Category Archives: Blog
Barca: When the baby gets thrown out with the bathwater
Johan Cruyff may have been forgiven for permitting himself a chuckle, while watching Barca lose to Ajax in Amsterdam on Tuesday night- but I suspect he was as saddened by the visitors as he was encouraged by the courage and dedication of some of the home team. Not known for his modesty, Johan has felt estranged from FC Barcelona for some time, abdicating the role of honorary VIP rather than endorse with his presence in the Nou Camp the presidency of Sandro Rosell. Behind the clash of egos has …
My Catholic family
The Vatican has launched a worldwide survey to find out what Catholics really think about its teaching on marriage and family life, the BBC reports…Pope Francis is calling bishops to Rome next October to discuss possible reform that considers modern social realities. This survey has been badly organised by the Vatican civil service- haphazard distribution, and couched in ecclesiastical language that risks being lost on ordinary souls. But it remains a rare democratic exercise involving the Catholic faithful worldwide. It has got me thinking about my faith and …
Barca: Is there a method in the madness?
Blame me for being a romantic cule , but what I always thought set us Barca fans apart from ordinary mortals was that they followed a team that not only won games and trophies but did so in a way that was exemplary in terms of solidarity, creativity, and general human conduct- it is what makes FC Barcelona mes que un club. Of late, I am struggling to retain this sense of association. Not only does the politics of the club seemed characterised by egos – witness the totemic …
Secrets & Miranda: A sense of proportion is needed
I have written before (https://www.jimmy-burns.com/blog/espionage/why-i-thankful-edward-snowden/ – much to the shock of some of my friends and even close relatives – why I don’t subscribe to the conspiracy theory that the US-led Big Brother intelligence community now controls the exercise of our freedoms to the extent that we must all live in fear of these being taken from us. The public at large and most journalists-and I include myself and those at the Guardian- are not in a position to necessarily judge with any degree of certainty whether the release …
The Pope speaks a new language for our age
Pope Francis on saturday night underlined the importance he attaches to grassroots renewal of he Catholic Church by appealing to his young followers to become key players of a fresh and meaningful project of evangelisation. “We are building a church and you must become protagonists of history,” he told a gathering of Wold Youth Day that had grown to overthree million on Rio’s Copacabana beach by today, sunday, the final day. In a scene which has been repeated through the week, the Pope looked relaxad as he engaged with …
The razzmatazz around Pope Francis in Rio
On Friday night there was a rare hush among the crowds-broken only by occasional applause- as Pope Francis spoke from the heart and directly to over one and half million mainly young pilgrims who had packed Rio’s Copacabana beach. Christ’s Crucifiction was not defeat but a victory of good over evil, of hope over despair, the certainty of God’s love for the sinner, and the prospect of redemption, he prayed. Whatever our personal suffering, we know we are not alone, for Jesus is with us, in communion, offering us …
The simple faith of World Youth Day in Rio
I walked for miles today, following the inner streets, tunnels, and coastline that weave their way across Rio- a city that nature invades, but where rampant consumerism and social inequality prevail. Behind and in-front were thousands of youths, from different parts of the world, although mainly Latin America, on their way to Copacabana to see the Pope. I struggled. They had a spring in their step. It was a pilgrimage of sorts. `They’ve been taking cold showers and sleeping rough, but their happiness is undimmed. You can feel Jesus …
The street walking Pope
Pope Francis likes tango because its is the music of the street, of the people, of his neighbourhood. He also has often recalled that Jesus Christ that he believes in spent most of his life walking, meeting people,listening, talking to them, from the heart. Today, his fourth day in Brazil, Francis took to the streets, deep into the depth of Rio’s poor, in the favela of Manguinhos. Earlier, his restored a sense of humanity amidst the suited local authorities and frocked bishops and sports celebrities gathered round him in …
Organisational shortcomings of Papal visit to Brazil
One of the most loved public figures in the world, Pope Francis is in Rio de Janeiro, one of the friendliest and beautiful cities in the world on his first ever trip abroad since being elected. With hundreds of journalists and half a million young pilgrims in town, you would have thought the authorities would have taken steps to make sure than matters are organised well. Such is the good nature …of the Pope and the joy of his faithful youth, neither deserve to be blighted by cock-up, And yet …
Lo poco y lo mucho que tiene que cambiar La Roja de Don Vicente
Vicente Del Bosque es un hombre con sensibilidad política y una buena memoria. Sabe que la mayoría de los españoles no ven al futbol como la solución a su crisis, pero si miran hacia él y su selección- con su colaboración de catalanes, vascos, y otros españoles, como una inspiración que contrasta con la intolerancia, división, y fallos institucionales y de liderazgos que la ciudadanía tiene que sufrir. Sabe el largo y difícil camino que llevo a que España por fin fuese respetada como Campeón Europea (2008 y 2012) …
