SAOIRSE32

Irish Examiner

10 October 2005
By Michael Brennan

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‘Oi!! This is givin’ me a headache!’

CATHOLICS should be given general absolution twice a year because they don’t go to confession any more, an outspoken priest said yesterday.
The practice is only granted in extreme emergencies.

But Fr Tony Flannery, 59, an outspoken Redemptorist priest, said it should be given to congregations by parish priests because the confession boxes in churches were not being used.

“We rarely, if ever, go into confession boxes anymore. They stand idle in most churches or are used as storage space,” he said.

In his newly published book, Keeping the Faith - Church of Rome or Church of Christ, he recalled how he and a missionary priest had attempted to hear confessions at a church in a psychiatric institution.

In the first confession box, a vacuum cleaner fell out on top of the missionary and when the other box was opened, brushes and brooms fell out.

“The confession box was being used for storage. It is an image of the state of the sacrament in today’s Church. I am suggesting we should return to a practice of the medieval church. Twice a year, bishops and abbots gave general absolution to all the faithful.”

Fr Flannery said confession had been used by the Church to control people in the past by generating a sense of anxiety and fear. He said there was still a need for individual confession as well, but only if changes were made.

“The penitent should not have to say how long since their last confession. That is irrelevant. The length of time since the person has been to confession is of no importance whatsoever. We must also get rid of this notion of the priest as judge.”

Fr Flannery grew up in Co Galway, and joined the Redemptorist order in 1964. He is based in the order’s house in Athenry and has campaigned for change in the Church through retreats, missions and his four previous books.

He believes the Church should free priests from compulsory celibacy, and open itself to the prospect of ordaining women priests.

He said that while the Church needed to be fairer to gay people, it also had to face up to the number of gay men in its seminaries.

But Fr Flannery said he could not encourage young men to join the Church because it had to be replaced by something new.

“I believe that what is old and tired has to die, and that new growth will come from other sources, maybe other ones. The weeds of the past need to be cleared away with the harrow in order to make space for a spring crop,” he said.

BreakingNews.ie

10/10/2005 - 17:41:09

The Tánaiste Mary Harney’s performance as Minister for Health has been rated as “poor” by 56% of voters in an online poll conducted by the health-oriented website www.irishhealth.com.

Only nine per cent said her performance, after one year in the job, was very good, while 14% rated it as good.

A further 21% of Irishhealth.com users rate her performance as “fair”.

These figures showed a drop in support from the last similar poll undertaken six months ago: 19% categorised her performance as very good in that poll, while 47% rated her as ‘poor’.

Irelandclick.com

Children have narrow escape as brick comes through window

By Damian McCarney

A Moyard Crescent mother is relieved that none of her children was injured after loyalist youths attacked three houses in the street on Thursday night.

Michelle Walsh and her nine-year-old son, Mark Walsh had just left the living room when a number of bricks were thrown at her windows. One of the large bricks came through her double glazed windows above the chair where her son had been sitting a matter of minutes before, and left a large dent on her floorboards.

“I didn’t hear anyone around the house beforehand, but then I heard the crash of the brick coming through. When I went back in there was glass from one end of the room to the other. I just imagined what would have happened if my child had been sitting in the chair where he had been five minutes earlier,” said mother of three.

When she ran out of the house to avoid further attack, she discovered two of her neighbouring houses had also been attacked. The bricks were thrown from a large area of waste ground which overlooks the rear gardens of the houses of Moyard Crescent, and divides the nationalist area from the Ballygomartin Road and the loyalist Highfield estate.

The area has witnessed a number of confrontations between local youths and loyalist youths from the nearby Highfield estate over the last year. In fact, Ms Walsh had a window in her upstairs toilet smashed with a brick in a similar attack earlier this year.

Earlier on Thursday evening it is understood that between 50-70 loyalist youths, some wearing balaclavas, came into the area of Moyard and confronted local youths. In the violence that followed, fireworks and bricks were thrown at the nationalist youths, who responded by hurling bricks back at the loyalists.

David Smith, chairperson with the Moyard Residents’ Association revealed that the mobile phone network which had previously been in place to enable contact with community leaders in the loyalist estate to help diffuse tensions, has broken down since the Whiterock parade.

“I call on Moyard parents to keep their children from going onto the mountain near Moyard Parade, and I appeal to the residents of Ballygomartin and Highfield to keep their youths from coming up to the area, and to make contact through the mobile phone network,” said Mr Smith.

Lower Falls Sinn Féin councillor Janice Austin expressed relief that there were no injuries in this attack.

“I am calling on my unionist counterparts in council to condemn this attack, as this has been going on continuously for over a year now. There have been attacks before but since the Whiterock parade it has got worse. I call on community workers in Ballygomartin to work to put a stop to these attacks,” said Councillor Austin.

Journalist:: Damien McCarney

Sunday Life

Special tsar to rule on IRA fugitives’ future

By Joe Oliver
09 October 2005

THE Government is to appoint an eligibility commissioner to rule on any individual amnesty granted to IRA fugitives.

The issue of ‘on-the-runs’ (OTRs), such as the man suspected of involvement in the Enniskillen bombing, which killed 11 people, has been a key priority in the peace process for Sinn Fein.

And Gerry Adams, in the wake of IRA disarmament, again raised the issue with Tony Blair last week on behalf of up to 45 republicans, who cannot return to Northern Ireland without fear of being jailed.

The NIO told Sunday Life that the full contents of the proposed legislation, due to be brought before parliament at the end of the month, had yet to be decided.

But it would involve the appointment of a commissioner to determine “whether individuals can avail of the scheme”.

Sinn Fein sent a list of OTRs to both governments, in 2002, and is demanding they be allowed to return to the province without facing imprisonment.

One of the highest-profile OTRs is Charlie Caufield, who is wanted in connection with the Enniskillen Poppy Day massacre.

Caufield (55), is now living in Co Monaghan. He was named in the House of Commons as the mastermind behind the Remembrance Sunday outrage, in 1987.

He is said to have carried out the attack in revenge for an SAS ambush, at Loughgall, six months earlier, in which eight IRA men died.

The list of OTRs also includes:

–Rita O’Hare (61) - Sinn Fein’s US lobbyist, who jumped bail in Northern Ireland more than 30 years ago, while awaiting trial for a gun-attack on soldiers lured into an IRA ambush;

–Dermot Finucane (42) - masterminded the mass breakout from the Maze, in 1983, where he was serving 18 years for explosives offences. Loyalist gunmen murdered his elder brother, Pat, a solicitor, in 1989;

–Liam Averill (39) - escaped from the Maze dressed as a woman during a party for prisoners’ children, in 1997. He had been jailed for life, in 1995, for shooting dead two Protestants and is thought to be living just across the border;

–Owen Carron - former Sinn Fein MP. Jumped bail and fled to the Republic, after being charged with possession of an AK-47 rifle, in 1985.

The amnesty offer remains highly controversial and Shadow Northern Ireland secretary, David Lidington, has already warned the government that the courts must have a role if OTRs were allowed to return.

An NIO source said: “The eligibility commissioner will, like the Sentence Review Commission, make a decision on someone’s suitability and whether they qualify for the scheme.”

Sinn Féin

Published: 10 October, 2005

Commenting after those targeted in the ARA operation in Manchester last week held a press conference, Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy today called on the two governments to remove the securocrats within their systems who are clearly abusing their positions to try and undermine the peace process.

Mr Murphy said:

“It is very clear that the ARA raids in Manchester last week were politically motivated and based entirely on innuendo, spin and malicious briefing. It had nothing at all to do with recovering the proceeds of crime.

“The media were conned with reports of £30m property portfolios, IRA links and thousands of documents seized.

“There is a clear responsibility on the two governments to sack those securocrats responsible for using their positions in organisations like the ARA to undermine the peace process. Such individuals not only undermine the political process but also undermine public confidence in the impartiality and ability of groups like the ARA to properly carry out the important job of seizing criminal assets.” ENDS

BreakingNews.ie

10/10/2005 - 11:15:15

A British businessman whose property was raided by PSNI’s Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) last week has held a press conference to protest his innocence.

The ARA raided four premises linked to Dermot Craven and his business partner as part of an investigation into IRA assets.

It quickly emerged that the investigation was centred on a £30m (€43.5m) property empire allegedly built up by leading republican Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy.

In his press conference today, Mr Craven insisted that he had never had any dealings with Mr Murphy and had never heard of him before last week.

He said however that he had dealt with a Frank Murphy, who he now realises is a brother of Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy. He described Frank Murphy as “a very nice man” whom he had met a few times.

The businessman’s solicitor also accused the ARA of manipulating the media in order to justify its own existence.

“They need to convince their political masters, they need to convince the public they’re not yet another failing government agency,” he claimed.

BreakingNews.ie

10/10/2005 - 11:29:25

A prison officer is in a serious condition in hospital after he was attacked by an inmate at the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise.

The incident happened yesterday when the inmate threw boiling water at the guard and then used a kettle to beat him.

The victim is being treated at St James’ Hospital in Dublin, where he is understood to have 20% burns to his face and body.

BBC

Two police officers in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have switched forces on temporary placements, it has been announced.

The exchange scheme is part of policing reform measures introduced in Northern Ireland and follows the signing of joint policing protocols last February.

The two officers have not been named or details of their duties released.

Joe Stewart, head of human resources with the PSNI, said both forces would benefit from the scheme.

Under the initiative, any officer from the PSNI reporting for duty within the Garda Siochana remains under the control of the chief constable, Sir Hugh Orde, and will not exercise police powers within the Irish Republic.

Uniforms

However, if they move into the Republic of Ireland on secondment, they would wear the uniform of the Garda Siochana and have the same powers as Garda officers, working under the control of the Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy.

The same rules apply to officers transferring to Northern Ireland on exchange placements, which can last for up to a year, and on secondments, which can run for up to three years.

“Officers within the police service already benefit from an exceptionally close working relationship with their colleagues in An Garda Siochana and this special relationship can only be enhanced by these opportunities,” Mr Stewart said.

“We have been working on the development of this scheme for a number of months and I am delighted to see it reach fruition.”

BBC

Threats have been made to members of a County Armagh community association, an Ulster Unionist has said.

Danny Kennedy said sympathy cards containing bullets had been sent in the post to members of Newtownhamilton Community Association.

Newry and Mourne District Policing Partnership board is due to hold a meeting in the local community centre on Monday night.

Mr Kennedy, the DPP chairman, condemned the threats as “bully boy tactics”.

“I utterly condemn the actions of those who think they can intimidate people in this way,” he said.

“Following consultations with members of the DPP in Newry and Mourne and the local council, we have decided that tonight’s meeting of the district policing partnership will go ahead as planned.

“Those who think they can halt the business of dealing with local policing issues must learn that their bully boy tactics will not deflect us from this important work which benefits all sections of the community.”

He said the DPP was “determined” to continue to offer a platform for local people to raise matters.

SDLP assembly member Dominic Bradley said the “faceless cowards” behind the threats “must realise that they have no support amongst the wider community”.

“Their cowardice stands in stark contrast to the bravery of those who are driving forward the new beginning to policing across the north,” he added.

Ammunition

Last year, there were several arson attacks and intimidation directed against Catholic members of the partnerships.

District policing partnerships were set up across Northern Ireland under reforms initiated by a commission headed by former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten and implemented by the government.

They fall under the auspices of the Northern Ireland Policing Board which handles some of the most sensitive issues facing policing.

District policing partnerships are made up of councillors and members of the local community, who work alongside the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s 29 District Command Units in trying to meet local community policing needs.

Irelandclick.com

By Ciara McGuigan

The World Irish Dancing Championships, held in Belfast earlier this year, generated a staggering £4m for the city’s economy during the week-long event, the Andersonstown News can reveal.

Described as being “of true economic benefit to the city,” in a Belfast City Council report, the dancing championships – held in February, made a “significant impact” on the city, and were also “responsible for some 100 full time job equivalents.”

The Economic Impact Assessment Report, which was conducted after the event, went on to eagerly recommend that the Council should “do all it can to get the World Irish Dancing Championships back to the city as soon as possible.”

The report went on to state: “A world class event did indeed take place and the impact from it was major and was well spread across the city and surrounding area, having notable impact on the commercial accommodation sector.”

A survey amongst visitors to the event and businesses which were directly affected as a result was also conducted.

This recorded similar levels of success, with accommodation providers described as being “enthusiastic” about the impact on their premises, and both competitors and spectators described as being “fulsome in their praise of the event and the venue.”

Ninety per cent of those interviewed rated the event “Very Good or Good”, and of those who had attended before, 77 per cent believed that the event was “Much Better or Better” than that previously held in 2000.

Ninety per cent of those surveyed said they would “definitely attend it again”, while 64 per cent of those surveyed admitted that they had undertaken tourist activities while at the event.

Adding his praise for the event, Councillor Tom Hartley said he was delighted by the success of the event and commented on the importance of such a competition to the tourist trade and civic life of the city of Belfast.

“Belfast has benefited in a huge number of ways from this competition and will do again when the competition returns in 2006,” said Cllr Hartley.

“Taxis, restaurants and the retail trade are just a few of the industries that benefit from events like this, and I’m glad to see that Belfast is becoming the Irish dancing capital of the world.”

Also equally delighted with the success of the World Irish Dancing Championships, Lisa McMurray, Director of Communications at the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau said, “Any event which brings visitors to stay in Belfast from outside the north of Ireland is good news for the city, both in terms of economic impact and also for the city’s image.

“These events allow visitors to see all that the city has to offer; visitors who may not have otherwise come to Belfast.”

Confirming that the Ulster Dancing Championships will also be coming to Belfast this November, Ms McMurray continued, “The Ulster Championships may not be on the same scale as the World Championships, but they are also important in attracting visitors, which is a positive influence on the city’s economy and image.”

Journalist:: Ciara McGuigan

Irelandclick.com

Hundreds of residents attended a rally on the Andersonstown Road on Friday night calling for an end to anti-social behaviour in the area.

The rally was also called to show the public’s disgust at the rape of a 15-year-old schoolgirl on the Glen Road two weeks ago. Many residents held up posters demanding ‘Community Safety is our Right’, and ‘Justice for Victims’.

Gerry McConville, from the Falls Community Council said: “There was a massive response this week to the call for people to come out to the rally and as a result there was little or no rioting over the weekend which has proved to be a major problem over previous weekends.

“We are asking people to come out again next weekend to make their voices heard.”

Speaking last night Sinn Féin West Belfast MLA Michael Ferguson welcomed the Andersonstown rally and called for an end to anti-social behaviour in the area.

“Over 300 people from the Andersonstown area joined with firemen, the amBulance service, Translink and the North and West Belfast Taxi Association with the support of the local community sector to challenge anyone who thinks that it is acceptable to wreck and ruin our road because they are drunk or drugged and want entertainment.

“Youth club leaders and teenagers up and down the road have told us that this minority are making the road unsafe for the majority of kids and other young people who want to go out to leisure centres and other places of entertainment. It is crucial that the voice of all of these young people is heard.

“We also need to bring all of the youth outreach services and social services together to support the families of those children who are abusing drink or drugs or alternatively challenge them for ignoring their duty of care,” he added.

Meanwhile, Michael Ferguson praised the Andersonstown Community Watch Group for supporting the Fire Service on Saturday night when a skip was set alight beisde the leisure centre. The Watch introduced themselves and successfully moved those responcible on and supported the Fire Service while they put the fire out.

Commenting upon the incident Michael Ferguson said: “I want to commend the Community Watch and I’m sure the Fire Serevice would support me in saying that this is the sort of voluntary work that makes areas like West Belfast special and a place to be proud of.”

Journalist:: Anthony Neeson

Irelandclick.com

Relatives remember loved ones who died during the recent conflict

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Dunville Park - photo from >>here

Families and friends of fallen IRA Volunteers from the lower Falls attended yesterday’s annual D Company commemoration.

“The people of the Falls have been to the fore in this struggle since the partition of our country,” said Falls Sinn Féin councillor Fra McCann.

“Over the years the Falls Commemoration Committee and the Falls Cultural Society have done sterling work to remember the volunteers and civilians from the Falls area who gave their lives in the cause for Irish freedom.”

Republians made their way to the Memorial Garden on the Falls Road after first assembling at Dunville Park.

After a speech by North Belfast Sinn Féin MLA, Gerry Kelly, relatives of the dead laid wreaths in the Garden of Remembrance.

The day concluded with a function and photographic exhibition in Seán McDermott’s GAC.

Journalist:: Staff Reporter

Belfast Telegraph

**This is all well and good, but why not direct a campaign at women and girls urging them NOT to be out walking along the streets at late hours of the evening and early hours of the morning or accepting rides from strangers.

By Andrea Clements and Ashleigh Wallace
10 October 2005

The director of a Belfast-based organisation which offers counselling to victims of sexual abuse today called on a new campaign directed at men who carry out sexual attacks on women.

The call to raise awareness about the seriousness of sex attacks was made by Nexus director Dominica McGowan following a weekend which left three women traumatised.

A 28-year-old woman was found lying unconscious near Belfast city centre in the early hours of Saturday.

She was attacked by up to three men in a side street in the Cathedral Quarter and was targeted after leaving a nightclub and becoming separated from her husband.

Police confirmed they are not linking the attack to an indecent assault on a 21-year-old woman near Queen’s University Library.

Officers were called to the scene at around 6am yesterday after the victim’s screams were heard by a number of people who ran to her aid.

And in Banbridge, a woman in her mid 20s was attacked when she became separated from her friends after a night out.

The victim missed her lift home and accepted a lift from a man in a small blue car. It is alleged he indecently assaulted her and when she fought back he threw her out of the car.

Ms McGowan, who branded the weekend assaults as “horrendous”, said women were becoming more and more frightened of going out.

She added: “I think it’s about time that a campaign was launched to raise awareness among men about their behaviour and about the seriousness of these assaults.

“Women cant be on their guard 100% of the time and its now getting to the stage where women are unable to move around safely in the community.”

South Belfast Assembly member Esmond Birnie said the university area of Belfast was becoming “something of a hot spot” for sex attacks.

The Ulster Unionist added: “We need to ensure there is more adequate street lighting, more frequent police patrols and a reduction in the availability of cheap alcohol.”

Anyone with information on any of the attacks has been asked to contact the PSNI or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Belfast Telegraph

By Kathryn Torney
10 October 2005

Parents of primary pupils today began their own school crossing patrol after education chiefs axed the official service.

Mums and dads of pupils at Brooklands Primary in Dundonald, Belfast, are also holding protests and have started a petition in a bid to force the South Eastern Education and Library Board to reverse their decision.

The school only found out last week the board would not replace their lollipop man when he retired on Friday.

The board said the school does not meet criteria relating to the number of unaccompanied children crossing the road and the volume of traffic.

School principal David McCartney said last week: “The bottom line is every child crossing the road to school will be in danger.”

Irish Independent

ALMOST one in two Irish people who contract cancer have died from the disease within five years, a new report has found.

However in countries like Sweden, Iceland and Switzerland, the survival rate rises to well over 60pc. Ireland’s survival rate is well behind some of the other wealthy countries, but closer to poorer Eastern European states.

The quality of Irish cancer care has also been criticised as part of the major European study, which found large differences within the country.

The authors of the detailed report found that while care in Dublin-based centres of excellence were among the best in the world, they were less impressive around the rest of the country. “What this report has proved is that when it comes to cancer treatment, it’s geography, economics and politics which decides whether you live or die,” commented Kath Sinnott MEP who has studied the findings.

Overall, Ireland appears in the middle of a table of 19 European countries when it comes to treatment and recovery rates. Every year, 13,131 Irish people are discovered with cancer, found the study carried out by the Swedish based Karolinska Institutet. After one year, the survival rate from cancer in Ireland was 73pc, but declined 54pc after five years - roughly in the middleground.

While the best rates were amongst the Nordics, the worst long-term survival rate was in non-EU countries like Russia, Ukraine and Moldova, where it drops to 43pc for all cancers excluding skin cancers. The UK also rates badly with a survival rate of just 49pc. One of the main problems not just in Ireland but across Europe is the sporadic use of specific drugs, pointed out one the authors, economist Bengt Jonsson.

“Despite very similar spending on cancer and health care in different countries we see very different access to new cancer drugs. We don’t believe it’s a deliberate policy, but illustrates the various way hospitals are organized and financed,” he said.

As an example of the wide spread of different practices, the report points out that in Ireland, the report points out that for treating leukaemia, eight separate drugs are used and five for lung cancer, whereas in Spain, four drugs are used to treat leukaemia and seven for lung cancer.

Conor Sweeney
European Editor