Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Fahim posted a wonderful photograph and an excerpt of poetry, here. So how do these great words apply to the real world where institutions have great, (often secret), power over the individual.
Fahim,
Sorry, my good friend, I love poetry, but Donne is either somewhat delusional or out of contact with what actually is happening to people in the reach and influence of the Chiurch!
I think that his noble words refer to an institution in his mind, not the one that actually exists on planet earth! His vision does not extend much beyond the reach of the candlelight and incense around him. I'm not implying that Donne was not a great poet, far from it! But I do think he was detached from the reality of the landscape in which the church functioned in his time and until our time.
This does not take away one iota from the abundant good deeds of Christians as part of the life of service to others. However, more is demanded of the leaders of institutions, very much more. For as they increase in power, they also need to educate themselves as to the realities of the world in which they operate, far beyond the ceremonies in the beautiful sanctuaries they preside over.
Unfortunately for us, "The Bell tools for us!" if we fall for the beautiful poetics and ignore reality.
"And when she buries a man, that action concerns me: all mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another. "
We'd derive from this that the Church would value even the, (defenseless and dirt-poor), unwed girls with a child sent to their custody and care.
Yet in practice, 800 children of unwed young mothers were buried without Christian burial and excluded from the hallowed ground of a Christian cemetery! This is causing pain and anger in Ireland. The Irish government paid the convent for food and care of each mother and child. So how could they die in such numbers? Surely malnutrition would be impossible under these circumstances! Still, the deaths occurred under the watch of a local nunnery regularly, without any eyebrows raised, over a 36 year period from 1925 ending in 1961! In the Los Angeles times, today, the incident just received a trivial low level, inner page announcement not mentioning "when" this occurred or the extreme magnitude of the mass deaths, about 22 per year!! Read more here. So the poetic words of John Dunne, beyond being beautiful, have nothing to do with the reality of the matter.
All credit to the Archbishop Michael Neary, who heads the Tuam archdiocese in Ireland, who has supported a non-church inquiry to the horrific local finds. After all, if this actually occurred under the watch of the nuns, we have to look at all the Church-run homes for unwed mothers, all over Ireland. This one Catholic priest is the one who should be praised from the Vatican, not just the Popes recently Canonized so readily. Forget about proving miracles! This Archbishop actually has admitted what was done wrong and wants no role for the Church to hide nasty secrets that may be revealed. Bravo!!!!!
Still, "the bell tolls for us" if we believe in any institutions. The more powerful they grow, the more corrupt they can become. So assume it's normal for large inbred institutions with clout and influence to be significantly corrupt. It follows that we must look to and depend on whistle blowers and those with a conscience, to allow the public to rein in usurped power and excesses that take away from the dignity and rights of the public and the individual.
It's individuals of the of this Archbishop, (and apparently selfless whistleblowers such as Snowdon), that allow us the rein in institutions that consider themselves too important to be bound by decency and respect for the humble person, unable to defend his/herself against the institutions of power and influence.
Asher
Fahim,
Sorry, my good friend, I love poetry, but Donne is either somewhat delusional or out of contact with what actually is happening to people in the reach and influence of the Chiurch!
I think that his noble words refer to an institution in his mind, not the one that actually exists on planet earth! His vision does not extend much beyond the reach of the candlelight and incense around him. I'm not implying that Donne was not a great poet, far from it! But I do think he was detached from the reality of the landscape in which the church functioned in his time and until our time.
This does not take away one iota from the abundant good deeds of Christians as part of the life of service to others. However, more is demanded of the leaders of institutions, very much more. For as they increase in power, they also need to educate themselves as to the realities of the world in which they operate, far beyond the ceremonies in the beautiful sanctuaries they preside over.
Unfortunately for us, "The Bell tools for us!" if we fall for the beautiful poetics and ignore reality.
"And when she buries a man, that action concerns me: all mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another. "
We'd derive from this that the Church would value even the, (defenseless and dirt-poor), unwed girls with a child sent to their custody and care.
Yet in practice, 800 children of unwed young mothers were buried without Christian burial and excluded from the hallowed ground of a Christian cemetery! This is causing pain and anger in Ireland. The Irish government paid the convent for food and care of each mother and child. So how could they die in such numbers? Surely malnutrition would be impossible under these circumstances! Still, the deaths occurred under the watch of a local nunnery regularly, without any eyebrows raised, over a 36 year period from 1925 ending in 1961! In the Los Angeles times, today, the incident just received a trivial low level, inner page announcement not mentioning "when" this occurred or the extreme magnitude of the mass deaths, about 22 per year!! Read more here. So the poetic words of John Dunne, beyond being beautiful, have nothing to do with the reality of the matter.
All credit to the Archbishop Michael Neary, who heads the Tuam archdiocese in Ireland, who has supported a non-church inquiry to the horrific local finds. After all, if this actually occurred under the watch of the nuns, we have to look at all the Church-run homes for unwed mothers, all over Ireland. This one Catholic priest is the one who should be praised from the Vatican, not just the Popes recently Canonized so readily. Forget about proving miracles! This Archbishop actually has admitted what was done wrong and wants no role for the Church to hide nasty secrets that may be revealed. Bravo!!!!!
Still, "the bell tolls for us" if we believe in any institutions. The more powerful they grow, the more corrupt they can become. So assume it's normal for large inbred institutions with clout and influence to be significantly corrupt. It follows that we must look to and depend on whistle blowers and those with a conscience, to allow the public to rein in usurped power and excesses that take away from the dignity and rights of the public and the individual.
It's individuals of the of this Archbishop, (and apparently selfless whistleblowers such as Snowdon), that allow us the rein in institutions that consider themselves too important to be bound by decency and respect for the humble person, unable to defend his/herself against the institutions of power and influence.
Asher
