Don Bosco Today Year 108 Issue 3

Don Bosco Today Autumn 2000


Contents


Editorial


Working with the young - Trust the Road


Don't organise my tears!


Lucy Goes to School


Reflecting on an African Journey


I HAVE A DREAM


Fr. Herbert Douglas RIP


Fr Edward Fogarty RIP


Editorial


In this edition 'Don Bosco Today' we consider the theme of journeying with the young. For those inspired


by the vision of Don Bosco it is important to be with young people. True education demands presence, it


cannot work by distancing oneself from young people. Working with young people implies that education


is a two-way process, a journeying with people to teach them and to learn from them. The gospel image of


the journey of Christ with the disciples on the Emaus Road serves as our inspiration; we listen, we learn,


we recognise, we celebrate together.


In the first article Fr David O'Malley looks at the way we can work with young people in groups. Fr Gerry


O'Shaughnessy uses his experience of travelling in Liberia to reflect on what the young can do for us. He


also reminds us to form our own opinions about them, instead of being conditioned by the way the media


so often displays young people. Fr Tony Frain describes the way young people today can benefit from the


experience of pilgrimage. Mrs Joan Rankin considers the need to accompany those who are in prison,


reflecting on the great significance of Don Bosco's work with prisoners. Sister X describes how young


people in Africa journey great distances to receive an education.


Let me challenge you to a little test. When you first look at the picture on page four, what is your


immediate reaction? Do you notice the litter on the ground or the smile on the face? Journeying with the


young is never a tidy business, as any parent of a teenager knows, but the smile makes the journey


worthwhile.


Finally you will be delighted to know that Brother Michael Grix is recovering from the radiation treatment


he received at Christies' Hospital in Manchester. He would like to express again his gratitude to all who


remembered him in their prayers and expressed their concern through the many letters and cards he


received.


Fr Tony Bailey SDB


mondonio@msn.com


Working with the young, trust the Road


A man went into his garden to plant a tree.


He dug a hole, arranged the tree carefully in


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the hole, fed the roots and put the soil back,


treading it down carefully. Finally he banged


an old stake in beside the tree to support it


and watered the tree for the next few weeks


as instructed. Then he waited. The tree died


and the old stake grew into a fabulous tree.


In travelling with the young surprises like


that often come your way. You think you


are going in one direction and suddenly


realise that you have arrived somewhere completely different. For example: you might start a project to


raise money for a school minibus. You decide to run a race-night where the young people organise and


present the whole evening. The experience of leading the evening builds the confidence of the young


people who ask you to help them form a drama group. The journey from a minibus fund-raising to a drama


group could not have been predicted. The group journey has a logic and wisdom that emerges in the


experience. Trusting the journey is part of the challenge of working with the young.


Sharing journeys


"Like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel", words of an old song that capture something of the


complexity of travelling with the young. As adults we need to be aware of the complexity of threads of


life and spirit that weave their way through young journeys. Every young person makes a journey as an


individual and as a member of a group. The experience may be the same for everyone in the group but it's


significance could be very different. I remember sitting in a cinema with two other Salesians. I thought the


film was good but not amazing. The Salesian next to me was in tears at the end of the film, and the other


Salesian had fallen asleep with boredom! Same film but experienced differently. In planning projects with


young people we need to realise that they will not all love what we have done. Some of the threads of life


and spirit that emerge may well surprise us. One of the greatest gifts we can ask for is the ability to


recognise the circles and spirals of God's spirit moving in young lives. So the journey goes from fund


raising or drama groups to a deeper level that may surprise us..


Shepherds


From the beginning Don Bosco was keen to draw young people together and share his work them. He


began with group sports or drama or music, things that drew young people into relationships that were safe


and where a concerned adult could be involved. The presence of an adult was vital to "shepherd" the


group towards life and away from danger: Towards using gifts for mutual support and away from teasing


and destructive behaviour. The role of the leader is vital. Sometimes they can let the group move along


and explore new experiences. At other times they need to give them a compass or offer them a chance to


map where they are and where they have been. Reading the map of the group and it's journey is a skill we


need to keep practising. It is in the group experience that we can help to uncover the presence of God in


young lives.


Group Journeys


Bringing young people together is essential to a Salesian approach to education and youth-work. It is in


relationships where the mystery of God emerges most clearly. For young people the group is the place


where they claim their gifts and have them tested. It is the place that forgives, accepts, and challenges


them to be more than they are. It is the place that builds a sense of belonging, allowing them to see God's


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face in those around them. It is holy ground. Each group experience is therefore a pilgrimage journey in


which the group come together and share some activity and the move on. They may get out of the minibus


at precisely the same spot they got into it before the experience, but they have moved on. They are not


the same people. They have changed and, we hope, changed for the good. The journey is not a circle but a


spiral taking each person through an experience to new depths of knowledge, knowing themselves,


knowing others, knowing God.


A Leader's map


The map for this group journey has been well plotted and is definitely spiral. It was known for many years


before being written down by Bruce Tuckman in 1970. It helps us, as adult leaders, to stay focussed on


the opportunities and dangers we might meet in travelling with the young. Tuckman simply said that each


group spirals through a journey in five stages.


Forming


Storming


Norming


Performing


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Ending


Each stage tends to unfold in the order he describes. For each stage there is a task. The mood will change


and the unity of the group may be quite different at different times. This pattern will apply to young


people, but all groups will tend to slip into this pattern. Senior management teams, parish youth teams, and


religious communities cannot escape this spiral of growth and challenge.


Forming


People are together for the first time and there will be some uncertainty. a key question for each individual


is "What am I getting into here?" Other questions may be. "Will people like me? Can I do what I may be


asked? Will I be embarrassed?" Some will meet this stage by being pushy, others by withdrawing. Most


will have some sort of hope that it will be good for them or they would not be there. The job of the leader


at this stage is to build up the confidence of the group and include everyone, reassure and create a safe


place for young people to be themselves. For some groups this is the longest and most important stage of


the process and they look to the leader to guide the group clearly.


Storming


As the group settles in to what it is supposed to be doing the focus moves from uncertainty and


reassurance to competition. As they share ideas and plans the underlying journey is more about needing


their ideas to be heard, admired and accepted. The group is a place where they can try out their gifts and


test them against others. A group member may feel they are good at table tennis or drama or music but


until they have been tested and approved by the group they may be slow to claim that gift and use it for


others. They may also battle for leadership in ideas, or plans or action. At this stage the leader may be


totally ignored as the group argues or makes and breaks rules made earlier. The supposed purpose of the


group goes out of the window and the leader may begin to give up hope of achieving anything. The good


news is that this stage is the richest in learning and growth, especially if the leader can see beneath the


surface and help to clarify the issues. The bad news is that this stage can last a long time.


Norming


Eventually the group gets to a stable point where they agree that things will work in a particular way. For


instance a group may agree that one member needs to come up with the ideas. The rest will do the


practical things to make some of those ideas work. Ideally they should get to the point where they can tell


that person to shut up without having a major disagreement. They will recognise that some people need to


be active. Others need to be invited to speak and some are happy being together and don't need to do


anything. This kind of group will feel safe and will ask the leader's advice when they need it. The leader is


now just part of the group. Each individual has been recognised as significant and the group is moving


towards optimum activity.


Performing


Because relationships are now clearer the job of the group can be done more quickly, with more energy


and unity. The school play, the parish disco or confirmation group will suddenly seem to click. Everyone is


doing their part in a common plan. The leader is a vital resource in keeping the plans real and connecting


them to others beyond the group. There is an air of affection and belonging, a growing sense of


achievement and celebration. The group is tightly knit in doing what it set out to do.


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Ending


Some groups have a specific life span and end with an event such as a play, a jumble-sale, or a


confirmation. The ending is as important as any other stage. Some opportunity needs to be made to look


back at the journey the group have made. They need to recognise the struggle, the fun, the learning and


celebrate what has been achieved. The play may have been a flop or the fund-raiser may have been a


fund loser. But there will have been some growth and change that is worth naming and celebrating. That


event confirms the learning made on a common journey and allows the young people to explore new


groups and journeys in the future.


Other groups may come to an end because the job has changed. The group that has moved into the ending


stage can often feel it to be a sad experience. Pressures from outside start to undermine the group


commitment. A sense of hostility can be directed towards the adult leader. The group becomes apathetic


and nostalgic, "It's not like it was when we had Peter or Jane in the group" The group disintegrates into


cliques and it is time to end. The leader at this stage needs to become the undertaker for the group and see


it laid to rest with respect and gratitude for what it has done. The group is now free for new challenges.


That is hard on the leader. They may have agreed to run a drama group or a youth group for two years and


it may have come to a natural end after six weeks. The danger for us, as adults, is that we begin to


pressurise young people into staying together because we want to say that we have succeeded in setting


up a youth group or a drama group.


The truth is that in working with young people we are always beginning and ending. The purpose of a


youth group can often be achieved in six to ten weeks after which a new group or challenge needs to be


found. This does not necessarily fit well with the longer term planning of schools and parishes which look


years ahead and may be accustomed to adult models of working with people. Young people's journeys are


more urgent and more quickly completed. They need more variety and new challenges on their journey to


maturity and faith.


As youth-workers we are called to journey with them through those dizzy spirals of experience and


learning. We need to be both midwives and undertakers of the group experience. We need to be


map-readers and compass holders as the group plots its course to deeper awareness. We need to be young


with the young but mature enough to stand back from their journey and see where they are going.


On this journey there are no short cuts. No taxi to pick you up. Each twist and turn in the group journey


has its reasons and an inner wisdom. The challenge for us, as leaders, is to read the road and help the


young to grow through each stage. Then each young person will arrive at the end and be in a new place.


They will feel more confident, wiser, aware of their strengths and weaknesses. They have met God in the


relationships they have shared in the group. "Did not our hearts burn within us as we talked on the road"


Those words from the Emmaus story could be said at the end of the group journey. Maybe their hearts


burnt with embarrassment or anger or belonging or exhilaration. In all those cases Salesians believe they


have been walking with God and therefore we can trust the road whatever surprises that road might hold.


Don't Organise My Tears


DON'T ORGANISE MY TEARS is a collection of 24 reflections on


bereavement. The title may not appear to be an invitation; but surprisingly


enough it is an invitation to get involved in the grief of others. Not in any


interfering way, but by sympathy and compassion.


The verses in this small book express my involvement in the grief I


witnessed in the lives of others. All grief is unique, we cannot know what


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others suffer. However I found that when I attempted to express in verse my


grief in seeing others grieve it helped me cope. It is in the hope that they


may be of help to others that these verses are published.


Each reflection is matched by an illustration. Some are in colour, others in


monochrome. All, I feel, help reflection. I am so grateful to Mavis Bates for


agreeing to illustrate these pages. I feel her delicate and sensitive


interpretations are so much more than illustrations. Her most original 'take'


on each verse serves as an encouragement to the reader to explore the subtle body language of grief, and


help us translate the words which so often awkwardly but painfully express need.


The final verse "Perceive new colours" is written in the hope that if we learn compassion for others we


may help to bring new colour into their lives and our own.


Fr Anthony Bailey SDB, Author


I would see this small book serving many purposes,


As a help to those who would want to discuss bereavement with young people. These reflections were


written when I was teaching. Eight of these reflections are concerned with the effect of grief on the lives


of the young. I found that attending funerals of the parents, or pupils themselves, was always a very


moving experience; writing verses seemed the only way I could cope with the weight of bereavement.


As a gift to someone who is feeling the loneliness of bereavement. These reflections explore the


uncomfortable feelings of grief, which can frighten us.


As a help to all of us when we want to be with those who mourn.


Available from Don Bosco Publications


Thornleigh House


Sharples Park


Bolton


BL1 6PQ


Price £ 9.25 + (p and p 75 pence inland only)


Don't Organise My Tears


Don't organise my tears for me.


Don't tell me when to cry.


Don't tell me how it's hurting me.


Don't orchestrate my sighs.


My grief is confidential,


A secret known to me.


Don't torture me with kindness


To prise this secret free.


You cannot see inside of me,


Can't measure me for pain


Stop telling me how hurt I'll be,


You diagnose in vain.


By all means stand the side of me,


I need someone who's near


Don't walk away, no words to say.


Your message is quite clear.


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Be patient with this side of me,


Not gracious in my grief!


You've seen some better days with me,


Time now to grit your teeth.


Don't hesitate to smile with me,


All moments are not sad.


Revive a few fond memories


Of better times we've had.


You know grief makes a fool of me,


So humour me awhile.


Be patient with the fool you see,


I'll tolerate your smile.


And if you have to cry with me


You won't offend my tears


Our confluence of tears can be


The union of our fears.


Lucy Goes to School


It's first day at school for Lucy. She is a slight young


girl, a bit nervous as she looks around this strange new


place. Mum and Dad have come with her. They struggle


to balance the tin trunk on their rusty old bike. I


welcome them. They stop and look up at me shyly.


They smile as they mop the sweat from their foreheads.


The six-hour journey across country from the village is


over. Finally they proudly push their daughter forward.


She has arrived to start school at Don Bosco's


Secondary School for Girls. She is their pride and joy.


She is one of the lucky ones who have made it. Many


girls, just as clever, do not continue studies after


Primary School. The reasons are varied but the usual one is poverty. If a family has to choose between a


girl and boy to continue schooling, it will be the boy, even if the girl has more brains and more desire to


study. This is how it goes in Kenya and many other African countries.


As I look at Lucy's parents I can read on their lined weather-beaten faces the hard life they live. They


work a piece of land, they tell me - their 'shamba' - with the produce from that and contributions from


older brothers and sisters, they hope to be able to afford Lucy's education. They proudly tell me that she is


the first in their family to go to secondary school, no wonder they are so very proud of her. I am amazed


that these good people survive, let alone manage to educate their daughter. Many parents, like Lucy's,


undertake great sacrifices to help their children, in spite of the failing economy in Kenya. The


multinationals and local big-shots who monopolise the coffee and tea markets etc. are making it almost


impossible for ordinary people to make an honest living.


Our secondary school is in a place called Embu. a beautiful village with a lovely view of Mount Kenya.


The climate is pleasant - on the dry side but that suits me. However if the rains do not come on time or are


not abundant enough, we face a year of poor crops and even drought. For us the rains have just begun and


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we are praying it will be a good year as so many people are dependent on what they can grow in their


small patch of land. I never cease to wonder at their ability to survive with so little, and at the same time


to be so happy!


Fortunately there are some projects which help needy students, like 'Plan International', but life gets tough


for us when almost all the students are truly needy! A number of our girls are helped by the projects and


others are sponsored by our families and friends. Education is the best means for helping the girls to have


a better future, and to be able to help their families, and eventually contribute to raising the standard of


living in the country. You can imagine how hard it is when we have to turn girls away because the money


has run out. It is really heart-breaking!


Perhaps at this point I had better explain something of the educational system here in Kenya. There are 8


years of Primary School, followed by 4 years of Secondary. Good results can lead directly to a place in


University - again if one has the means to pay for it. Most of the Secondary Schools in the country are


Boarding Schools and this is very much favoured by the majority of the population. One reason for


Boarding Schools is to mix up the tribes by spreading people all over the country. This does lead to greater


national unity. Also the usual small houses or huts that people live in, are not conducive to study, they lack


the basic facilities, such a slighting. Boarding School covers all these needs and encourages a serious


attitude towards studies. Even we have problems with the lighting. At least twice a week the electricity


supply is cut off and we use paraffin lamps and candles. You can imagine what it is like studying by


paraffin lamps! A generator would be the answer but at 10,000 pounds it is out of the question at the


moment.


Boarding School can be very demanding on us Sisters in the sense that we live and work together 24 hours


a day - but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages. In our Salesian tradition we love to be among


the young people as much as possible, so that confidence and mutual trust grow and we are able to help


the girls develop in every way. Just recently I met some past students and they were saying how much


they appreciated our form of education. We do not over-stress the academic side of life only but


encourage the girls to grow into mature young women. By respecting their dignity, their rights and


responsibilities, they become more socially and politically aware. A deep Christian spirituality helps them


keep to the right path.


As we Sisters consider education the best way to help the girls we do our best to keep the fees as low as


possible. In this way we make quality education available to poorer young girls who are eager to study and


have the intelligence but lack money. Our criteria for choosing new students may seem strange. We look


first at the age (girls try to get to school even when they are over 20) because for our system to work well,


it is better if the girls are still young enough to be helped to form their personality. Then we consider the


family situation, favouring the poorer ones. They could not afford to go elsewhere but show initiative and


want to progress, they are ready to make sacrifices. Only then do we consider the academic standard.


Our fees per year are 15.000 Kenya shillings (about £150). Other Boarding Schools charge much more!


We undercut all the schools because we need to reach the poorest and we can do this only because we get


help from other sources. There are often times when we do not know where the money will come from to


pay the teachers at the end of the month. Then an unexpected gift arrives from some good friend. We say


thank you to the generous friend, thank you to God and then live in hope to the next time! In a sense it is


very like the early days when Don Bosco and Mary Mazzarello did not know where the next meal would


come from, but something always turned up and they never went hungry and neither do we!


Of course working with so many girls we do have our disappointments, some girls, in spite of all they


receive, waste their education, look for fast money and often turn to drink, prostitution, drugs. This can be


very discouraging but shows how everyone can use her freedom well or badly - we can only provide the


opportunity.


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Many of our past students are doing well. Some are teaching, others are in business of various kinds,


others are in University. Many are married and trying to bring up their children according to the spirit of


Don Bosco. If a girl is fortunate to be offered a place in University she must find £2000 to pay her way.


There are government grants but there is interest to pay and depending on the studies undertaken a young


woman can find herself burdened with debt for 5 to 10 years!


We have a great community, wonderful, enthusiastic young girls - and plenty of them! We have a


spirituality and method of Education, inherited from Don Bosco, which makes sense here, so what more


could we want?


Will Lucy manage to complete her Secondary Schooling? We hope so.


Sister Geraldine Reakes FMA, MOTHER MAZZARELLO YOUTH CENTRE, EMBU, KENYA


Should you wish to help the work of the Salesian Sisters in Kenya please send your donations to


Sister Mary Louise Sister Mary Louise Ballard FMA, 281 Jamaica Road, Rotherhithe, London SE16 4RS


Tel: 020 7231 2931


Email rotherhithe.fma@ukonline.co.uk


Reflecting on an African Journey


Getting into Liberia is never easy, getting out of Liberia is always difficult.


Since the Civil War, the only effective way to get into Liberia is to go through


another West African gateway such as Freetown in Sierra Leon or Abidjan, the


capital of Ivory Coast. Recently Freetown itself has been terrorised by the


spectre of violence and so European airlines refuse to fly there. Therefore,


Abidjan, with its mixture of West African and French cultures, is the only


effective transit point. From there, it is a two-hour flight to Robertsfield


International Airport in Liberia.


When I was leaving Liberia last January, a sudden change of plans found me


travelling back to the Ivory Coast by car, instead of by plane. One of the


young men from the Don Bosco Football Academy was going home to the


Ivory Coast to see his family. Fr Joe Glackin asked me to take him. Would I


mind not going by plane and going overland? A two-hour flight translated into


a two-day drive over the most difficult, yet exciting, terrain I ever


experienced. Even with two breakdowns and an unexpected stopover in


Danane, I was so grateful to have experienced this journey and the opportunity


it allowed me for reflection.


On our journey, we travelled for miles on ordinary roads that were nothing special. One might even say


rather boring. Then our lives are like that, journeying down the predictable roads of daily tasks. However,


it is in this very ordinariness, that we face the challenge of trying to come to terms with living as best we


can.


Soon however the ordinary gave way to the exciting as we were driven through conditions that you might


only dream about. And this was the dry season. Had it been raining, that would have been an entirely


more exciting scenario! Wet or dry, I found the experience totally exhilarating: I was with friends, having


a good time and seeing parts of West Africa in an entirely different light and from unusual angles. Though


the going was tough, we were happy, the company was great. Then we broke down! The gears gave up.


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Not during the marathon journey through the Liberian bush, but on a beautifully tarred road in Cote


D'Iviore. Friendly locals towed us into a garage. The young men with me were concerned that I had


enough water, food and made sure that we had a safe place for the night. As the advert for insurance


reminded us, "Why make a drama out of a crisis?" I am constantly amazed at the great patience of so


many people that I come into contact with in Liberia. In Europe, we live in an age of "instant everything"


from food to fun; time is the great god that must be obeyed. As I sat by the dusty road outside Danane, I


realised that that no matter what I did, nothing was going to change: I could no more fix a Land Rover


gear box than go to the moon. So I sat there reflecting on the difficult times in our own lives, when we


have to realise that we cannot do everything despite how important we might feel we are. It is so often in


these vulnerable moments that we need the support and help of others, to know that we are not alone. As


I left the lads at Abidjan International Airport, I realised that I had to make of the rest of the journey home


on my own. On the Sabena Airbus, flying thousands of feet above Africa, surrounded by hundreds of


other passengers, I suddenly felt quite vulnerable and lonely.


As followers of Don Bosco we are invited to accompany young people on a journey through an exciting


and challenging part of their lives. Our model is that of the Emmaus Road, where Jesus accompanies the


distraught disciples away from Jerusalem; he listens carefully to their story and is prepared to share his


own story. However, they invited him to sit down at table with them, Jesus does not push or bully his way


into their lives. The work of Don Bosco Homes in Liberia follows a similar inspiration; young people are


discovering adults who are interested and concerned enough to travel with them. These adults are not


trying to use them, as so many were in the height of the war and the unsettled years that followed. Here


are adults who genuinely care about these young people were innocent victims of a system of repression


and hatred.


What is especially pleasing to see is that there is a reduction in the number of young people needing


residential care. Fr Joe Glackin and his staff are keen to integrate them back into their own families. They


do not feel that the artificial context of a "HOME", however caring and loving, can be a substitute for


own family and village. However, for some, this is not possible, as their parents are refugees or have died.


Bro David, a Social Worker for the Homes, is working with many of the young men who are now living on


their own. I was privileged to be invited by one of these, Eddie, to see his room in the city centre. From


there he took me to his school to meet his principal, teachers and friends. Like so many others, he has a


feeling of worth and value.


As a keen student of the media, I am constantly amazed at the stereotyping that seems endemic in the


world of TV soaps. This is especially obvious when we come to their presentation of young people. So


many young people are presented as "teenagers from hell". We are given the impression that the average


young person from London, Manchester or Liverpool is taking drugs, or planning a break-in, or at least


having a row at home.


We can do so much for the young people at risk in our world today, much more than just supporting


"Children in Need". As concerned and caring people we can stand up for the world of the young, we can


perhaps journey with them a little and see what the problems really are and help them to face them.


Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy.


I HAVE A DREAM


The loneliest journey a man can make is to his


execution.


Don Bosco knew this and during the early part of his


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ministry, under guidance from Fr Cafasso, he was a


weekly visitor to the local prison where he would hear


Confessions. Some of the condemned men were so


stunned at the sentence they had received they were


unable to think of anything except their impending


death. At these times Don Bosco would keep them


company through the night, comfort and calm them,


instilling confidence and trust in God. Although Don Bosco formed a great bond with these men he knew


he could never stay with them on their final journey to the gallows. A bad experience left him in no doubt


about his limitations. As a young priest he had promised a boy that he would accompany him to the


gallows, Don Bosco was delayed and when he arrived he found the young man already hanging from the


gallows. Don Bosco's eyes clouded over, he staggered and saw nothing more. Instantly Father Cafasso was


at his side, and held him up. When Don Bosco recovered consciousness, it was all over. From that day on,


Father Cafasso never again asked Don Bosco to be present at an execution.


This story from the life of Don Bosco is no heroic tale but has always been for me a source of consolation


and challenge. Consolation since it shows Don Bosco to be a highly sensitive soul who felt deeply the pain


of those condemned to death. Challenge because, although Don Bosco took the advice of his mentor,


Father Cafasso, and avoided all executions, he continued his prison ministry for several more years.


Father Cafasso spent most of his life in prison ministry so much so he was canonised and declared the


patron saint of prisons. Don Bosco's life followed a different route, but it is clear from his writings that the


experience of his early work in prisons left an indelible mark on his soul. The sight of so many wasted


young lives rotting in prisons or being thrown away on the gallows became a compelling motive for his


dedication to education. For him education was the only way out of the relentless cycle of petty crime,


prison, serious crime, execution. For Don Bosco prison was a hell of man's invention, he wanted to offer


young people heaven.


My first experience of prison was certainly hell. While living in Edinburgh I was approached by a work


colleague who was a prison visitor. He asked if I would like to come with him on his next visit. Never one


to miss a chance of a new experience I did. I was horrified! The smell, the loud clanging of locks, the dark


corridors, the frightening claustrophobia, I felt I would never get out. And that was only visiting! I vowed


I would never see the inside of a prison again. The memory of that day was a recurring nightmare.


Years later when I came to work with the Salesians I studied the life of Don Bosco. I was so inspired by


his total commitment to youth that I began helping in the school youth club. But as I read more about Don


Bosco I became aware of his prison ministry. I felt for the young and sensitive priest exposed to the


horrors of 19th century prisons which must have been far worse than those that I had seen and been


horrified by in Edinburgh. Providentially one Sunday at church someone made an appeal for Chris, a


prisoner who had been given a life sentence and who was protesting his innocence. I felt, that with Don


Bosco's help, maybe I could at least write to the man to say that my thoughts would be with him. That one


contact led me into the murky world of prisons, and my visits to prisons and my from prisoners over the


last ten years have led me to feel the sufferings and frustrations of men who have been locked away.


In the United States of America they still have the death penalty. The prisoners on death row really have


no hope. I was approached by a reader of 'Don Bosco Today' to write to a prisoner on death row. Once


again I thought about the example of Don Bosco and decided to write. Many death row prisoners are


deserted by their families when they are sentenced. I do not know how I would bear it if my husband or


son were on death row. So the prisoner has only fellow inmates to support him unless there are loyal


supporters from outside. Let me tell you about my friend Tom. Our friendship began when I started


writing to him in 1997 and now 72 letters later I feel like a sister to him. During that time Tom has told me


his life story and about every day he spends on death row. In his letters I have shared his loneliness, his


fear, and the institutionalised violence he suffers. I have journeyed with him through the suffering of his


losing friends, Pete, John and many others who were executed. The time when a young boy, aged 16, in


the next cage, didn't realise he was on death row, he thought he was going home the next day! Those were


the boys that Don Bosco saved from the gallows in his day.


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Tom has shared with me the sheer horror of his friend Les who was waiting to be killed and then was


twice pulled back from the brink of death. The unbearable torture of saying goodbye to family and friends


and entering a room to climb on a trolley with straps, needles and deadly fluids. The death row prisoners


all have this as a recurring nightmare.


In the years that I have been writing to Tom I have come, in a strange way, to admire and respect him, not


only for his amazing insights into humanity but for his unfailing courage and strength in adversity. The first


paragraph of his most recent letter gives a taste of his appreciation,


" My dearest Joan,


It is always relieving to hear from you. What I share with you is one way of giving back what is expressed


to me. You have been a real true friend to me since I have been here. There has been no other as sincere


and loyal as you. Even in your bad times you have always had the time for me. You have shown me love


when there is none from nowhere. I think it is important that the world knows about our suffering and


neglect here on death row."


In Tom's prison there are 5000 prisoners, with an average educational age of an eight-year-old. Like Tom


three quarters of them are African American. Sister Helen Prejan, who was the inspiration for the film


'Dead Men Walking' and with whom I have corresponded, described the death sentence as 'An issue for


the poor. From the time you wake in the morning till you go to bed at night there are thousand of signals to


show that you are disposable human waste'.


In the last six years nearly 300 death sentences handed out by local judges. Of these 90% were overturned


by state judges. Reversals are due to incompetent defence lawyers, police and prosecutors who suppress


evidence. 7% were found to be innocent. At the present time there are 3800 people waiting to be killed.


This legalised killing has become commonplace in a so-called civilised country. The famous speech of


Martin Luther King ("I have a dream") in which he dreamt of freedom now seems even further away


especially for people like Tom. I still share that dream that one day our world, for people like Tom and his


friends on death row, will be free. That our world will become a place where all people will be treated as


human beings.


While I have found many new friends in prison I have lost the friendship of many 'respectable' people,


who view my prison-visiting with suspicion. But Jesus, whose friendship I value, said, "When I was in


prison you visited me." I often reflect on the wonderful variety of my life, working in 'Don Bosco


Publications' one day, writing to prisoners the next. I feel privileged to be able to share in this amazing


vision that Don Bosco left us.


An Organisation which works with death row prisoners


Human Writes


27 Old Gloucester London WC1N 3XX


Fr. Herbert Douglas


I knew Fr. Herbert Douglas [Bert to his friends and colleagues,] for 44


years. I knew him, from the lithe, athletic fast bowler who put fear into the


First XI, to the frail priest who had to walk with the aid of a stick. I grew to


like him, to respect him, to admire him and to revere him, as a man of


shining integrity, kindness personified, consideration unbounded, and


patience unlimited. Bert was a priest first, last and always, on the altar, in


the confessional, in the classroom, in the playground, and in later years


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among his dear friends in the old folk's homes and the many lonely people


he visited especially when his vocation in the classroom ended.


And he was not just a priest but a Salesian priest, and that was something


that further defined him. Again I give you the thoughts of one of his


past-pupils, "The teacher and priest I first met over 30 years ago was always


a source of balanced, religious and hardworking dedication. So quietly


insistent, fair, thorough, methodical; that light tone of voice, a Salesian


optimism suggesting that we were always learning, that our French would


improve. We were taught by a man of great virtue, a gentleman who always encouraged you to become a


gentleman like him, a priest with an open ear, who listened to your conversation and shared a gentle and


droll sense of humour."


Yet, in all my years of knowing him I cannot recall him speaking unkindly of any of his charges - or of


anyone else for that matter. I must confess that I tried sometimes, even if only in a very mild way and half


jokingly to try to entice him to say something unkind about someone, specifically or generally, but I never


succeeded. He would just smile that quiet and knowing smile, rub the side of his face as he often did, and


completely ignore me.


Bert was a man of prayer. Past pupils of the school would approach me on occasion to ask Fr. Douglas to


pray for some intention, or for the solution to a problem. I don't think it is any coincidence that, when he


was discovered after his death, Bert had his open breviary and rosary beside him on his bed. The spoken


word of his sermons was also a joy to hear. And these words were prepared meticulously, just as all his


work was. He was an accomplished wordsmith, having honed his skills over many years on the


compulsory Daily Telegraph crossword. Delivered in a serene and gentle style, without histrionics, I


remember them for their utter sincerity, depth of faith, charity and piety. They were prepared in a simple


exercise book; no filofaxes or leather bound folders for Bert, he lived his poverty seriously.


Fr. Douglas was to have celebrated his Golden Jubilee of the Priesthood on July 16th of this year. I know


that he was looking forward to the occasion with joy but also with a certain amount of trepidation. Those


who knew him well know that he was never one for large gatherings. He found it difficult to attend school


functions, and celebrations. He enjoyed the events in themselves but found it hard to handle praise or


adulation. He would perform his duty and then slip quietly away, much as he did a few weeks before his


jubilee. I am sure he enjoyed the celebrations of his colleagues from his now privileged position, he loved


to see people enjoying themselves. But I'm equally sure that he also enjoying his own quieter celebration


in heaven in the company of his Master who, recognising fifty years of faithful, generous and joyous


service, will have said "Well done, good and faithful Herbert, come and take possession of the Kingdom


prepared for you."


Brother Michael Delmer


Fr Edward Fogarty SDB 1918 - 2000


Why does a man, at the age of 19, leave his country and set


off for South America to be a missionary? The mystery of


vocation, of total commitment to an ideal. Edward Fogarty


did precisely that, following in the footsteps of so many


Salesian missionaries, he spent his entire life in the service of


the poor in various Salesian missions in South America.


His life started in Northern Ireland, born in Ballycastle in


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1918 - into a family of nine brothers and a sister. Teddy, as


he was known, took his first steps as a missionary when, at


the age of 14, he left for England where he entered the junior seminary of the Salesians. At 19 he was


professed as a Salesian, and immediately volunteered for the missions of South America. However, his


father was strongly opposed to the idea, telling him that going to England was far enough! However, over


the months Teddy didn't give up on the idea and finally decided to make a Novena to Don Bosco. On the


last day of the Novena he received a letter from his father telling him that if he wanted to be a missionary


then he had his parents blessing. Teddy set off for Peru in 1937. It was a long journey in those days, it took


a month by boat via the Panama Canal.


His first task was to master Spanish before starting his studies for the Priesthood. One of his companions


was the future Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr Vigano. Most of the Missionaries were Italian and


Spanish, and with the outbreak of war, the flow of incoming missionaries ceased and his ordination was


delayed for two years till 1948.


Teddy began his priestly ministry as a teacher, 26 years in Peru, then 10 years in Ecuador, teaching in


various Salesian Schools. Then for the next 27 years he worked in Bolivia, the poorest country in South


America, where governments came and went with great frequency. By now he had become a Parish Priest


and he threw in his lot with the poor people opposing the repressive regimes. He became their spokesman,


so much so his parishioners had to keep watch over him day and night. They were fearful for his safety.


He was finally forced into exile for a year returning when a new government took over. He continued his


fight for people's rights and as drug-taking became a problem for young people he started his anti-drug


campaign.


Four years ago he came to Glasgow to receive the medical care which was not available in Bolivia. It was


during this time, when he stayed in our Salesian parish in Glasgow, that I got to know about his life and his


work in Bolivia. He was proud tolive the life of the people he loved, accepting their poverty as his


poverty. He used to remind me that many of his pupils could only pay for their education in kind, chickens


and eggs. I often joked with him asking what a bursar's office in Bolivia might look like, how do you do


book-keeping with chickens and eggs. One day I remarked that his suit was a bit tight on him. "That's


because I bought it 28 years ago" he replied. While he was waiting for his operation in Glasgow he


confided in me that his only worry was whether he would ever get back to Bolivia, "To lay these old bones


with the Indians" After his operation he had a short spell in Ballycastle with his sister before returning to


Bolivia. Although he had a robust constitution the rigours of a hard life took their toll and he died of a


heart attack Saturday 1st July 2000 in Cochebemba, Bolivia, aged 82 years.


The generosity of this great Irish missionary Fr Edward Fogarty SDB will long be remembered by the


Indians of Bolivia.


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