The Uselessness of Enda Kenny's Posturing

The Bishops of Ireland need to be rounded up, given the boot and Rome needs to appoint new bishops within the next ten years or this entire country will become a spiritual nightmare. Let me just get that out of the way before any of you think I am going to defend the Bishops guilty of this seemingly unending travesty.

Now with that said, can someone please go and shut Enda Kenny up before he embarrasses himself?

I am of course talking about his recent speech solidly aiming at 'the Vatican' and 'deploring' the lack of, or too much Vatican interference in Irish Affairs regarding the child abuse scandals (someone get a tick list this is the first embarassment) So which is it? Is the Vatican to blame for telling the Bishops to ignore and hide the scandals, thereby interloping in Irish affairs in this 'Republic of Laws' Enda Kenny seems proud about? Why how very peculier, is the Vatican also to blame for not doing enough to stop the abuses? One is claiming the Vatican, (read: The Pope, because honestly thats what everyone really is referring to when they say The Vatican) is deliberately misleading and ordering Bishops to cover up the abuses, note, these are the same Bishops who flaunt their disobedience to Rome to begin with, one even going so far as to claim proudly he dismissed documents from Rome, unread, into the wastebasket next to his desk. While the other claim is lamblasting the Church for not doing ENOUGH to keep an oversight on these very same Bishops which would require the Vatican to... Interfere in this Republic of Laws in order to do so. Enda, please speak sense.

I will currently ignore cries from media and other sources that Enda Kenny's criticisms weren't hostile Enough. Because frankly it is not An Taoiseach's fault that they want the Church to suffer more.

It is obvious this is political posturing and any number of rationalisations can be claimed to be the cause of An Taoiseach getting uppity like this. Deflection from the current economic crisis, trying to secure future votes by 'standing tough' in the face of 'The Roman Bully', (that'll definitely sway the votes of some atheists but I don't honestly think it'll guarantee a second term) probably use it as an excuse to ignore his party's promise to be pro life and side with their Labour bedfellows to legalize abortion in Ireland. I would not put it past them and I dare any man among you to challenge my cynicism in this regard.

I also find it mildly amusing that these criticisms are being lauded by the Association of Catholic Priests and their ilk here in Ireland,many of whom share much in common with the Bishops whose fault it is we are in such a state.

The next embarrassment is the proposed legislation to break the Confessional Seal. Now this scandal is covered extensively in any number of catholic Blogs, and the possibility it will actually pass is debatable but there is one solid, sincere and very logical reason why it should not pass and put into Law: It would be the most ineffectual law in Irish History. How many Catholics are there in Ireland? What percentage of them go to Mass every week in today's secular world? What percentage of that percentage actually goes to confession at least twice a year? Now that we've limited that number down to an embarrassingly small amount I ask you this. How many of those who do confess, would confess to knowledge of child abuse? Now to even further dwindle that number, how many of this paltry sum would actually even remotely consider confessing such crimes once this law comes into effect and the confessional is not safe for the confession of any crimes? None. At all. The State can arrest as many priests as they want but no results in the safety of Children will ever improve and will only result in anticlerical actions not seen in a Catholic Country since perhaps the cristero war in Mexico. Further wasting state resources and oh of course, would only target the Catholic Church, why, it would be UNTHINKABLE that lawyers would also be required to come forward under this law, POLITICIANS MAY BE IMPLICATED. And that would just be sacrilege.

But the biggest, possibly most damning embarrassment of this recent hostility towards Rome is thus: In the Cloyne report the failure of civil authorities on the child abuse scandal is also damned. In fact, the failure of secular institutions and their own abuses, here in Ireland and elsewhere is actually almost as bad if not worse then the abuses under Catholic oversight. I understand why the Church is picked on from an objective standpoint, it is a religious and moral authority where such failures and failure to expunge the corruption is beyond inexcusable and hence, its dirty laundry is hung from a higher line as it where. But even so the speech and, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny;

In this Republic of Laws where such attrocities have taken place, dear An Taoiseach, pray tell, where was the State when the people needed them?

An Irish Pope

This was a rather amusing idea that a friend of mine made aware to me, certain Journalists are speculating the likelihood of one Arch Bishop Diarmuid Martin could very well be in the Running to be the next Pope.

Now far be it from me to point out the outrageous, yet hilarious Irony it would be that the College of Cardinals should select the next Pope after His Holiness has gone to his reward, to be from Ireland of all places based on his clean record in terms of dealing with Clerical abuses.

But thats not really the point of this blog post, the point is really what the content of that article reveals about the intentions and bias of many journalists, especially ones that arent just outrightly hostile to the Catholic Church. That of them wanting to reform the Church to suit modern tastes.

If you take a gander at several instances in the article it is actually quite clear that the author wishes for ''a new ecclesiology'' of the Church and a more ''inclusive'' and ''transparent'' then the ''current royal model'', essentially speaking he would want a more democratic Church. Now this is what outrages me most about a lot of liberal Catholics, never mind their ambiguity on Abortion, that's a rant for later, but their disliking of what the Church is.

I have heard it in numerous places, if they don't hate all of the Church, the attack the Pope, and when they get tired of attacking the Pope, the attack the Church's hierarchical nature in general. It bloody sickens me. The mask this all under the pretence of 'wanting minimal reform' when what the want is a repeat of Vatican II in which liberal priests and theologians took the opportunity to run rampant and cause immeasurable damage to the Church and the Faithful. And yes I am cynical and bitter enough to notice that alot of the current sexual abuses happened in the period after Vatican II more then the period before and promptly call Liberal Catholics out on their almighty bullshit.

Rinse, wash, repeat, these arguments and demands for democratisation of the Church, just so they can ruin it and protestant-ise it, have been around for a good while, but it just annoys me at their leech-like opportunism to attack now.

Don't get me wrong, I still think the idea of an Irish Pope would be beautifully Ironic, especially if it is the Arch Bishop and pulls a fast one on everyone and be just as Conservative as His Holiness is, but not now, not with these liberals heaping their expectations and influence on anyone they think might be the next Pope. Still, it was fun to joke about, self depreciatingly, about a Pope who was no stranger to beer-wait a minute...

Never mind then.