First let me say I was all ready to write a lovely little editorial about Mullingar Chamber turning the town into a Christmas village on Sunday, and how it all sounds really cheery and festive. Then I was going to say a bit about the floods in Athlone, and the heart-warming solidarity that seems to have embraced the town, and the county to be fair. But then, ah but then, our beloved Taoiseach came out to defend the Catholic Church this week. His actions were something so redundant, so old school, so embarrassing that even his peers across the country scratched their heads in confusion.
Oh Brian, what will we do with you? Has anyone told him it’s not 1951? And that perhaps the voting public has evolved past him. His general behaviour over the last couple of weeks has been highly questionable. Is he in touch with his voters at all? It’s hard to have any respect for someone in power when they’re clearly avoiding making the right decisions for the population.
See this is what gets me the most. This week, the man that’s supposed to be the leader of the State, of the Republic, basically demonstrated that his loyalities are with the Church, not with the State. Just ask the Irish Times’ Patsy McGarry.
This week we saw Briano defend the Vatican’s lack of reply to the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. In a statement to the Dáil, Brian argued that the Vatican had acted in good faith by insisting that, as the commission was set up by the Government, all communications to the Vatican should have been through diplomatic channels.
How can the leader of our highly progressive and multicultural society hold more allegiance to a religion over his country? Does this mean that when the Vatican says bow, Brian asks how low?
This whole situation just isn’t sitting well with me.
The separation of State and Church has been happening for years. Religion needs to be kept out of politics, it’s not 1951 Briano, we’re not all Catholics. His religion should bear no relation to the simple duties the Taoiseach of this country has to carry out.
By defending the actions of the Catholic Church, he has basically spat in the face of every non-Catholic and non-religious voter in this country, never mind those out there so deeply unfortunate to been abused, raped, bullied, and beaten by representatives of the Church.
Brian’s defence of the Church and his overly calm, devil-may-care attitude to the lack of resignation by the bishops involved in the Murphy Report is disgusting.
The damage has been done, so is it really necessary to rub salt in the wounds of those abused by the Church? Does Brian really have to be so flippant about the Vatican’s lack of cooperation? It’s a bit of a disgrace don’t you think?
Would he be so happy about the situation if those named in the Murphy report were all living and working in Clara? I didn’t think so.
