Sunday, April 20, 2014

Taoiseach's picture without one word about the man

The May issue of the free sheet 'Alive' carries an article titled 'How we vote is a conscience issue'.

The piece includes a picture of Taoiseach Enda Kenny. The caption under the picture reads: "Political elites, safe behind large majorities and backed by the media, think they can ignore people of faith."

While the Taoiseach's picture appears in the article, Mr Kenny's name is never mentioned in the piece.

Who are the 'political elite', the 'large majorities'? And to which particular media outlets is the author referring?

The writer, Dominican priest John Harris, says: "Today our country's Christian heritage is being washed away, and we are aiding it by our silent and acquiescent attitudes at the polls."

Is Ireland any less Christian than it was 50 years ago? And who is 'aiding' the washing away?

The writer tells us that politics has become much more 'complex' since World War ll. Was Irish politics not complex before then?

Harris writes that we are largely ignorant of the importance of EU elections. How does he extrapolate this?

He also tells his readers: "We give little consideration to the policies of the various parties, except on economic issues and how this or that change would affect our pockets or our pay packets". There is not one sentence in the article to support this statement.

Elsewhere the Dominican writes: "It's amazing that after nearly 50 years in Europe we still haven't woken up to the immense importance of the EU in our lives."

He writes: "The European Parliament and the EU bureaucracy have adopted many policies that have radically influenced social thinking in this country."

But the parliament is an elected assembly. Can the Irish people not think for themselves? Are we not the beneficiaries of cultural, theological, scientific and educational positives since joining the EU.

Before Ireland joined the EU, few students, with the exception of clerics, had the opportunity to study in other European cities.

And which has done more harm/more good in Ireland, EU or Vatican bureaucracy?
Again, what evidence has Fr Harris to make his statements?

There is not one statistical fact to support any of the many 'hunches' in the piece.

The article is highly offensive, patronising too and certainly lacking in any sort of objective reality. Why the picture of the Taoiseach?

And that a writer would use vulgar or crude language in an article purported to discuss the theme of conscience is surely ironic.

According to Harris many of us still vote the way our families voted for generations.

But maybe most importantly, who are those who decide who are the 'people of faith'? A clerical elite?

1 comment:

Con Harrington said...

Would it be the remnants of the old elite complaining about the current one? For many, many years Catholicism did terrible wrong to people, and against people, largely because of its elite place in society. The useless whataboutery here suggests that there's too much time on hands. Peter McVerry is always looking for people to bear witness to the Gospel. Or what about making a commitment to our brothers and sisters in Christ living in Direct Provision? The need is great and such Christian work is open to all comers, anyone who'll come out from behind the high walls of certainty and comfort and go out and live daily with the stricken, the brokenhearted. Fr McVerry and co don't ruminate about Christianity, they live it daily. What's being lamented here is the fall of clerical Catholicism from its previously dangerous height. Thanks be to God there's still plenty of Christianity, the real thing, left in our people and our country and we don't need a Sanhedrin to fight for it on our behalf. Do you or any of the men in this article know what it's like to be hungry, to be unable to pay a utility bill, to suffer because you can't afford to go to the dentist or the doctor, to have nowhere to live or put a roof over your head? When you know any of that then you can talk about elites and Christianity.

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