I never thought I would live to see a fascist government in the USA but that has happened with the arrival of DJ Trump and his band of right wing Zionists in the White House. I suppose I should not have been so naïve. I had innocently thought that the US was the home of democracy and even though the experience of Native Americans, African –Americans and other ethnic groups has been well documented, I thought that democratic values would overcome the racists. I had also hoped that the Second Vatican Council(1961-65) had persuaded all Catholic leaders that the Church must always be on the side of the poor and oppressed and opposed to right-wing fascists. 

I made many trips to the US since 1972 and even spent almost two years in New York from 1980 until 1982. I discovered then that not all was as it seemed from a distance.  I saw in New York and more so in Baltimore and Camden-Philadelphia great poverty in the midst of great wealth. 

During my time in New York I discovered some Catholics, including clergy, who were pro-government. I also met and befriended other Catholics and people of all Christian denominations who took the opposite view. These prophetic Christian clergy and Religious  devoted their lives to working for justice and the end of weapons of war.

Throughout history many people of conscience have stood up to injustice, fascism, the denial of human rights. Some preferred non-violence and various acts of resistance -like boycott. Others caught up in the reality of brutality saw no alternative to the use of weapons. All were united in the face of tyranny by fascist rulers and authoritarian governemnts.

 

In the USA in the 1960s, Reverend Martin Luther King, a Baptist minister emerged as a charismatic leader and preacher and opponent of racism and the Washington elite. Many people of conscience joined him on protest marches and many imitated his example. He based his beliefs on the Biblical story of justice for the oppressed. 

 

In Ireland people of conscience have constantly resisted English colonial rule and oppression over the centuries-and suffered because they stood up to the tyrants. 

 

Today, we see fascism and authoritarian rule in countries all over the world. We see it in the USA and in Israel which under Netanyahu has carried out despicable genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. We see it in countries where innocent people are murdered, where some are arrested and put in jail, countries where people are forced to leave their homes and become refugees, where people who stand with the poor are tortured and put in prison or murdered. 

 

We, in Ireland, cannot stand idly by and ignore what is happening to our brothers and sisters in Gaza, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine as if it did not concern us. We cannot be indifferent. We are called to stand firm against fascism in the world today. We cannot sit on the fence. We must have courage. We need to join the others in resisting fascist groups and fascist systems- wherever they are. 

 

I am glad there are many people who are not afraid to stand up to fascism. They are following in the footsteps of ML King, Monsignor Oscar Romero and the many others who stood for justice and human rights throughout history.

 

In Ireland I applaud ‘Gaels for Gaza’ who are calling on the GAA to stop promoting Allianz insurance.  I applaud former GAA stars like Colm McAlarney from Down, Brendan Devenny from Donegal, and many others throughout Ireland who are taking a stand against Allianz sponsorship of the GAA because of their connection with the Zionist government.

 

I call once again on the Catholic Church in Ireland to end their ties with Allianz Insurance. This may not be easy for the GAA or the Catholic Church –but it is one sure way they can show solidarity with our suffering brothers and sisters in Palestine.