A review of the press
The Irish Mammy is getting older…
TheJournal.ie – Ireland by numbers: births, marriages and deaths
Read more – http://www.thejournal.ie/ireland-by-numbers-births-marriages-and-deaths-362473-Feb2012/
Michael Wardlow appointed as chief equality commissioner
BBC News – Michael Wardlow has been appointed as the new chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Equality Commission. Until August 2009, Mr Wardlow was chief executive officer of the Northern Ireland council for integrated education. He currently works as a freelance consultant.
Read more – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17126770
‘Scandal’ that reports on church child sex abuse still not complete
Irish Times – It is “a scandal” that reviews of the handling of child abuse allegations in all 26 dioceses are not complete, six years after the National Board for Safeguarding Children was set up, Baroness Nuala O’Loan has said. The former Northern Ireland police ombudsman yesterday praised the integrity of Ian Elliott of the national board but said the board was under-resourced. “History tells us that there may today still be men in active ministry, against whom allegations were made, which were never investigated,” she said. The board released six diocesan audits last year and plans more in May or June. Ferns, Dublin and Cloyne were subjects of earlier investigations. Ms O’Loan spoke at the launch of the book Can I Stay in the Catholic Church? by Fr Brian Lennon which looks at the response to child abuse and its cover up.
At – http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0222/1224312171723.html
Irish Poised to Revisit Abortion Law
New York Times – Abortion is back on the agenda in Ireland after a European Court of Human Rights ruling last year found the state in violation of its own Constitution on the matter. Ireland’s abortion laws are the strictest in Europe, but the Irish government may be about to address the previously unapproachable: whether to loosen restrictions on ending a pregnancy. The European ruling, coupled with the dwindling power of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, has campaigners for abortion rights hopeful that change may be afoot. Catholic morality has influenced Irish social policy in the past, but Prime Minister …
Read more – http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/world/europe/22iht-letter22.html?_r=1
Sean MacBride stands among Ireland’s greats – many had British education
Irish Echo – Ireland’s people of destiny tend to come in waves and are usually propelled by some great event or person. Charles Stewart Parnell’s Home Rule Party was stacked with giants such as John Dillon, Timothy Healy and Michael Davitt, while the battle for independence served up a veritable constellation of outstanding individuals from James Connolly, Padraig Pearse and Countess Markievicz to Michael Collins, Rory O’Connor and Eamon de Valera. The pickings have been few of late, though it would be hard to ignore the disparate troika of Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, John Hume and Gerry Adams from the Northern conflict. Oddly enough – and purely a dispassionate observation – all those mentioned benefited from a British education and lived in times or circumstances not dominated by the Catholic Church: hardly a ringing endorsement for the Irish republic.
Read more – http://irishecho.com/?p=69906
Divisive issues Ireland – Church and State
Irish Emigrant USA – Brendan Duggan CSSp writes – What I also found interesting in Ireland is that the Catholic Church is going through a transformation. There are a lot of committed Catholics in Ireland. The upcoming Eucharistic Congress next June should be very interesting. There are lots of events being planned at both parish and diocesan levels and I can see the seeds of a new, more humble and compassionate Church emerging. The churches were packed for the Christmas services in so many areas. While Mass attendance has fallen off a lot, there is still a very strong Catholic ethos in the country and it is not confined to elderly people. That is why if I were a strong Labor or even Fine Gael supporter I would hate to be tagged as being part of an anti-Catholic party. Some people did remark to me over the past few months that in the next general election they may change their vote. Politicians have to be wary of how people may vote. The Government has to deal with many other divisive issues, such as closing small rural primary schools with less than 50 students, of which there are about 650 nationwide. I would not like to be Minister Ruairi Quinn, as this is a particularly lethal nettle at the local parish level. The fees paid to social welfare receivers for Holy Communion and Confirmation dresses and shoes, as noted in last week’s paper, indicates that Ireland is a great country to live in if you are poor and unemployed. However, if you are self-employed or work for a living, you don’t necessarily share in many of these social benefits. The big issue is that the country has little revenue and we are relying on loans from Europe and the IMF. I must say that I have a lot of sympathy for the Government, which is trying to work for the good of the people. Recent efforts to try and bring US investment to the country are to be praised. This initiative was very favorably commented on in the Irish press while I was in Ireland. I would love to see a real making up between Church and State in Ireland; perhaps it may still be possible to have the Pope come to visit Ireland for the Eucharistic Congress in June.
Read more – http://www.irishemigrant.com/ie/go.asp?p=story&storyID=11046