[caption id="attachment_68235" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Enda Kenny's real speechwriters."]
Papal nuncios to Ireland have long been ascetic looking Italians who rarely showed their faces in public and who would be unrecognizable to folks on the street even if they did.
That's all about to change it would appear, what with the arrival of Monsignor Charles Brown, an Irish American New Yorker who will be tasked with, among other things, lifting Dublin/Vatican relations from the diplomatic crypt where they have been in recent times.
Beyond this, there is much speculation that Brown will be cleaning house in the Irish hierarchy as part of a Vatican strategy to restore life and vigor to an Irish Catholic Church which has been in sharp decline for years, and indeed has been on the slide since even before the shocking pedophile scandals ruptured what had been a bond of trust between Catholics and their church going back to the time of St. Patrick.
Apart from all this heavy stuff, the appointment of Brown, who will receive a promotion to archbishop, was first reported last week by the publication English Catholic on what would have been the 89th birthday of Peanuts and Charlie Brown creator Charles Schultz. We kid you not.
The photo of Brown published herewith comes courtesy of English Catholic and the first thing that is noticeable is that here is a comparatively young prelate with a bit of a mischievous gleam in his eye. Either way, the man will be expected to gleam in his work such is the current sorry state of affairs in his new bailiwick.
Commented the Irish Times: "Pope Benedict has a record of giving key positions to men with whom he is well acquainted. Msgr. Brown, who has worked at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 1994, fills that description. And because the American priest worked in the Vatican office that has primary responsibility for clerical sex-abuse cases, he would be well equipped to deal with the Irish response to that crisis.
"After a shocking series of revelations about sexual abuse there, Pope Benedict ordered an apostolic investigation of the Church in Ireland. The Vatican has not revealed the results of that inquiry, but there is widespread speculation that there will be a thorough reconfiguration of the Irish hierarchy. The apostolic nuncio, who coordinates the process of choosing new bishops, would be the key figure in that process."
Watch this (sacred) space!
MY FELLOW......
Ah, nothing like imitation as a compliment.
In these darkest of economic times, Taoiseach Enda Kenny is preparing for an American presidential-style "state of the nation" address to the Irish people that will be broadcast from storm-tossed sea to storm-tossed sea.
The speech, which could come before the end of this week, and will definitely air before the December 6 mother of all budgets, will, if nothing else, serve as a visible exercise in Irish sovereignty.
That said, the speech could just as easily be delivered by Angela Merkel or her sidekick Nicolas Sarkozy, the euro-duo who are effectively calling the fiscal shots for Ireland, and just about everywhere else in Europe right now.
Reported the Irish Independent on Tuesday: "The speech will be longer than a party political broadcast but far shorter than a party Ard Fheis speech, meaning the length will be about 10 minutes.
"The script for the address is already being worked on by Mr. Kenny's in-house team of speech writers and advisers, including his chef-de-cabinet Mark Kennelly, his long-time speechwriter Miriam O'Callaghan, and advisers Angela Flanagan and Paul O'Brien."
That would mean two Angelas behind the scenes.
Anyway, IF is not much into speechifying, but here's a suggested opening line for Mr. Kenny: "Ich bin ein Irlander."
VISA ANNIVERSARY
The "Out of Ireland" show on PBS this week carried an interesting news item, via the aforementioned RTE, about a gathering of American Democrats in Dublin last week for a Thanksgiving celebration.
Democrats Abroad Ireland not only lashed into the turkey and trimmings but also used the occasion to pay homage to former congressman Brian Donnelly, the man behind the Donnelly Visas.
It's been 25 years since this lifeline was tossed to thousands of Irish struggling to find work on their native island. Donnelly himself was not on hand for the anniversary celebration, but a nephew of his was and he spoke to a reporter about Uncle Brian's legacy.
Larry Donnelly also expressed hope that (in this time of thousands of Irish struggling to find work on their native island) that some other Irish American politician would now step forward with a new visa program.
Eh, that sound you hear is the drumming of countless fingers on countless tables.
