Laurence Wren: a man of faith, service, justice, honesty and integrity

Laurence Wren

(1922 - 9 March 2016) [Photo: RTÉ]

Laurence Wren was the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána (The Guardian of the Peace), the head of the police force of the Republic of Ireland, from February 1983 till November 1987 when he retired. He and his wife Maureen lived on the same road as my brother Paddy and his family and my then widowed father who had moved there in 1979. Since then I have been going home to that house in Castleknock, in St Brigid's Parish, Blanchardstown. When I was a child it was a rural village northwest of Dublin city. Now it is part of the Greater Dublin sprawl.

Over the years I had an occasional chat with him, after he had retired, usually on the way to Mass in St Brigid's. He went to Mass every day, as my own father had done till his death in 1987, until the last year or two when he wasn't able to go out very much.

The thing that struck me most about Mr Wren - that is how I always addressed him; I would never dream of calling him 'Larry' the name he was known as to everyone - was his humility. He was a very active member of the St Vincent de Paul Society, which helps many people in difficult financial circumstances. Once a month its members - they were all men in the parish branch - had a collection in the church grounds after Sunday Mass. Even when he was Garda Commissioner he stood there with his box and a visitor would have no idea that this was the head of the Irish police force.

I have often told that story in homilies and retreats here in the Philippines. And I'm happy that I once told Mr Wren himself about this in one of our occasional chats when we met each other on the way to Mass.

According to a number of reports after his death he used his own car when going to work and used his official car only on official occasions. 

Peter Murtagh wrote in The Irish Times: To those who did not know him, Wren, who has died aged 93, might have come across as a slightly grey, ordinary man. He was anything but. If a single word can ever be used adequately to describe an individual, in the case of Larry Wren that word would be 'upright'.

Shortly before he was appointed Garda Commissioner by the government he led an investigation into the illegal phone-tapping of two journalists under the previous government. This led to the resignation of Mr Wren's predecessor and of another very senior Garda. Peter Murtagh noted: Wren did not court the media; he did not play media games. But he had a steely ethic about right and wrong. He also said: He was a man of few words, but those spoken were important.

Peter Murtagh quoted an old colleague and friend of Larry Wren: He was always straight. You knew where you stood with him. The writer said of Mr Wren's time as Commissioner: He was no revolutionary in the discharge of his duties as head of the force, but a stickler for standards and for doing the job in the correct way.

Claude Grange's statue of St Columban, Lueuil, France

As I write this I am struck by a certain similarity between Laurence Wren and St Columban, whose 1,400th death anniversary we celebrated on 23 November last year.. He too was a stickler for standards and for doing the job in the correct way. And, Like St Columban, Mr Wren wasn't afraid to stand up to anyone when it was a matter of right and wrong. As St Columban stood up to kings and argued with popes about the date of Easter, while showing deep respect for the office of the Bishop of Rome, Laurence Wren stood up to senior officers and to members of the government when it was a matter of right and wrong, of truth against falsehood.

Vatican II said in its Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, No 43: This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities, to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the Gospel spirit. They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation.

Laurence Wren's whole life was a living out of his Catholic Christian faith, according to his proper vocation as a husband, father, grandfather, as one concerned about those with little in life - and as a policeman serving the people of the Republic of Ireland, always with a sense of service, justice, honesty and integrity.

Peter Murtagh concluded his tribute with these words: Of Larry Wren, it may truly be said that he did the State considerable service in exceptionally difficult circumstances.

St Brigid's Church, Blanchardstown [Parish website]

The funeral Mass of Laurence Wren takes place here at noon today, Monday. May he rest in peace.

Marriage Referendum in Republic of Ireland; pre-referendum novena

Peasant Wedding, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, c.1567

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna [Web Gallery of Art]

On Friday 22 May voters in the Republic of Ireland will go to polling stations to decided whether or not to amend the Constitution by re-defining marriage: Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.

This is a consequence of the passing of The Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Marriage Equality) Bill 2015.

Anyone in the Republic of Ireland is free to marry in accordance with law - anyone. Some choose not to marry, for different reasons. Some who would like to marry don't because perhaps no one has asked them to be a partner in life until death do us part.

This referendum is allegedly about 'equality' but is in reality an attempt to re-define marriage to make it something that has never existed in any society from the beginning of time.

Though I will be in Ireland on 22 May having arrived there the day before, carrying my Irish passport, the only one I have, I will not be eligible to vote on this attempt to radically change society in my country, despite being a natural-born citizen. Because I live outside Ireland I am not considered equal to citizens who live there. This is not an election for a new parliament. I can understand why I cannot vote in that. This is an attempt to re-define the society to which I belong, to change the Constitution of my country.

So much for 'equality'.

In today's Irish Independent Ger Brennan, who plays for the Dublin Gaelic Football team, explains Why I'm voting No. Some of his points:

• For a start, this isn't a referendum on whether we like gay people or whether they should be equal citizens according to the Constitution. They already are equal citizens. Article 40.1, which deals with equality, declares that all citizens shall be held equal before the law. We are not being asked to amend Article 40. We are instead being asked to amend Article 41, which deals with the family and with marriage.
• All legislation is derived from the Constitution and its principles. So it seems pretty clear that if we redefine marriage and the family by making marriage genderless we will be denying that there is any special value in a child having both a mother and a father. We will be denying that children have any kind of a legal right to a mother and father where possible, like when it comes to laws relating to adoption and surrogacy.
• I very nearly decided not to write this piece. I know I'll be targeted for it and labeled for it. It would have been easier to keep my mouth shut and not rock the boat. But I'm sick of the accusations being flung around that if you vote 'No' you are homophobic. I know I'm not homophobic; my gay friends and family can attest to that. I am voting 'No' because I don't want our Constitution to deny that it is a good thing for a child to have a mother and a father.
• The Universal Declaration on Human Rights proclaims that everybody is equal in dignity and it holds that marriage is a male-female union. I don't think the Declaration of Human Rights is homophobic. I'm voting 'No'.

Many of those who are pushing for 'Yes', ie for change, try to make this a 'Catholic' issue in the sense that they make out the old-fashioned, 'conservative' Catholic Church to be holding back progress. Nowhere in his article does Ger Brennan indicate his faith or religion, if any. Nowhere does he refer to the Catholic Church. No society in history has ever seen marriage as other than a union between man and woman, in some societies with polygamous or polyandrous variations on this but always male and female, with the probability of their producing children. The wider society has always been seen as having some responsibility in enabling parents to raise their children, have them educated and so on. That is the only reason the State should have any interest in the union of husband and wife and their children, the family.

Bruce Arnold is an English journalist who has lived and worked in Ireland since 1957. He has argued strongly on his blog against the proposed change. In anything I have read there I don't find any reference to faith or religion or to the sacrament of marriage. Catholics give a special meaning to the sacrament but what we believe is in full harmony with what every society in history until now has believed: that marriage involves man and woman and, as nature teaches us, it is only a man and a woman together who can bring another human being into existence.. And any of the artificial/unnatural means used today to produce a child still need a man and a woman. 

The Holy Family, Sisto Badalocchio, c.1610

Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT, USA [Web Gallery of Art]

Today, Wednesday 13 May, a novena has begun for the people of the Republic of Ireland as they prepare for this important vote. One does not need to be a Christian to understand that family has always meant husband and wife and, in most cases, children. But Christians have a great responsibility to work for justice. Justice includes working to ensure that children should never be commodities, as so many are in today's world.

Novena Prayer

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Holy Family of Nazareth,
we bless and venerate you.

We commend to your care and protection
the cause of marriage and family life.
May the peace which reigned in your home
take possession of all hearts and abide in all families.

Confirm all men and women in the truth
so we may recognise what is good and right
and reject all that hinders life
and the true flourishing of humanity.

Guide the hearts of all citizens
that we may witness to the truth
in forming the laws governing our society.
Bless those who work for the protection
of marriage, family and life.

O Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Holy Family of Nazareth,
We entrust our hearts and our lives to you.

Amen

National Vigil for LIfe, Dublin, Saturday 8 June

Blurb with the video: The National Vigil for Life takes place at a key moment with the Government intending to introduce abortion in July. Get involved by attending yourself and inviting as many others as possible. Bring a car-load or even a bus-load. To organise a bus or get information on buses from your area please telephone Denise on (087) 266 8702 or Theresa on (085) 871 1100. Like National Vigil For Life on Facebook and Follow @natvigil4life on Twitter for updates. See you on 8th June!

The government of the Republic of Ireland is trying to introduce legislation that would legalise abortion. The most contentious part of the bill would allow abortion if the mother was threatening abortion. The medical and psychiatric advice given during consultations held in the Senate chamber earlier in the year dismissed as having no basis the idea that aborting a child was a 'cure' for suicidal ideation.

Fears too have been expressed that if this legislation is approved it would give a l'legitimacy' to suicide. And this at a time when suicide is the cause of the deaths of many young people, about 80 percent of them men.

Little or no attention has bee paid to the reality that in many cases having had an abortion has led women to suicide or to attempted suicide.

LifeZine, the official magazine of Family & Life in Dublin, states:

Right now the Irish government proposes dangerous and unjust abortion legislation. The Taoiseach says it's restrictive, that it's about saving lives, and that it won't actually change anything. Nothing could be further from the truth. The government plans to rush this legislation through in July - even avoiding a vote in the Dáil [Irish parliament] if possible. Your presence at the National Vigil For Life in Merrion Square, Dublin, this Saturday at 3pm is vital to challenge this. Before the Vigil, there will be a special Prayer Service for Life in Saint Andrew's Church, Westland Row, from 1.30 to 2.30 pm, led by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Please do as much as you can to make this event a success. Invite family, friends and colleagues. This may be your last chance to make your voice heard.

Though I am an Irish citizen, with no other citizenship, I cannot vote in Irish elections because I am living overseas, even though in the Philippines where I have permanent residency I cannot vote in elections at any level there either. I am outraged at the possibility that legislation dealing with life and death could possibly be passed without a vote.

Knock Shrine, Basilica in background

Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam gave a powerful homily on the issue last Saturday in the Basilica in Knock, where the Blessed Mother appeared in 1879, and which is in his diocese. Here is the conclusion of his homily:

Clear Catholic Position

The Catholic bishops of Ireland point out that “the Bill as outlined represents a dramatic and morally unacceptable change to Irish law and is unnecessary to ensure that women receive the life-saving treatment they need during pregnancy”. The Pro-life commitment of the Church is reflected in her compassion for those who so often regret having had an abortion, her understanding for those who are facing difficult decisions, and her assistance for those who choose life. The work of CURA in this regard is a clear expression of the compassion, understanding and care with which the Church wishes to respond to every woman who faces difficulties or crisis in pregnancy.

Appeal to legislators!

Legislators are being asked to pass a law prescribing the death of innocent human beings. I ask that Legislators would reflect on the seriousness of the situation before voting. Is it really necessary to provide for Abortion in circumstances where evidence overwhelmingly indicates it is unnecessary and unjustified? Are we not crossing a moral Rubicon here?

As we consider something as fundamental as this we ought not to behave as if our faith could be divorced from our decision and left 'outside the room'. Our faith confirms the fundamental truth upon which every human right and the very future of humanity depends: that every human life is beautiful, every human life is precious and every human life is sacred. I conclude therefore by making this simple and urgent appeal to all our public representatives: Choose life!

The last paragraph highlights one of the most harmful heresies of our day, that our Christian faith has no bearing on our lives, that it is nothing more than a harmless hobby or indulgence that may make us feel good. That kind of 'Christianity' has no connection with the invitation of Jesus in Luke 7:23:  If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 

The Visitation, El Greco, 1610-13 [Web Gallery of Art]

Archbishop Neary mentioned CURA, a crisis pregnancy programme that has the full support of the Irish bishops. Here is a short video about the services it offers.

Rachel's Vineyard is a ministry of healing for women and men who have been affected directly by abortion. It holds about five healing weekends per year in Ireland. The movement in Ireland has also organised weekends in the Faroe Islands and in the Republic of Korea. There is a weekend in Ireland this coming weekend, Please keep the participants in your prayers. These weekends are always held in private locations.

Ireland heading into the darkest ages?

There's an old Irish ballad, The Wearin' of the Green, with its roots in the uprising in parts of Ireland against British rule in 1798 that has these words in the version written in the 1800s by Irish writer Dion Boucicault:

I met with Napper Tandy 
And he took me by the hand 
And he said 'How's poor old Ireland? 
And how does she stand?' 
She's the most distressful country That ever you have seen . . .

Some recent events in the country of my birth suggest that it may well be choosing to be the most distressful country that you have ever seen.


The government of the Republic of Ireland is introducing legislation to legalise abortion in certain circumstances. The Irish Times reported on 16 April, A Bill to legalise abortion in certain circumstances, including the risk of suicide, is included in the programme of legislation the Government intends to publish between now and the summer break. 

The report goes on to say: The Bill, which is still being drafted, will make abortion legally permissible in certain circumstances and give statutory backing to the Supreme Court decision in the X case in 1991. The legislation will permit abortion when there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother. That risk will include the threat of suicide or self-destruction.

As the video above shows, there is no evidence whatever that an abortion is a 'cure' for a person with suicidal thoughts.

The Finding of Moses, Gioachino Assereto, c.1640 [Web Gallery of Art]

Sinn Féin claims on its website to be working for the establishment of a democratic socialist republic. Yet in March it blocked a cross-party proposal in the Northern Ireland Assembly to prevent Marie Stopes International from providing abortions in its clinic in Belfast. Marie Stopes International offers 'safe abortions'. Laws on abortion are much stricter in Northern Ireland than in the rest of the United Kingdom. Marie Stopes International claims to be working within the law, and they probably are, but their initiative is a private one. So much for Sinn Féin's policy of the establishment of a democratic socialist republic. 

Meanwhile, the government of the Republic of Ireland is introducing legislation to legalise abortion in certain circumstances. The Irish Times reported on 16 April, A Bill to legalise abortion in certain circumstances, including the risk of suicide, is included in the programme of legislation the Government intends to publish between now and the summer break. 

The report goes on to say: The Bill, which is still being drafted, will make abortion legally permissible in certain circumstances and give statutory backing to the Supreme Court decision in the X case in 1991. The legislation will permit abortion when there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother. That risk will include the threat of suicide or self-destruction.

In the Republic of Ireland last weekend the ongoing Constitutional Convention voted to recommend that the constitution be amended to allow for same-sex marriage, with 19 per cent against and the remainder having no opinion. 79 per cent were in favour. The Irish Times report adds: Commenting on the outcome today, a spokesman for the Catholic Communications Office said: 'While the result of the constitutional convention is disappointing, only the people of Ireland can amend the constitution. The Catholic church will continue to promote and seek protection for the uniqueness of marriage between a woman and a man, the nature of which best serves children and our society.'

The comment of the Church's spokesman is not quite accurate, It is only the people of the Republic of Ireland who can amend the Constitution, since those in Northern Ireland, even if they have Irish passports, don't have a vote in the Republic.

I don't look on Hollywood as a major source of wisdom or morality. But I think that its adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes should be listened to by anyone who buys into the utterly bizarre notion - and that's what it is - of 'marriage' between two people of the same sex. How has the Western world gone from the extreme of criminalising sexual activity between two adults of the same sex to the extreme of worshipping at the feet of the noisy 'gay lobby'?

Gaudium et Spes, The Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1965 at the end of the Second Vatican Council has this to say about marriage in No 48:

By their very nature, the institution of matrimony itself and conjugal love are ordained for the procreation and education of children, and find in them their ultimate crown. Thus a man and a woman, who by their compact of conjugal love "are no longer two, but one flesh" (Matt. 19:ff), render mutual help and service to each other through an intimate union of their persons and of their actions. Through this union they experience the meaning of their oneness and attain to it with growing perfection day by day. As a mutual gift of two persons, this intimate union and the good of the children impose total fidelity on the spouses and argue for an unbreakable oneness between them.

I would suggest that the song and dance of Gene Kelly and Judy Garland is much closer to what the Vatican Council said about marriage than the recommendation of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in the Grand Hotel, Malahide, County Dublin, last weekend. 

I had my ordination reception in that same hotel on 21 December 1967. If anyone there on that occasion had suggested that one day a group of adults gathered in that same place would tell the Irish government that they should introduce 'marriage' for two men or two women that person would rightly have been deemed to be crazy. 

To answer Napper Tandy's question about today's poor old Ireland, she is indeed the most distressful country that ever you have seen.