International AIDS Day is on December 1^st and Advent starts on Sunday November 29^th , we have items for both occasions. Two fourth year students from the Ursuline school in Cork tell us about composing their own music and we hear about a study on the applied Leaving Certificate. We have a report from Tionól 2000 and some reflections on the 50^th Anniversary of the Declaration on Human Rights. Ecumenical progress, masculine spirituality and The Mystical Imagination of Patrick Kavanagh are our other items for this week

Side A

1. Crossways: News in the Church and the World. In our main report this week Bishop Laurence Ryan, President of the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace outlined some of the insights arising from a recent conference to mark the 50^th Anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Alan McGuckian and Martin Browne read the news.

Time: 5.48

2. AIDS/HIV Clinic in Uganda: Denise Douglas worked with AIDS and HIV patients in London for five years. She was based in a hospice run by the Mildmay Christian Charity. When the organisation looked for a clinical trainer to set up an outpatient's clinic in Uganda, Denise volunteered. On a recent visit to Ireland, Denise talked to Marie Stuart RSM about her first experience of working with people who have AIDS. She went on to describe the situation in Uganda where she says one in four people are HIV positive or have AIDS. Denise is a Mercy Sister whose father came from Bray.

In (Stuart) "When you went ……………… praise God for today" Out: (Douglas)

Time: 6.02

3. The Leaving Certificate Applied: On the 11^th November, Dublin Castle was the venue for the publication of a report on the Leaving Certificate Applied, an alternative, more practical programme for the Leaving Certificate. Although senior figures from the education world were present- including Micheal Martin, the Minister for Education- the launch was largely conducted by students themselves, in accordance with the philosophy of the Leaving Certificate applied. One of the schools participating in the programme is Scoil Mhuire in Portarlington, and our reporter, Peter Scally, spoke to the school’s Vice-Principal, Ann Turley, about the idea behind the programme. But first he asked Portarlington student Ann Rowan, who was the keynote speaker at the launch, what she had done as part of the Leaving Certificate Applied

In: (Rowan) "Well, we did many……….. activities in the school." Out: (Turley)

Time: 5.20

4. As a Bell that is Rung: How would you go about composing music?, where would you start?. Last year composer John Gibson worked with the fourth year music students in Blackrock in Cork. Over twelve weeks he taught the basics and gave the students the opportunity to compose their own music. As a Bell that is Rung is a CD released by the school which features some of the students compositions performed by the school choir and musicians. The CD also features soloists Robert Craig and Leonie Curtin with John Gibson on piano. Susan Cummins and Emma Dorney, two of the students involved in the project, told Marie Stuart RSM about the experience.

In (Stuart) "Tell me about ………… help you at the end of the day" Out:(Cummins)

Time: 5.57

(The CD is available from the Ursuline Secondary School, Blackrock, Cork and it costs £10. School telephone no. 021-358012. Additional information enclosed)

5. Senator Fergal Quinn- Motivating People for the Millennium

(Tionól 2000): Tionól 2000 is a church-based project aimed at celebrating the millennium. Over the next year, a series of events is planned to help focus people’s attention on the 2000^th anniversary of Christ’s birth. On Saturday 7^th November, Tionól 2000 held a conference at St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, inviting delegates from every diocese in the country. One of the guest speakers was Senator Fergal Quinn, Managing Director of Superquinn. He spoke about what the Church might learn from the business world, about motivating people, around the celebration of the millennium. Our reporter, Peter Scally, spoke to him afterwards.

In: (Scally) "The millennium is ……………….such as Church as well".Out:(Quinn) Time: 5.32

SIDE B

1. Max Oliva SJ – The Masculine Spirit: Max Olivia is a Jesuit from California. He recently published a book titled The Masculine Spirit (Resources for Reflective Living). It is a book designed to help men to reflect on their lives and how they live them. Max has held workshops for men around the World (including here in Ireland), and various men’s stories (including his own) are woven throughout the book. A large portion of the book is devoted to men’s relationships with their fathers and the need to forgive fathers their wrongdoing. Mark Harkin spoke to Max Oliva.

In: (Harkin) "So Max…………………………….……..I’ve run into." Out (Oliva)

Time: 6.02

2. Preparing for Christmas: In Methodist churches the build up to Christmas goes over nine weeks, when believers hear again the whole story of salvation starting with the creation and working through the Old Testament up to the Birth of Christ. The Reverend Ken Lindsay, Minister of the Methodist Church in Bangor, Co Down, told Alan McGuckian, SJ what this period of preparation is all about.

In: (Lindsay) "Well, it’s a matter………………overcome the world." Out: (Lindsay) Time: 4.30

3. Ecumenical Progress: People who are committed to the ecumenical movement are often baffled by the enormous length of time it takes to make progress at official level in the Churches. For instance, when the Second Anglican - Roman Catholic International Commission (known as ARCIC II) submitted its report in 1981, it took a full ten years before the Vatican issued its official response. Cardinal Edward Cassidy is President of the body, which prepared the response — the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He spoke to Martin Browne recently and began by addressing the delay in responding to that report from ARCIC II.

In: (Cassidy) "That was a particular …where we can go next." Out:(Cassidy)

Time: 6.06

4. Una Agnew SSL – The Mystical Imagination of Patrick Kavanagh

Una Agnew is a Sister of St Louis who has written a book titled The Mystical Imagination of Patrick Kavanagh (A Buttonhole in Heaven). The book centres on the spirituality and the idea of God that are evinced in Kavanagh’s poems. In spite of his unhappiness and alcoholism, Kavanagh managed to catch glimpses of the divine in everyday life and according to Una, he had an essentially ‘mystical vision’. Una likens the poet and the mystic, and her book compares Kavanagh’s life to the progress of a mystic en route to ‘illumination’. Mark Harkin spoke to her at the Milltown Institute in Dublin where she teaches.

In: (Harkin) "For many………………………….heaven was about." Out (Agnew) Time: 5.46

5. 50 Years of Human Rights and Northern Ireland: The Irish Commission for Justice and Peace recently held a conference to mark the 50^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The conference had a very strong emphasis on Northern Ireland in the context of the call for a Commission on Human Rights contained in the Good Friday Agreement and the current discussions on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. Addressing the conference, Duncan Morrow, lecturer in Politics in the University of Ulster, warned of the dangers of the language of rights and stressed the difference between 'justice' and 'just us'. He talked to Marie Stuart RSM about the present situation in the North and the challenge facing the churches.

In: (Stuart) "We've had 50 years …………… not translated into facts" Out: (Morrow)

Time: 5.20