Strong right-wing core in the Catholic Church

This week’s Mediahuis Irish regional newspapers’ column.

Michael Commane

At this stage in the Donald Trump never-ending saga Steve Bannon is almost a household name in Ireland. He is closely associated with Trump. As a result of his fealty to the former US president, last week he began a four-month prison sentence in a Connecticut jail.

Bannon is in jail for not obeying a congressional order. Before entering the prison, speaking at a podium, he said he was proud that he was being locked up. “It’s time for me to surrender up in Danbury,” he said. The prison is in Danbury, Connecticut.

The world’s media were waiting for him as he entered the prison. Among the crowds cheering him was a man in a clerical collar, who rushed over and embraced him. They spoke briefly to each other and exchanged smiles. I  presume the man was a Catholic priest. Bannon was born into a Catholic family and attended St Benedict’s Catholic School. It looked as if they knew each other.

Watching that clip I was reminded of the Catholic priest in Kerry in 2009, who shook hands in Listowel court with a convicted rapist. The story received national headlines at the time.

I must stress that Bannon is not in jail for rape. The reason I was reminded of the Kerry priest, was because watching Bannon and the priest embrace I thought both gestures were inappropriate. This might be presumptuous of me but I couldn’t help thinking that there was an element of arrogance and certainty about the demeanour of the priest outside the jail in Danbury. Might the same be true of the Kerry priest who shook hands with the convicted rapist? Just a thought.

I cannot understand how Trump has managed to garner such support from Christian communities across the US. The words he has spoken about women, the many tax irregularities he has committed. What demeaning words he has said about migrants. Many US priests support him and I can only imagine bishops too. Most likely that is because he makes it his business to tell Americans he is opposed to abortion. Could anyone really believe that Trump is opposed to abortion?

The Trump relationship with the Christian churches, including the Catholic Church is an interesting one. Whether or not Trump believes in anything, I think it’s fair to say he is a right-wing politician, indeed most likely hard right. Of course all churches, like all organisations, are made up of people of all views and philosophies but I keep thinking at the core of the modern Catholic Church there is a strong right-wing tendency, and in the ascendancy too. For example if a priest enunciated far right views in the public forum it is most likely he would get a gentle slap on the hand from his bishop or provincial and that would be the end of the story. But if a priest expressed far left ideas he would find himself in serious trouble with his superiors. Just look what happened to many of the priests in South America in the era of Liberation Theology.

The world is heading towards dangerous authoritarianism. Where will the churches be in the months and years ahead?