Dominican Eugene O’Sullivan, who died 20 years ago this month was a scholar who “delighted in the fullness of truth”, says Dennis Horton.

And there were many other facets to this remarkable man, as both he – and Pauline O’Regan who follows on – attest.

The wounded healer

It’s fitting that, as friends gather in Auckland next month to mark 20 years since the death of Dominican Fr Eugene O’Sullivan, they will meet at Newman Hall where he served as university chaplain and whose library now bears his name. Books were one of the loves of his life. I recall him once boasting that St Dominic explicitly excluded books from the things his friars were expected to renounce, in order to be poor.

Poverty of ideas was not meant to be one of the charisms of the Order of Preachers; and Eugene was always ready to admit the delight he found in beautiful books, even expensive ones. His lovely edition of the illuminated Book of Kells, for instance; and an equally exquisite volume of Greek and Russian icons.

But mostly, books were for Eugene simply a tool of trade. Solomon’s great prayer for wisdom had always shaped his own sense of vocation as a Dominican priest, and books were an essential part of that search for truth.

No one who attended one of Eugene’s talks could doubt this. He would come to speak on Scripture or liturgy, moral theology or one of the lively issues of the day, his arms laden with books. They would all be marked and opened, one on top of the other, hopefully in order. More often than not, his lecture would be a synthesis of everything Eugene had been able to uncover on the topic.

Occasionally, the pile of books would topple or someone might accidentally knock the table. And we would catch that look of consternation – half pain and half humour – as he saw his well-ordered world reduced to chaos and waited helplessly for some good friend to come to his rescue again.

Magazines and periodicals were another essential tool, along with a photocopier to extract the latest find. Stored first in manila folders, they would be transferred, when the file got too big, into cardboard boxes stacked under his bookcase or stashed away in wardrobes.

Dennis Horton is Director of Mission for the Sisters of Mercy Mission Services, Auckland

Crosscurrents – John Honoré

Obama – a tonic of hope for the United States

Barack Obama has emerged from a bruising campaign as the Democratic candidate for the presidency of the United States in November. Hillary Clinton finally accepted defeat and declared her unqualified support for him. The world breathed a sigh of relief.

Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan and his mother from Kansas, has a law degree from Harvard. He is an eloquent and at times inspirational speaker on whom the Democrats are pinning their hopes, not only for the White House, but also for the re-establishment of the fundamentals of their party. Both Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman campaigned for the ‘people’ and railed against big business and the elite. This was Democratic party ideology.

Obama has become the conscience and the messenger of the new Democrats. “You don’t have to be rich to achieve your potential” he says, neatly encapsulating the ‘can do’ spirit of the American pioneers. He is young and the young are flocking to his side. He argues against the politics of fear and holds out hope for a better society by advocating social security schemes. He speaks of black Americans “binding our particular grievances... to the larger aspirations of all Americans”.

After eight disastrous years under George W. Bush, ‘The War President’, who has reduced the standing of America to that of an imperialist superpower gone mad, the next president will face formidable problems. It is likely that Obama will defeat McCain. Obama will then face a Middle East still in turmoil, an Iraq war which continues to haemorrhage lives and money, a financial system in danger of unravelling and a social inequality that is becoming disturbingly wider between the rich and the poor.

Obama will have to battle ‘redneck’ Americans who loathe the idea of a black President. He will face divisions in his own party from women who fought for Hillary Clinton. He will face scepticism from politicians like McCain who have ‘experience’. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the world, Obama represents change and the hope of a revitalisation of America both at home and abroad.

US fealty to Israel
With the battle lines drawn for a new president of the United States, there remains one obligation to fulfil. All candidates must pledge their support to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most influential lobby that directs US foreign policy. At the AIPAC annual conference held in Washington last month, McCain, Clinton, Obama and virtually half the US Congress, including House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Condoleezza Rice confirmed their fealty to Israel. Job done.


Dominican Eugene O’Sullivan, who died 20 years ago this month was a scholar who “delighted in the fullness of truth”, says Dennis Horton. And there were many other facets to this remarkable man, as both he – and Pauline O’Regan who follows on – attest. The wounded healer It’s fitting that, as friends gather in Auckland next month to mark 20 years since the death of Dominican Fr Eugene O’Sullivan, they will meet at Newman Hall where he served as university chaplain and whose library now bears his name. Books were one of the loves of his life. I recall him once boasting that St Dominic explicitly excluded books from the things his friars were expected to renounce, in order to be poor. Poverty of ideas was not meant to be one of the charisms of the Order of Preachers; and Eugene was always ready to admit the delight he found in beautiful books, even expensive ones. His lovely edition of the illuminated Book of Kells, for instance; and an equally exquisite volume of Greek and Russian icons. But mostly, books were for Eugene simply a tool of trade. Solomon’s great prayer for wisdom had always shaped his own sense of vocation as a Dominican priest, and books were an essential part of that search for truth. No one who attended one of Eugene’s talks could doubt this. He would come to speak on Scripture or liturgy, moral theology or one of the lively issues of the day, his arms laden with books. They would all be marked and opened, one on top of the other, hopefully in order. More often than not, his lecture would be a synthesis of everything Eugene had been able to uncover on the topic. Occasionally, the pile of books would topple or someone might accidentally knock the table. And we would catch that look of consternation – half pain and half humour – as he saw his well-ordered world reduced to chaos and waited helplessly for some good friend to come to his rescue again. Magazines and periodicals were another essential tool, along with a photocopier to extract the latest find. Stored first in manila folders, they would be transferred, when the file got too big, into cardboard boxes stacked under his bookcase or stashed away in wardrobes. Dennis Horton is Director of Mission for the Sisters of Mercy Mission Services, Auckland	The spiritual guide Pauline O’Regan Our community often reflects with a certain degree of awe on the signs of God’s loving providence in our community life over the years, but nothing, it seems to us, can match the providential love that sent Eugene O’Sullivan into our lives in the early 1970s. We were a community of Sisters of Mercy who had taken the step in 1973 of living in a state house in a very poor suburb of Christchurch. We did this in response to the call of Vatican II to Religious, to discern who were the most needy in contemporary society and to try to effectively meet those needs in our suffering sisters and brothers. The greatest question in our lives at that particular time was: what was a suitable spirituality for such a community, no longer living its life in the safe confines of a convent but fully exposed on the city street? There were no New Zealand precedents to help guide us and we were struggling. By a series of events, that the unwise call ‘coincidences’, we came to hear of this remarkable Irish Dominican who lived in Auckland. We had never heard of him before, and had no idea that he had recently been close to death and was still striving to recover. We asked him to come to Christchurch and give us a retreat. And he came. Frail to the point of collapse, on two sticks, hesitant of speech, frighteningly white of face, he was totally unfit, you might say, to be doing anything, let alone giving a retreat. But never was physical weakness and frailty matched by such spiritual strength and passion. And so began a series of annual retreats that stretched over the best part of a decade. Eugene O’Sullivan directed us with wisdom and wit, confidence and clarity of vision towards the goal we were seeking, namely a spirituality that fitted us as a community and as individuals to an entirely new living of our religious vows. Looking back over the past 20 years, we still marvel at his sureness of touch. Only someone of superb spiritual and intellectual resources could have brought together the best of the old forms of religious life and the best of contemporary thought. He loved to unravel papal encyclicals with us, to surprise us and to bring them within our understanding and grasp. None of us could ever forget, for instance, the retreat he based on Pope Paul VI’s Evangelii Nuntiandi. Since that time, it has been the basis of all our understanding of evangelisation in our work. Of course, as we sat at Eugene’s feet, we noted all his marvellous quirks of personality: his impeccable timing, his body language, his shouts of laughter, his spontaneity that was not always as spontaneous as one might think, his fastidiousness and his endearing élitism. For all these things as well as for his holiness and giftedness, he remains, for us, ‘unforgettable, unforgotten’. Eugene O’Sullivan was no ordinary man, and we honour his memory with profound gratitude. Pauline O’Regan is a Christchurch Sister of Mercy living in retirement

Crosscurrents – John Honoré Obama – a tonic of hope for the United States Barack Obama has emerged from a bruising campaign as the Democratic candidate for the presidency of the United States in November. Hillary Clinton finally accepted defeat and declared her unqualified support for him. The world breathed a sigh of relief. Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan and his mother from Kansas, has a law degree from Harvard. He is an eloquent and at times inspirational speaker on whom the Democrats are pinning their hopes, not only for the White House, but also for the re-establishment of the fundamentals of their party. Both Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman campaigned for the ‘people’ and railed against big business and the elite. This was Democratic party ideology. Obama has become the conscience and the messenger of the new Democrats. “You don’t have to be rich to achieve your potential” he says, neatly encapsulating the ‘can do’ spirit of the American pioneers. He is young and the young are flocking to his side. He argues against the politics of fear and holds out hope for a better society by advocating social security schemes. He speaks of black Americans “binding our particular grievances... to the larger aspirations of all Americans”. After eight disastrous years under George W. Bush, ‘The War President’, who has reduced the standing of America to that of an imperialist superpower gone mad, the next president will face formidable problems. It is likely that Obama will defeat McCain. Obama will then face a Middle East still in turmoil, an Iraq war which continues to haemorrhage lives and money, a financial system in danger of unravelling and a social inequality that is becoming disturbingly wider between the rich and the poor. Obama will have to battle ‘redneck’ Americans who loathe the idea of a black President. He will face divisions in his own party from women who fought for Hillary Clinton. He will face scepticism from politicians like McCain who have ‘experience’. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the world, Obama represents change and the hope of a revitalisation of America both at home and abroad. US fealty to Israel With the battle lines drawn for a new president of the United States, there remains one obligation to fulfil. All candidates must pledge their support to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most influential lobby that directs US foreign policy. At the AIPAC annual conference held in Washington last month, McCain, Clinton, Obama and virtually half the US Congress, including House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Condoleezza Rice confirmed their fealty to Israel. Job done.	AIPAC finances those who support their agenda, contributing millions of dollars to campaign managers, political committees and to politicians sympathetic to their unwavering line that what’s good for Israel must be good for America. In 2007 Walt and Mearsheimer weakened this myth with their controversial essay The Israel Lobby and have not ceased to be attacked for it. Among other criticisms they contend that the Iraq war was “due in large part to the lobby’s influence”. In his address to AIPAC Barak Obama toed the line. With money, he pledged Israel $30 billion in aid over the next ten years and promised to protect an “undivided” Jerusalem (Jews only?) as the capital of Israel. For this, the Zionists gave him standing ovations and no doubt underwrote the cost of his campaign by another few million. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian authority, was outraged. There is never any mention of the rights of the Palestinians. This unqualified support for Israel will no doubt encourage AIPAC to force the issue of an attack on Iran or another intrusion into Lebanon. It is a given. The tacit approval of the presidential candidates has been confirmed. It is to be hoped that Obama, if elected, will consider the damage that has been done by pandering to AIPAC. The Middle East needs a new approach and a new policy that includes the interests of the Palestinians. Change! is Obama’s catch cry; let us pray that he sticks to it. Financial cowboys The tsunami of failed finance companies involved in risky ventures has highlighted the naivety or perhaps the self-deception of New Zealand’s investing public. Sadly it is the Mums and Dads who have fared the worst and who can ill afford the loss. Beguiled by dubious investment advisors and consultants, in a completely unregulated market, many life savings have evaporated. The lack of careful assessment of the company prospectus has permitted financial cowboys some of whom should be in prison for fraud, to issue debenture stock, with no sustainable capital base for ventures such as car sales and land development. An economy in recession with retail sales falling, cost of oil rising and house prices in sharp decline have exposed the inherent weakness of the finance companies. Financial advisors and consultants reimbursed with commissions by firms that they recommend spells conflict of interest. Now we have some commentators pontificating on the crisis, whose own companies have previously collapsed. Commerce 101 would also teach the investor that when an ex-politician joins the board or an ex-rugby player recommends the stock, it is time to bail out.

Dominican Eugene O’Sullivan, who died 20 years ago this month was a scholar who “delighted in the fullness of truth”, says Dennis Horton.

And there were many other facets to this remarkable man, as both he – and Pauline O’Regan who follows on – attest.

Crosscurrents – John Honoré