Irish California Here They All Come Again by Bob Callahan It's pleasing to look out at the fairly long list of writers, scholars and poets about to descend into our midst in the weeks ahead, and recall that it wasn't that long ago that all Paddy's Day meant to most people, save a noble and long suffering core, was that the Cowboys were once again about to take over your favorite corner bar, and for a day or so, it would probably be a good idea to try to pretend you were Japanese. There is a joke buried in there about saki, and body types, but I won't even attempt to dig it out. This year's festivities were kicked off for some of us at Zellerbach Auditorium in Berkeley last month when the Chieftains came back to town. I have had the pleasure of hearing this band play for more than twenty years now, but I have seldom heard them play any better than last month. This was the first time the band performed locally without the wonderful Derek Bell, who died last Fall, a master harpist, and not a bad man for a little old fashioned ragtime music too. Loosing Derek left a hole in this band the size of Kansas, and I confess that there was more than just a little curiosity on my part to hear how they would now rearrange some of the Chieftains most favored tunes without the guy. Needless to say, however if there was ever a truly great Irish showman, in the best sense of that term, that showman is Paddy Moloney. With the help of a couple sets of dancers, a small aviary of classically trained string instrumentalists, a honest to god consummate Nashville guitar player, and a Southern woman with a barrel-ass voice which could peel the paint off the bumper on Daddy's model-T Ford, Paddy managed to turn the whole evening into one of the most spirited and upbeat concerts. The added strings gave a new bottom to the music; and the Chieftains demonstrated once again, that, when pushed, they are still almost without peer in this profession. And then, two weeks later, just down the street, Pete Hamill also came back to town. I have elsewhere written in The Irish Herald what Pete Hamill means to me as a journalist. I grew up just outside New York City, and for me, for a long long time, New York was what Pete, and Jimmy Breslin, said it was, week after week. In their imagination, New York was always a town of working class peoples-Jews, Irishman, Italians, Blacks, Chinese, and Puerto Ricans-and what they all made up together was what America kept becoming season after season. Hell-If you wanted to know where the heart of New York was on any given occasion: that was easy. Go ask Pete. Wherever Pete was, that is where you could hear the heart of New York City beating. Pete was back in town to talk about his marvelous big new novel called forever, which among other things, is as good a history lesson on what actually happened during the Riots of 1741, or a century later at The Five Points, as you will ever find in any history books. If The Gangs of New York made you more curious for these missing days in our heritage, by all means read Pete's latest novel. A few years ago Pete managed to add a remarkable new dimension of magic realism into his fiction-which may be what William Kennedy has given a whole generation of novelists permission to do-and Pete came up with this great breakthrough novel Christmas in July. He has been sailing on these seas...smoothly, effortlessly...ever since. At the end of his evening, someone asked Hamill if he had thought much about the various plans to rebuild the neighborhood around the old World Trade Center after 9/11, and he said he both had, and he hadn't. Pete said he wanted it rebuilt as just that, a neighborhood...with business, sure, but also small flower shops, and long green lawns, places where you could look down a side street, and still get a glimpse of the river. Sunday afternoon New York. "Mostly," Pete said. "I want it be a place where people actually live...a place where old men can find a comfortable bench and still spend an hour or so reading William Butler Yeats." He honors us all, this child of Whitman. This Pete Hamill. Congress Delegation To Report On PSNI by Sean O'Driscoll A US Congressman arrived in Northern Ireland on Monday February 17 as part of an investigation into the PSNI. New Jersey Congressman, Chris Smith, is to gather information on the police ahead of a high profile congressional hearing that will explore the US government's continuing support for the police service. Spokesperson, Nick Minetto, said that Congressman Smith made a last minute decision to travel to Northern Ireland after consulting with colleagues in Helsinki. "This hearing is going to be quite an important one and he wanted to make sure he had all the facts at his disposal before it's convened," Minetto said. Meanwhile, a separate five-person Congressional delegation arrived in Northern Ireland on Tuesday. The group is led by the co-chair of the House of Representative's Ireland Committee, Jim Walsh, who lends his name to Walsh Visa Program for young Ulster students and trainees. The delegation, which also includes Representatives Tim Holden from Pennsylvania, Alan Mollahan from West Virginia, and Jack Quinn and Carolyn McCarthy from New York, arrived in the Republic on, February 15 and will explore recent political developments on both sides of the border. Representative Smith's Police Service hearing comes under the control of the Commission on the Security and Co-operation in Europe, a group made up of members of the US Senate and House of Representatives that investigates human rights issues. The hearing, due to take place in mid-March, has already been condemned by Policing Board member, Ian Paisley Jnr, who said that it would intrude on the work of the Police Oversight Commissioner Tom Constantine. Smith, known for his strong criticism of British government policy in Northern Ireland, has said that that he wants the hearing to be a non-partisan exploration with both Republicans and Democrats involved. He said that the Northern Ireland police have been involved in serious human rights abuses in the past and needed to be monitored. In 1998, Smith sponsored legislation that prevented the RUC from training at FBI headquarters in Virginia without government certification, but the PSNI have since been granted certification. The Chief Constable, Huge Orde, recently spoke out against the high level of scrutiny placed on the PSNI by the US Congress, and said he found the level of monitoring involved "offensive." Irish Dance Teacher Guilty In Abuse Case by Sean O'Driscoll One of California's most successful Irish dance teachers intends to appeal a conviction for committing lewd conduct with a 15-year-old boy. Peter Scalisi, a lawyer for Carona-based teacher, Sean Gavan, said that he would appeal after a jury found Gavan guilty of trying to fondle the boy during a student stay over in his house. A judge is due to sentence Gavan on March 7, when he faces up to a year in prison. Several parents whose students attended Gavan's classes had helped to post $50,000 bail before the case and about 30 supporters sat behind him during the week-long trial. Gavan, originally from Scotland, ran Glasgow's largest Irish dance school before moving to California, where he held classes in eight different cities. He had sent dozens of his students to international competitions and several world Irish dancing titles. The jury found him guilty of inappropriately touching the boy, a former student, who was staying at Gavan's home in Corona, California in December 2000. "We're all very disappointed with the verdict," said Scalisi. "The young man gave so many conflicting and contradictory statements." Prosecutors relied on a telephone conversation between Gavan and the boy, known in court as "John" which was secretly recorded by the police. Deputy District Attorney Kelly Hansen told a jury that Gavan did not deny the allegations put to him by the boy and told him that the publicity would ruin his career as an Irish dance teacher. She also said that "John" was an ideal target because he was ostracized by his peers, confused about his sexuality and eager to please his dance teacher. "The defendant picked the young man who was an outcast," said Hansen during closing arguments. "The defendant picked the young man who was begging for attention." Scalisi told the court that said the boy was shown to be dishonest to police on several occasions and that he had repeatedly changed his story about how the abuse was said have occurred. "He's a young man who does crazy things to get attention," said Scalisi. "He has an established pattern and history of doing things to get attention." The boy told police Gavan touched him during a sleepover in December 2000 when he, two girls who were also students in Gavan's Irish dance class, and an adult stayed at Gavan's home because the students had been out late at a Christmas party and had to attend a dance class the following morning. Some months later, the boy reported to police that Gavan touched him on the genitals. The district attorney's office relied on a telephone conversation between the boy and his teacher that was recorded by police. The conversation took place in October 2001, roughly 10 months after the abuse occurred. Prosecutor Hansen asked the jury to note Gavan's response to the allegations. "The first thing the defendant says is, 'Where are you?' "Hansen told the jury. "He doesn't say, 'Excuse me. I didn't hear you right. I thought you said I put my hand on your testicles.' Or he doesn't say, 'I don't know what's wrong with you tonight and I'm terminating this phone call.'" In his testimony, Gavan said that the boy would often ring him up later at night. "He complained no one liked him, and he talked about threatening to commit suicide," Gavan said. "I did not know how to answer these concerns. I was pretty used to what I call grandstanding." He agreed that he had apologised to the boy, but denied molesting him. Putting The Church To Rights by Mark R. Day If Owen O'Sullivan had his way, the authority structure of the Catholic church would be turned on its head. The See of Peter would still be in Rome, but there would be no more cardinals in crimson capes. No Roman Curia run by stodgy octogenarians. And no more power politics to preserve clerical privileges. The church would go back to the basics. O'Sullivan, 59, is a Capuchin Franciscan priest who answers the telephone at Christ the Redeemer Church in West Belfast as "Brother Owen." His books and writings on pastoral theology occasionally raise eyebrows if not hackles, but conservative opponents grudgingly admit that he reads more Vatican documents than they do. Born in Dublin, O'Sullivan entered the Capuchins as a teenager, was ordained a priest in 1970 and spent seven years in New Zealand before departing for Zambia where he worked for 20 years. "One thing I learned there was to trust people, their intelligence and good will," he said in a telephone interview. "In spite of widespread corruption, economic collapse, and AIDs in their country, the Zambians keep hope alive." His work in Africa led him to think and write about the church when he returned to Ireland. "My idea is to criticize the church in a positive way, to put together some positive alternatives." He said. In his book The Silent Schism, O'Sullivan argues that the church has gone wrong in fundamental ways and needs to be changed from the bottom up. The focus needs to be on the local churches, he says. People need to choose their pastors and bishops. They in turn would delegate certain functions to local synods, and ultimately to a central bureaucracy. In other words, the People of God, in line with scripture, tradition and reason, would be telling Rome what to do, and not vice-versa. O'Sullivan says the church was governed this way in North Africa until the sixth century. "The current lack of lay input has crippled the church," he said. "If we had that participation over the past 25 years, the sexual abuse would have been minimized. Priests and people would have worked together. There would not have been so much fudging and postponing." He argues that the present model of the church has led to a stagnant leadership. In a recent article in The Furrow-a monthly journal for the contemporary church-O'Sullivan complained about the lack of priest-prophets in Ireland. Instead of showing imagination, courage and honesty, he wrote, the clergy are hedging their bets, there is a climate of fear, and lots of self-censorship. "That's not to say that prophets don't exist, though," he adds. He cites Bishop Willie Walsh's work with the Travellers, the Vincentians' work with refugees in Dublin, the outspoken leadership of abuse victim Marie Collins, and the efforts of Denis Faul and Alec Reid in the Northern Ireland peace process. "The problem is that most priests see their role as sacramental," said O'Sullivan. "But the job of a prophet is to speak the truth. We're supposed to be leaders, but we are conditioned from seminary days to follow and not think for ourselves." The results are decisions made on the basis of politics, not the truth, he complains. "A prime example is clerical celibacy. If you change the rule, you are altering the power structure. Those in charge want to keep things the way they are. There is so much maintenance, and so little mission." O'Sullivan uses scriptural passages such as the temptation of Jesus to illustrate his points. "Satan challenged Jesus to play the power game," he said, "to turn stones into bread. I'm afraid we in the churches have fallen into this as well. Power is being used to stifle the spirit. It is an expression of loyalty and orthodoxy, not service." Even the beatification process is thoroughly political, O'Sullivan explains, salting his comments with Irish humor. He explains that the Vatican's requirements for sainthood include a time lapse of five years between death and the introduction of a cause, personal holiness, miracles, and verifiable documentation about the candidate's life. "In Mother Teresa's case, the pope dispensed with the five year period," said O'Sullivan. "In the beatification of Blessed Kateri Tekwitha of the Mohawks, His Holiness did away with the need for a miracle. With Jose Maria de Balaguer, the founder of the ultra-conservative lay group Opus Dei, John Paul overlooked the need for personal holiness. And as for Blessed Juan Diego, the Mexican Indian, the pope made the ultimate exemption -proof that he even existed." As for the changes he advocates, O'Sullivan is encouraged by events in Boston where the Voice of the Faithful Together and other lay groups are calling the clergy to accountability. "We don't have that yet in Ireland," he lamented. "The laity haven't yet moved into positions of leadership. What happens here is that people just walk away, sometimes angry, at times hurt, but always frustrated. Sometimes I feel all those things." Despite this bleak picture, O'Sullivan sees a positive edge to the current crisis. He likes biblical imagery. "Jesus writing in the sand with his finger, the potter from Isaiah, making and re-making a jar, or the seed falling into the ground. Something new is coming," said O'Sullivan. "We will soon reach a point where the whole of humanity finds itself with one single thing on the agenda-survival. Everything, culture, politics, economics and religion will have to take a back seat to that." 245(i) & J-1 Sponsorship by Celine Kennelly At the beginning of 2001, the buzz-word among undocumented immigrants was 245(i), an enigmatic section of legislation which would entitle them to apply for a green card. It was to be the answer to the prayers and dreams of many. However, since the events of 9/11 and a worldwide economic downward trend, both have made enormous changes to the 245(i) process. The process for many began with the submission of a reduction in recruitment (RIR) application whereby the sponsoring company would have to show a 'good faith' effort was made to hire a US citizen or legal alien for the position. RIR applications submitted pre-April 30, 2001, complete with the requisite advertising moved from the Employment Development Department (EDD) to the Department of Labor (DOL) for labor certification within 6 months. Once the economic slowdown began, DOL re-evaluated the RIR process and began to require additional advertising and today the processing time for applications submitted after May 1, 2001 has extended itself to at least 11 months. The reality is that most cases are currently 'stuck' in DOL despite their insistence that the RIR cases are indeed moving ahead. This is also true of J-1 visa holders applying for their green card. If you have a 245(i) case pending please consider carefully any travel outside of the US. If a trip is vital, consult your immigration attorney. For cases filed pre-May 1, 2001, which have received labor certification from DOL and moved onto the INS stage of processing, some changes have also taken place. Upon filing the I-140 Immigrant Visa Petition, the sponsoring company will have to submit financial returns showing a minimum profit of a year's salary for the applicant, which is usually about $50,000. Without being able to prove this, the I-140 will not be approved and the adjustment is no longer possible. If the financials are acceptable, the I-485 Adjustment of Status, "green card" can be filed with the I-140 and the immigrant will receive their work permit on the 91st day after filing. At this point, the immigrant will also be subject to an FBI background check. Should the FBI check be clear, the receipt of the actual green card will then take approximately 15 months. If you have questions contact your immigration attorney or Celine at the IIPC. (415)-752-6006 www.sfiipc.org   These are a few sample stories. For more, pick up your free copy of The Irish Herald. Click here to find the Irish Herald vendor nearest you. Main | Where's the Craic? | Advertising Rates Classifieds | Where to Find The Irish Herald Subscribe to The Irish Herald | Links About The Irish Herald | The Irish Yellow Pages