World Youth Day

World Youth Day is due to be held in Panama in 2019. This is a huge international event which is

held every three years. Normally, around 400,000 young people participate in the event - often there are another 100,000 plus who attend without being "officially" participants - mostly people who are from the host country and its neighbours. It is also usual for the Pope to attend some part of it. The last WYD was held in Poland.

The young people who travel to this event come from a mixture of diocesan, parish, and national groups. Each group makes its own travel arrangements and joins with the young people from all over the world during the meeting in a series of organised events.

Pope Francis wearing a traditional Panamanian Hat (Panama Hats are from Ecuador

The event that receives most coverage is probable the mass with the Pope - for obvious reasons: for most of the young people present it is probably their first/ only opportunity to see the Pope "in the flesh"; it is an event at which the various nationalities will have a chance to "shine"; and it also concludes the meeting which is, very often, a very emotional experience for the participants.

However, this mass is probably not the most important event. The meeting is organised in such a way that smaller groups, perhaps as small as one or two hundred, participate in different types of sessions, many of which, in one way or another, are structured around some aspect of catechesis. Many older people probably remember learning the catechism by rote in a way that was far from inspiring - these young people will not be subjected to that. What they will be invited to take part in is a series of workshops, talks and seminars where speakers will address some of the issues facing the church, the churches, and the modern world. These sessions are interspersed with many other more "fun" sessions, allowing the young people to both get to know each other, and to experience some of the culture of the country they are visiting.

Preparations for WYD normally begin as soon as it concludes, if you follow me! In other words, the meeting in Panama in 2019 began to be organised as soon as the meeting in Poland in 2016 concluded. This means that, at this stage, one year's preparation has already taken place, and some of this preparation is very evident here in Panama City.

One of the seminarians, a native of Korea, but preparing to work as a priest in Panama, has been

selected to go to Rome to receive the Cross for World Youth Day from the Pope on Palm Sunday and to bring it back to Panama so that it can visit every part of the country in the lead up to the big day.

All churches have large banners reminding people of the dates for the gathering; parishes are canvassing their parishioners to see who might be willing/ able to host some of the visiting young people; venues for the larger events are being explored together with the logistics of access and egress for such large numbers of people.

Panama will have to deal with some challenges that are particular to its geographic and climatic location - we are in the tropics, and even though the even will be held in the wintertime, there is no such thing as cold weather in Panama - despite what the Panameños say!!! I remember one evening (during the winter) when the temperature dropped to 26 degrees one evening - several of the seminarians came to the evening prayers wearing woolen sweaters. I'm sure many of the Irish participants, at least, will find the heat, and the very strong sun to be a challenge. There is going to need to be a very reliable supply of drinking water and provision will also have to be made to cater for the inevitable cases of sunburn which will occur for those with fairer skin - I have got burnt during my stay here despite the fact that I stay out of the sun as much as possible: it is just incredibly strong!!!

However, these are things that the Panameños are actively working on, and they will be doing their best to cater for those of us from "slightly" colder climates.

WYD here is likely to be a wonderful experience for those who travel, especially for those who travel from Europe. The cultural differences, the very different diet, music, and general outlook on life, promise to make it the experience of a lifetime.

Theft and Murder

During recent power cuts one of the things that has been surprising has been that there has been somebody going around making announcments over a megaphone. The sound is too far away for it to be heard but I asked some of the seminarians what was going on.

Apparently, the announcment is telling people to switch off their mobile phones. This rather confused me - could there be some danger of mobile phones attracting electricity? It seemed very unlikely. After having been confused for a while, all was made clear. Apparently, what has been happening is that during the power cuts people have been using their mobile phones to provide light - no real surprise there. What was surprising is that is seems that thieves are using the light from the mobile phone to identify potential targets in the dark - they are holding them up at gunpoint and stealing the phone, and, of course, anything else they may have on their person.

Of course, theft is only part of the story. Murder is not uncommon here. Apparently, there are usually two or three murders in Panama City per day. Many of these remain unsolved. While a lot of these are either gang or drug-related, a great number are committed in the context of would appear to be otherwise simple assaults. The likelihood of not being caught means that murder, from the point of view of the thief, is a pretty good option, since there is then nobody who could possibly identify the thief.

Unfortunately, yet another example of the dehumanising power of poverty.

Invasion

I haven't been very good at keeping this blog so far this year - I'm hoping that will improve now. I

An example of an invasion in Panama City - dramatic contrast

have been very busy getting classes ready as I was dealing with the new subjects that were landed on me. We have also been having a lot of power cuts - explosions in the electricity sub-station followed by blackouts lasting up to 4 or 5 hours. The power cuts are still happening, but the repairs seem to be getting shorter - I suppose that practice makes perfect.

Part of the problem is probably due to the fact that there has been an invasion close to the power station which means that a lot of people are trying to connect their houses to the transformers - themselves!!! This is a highly dangerous thing to do but poverty means that these people try to get electricity without paying for it.

When we see the word "invasion" we normally think of one country invading another - that is not what it usually means in Panama. An invasion here refers to a very common phenomenon whereby a group of people occupy a piece of land and construct their houses there without any reference to the owner, the local government, or anybody else. These people build their own "houses", which are really little more than shacks, from pieces of zinc or timber that they are able to come across by scavenging, or even "borrowing".

This is a phenomenon that has its roots in extreme poverty. Those who build their houses in this way do so as they see it as a way out of squalor. Even a shack, with no sanitation, running water, electricity, or even street, is better than what they have been living in.

This practice is tolerated because the government really has nothing else to offer these people. Very often, what happens is that after some time - probably a number of years - has passed, the owner will come to an agreement with the government whereby the government will buy the land and install electricity and other services for the people who have been, to all intents and purposes, squatters. Unlike squatters in Ireland, these people are not on their own - invasions often involve hundreds of people - the average number for a family in Latin America is 5 people, so the reality is that a great many families are involved in this.

Of course, until the government eventually steps in, these people have no rights. They can be ousted by "heavies" doing the will of the landowner, but they also have no protection whatsoever from fire, floods or other common problems.

There is now an invasion just behind the seminary - probably part of the reason for an increase in security concerns. This particular invasion is quite small, perhaps about 40 "dwellings" which are of a very poor construction - most of them remind me of where Irish people might keep their turf or wood - really more of a shelter than a house. Seeing the reality of the invasion makes you wonder about the dire situations these people have come from.

The seminarians play football with the young people from the invasion most afternoons - I go down with them (but I don't play football in this heat - I probably wouldn't play if it was cold either, to be honest) and have met the lads. Just like young people anywhere they have their dreams and hopes about the future - but the likelihood of attaining them is slim, given their starting point.

Hopefully, I'll be back tomorrow with another post
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Sad News

Today was a sad day here as the news arrived that two of the sisters of one of the seminarians,

Candelario, died. The two young girls, aged 12 and 15 respectively, were in a bus that was travelling towards the capital city last Sunday afternoon. It appears that the bus left the road just as it came to a bridge and plunged into an abyss - appproximately 50m - ending up in a stream. Of the 70 people on board, 18 were killed in the accident with many of the survivors having serious injuries.

It seems that no help arrived, except for a small number of passers by, for approximately 30 minutes and then, when the emergency services had turned up, removing people from the wrecked bus was not an easy matter. The injured were transferred to various hospitals and clinics and the two girls, who are from a very remote part of the country were brought to the capital city. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the hospital staff, the two little sisters died last night, thus bringing to 20 the number who have died as a result of the accident, so far.

The accident has shocked the country. It is not the first time that such a thing has happened in that same location so people are looking for answers to how this was allowed to happen. It remains to be seen if any answers will be forthcoming.

Meanwhile, the families of those who were killed have to do what they can to keep going. Here in the seminary a collection was taken up to help with the costs the family of the two little girls will now face as they proceed to bury their children - May the Rest in Peace.

Security

One of the questions that a lot of people asked me before I came to Panama this year was about the whole area of security. Possibly, after the dramatic RTE documentary that showed the Irish nurse working in Nicaragua, it is something that was in the thoughts of many people.
In an earlier post I mentioned that while Panama is largely a very safe country there are also some significant challenges in this area.

The Seminary is surrounded by an area called San Miguelito (little Saint Michael) which is a large, what is euphemistically called a "popular area" or barrio. A popular area generally means an area which is one that is not really popular at all - in fact, people would generally prefer to live elsewhere. These areas are notable for the high index of poverty and unemployment that is endemic in them. Obviously, this makes these areas hotbeds for the growth of crime - when you add to this the high availability of drugs, it is not hard to imagine that life in these areas can be very difficult, to say the least.

Assaults, robberies, and even murders and sexual assaults are, unfortunately, crimes that ofen go unpunished which, of course, makes them more attractive to the perpetrators. This makes it all the more striking, therefore, that "popular barrios" very often have a strong sense of identity and community - people here are very good at sharing whatever little they have, and they are also very good at taking care of those in their communities who are passing through periods of particular necessity: I suppose they have to be, there is no help available from government agencies.

The seminary, until recently, had remained largely unaffected by the problems associated with crime. Church institutions are generally valued here, and also recognised for the huge amount of work that they do for the less fortunate. However, that is something that is changing. Just a few days before I arrived, a group of seminarians, with a visiting priest, were returning from something at around 9pm when they were help up by gunpoint at the gate of the seminary and everything was taken from them - car, documents, money, watches etc.

Obviously, this has caused a shock among the seminary community, and also a greater awareness of the need to be security-conscious. Just today, I was heading out to walk to the local shop - about 10 minutes walk away - when I was stopped by a semiarian who was very concerned about me walking out alone. The seminary is located at the end of a short, but quite isolated, cul de sac and, because I stand out as a foreigner, I was a potential target for thievery: he only let me continue alone because it was the early afternoon and there were many people around.
But, realistically, there is no more danger here than in any other city - and significantly less danger than that to be found in most.

Beginnings

It seems like a very long time since I was last in Panama. In fact, what was to be an annual commitment had to be reshaped as I was asked to take on new responsibilities in Limerick. The development of the Ostia Community and the planned university residence behind the church in Augustinian Lane has meant that one of the adjustments that had to be made was that I would no longer come to Panama in the autumn so that I could be present in Limerick for the first weeks of the academic year in Ireland. This is the reason that roughly 18 months havelapsed since I was last here, in Seminarion Mayor San José, Panama City.

One of the big implications for this change is, of course, that it impacts significantly on the length of time I am able to be here. Easter is such an important time in the life of a Christian community that it is important to me that I would be at home for Easter. From a purely practical point of view, there is no real point in remaining here over the Easter period as the seminarians will have their "mid-term break".

I arrived last Sunday (today is Tuesday). The flight went well even though it is certainly not getting any easier to spend 11 hours on a plane - I don't know how the staff can stick it!!!
The first half of Monday morning was given over to the official opening of the academic year. The events began at 7am with Mass in the seminary chapel - the Archbishop of Panama City (José Domingo Ulloa, an Augustinian) presided at the Mass and was accompanied by the Bishop of Colón, Manuel Ochogavía (also an Augustinian - Colón is the second largest city in the country, second only to the Archdiocese of Panama which includes Panama City).

In his homily the Archbishop challenged all members of the seminary community - Seminarians, Administrative Staff, and Teaching Staff, to settle only for the highest standards and to avoid mediocrity at all costs.
The Mass was followed by a formal "solemn session" which is when everybody is assembled to listen to a series of speeches on various aspects of life in the seminary and about the importance of a type of formation which can give Panama the type of priests it will need in the future.

Once the formalities were over classes began. I had no classes yesterday and was asked to meet the Academic Supervisor later in the day - all very mysterious!!! It turns out that I am no longer to teach Theological Anthropology (which I have spent the last weeks and months preparing) but am now to teach a course on Christology: this course was to begin the following morning!!! I have been here before and I know that flexibility is the order of the day, especially in Latin America where things can change for many reasons without much notice. As the day progressed I got a clearer picture of what is being asked of me: 2 courses in the Seminary (Christology and Eschatology) and also a course on Sacraments for those preparing for the diaconate; I will also be giving a course to the Catechists of the diocese although it's not yet clear what that course will involve - apparently, I will know more tomorrow. I also got the hint that there will be some other things coming up but, so far, I have no idea what that might involve.

All in all it looks like it's going to be a busy time - always the best sort of time!!!
The weather is, of course, very hot. Today, according to my phone, was 34 degrees in the shade, although it certainly felt a lot warmer. Unlike when I was here in the rainy season, so far there has been no downpour to lower the temperature.
The other thing that hasn't changed is the chicken - still very much on the menu at least once a day.
Anyway, it's now almost 8.30pm and I'm heading to bed - the third thing that hasn't changed is the fact that I have to get up at 5am to be ready for Mass at 6 - goodnight!!!