Demons Among Friends
by Kevyn Pieters
Chapter 4: New directions
November saw the arrival of Fr Aiden O'Connell. Peter was astonished to see that his new colleague was in fact Brother Aiden whom he had met at Mount Melleray Abbey. Liam Cochlan and Donal Doherty had been hired to convert the back upstairs room into a small bedroom. Siobhan had warned Peter to keep a close eye on them. They made a good job of the conversion, though Peter and Liam argued repeatedly over costs.
Aiden took to the parish like a duck to water, and the parishioners took to him as well. The sharing of the workload and the companionship transformed Peter's life. By Christmas, he was more like his old self. Aiden's sister, Orla, had come to live in the village and she was in and out of the house, which brightened things.
Aiden liked to keep up the monastic hours as best he could, and Peter joined him when he could. Shared personal prayer and concelebrating Masses were new and uplifting experiences for Peter.
Peter expected Christmas to be a lonely time. He and Aiden celebrated the Christmas Masses in Ballykissangel and helped out at the other churches in the Cilldargan parish also. Peter brought the Midnight Mass forward by three hours so that his new Youth Music Group could provide the music. They turned out again for the morning Mass. Even Kathleen had to admit they were good and had liked particularly the traditional Gaeilge carols that were included. For the rest of the week, Peter left Aiden in charge and spent a few days with Fr Timothy Wheen in Dublin and made a flying visit to his brother Andrew and his wife in Manchester. He looked in on Fr Randall as well. He returned in time for Aiden to spend New Year with his parents.
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Following the birth of Aisling to Siobhan and Brendan, Brendan felt pushed out and Siobhan felt that Brendan was not pulling his weight. Things came to a head as the Christening approached. Brendan liked the name that Siobhan had chosen but resented that she had not consulted him. He decided not to participate in the Baptism celebration. Siobhan had asked Aiden to baptise Aisling, thinking that it would be nice for him to not play 'second fiddle' to Peter for a change. But she had not realised that this would be his first ever Baptism and that he had to take lessons from Fr Mac. Peter had a heart-to-heart with Brendan to get him to change his mind. Peter couldn't attend because he had been booked for a Youth event in Wicklow.
The spring also saw the first anniversary of Assumpta's death. Niamh and Brendan spoke about this in Fitzgeralds. Where was she buried? Brendan suggested that Niamh contact Leo McGarvey and she did. But Leo seemed still to be in a resentful frame of mind concerning Assumpta's friends in Ballykissangel and would not tell anything about the funeral. They asked Michael Ryan how they could find out. He undertook to consult the records in the Coroner's Office in Cilldargan. These only showed that her husband had taken the mortal remains to Dublin. With the assistance of Fr Timothy Wheen, it was established eventually that Assumpta had been cremated and her ashes buried in the Garden of Remembrance at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. It was unclear what funeral or committal service had been conducted.
Michael was deputed to ask Peter if he would celebrate a Requiem Mass for Assumpta Fitzgerald. They were concerned that he would be upset at the reminder and they thought that Michael could best handle the request tactfully. It was hardly a surprise that Peter had been wondering about just these same questions and was glad to know where her mortal remains rested. He had been planning to celebrate a Requiem Mass anyway and had been considering which prayers and readings to use. At Peter's suggestion, they all got involved in marking her anniversary. As they were uncertain that Leo had given her a Christian funeral, they decided on a Requiem Mass in black vestments at St Joseph's, a drive to Glasnevin Cemetery to say some of the prayers from the Catholic committal ceremony, and then a suitable celebration in a pub before driving home. Brendan, Michael and Peter paid for the coach. As the news spread through the village, the number of people who wanted to join in increased. Finally a 40-seater was booked and was full. Peter had expected to be tearful at their informal little ceremony at Glasnevin but, with one exception, had been buoyed up by the large number of her friends and admirers who had turned out. The exception was when four girls from the Youth Music Group had sung the Lloyd Weber 'Pie Jesu', but then, the entire group had tears in their eyes.
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August came around and it was time for Peter to leave for a short holiday and his studies in Rome. Everyone knew he was going but this is how he announced it, at the end of Mass before the dismissal and blessing:
"My dear sisters and brothers, ... my dear friends.
"This is the last Mass that I shall be celebrating with you for some time, as I leave tomorrow to travel to Rome where I am to study Canon Law for two years - or five years - it depends how good I am. It's four years now since I first came to this village and fell in love with you and this lovely corner of Ireland. I've had my rough patches but on the whole I have enjoyed being among you and sharing your joys and disappointments. This last year or so has seen quite a few changes, the best of which, no doubt, is the coming of our favourite monk, Fr Aiden! Between us we are able to do so much more for you. The more frequent visiting, the greater attendances at Mass, the youth music group, the house Masses and the minibus are examples of that. Leaving is going to be quite a wrench, and, to be honest, I'm not sure how I am going to cope. I can't say that I am really looking forward to being a full-time student again. But the archbishop has asked me to do this so that when I come back I shall be qualified to help people with marriage problems to get the consideration they need from the church marriage tribunals. This is not something that we hear much about, but I can tell you that the work is very important to those affected. Helping people with their relationships has always been a priority for me, and studying for a JCD will allow me to do more for people.
"I shall miss you all enormously, so please write or e-mail me with your news. I'll put my contact details on the notice board. Or you can leave messages with Fr Aiden, who has promised to pass them on. I promise to reply. And I promise to send my news as well. I'll try and send some digital pictures with the camera that you so generously gave me.
"The Archbishop has promised that I can return to Ballykissangel in my holidays and when I have finished the course. So, in the words of the Terminator, "I'll be back!" In the meantime, I leave you in the very capable hands of Fr Aiden. Please pray for me now and then, as I shall pray and offer my Masses for all of you. As the first thing I shall have to do is to learn Italian, let me conclude by saying 'A presto'!"
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Peter Clifford spent five years studying canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome gaining first his licentiate and then his doctorate (JCD). He was as good as his word and kept in frequent touch with his friends and parishioners in Ballykissangel. He sent a monthly newsletter to Fr Aiden for the noticeboard, sometimes including paragraphs in Latin or Italian for the school students to wrestle over. He took to signing himself 'Padre Pietro Cliffordini'! And he replied to the many letters and e-mail messages that reached him.
He made short return visits during the year and spent a few weeks each summer covering for the holidays of Fr Aiden or Fr Mac. He would be glad to get back to his studies after the energetic round of home visits and parties. He would call on Fr Timothy Wheen on his way through Dublin, and visit Glasnevin cemetery too.
He made new friends in Rome, especially Fr Angelo Mazzini SJ, who also was working for his JCD. Fr Angelo had extended family all over Italy and took Peter with him whenever he could. Peter came to realise that a JCD is not only an essential qualification for work with the Marriage Tribunals but also a desirable qualification for any high administrative office in the Church. His fellow students were all 'high fliers'.
He became friends with some of the student priests at the Venerable English College. Once they realized that he was a first-class graduate in Astronomy (and from Cambridge as well), he was drawn into various discussion groups on cosmology, creationism and so on. He found himself having to update his knowledge of recent developments in cosmology and particle physics. One particular joy was a visit to the telescope at the Vatican Observatory at Castel Gandolfo and even to observe through it.
The English-language newspapers were part of his regular reading and he loved listening to the BBC World Service on his portable radio as he wrote his letters in the late evening. One sadness, though, was the series of scandals concerning the Church which were then dominating the headlines. He was not altogether sorry to be out of Ireland. But he always went back to see his friends. Ballykissangel was his home, when all was said and done.
When he returned after gaining his JCD, it was as parish priest of Cilldargan in succession to Fr Mac, who had retired on health grounds. His arthritis had become much worse and he had suffered several more heart attacks. After a couple of years, Peter was appointed to the diocesan marriage tribunal alongside his parish work. This meant that he had to spend at least one day a week in Dublin and much time on case papers. So, reluctantly, he had to give up his football matches and his youth work. He also saw less of his friends in Ballykissangel.
After five years there, he was posted back to England as Vicar General in his home diocese of Salford. Within a year, he was appointed an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, UK. His titular see was Valentiniana. As well as acting as the archbishop's deputy for a sector of the very large diocese, he had oversight of the youth service including two residential centres and was a member of the diocesan marriage appeals tribunal. He also lectured at Oscott College, the diocesan seminary. Later he acquired the additional duty of media spokesman on Science and Religion for the Bishops of England and Wales and in that capacity became an occasional broadcaster on the BBC.
But the part of his role that he loved best, worked hardest at and thought most important, was looking after the priests who worked in his area, particularly the less experienced ones. As a curate or parish priest he had been the spiritual father of his community; now he saw himself as the father of his priests.
Sadly, over time, he gradually lost contact with his friends in Ballykissangel and even the annual arrival of Christmas cards from Ireland dried up.
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4
