Post by hibernicus on Dec 16, 2023 1:29:03 GMT
Have been reading FAITHFUL FOR LIFE, the 1997 autobiography of the famous pro-life campaigner Fr Paul Marx. It certainly gives a strong sense of his personality - he dictated recollections to a tape recorder and then had a secretary edit them. It begins with autobiographical recollections, then increasingly turns into an account of his journeys around the world. Here are a few thoughts - I hope to add more later.
(1) He notes that in any country in the world where pro-lifers get together and discuss what is their greatest obstacle, the answer will almost always be - "the local bishops and priests" (with some honourable exceptions. He is quite outspoken about the way his work was sabotaged by various ecclesiastical superiors and colleagues.
(2) There is some Irish material - he pays tribute to individuals such as Mavis Keniry and John O'Reilly. He has some very biting comments on Gay Byrne's modus operandi when setting up or suppressing troublesome interviewees. There is an interesting account of his contacts with Archbishop Dermot Ryan. On their first meeting the Archbishop told him Ireland was a Catholic country and there was no risk of abortion being legalised (though he admitted contraception might be a problem) and Fr Marx was shown the door. I suspect the archbishop's mindset reflected inter alia a desire not to be like his predecessor in being pessimistic an suspicious of the world - reflecting a certain Spirit of Vatican II mentality which presented optimism as a binding duty and discouraged suggestions that there might be serious problems ahead.
(1) He notes that in any country in the world where pro-lifers get together and discuss what is their greatest obstacle, the answer will almost always be - "the local bishops and priests" (with some honourable exceptions. He is quite outspoken about the way his work was sabotaged by various ecclesiastical superiors and colleagues.
(2) There is some Irish material - he pays tribute to individuals such as Mavis Keniry and John O'Reilly. He has some very biting comments on Gay Byrne's modus operandi when setting up or suppressing troublesome interviewees. There is an interesting account of his contacts with Archbishop Dermot Ryan. On their first meeting the Archbishop told him Ireland was a Catholic country and there was no risk of abortion being legalised (though he admitted contraception might be a problem) and Fr Marx was shown the door. I suspect the archbishop's mindset reflected inter alia a desire not to be like his predecessor in being pessimistic an suspicious of the world - reflecting a certain Spirit of Vatican II mentality which presented optimism as a binding duty and discouraged suggestions that there might be serious problems ahead.