The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, Eamon Martin, has given an interview to the Daily Mail. Why he would choose that rag in order to voice his views I don’t know. Maybe he’s trying to reach the sub-zero IQs out there.
At the same time, he has some interesting things to say about the Irish border and Irish unity. He says he feels it is “a pity” that the Irish government has not made Irish unity “an issue for conversation”.
An issue for conversation? If they claim to be Irish republicans or even soft-egg nationalists, they shouldn’t simply be have “a conversation”. They should be organising forums (OK, fora) where the core elements of a reunited Ireland could be addressed.
He says he believes a border poll will happen within his lifetime. Eh? The archbishop is 63 years old. That’d be twenty years and longer from now to a border referendum. I prefer Niall Murphy’s belief and Sinn Féin’s belief that it should held in five years time – 2030. Can-kicking does not become you, Your Grace.
Fr Timothy Bartlett has also been talking of things Irish, and quietly laments the inability of Irish citizens north of the border to vote in the coming presidential election. “Sadly, though I am told I am an Irish citizen, and even though I have deeply treasured that identity since I was a child, even in the face of violent opposition, I am not entitled to vote in that election.”
He also takes a swipe at the media: “I encourage every person of faith to encourage our state media, and candidates for the next President of Ireland, to actively highlight the issue of religious freedom, respect and tolerance in our society, and to give a voice, not least to those increasing number of young people of faith in our country who tell me, and others, that they feel excluded, marginalised, unwelcome, cancelled or misunderstood, simply because their faith is important to them.”
He may have something there. Certainly it’s true that there’s an anti-clerical streak in the Irish media and even to a degree an anti-Catholic streak. This has come out of the sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy of so many young people. You can see how that would infect the views of the media and everyone else. But Bartlett uses a scatter-gun approach to the media, where the Catholic Church is often portrayed, explicitly or implicitly, as an old, out-of-touch institution.
But this turbulent priest seems to be trying to do two things in his interview: talk about the injustice of Irish citizens north of the border not being allowed to vote in a presidential election; and the questionable portrayal of Catholicism by the Irish media. Important though the second of these is, the bunching of the two together blemishes both.
What would be interesting is if Tim would, like the Archbishop, kick the Irish unity can down the road or come out with something more back-boned. Leave the media portrayal of the Church for another day.
But maybe I’m being too demanding. The very fact that prominent Catholic clerics are talking about things political is something to be grateful for, or even prompt the occasional mutter of “About bloody time”. Even if their political egg is more than soft. ‘Runny’ might be nearer the mark.
“‘I don’t think we’ll take a back seat. Because, I mean, if you’re talking about, well, first of all, our membership will be voting in a border poll,” he said.
“It’ll be very interesting to see how the issues of identity work out in a border poll. Will [it] be simply as straightforward; Catholics will vote yes; Protestants will vote no?
“I think that we have had in recent elections north of the border the emergence of this middle ground, perhaps not hugely, but it is there where people are saying, ‘Well, what do we want of a shared Island?’
“I personally feel that It’s a pity that the southern government has not made this more of an issue for conversation. There’s almost this sense we’ll keep pushing it, pushing it out there.”
The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, Eamon Martin, has given an interview to the Daily Mail. Why he would choose that rag in order to voice his views I don’t know. Maybe he’s trying to reach the sub-zero IQs out there.
At the same time, he has some interesting things to say about the Irish border and Irish unity. He says he feels it is “a pity” that the Irish government has not made Irish unity “an issue for conversation”.
An issue for conversation? If they claim to be Irish republicans or even soft-egg nationalists, they shouldn’t simply be have “a conversation”. They should be organising forums (OK, fora) where the core elements of a reunited Ireland could be addressed.
He says he believes a border poll will happen within his lifetime. Eh? The archbishop is 63 years old. That’d be twenty years and longer from now to a border referendum. I prefer Niall Murphy’s belief and Sinn Féin’s belief that it should held in five years time – 2030. Can-kicking does not become you, Your Grace.
Fr Timothy Bartlett has also been talking of things Irish, and quietly laments the inability of Irish citizens north of the border to vote in the coming presidential election. “Sadly, though I am told I am an Irish citizen, and even though I have deeply treasured that identity since I was a child, even in the face of violent opposition, I am not entitled to vote in that election.”
He also takes a swipe at the media: “I encourage every person of faith to encourage our state media, and candidates for the next President of Ireland, to actively highlight the issue of religious freedom, respect and tolerance in our society, and to give a voice, not least to those increasing number of young people of faith in our country who tell me, and others, that they feel excluded, marginalised, unwelcome, cancelled or misunderstood, simply because their faith is important to them.”
He may have something there. Certainly it’s true that there’s an anti-clerical streak in the Irish media and even to a degree an anti-Catholic streak. This has come out of the sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy of so many young people. You can see how that would affect the views of the media and everyone else. But Bartlett is concerned about the scatter-gun approach of the media, where the Catholic Church is often portrayed, explicitly or implicitly, as an old, out-of-touch institution.
But Tim Bartlett seems to be trying to do two things in his interview:talk about the injustice of Irish citizens north of the border not being allowed to vote in a presidential election; and the questionable portrayal of Catholicism by the Irish media. Important though the second of these is, the bunching of the two together damages both.
What would be interesting is if Tim would, like the Archbishop, kick the Irish unity can down the road. Leave the media portrayal of the Church for another day.
But maybe I’m being too demanding. The very fact that prominent Catholic clerics are talking about things political is something to be grateful for, or even prompt the occasional mutter of “About bloody time”. Even if their political egg is more than soft. ‘Runny’ might be nearer the mark.
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