** here it is so please read, reflect and come back to me ** Today, Monday 4th November I received a letter containing the opening words ‘Verbal Warning’ and it was to be expected considering the meeting attended last Friday (Nov. 1st) ended with the words that I would indeed be in receipt of such. What is it about? It is a notice from Ennis Town Council indicating that if I again attempt to help the homeless by offering them shelter again, then I face the possibility of losing my own home, and irony of ironies, if that does happen then Ennis Town Council is under no obligation to house me. Well, it would seem it is an obligation that some in both Ennis Town Council and their overseers in Clare County Council have absolved themselves of for quite some time, and maybe a little reminder is in order!! The good people of Ennis were subjected to mass media coverage earlier this summer due to the death of Josef Pavelka (RIP) on the streets of their town and all that could be heard emanating from the spin doctors of Ennis Town Council was denial, denial and more denial. This is a situation that was described and referred to in its totality by District Court Judge Durkan as ‘a scandal.’ Well Judge Durkan, here is another scandal for you to be made aware of and it certainly is one that the people of Ennis and Clare need be advised of as I firmly believe that there will indeed, regretfully, be another death on the streets of the capital town of Clare by Christmas. I invited into my home those who were hungry, in need of a shower, fresh clothing, a bed to rest upon for a while, and a little support so that they could begin get their lives together again. Without an address, these citizens of this country would not be entitled to avail of social welfare, a medical card or to indeed be put on the housing lists. So right away there is a vicious circle working against the homeless and this is a bureaucratic circle…not one of the making of the homeless themselves, and it was out of this circle that I (and indeed others) wished to remove them and get them back on their feet. However, this did not seem to be appreciated by someone who can only best be described as a bureaucratic bully who decided to make an issue out of it and made a report of it to Ennis Town Council who then duly summoned me to a meeting in relation to the matter. At this meeting, the aforementioned bureaucratic bully from Clare County Council made sweeping generalisations about the homeless which were condescending to say the least and certainly indicated a lack of empathy and compassion and indeed a basic understanding of the needs of the homeless. It is regrettable to have to state but this bully is an SEO in Clare County Council and perhaps this may suggest why the homeless in Ennis remain that – homeless. I was reminded – when I spoke up for the homeless – that this meeting was NOT about the homeless but rather about disciplining me for my actually trying to help the very people that Clare County Council was failing - and continues to fail - to help. Let me be very clear here and state that not everyone in Clare County Council is guilty of such failure but rather it is the inaction of the few that is causing this issue to have to be highlighted again – by the very hand of an SEO who had nothing better to do than have me disciplined for her failures!! Is that the reason why I hear you ask? Was I doing something that someone was failing to do and they did not like it? I genuinely cannot answer that and would not care to as my concern is for those 6 people who are roughing it on our streets at this moment in time. Any attempts by me to address the issue of homeless ness and those in need was drowned out by a bureaucratic bully hell bent on making a whipping boy out of me. I sincerely hope they felt they had done such a good job in doing so because as I ponder over this letter, one thing comes to mind – what effort time and money was put into having me called to be disciplined could have been better used in addressing the real issue to hand – homelessness!! Ah but I digress because I too am like those on the streets - an inconvenience to the bureaucrats and not a person that needs to be heard or respected. And by God that was very evident at that meeting indeed. Both I and those I attempted to speak for were ignored yet again…. There are some questions I must pose in all of this… Who will call the bureaucratic bullies to a meeting and make them account for their failures? Who will discipline them when the inevitable happens? Will the people of Ennis have to endure yet another stampede of media and international coverage? Will Clare County Council issue further denials of it all? And what angers me in all of this is that for doing what we are called to do as Christians, as human beings, and as clergy, some choose to remain silent, cosied up in houses and not passing a moments thought to the poor misfortunates outside in the cold damp and unforgiving weather. ‘There are many rooms in my Fathers house’ is a quote from the Gospel of John (14:2), and indeed there are, and likewise in this fathers house there are spare rooms indeed that I would again happily invite the homeless to avail of, but unfortunately Jesus was not aware of the bureaucratic bullies in Clare County Council when those words were uttered. Those spare rooms must remain spare and unused or else I may find myself in need of lodgings at the inn myself this Christmas…and remember, Ennis Town Council will not be assisting!! I now ask the right thinking and generous people of Ennis and indeed Clare to take time to think of those less well off at this time, say a prayer for them, donate or whatever you feel you can. Speak out for the voiceless whose own voices are drowned out by those of bureaucratic bullies of whom we seem to have more than enough. Do not judge the person on the street who is dishevelled because in the current economic climate, there are more than enough out there who may yet be one (or more) missed mortgage payment(s) from facing homelessness. It is something to ponder on as we struggle at this time – never let us forget that we are never too far up that we can fall down…it’s the helping hand that gets us back on our feet again that may not be there we also need to worry about!! I remain, Yours in Christ, Joseph
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 19:46:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015