** BREAKING NEWS **

 At the summit today at JJ Murphy's Irish pub we can report a near breakthrough in the Richard vs Robert 'Does God Exist' ongoing discussions. More of that later.

The planned discussion on Transubstantiation didn't go as hoped and no satisfactory conclusion was reached other than a consensus (when put to the vote) that The Curmudgeon was going to Hell. Richard was pleased with this as it means that there will be someone he knows there but he was a bit miffed to learn that, due to the shocking revelation that The Curmudgeon had desecrated the sacrament of The Eucharist, he was going to Hell by Express Transport that could even be First Class. Richard himself seems to have bought his ticket there by simply constantly chipping away at the concepts of Catholicism which may have only merited a simpler form of transport - probably a hand-basket.

The Curmudgeon, under direct questioning by Robert, confirmed that he had indeed sold or traded for tuck-shop items, hosts both the priests' ones and the congregations smaller ones when he was a Sacristan in the fourth form at school. See: MINE HOST

A new revelation though was that the hosts sold and traded were both unconsecrated and consecrated ones. Robert had naively believed that after the communion hosts were given out by the priest, the remaining consecrated ones went back into the tabernacle - for what purpose I don't know and he certainly didn't. The Curmudgeon informed Robert that fresh communion hosts were supplied daily from The Home of Compassion nuns and it was the Sacristan's job to replenish the stock and dispose of the old stock - consecrated and unconsecrated. The host  is a form of bread after all and, being unleavened (no yeast) and without preservatives, goes stale pretty quickly.The Curmudgeon, as Sacristan would take out the consecrated hosts from the tabernacle along with the unused hosts from the day before and dispose of them - which, depending on daily demand, would mean selling them or swapping them with fellow students in 4P class. This revelation threw Robert into a tizzy and he resorted to strange 'get-away-from-me -Satan 'gestures and denounced The Curmudgeon as having desecrated the holy sacrament. Blimey!

Next, Robert and Richard became involved in a long and confusing discussion about sin and adultery and the grading of sins in the same way that crimes are graded with different punishments. 

Robert was unable to explain the difference between consequentialism and utilitarianism as he had drunk a pint and a half at this stage and, as Richard can't understand big words that conversation was going nowhere.

The Curmudgeon and Kylie were busy discussing the merits of traditional oblong pool tables versus the new circular ones at this stage so full reporting cannot be made except for a couple of interjections from The Curmudgeon. At one point Robert made the grand statement "morality is given by god' to which The Curmudgeon posited that morality, like ethics was a concept that wasn't created by a mythical being but was developed over the years of human civilisation by many different races and cultures as a way of getting along with each other and of diminishing warfare. This is kind of like Jacinda Ardern's request for everyone to be kind.

Richard had a calling at this point - 

Not this

- it was Shelley requesting to be picked up from the Africa events on the waterfront.

Conversation after Richard left turned to politics and the US elections. It was clear that Kylie and Robert have different ideas than The Curmudgeon with them endorsing Trumpism and the US Republican party. Kylie advised that Fox News gives him all the information he requires,  along with a little bit of TV One news , to make an informed opinion!

Well, à chacun son goût The Curmudgeon says and left it at that but he did leave them both with a recommendation to download the free App FLIPBOARD which gives access to may news publications from around the world whether left-leaning, centrist or right-leaning. Hopefully this will give them a balanced view of world affairs.

So, "what is the breaking news?" you might ask.

It is this.

Under Richard's relentless arguing Robert seemed to cave in on the  'Does God Exist' discussion and may well be soon embracing ATHEISM!

Either that or he just got tired of Richard's pedantic badgering.