy or “play” in daily life. How we of ethics, it still remains the case that the ought to act is prescribed in roles like over our lives. moral authority of many of the professions father, mother, husband, wife, friend, but Kieran Cronin, OFM, is to some extent undermined by the “drip also very significantly in our occupational effect” arising from so many reports of roles. It matters a lot to our human fulfil - looks at the serious misconduct by people expected to be ment what kind of work we do, whether it trustworthy. is a “trade” (plumber, electrician, carpen - issue of ethics ter) or a “profession” (doctor, lawyer, within the various Professional Ethics priest, accountant) or a non-skilled, In his book, Professional Power and menial job. Nor should we forget the pain professions. Social Welfare (1982), Paul Wilding sug - of those who have no work for various gests that occupational groups which reasons. In this article, I want to underline institutions. The role of politician has also attain to professional status within society the ethical aspect of the professional role, been affected by scandal over the years, seek to have four privileges safeguarded. since professional people exercise a great with some high profile figures accused of First, a state enforced monopoly of the deal of power and influence over our taking bribes, “being economical with the task they carry out. No one is allowed to lives, for better and, unfortunately, for truth” when answering to tribunals, and a set up as a doctor on their own initiative. worse. tendency to make unrealistic promises at If you “operate” on a person, even with A fair proportion of the moral scandals election time which soon after become their consent, you are liable to end up in reported in the media are about the mis - the subject of u-turns! Some lawyers have prison. Notice how many in the medical behaviour of professionals. Our extreme betrayed their clients by running away profession are hostile to practitioners in financial crisis has been largely caused with their money. Some members of the “alternative” medicine! Is this simply due by those in the banking profession (espe - police have been known to cut corners in to medical risk or are they also wary of cially at the higher managerial level) who attempting to get convictions. (Recently competition? Second, they maintain con - failed to carry out their role of stewardship police in England were found wanting in trol of entry to the profession in terms of of their customers’ savings and invest - the way they handled the tragic deaths of the selection of candidates and their num - ments. Irresponsible lending, especially to football fans in Hillsborough). Last, but ber. Thus, criticisms have been made of property developers, has led to a painful certainly not least, some priests have the medical profession for supporting a recession where many are at their wit’s betrayed the trust placed in them by points system of education which favours end to survive economically. It is clear abusing children. Often bishops/religious medical students with high mathematical that some of those who had the role of superiors failed in their role as shepherds and scientific skills, and largely ignoring financial regulators failed in their duties to of the flock by mishandling these cases: other vocational factors such as care and challenge the high risk policies of financial moving abusers to new locations, cover - compassion. Third, control of the length Dec/jan 2013 5 and content of training. And last, the patients by telling untruths about their con - tains to confidentiality.