1997-11-28 to 1997-12-04 Ireland
Aer Lingus Chicago to Dublin. The Book of Kells.
Driving to the west. Irish intercity buses have a setter for a logo instead of a greyhound. Shortcut one lane gravel road. Otherwise two lane asphalt roads look just like same in USA. Ancient coastal fort on mountaintop.
Dingle peninsula. Road signs in English with Gaelic graffiti. Monks stone beehive huts. Waiting at sheep crossings. Found an injured sheep which had apparently fallen from the little roadside bluff; left a note at the farm house. Monks' chapel built of stone, without mortar, in the shape of an overturned boat's hull. No crowds in the off season. O'Connor mortuary/petrol station. Hotel in horse country. Walls decorated with photos from race finishes. Huge room, furnishings like antiques. Popped into the bar, had it to ourselves, Guinness does taste better over here. Morning jog between the dairy farms. Smells just like rural Wisconsin. Mild climate indicated by carport-like shelters for cows. Cold snap; clear blue skies, frost on the mountaintops. Ireland's geography is like a bowl, with coastal mountains forming the rim. Small island, radio traffic report for the whole country.
Pub lunch and shopping in Limerick. Bought a gray wool hat. With sportcoat, sleeveless sweater, and scarf, salesman says I "look like an Irishman."
Hotel in Waterford former mansion of the local bishop, of the Church of Ireland I assume. Huge room, again furnishings look like antiques. Waterford Crystal has a factory outlet store. Waterford Castle now a tourist attraction. Once was a square around a large courtyard, now three-sided. Cromwell cannoned the fourth side down. Furnishings Victorian, seems crowded now, but only a part of what was crammed into rooms in actual Victorian times. Tour guide confirms Chicago-area visitor's surmise that owned the castle has holdings around Chicago.
Countryside is green, little farm fields irregular polygons, seperated by stone fences, just like in the storybooks. Here and there billboard-sized announcement that road project paid by European Economic Community funds.
Past Dublin to golf resort just this side of Northern Ireland.
Rome endowments to honor Weakland:
Foundation here funding professorships in music, liturgy, Catholic teaching,
by Tom Heinen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 1997
A $1.5 million chair of study in Catholic social teaching, and a $500,000 chair in liturgy and music, will be established in Archbishop Rembert Weakland’s name at universities in Rome by a foundation that is closely associated with him and the archdiocese.
Erica John, chairwoman and chief executive officer of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund Inc., announced the endowments this week.
The largest endowment will be at the Gregorian University, a major institution for the training of church leaders, founded in 1551 by St. Ignatius Loyola. It educated 16 popes and more than one-third of the church’s current College of Cardinals, the body that elects popes and assists them on major church matters.
"He (Weakland) is an intellectual, not afraid to take a controversial stand if it ultimately results in the common good and welfare of others," John said in a statement.
"For these reasons, and through the prompting of the archbishop’s many admirers and colleagues, the AMS Fund is taking this occasion of (Weakland’s) 20th anniversary to formally acknowledge the high esteem in which Archbishop Weakland is held.
"It is our hope that the (Gregorian) chair will perpetuate Archbishop Weakland’s philosophies and his great love for humanity at an institution that prepares others who will hopefully follow in his footsteps."
The other endowment will be at the international Benedictine College, Sant’Anselmo, where Weakland studied.
The AMS Fund was created in 1992, shortly before the death of John’s ex-husband, Harry. About $70 million from the now-defunct De Rance Foundation, once the world’s largest Catholic charity, was used to start the fund. Harry John, a grandson of Miller Brewing Co. founder Frederick Miller, founded De Rance in 1948.
Tom Cannon, the AMS Fund’s attorney, said the fund was a separate corporation, founded primarily to support the archdiocese’s charitable work. It has a charter list of other, largely Catholic organizations that are eligible for support, he said.
In 1996, the fund allocated nearly $6.5 million to the archdiocese and to a wide variety of schools, colleges, religious orders and other church-related organizations, according to its annual report.
Cannon said the fund had three directors: Erica John; her daughter, Paula John; and Weakland.
The Johns made the endowment decisions on their own, without Weakland’s participation, Cannon said. Their two votes constitute a majority and were all that were needed to make the decision.
In her statement, Erica John said Weakland had "a unique grasp of human problems and needs." She praised him for serving with "distinction, loyalty, and great love."
Weakland, who is in Rome for the Synod of Bishops for America, issued a statement through archdiocesan communications director Jerry Topczewski saying he was deeply honored by the gesture.
"It means a great deal to me that this recognition touches upon the two areas of deep interest in my life -- Catholic social teaching and music and liturgy -- while at the same time recognizing my roots as a Benedictine," Weakland said.
The formal inauguration of the Gregorian University chair will take place at a luncheon at the university Dec. 4. Weakland will attend the event.
SPEECH LOG
David E. Collins, spoke on "General Johnson Says...," at a breakfast presented by the Peter Favre Forum.
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