Irish Voters need to Vote with their morality

I am well aware of the hypocracy of a Monarchist such as myself endorsing one or more potential candidates for the Aras, so this post will not contain such an endorsement, and I am well aware of the liberal infestation that is crippling the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in this Nation, so we cannot expect the Bishops to be too stringent on matters of faith and morals with regards to how their flock views Politics, even though they bloody well should be doing such. It is up to the Magisterium and His Holiness to decide what to do with the Irish Church.

Instead this post is an Appeal to any Clergy and Religious who happen across my blog, as well as Faithful Irish Catholics to encourage the one thing that will put the fear of God into our blighted political class, and no it is not fomenting an angry mob, it is encouraging the people to realise however ineffectual they may see their votes, those votes count as actions and God will view them as such.

I do not mean to preach to you, for that is arrogance, merely point out that encouraging Catholics in America to vote with their conscience caused a storm of controversy over the pond, but it also meant that it was not a total landslide of the Catholic vote that elected Obama into Office (even though it was still a shamefully high percentage), Ireland is full of Lapsed Catholics, many of whom may or may not be angry at the Church, but most of whom see faith as inconsequential to their societal actions. And as long as the Church does not stress how civic actions such as voting can affect their souls, why would they?

I know this is but one problem amongst MANY the Church is dealing with right now in terms to a weakening of the faith by sabotuers, both intentional and unintentional. But if we do not start campagining for conscience based voting now, someone like David Norris may very well be able to get into the Aras next year, or some much worse then him, and the entire political class of Ireland may increase in liberalization, further damaging the country and the Church. So as that I urge my fellow Irish Catholics to encourage the concept of conscience voting here. Before the next abortion referendum rolls around.

Don't pretend that you don't know about its inevitability.

Odd rumblings

Enda Kenny denounced the Vatican directly after the Cloyne report and I already covered how this was little more then political scapegoating both to draw attention away from the Hospital scandal and the state's failures also mentioned in the report.

The Confessional Seal legislation which would be the most ineffectual law in Irish History in the pursuit of protecting children.

And of course, FG Cait Keane urging that the Eucharistic congress would be inappropriate to be held in phoenix park....despite the fact it is not planned for Phoenix Park but for the RDS and Croke Park.

And in all three cases the Association of Catholic Priests, a liberal group of clerics opposed to Orthodoxy and Sensible religion and moral character in general, has been cheering Fine Gael on.

Excuse me but what the hell is this utter horse dung?

While I am awaiting what is rumoured to be a strong Papal Nuncio response to the Cloyne Report and the fractious relationship between Dublin and Rome, can someone please give me one good reason why we haven't tossed this filth out of the sacristies?

I know I am for a proper Inquisition into the Affairs of the Irish Church for some time now and the results of an initial Apostolic Investigation, although the full report hasnt been disclosed, is that the Irish Church is ten years away from an irreversible disaster. And had been hoping with the Eucharistic Congress and the Pope's own schedualed visit to Ireland next year, something would at least be done. I had even mentioned my dismay at the emergence of religious rebellion earlier this year with regards to this same organization and I am only increasingly vindicated. And on top of this a leading Theologian has called for all Bishops of Ireland appointed before 2003 to be removed and replaced with a reshuffling of diocese. A move I fully support because Rome has neglected Ireland for the past century and the Bishops have grown lazy and indolent at best, and outright heretical at worst. And I see the worst elements of this heretical malaise at the heart of Irish Spirituality in the Association and its persistent political opportunism. I would bet money that if at all possible they would have Dublin break from Rome and create an established State Church. Remind you of Anyone?

I have never been one for anti-clericalism, a respect for the divine and a respect for the clergy is as old as the Irish character itself, stretching back even into our pagan days. But be that as it may I wish for more public denounciation of the Association from prominent Catholics and for the Bishops to submit to Rome. I have made it quite clear any lasting Irish Restoration cannot be built on a secular foundation, the wolves of revolution will just tear at it till it is nought but bone. I just wish for something drastic to be done. Very badly.

Slan go Phoile.

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?

Restoration III: The Church and the Role of Religion in an Irish Monarchy

If there is one aspect of a potential Irish restoration I constantly harp on about as being vital, it is the role of a religious revival in Irish society. And one of the key reasons i've been putting this is off is how incredibly difficult it will be to approach this without coming across as akin to one of those anemic liberals or even some of the more schismatic Catholic elements who say the Church should do this sort or that sort to suit my own interests and sensibilities. That and a fear that my own shambles of a catechizes will discredit whatever I do say.

On top of this is the concern that detractors will point to the heights of Catholicism in Ireland's past and the government cover-ups and the wonton sexual abuses and psychological damage to Irish folk back then crippled us as a society and damaged us to the point of being fascistic automotons. After all, all those famous books written about Irish life back then from liberal leaning authors were completely accurate despite the fact that most of them were absolute fiction bar a few memoirs?

Oh wait terribly sorry, it turns out most of those works have been deeply challenged as inaccurate many times over and are inherently biased. Moving right along then.

It is impossible for me to say exactly why the Catholic Church specifically is necessary for the task of restoration until the role of religion is clarified. In the past Ireland was, ok admittedly, still is a religious country even though it is rapidly becoming secularized. Religiosity defines the Irish character, the Irish Character is, in turn, mocked for its religiosity... and drunkenness, and wife beating, and our odd way of thinking and turn of speech. Whoever said the Irish stopped being acceptable targets in media for comedy? A fool most likely.

Religious revival is neccessary in turning over the dominant Anglo-Americanised culture that has stamped itself across the english speaking world. It is neccessary because with religiosity comes morals and character, inconvenience for politicians and societal rules that are contrary to what has become the norm. The average Irishman and Irishwoman, when they hold deep moral convictions, are going to feel very alien in the dominant, and foreign, culture that surrounds them. And such unifying moral convictions can only come from an organised Religion to inform, preach and uphold them. Should a Religious revival occur across the country, and God willing it does, the dominant anglo-americanised culture will no longer satisfy the Irishman. The west britons calling for a downgrading of the status of Gaelige in Irish institutions and education will sound more and more like the bleating goats they are, an identity crisis will have emerged. We are no longer in the De Valera era and aggressive nationalism is no longer widespread in Ireland but passive nationalistic pride still remains. Well thats what liberals call it, I'd call it cultural pride. As you know, having celtic styled artwork decorating Churches is so 20th century...

The end goal of such a religious revival is of course, if I am forgiven, for thinking of it in politically manipulative terms, is to create real politics, (not to be confused with Real Politik), and by that I mean politicians with backbone, audacity and character. I was extremely mad at Fine Gael handing over the public sector to their Irish labour bedfellows after the general election because it is the perfect example of shameless politics that boils my blood so. If ever I needed reaffirmation of being a Monarchist I need only look south of the Border... or North to Storment. What this achieves is genuine intellectual political conflict to shake the passive Irish mind from its stupor and it is then monarchism can really be spread as an actual alternative amid such a furious storm of political thought brought on by the spread of solid moral values.

The Catholic Church is the perfect institution to achieve this end precisely because it is not an Irish specific institution. A revival of the Catholic Church, (once His Holiness is done with his Reform of the Reform and a couple hundred dozen Inquisitions are completed), will be explosive in Ireland, for one thing most Catholics in Ireland are Lukewarm, on the fence as it were between being a genuinely religious nation or something akin to the average religiosity of Scandinavia. It also helps the Catholic Church still enjoys a predominant position and favoritism of the Irish Government, even if it is unstated. It also helps that Roman Catholicism has a long history of complementing native cultures once conversion has been achieved, (Ireland entered a golden age of intellectual advancement after it converted) although this is not universally true for the cultural identities of some nations who had violent conversions (Lithuania), so the Catholic Church as a worldwide institution not subject to Irish petty politics and governmental chest pounding can wreck merry havoc on the current poisonous cultural attitude in Ireland and set the stage for real challenge and change in Irish politics.

Again, as stated before, for the case of Irish Monarchism, the Catholic Church's position is an immense gamble precisely because it cannot be controlled. If she does not clean house to wipe away the filth of modernist heresies and liberal poisoning of the clerical mind in this country, all it would take would be for a few liberal bishops to condemn the Irish Monarchist movement as 'un-Catholic' to set back the Restoration for 5 decades if we are fortunate. (Then again mind you, there are plenty of faithful clergy in the Catholic Church who are committed republicans even if they are not overtly political, thus increasing the risk of the gamble) The Church need not actively support the movement, all monarchists need for the Church to do is not to oppose us, that leaves one less moral backing for our republican opponents. (and yes as a Roman Catholic I am inherently biased in favor of the Church, but what I say still remains true)

Now with that said and a best case scenario is achieved and a Native Irish Monarchy is restored, it is in my opinion that religion should remain an overt an active part of the Irish lifestyle. Naturally in such a best case scenario the Church itself would handle these matters, so that leaves the public sphere to deal with.

It is the opinion of this monarchist that the Irish Monarchy would recognize religion's role in the public sphere, this will of course mean that non Catholic religions would also be allowed to be active in the public sphere (more on this in subsequent posts on divine supremacy and the toleration of heretics). The Irish Monarchy would by necessity, much like the republican government beforehand, recognize the special role of the Catholic Church as the religion of the overwhelming majority and take account of that. Even going so far as to make it the state religion precisely to emphasis religion's role in monarchy and in the nation as a whole (more on this in the coronation post), the alliance of alter and throne is as old as monarchy itself and even religion, and I see no reason why the Irish Monarchy should be different in this regard. In fact with the added effect of having a strong monarchy with a leashed Dail giving Ireland the benefit of notoriety and prestige int he great family of nations, the establishment of a State religion in today's world would be a flippant and welcome middle finger to the current republican world view and a direct challenge to the republican ideal.

Again, there is no set guarantee that the revival of religion will make Irish minds more susceptible to our many mysterious monarchical machinations, but at the very least it will provide a forum to dispel myths of monarchy being a decidedly 'protestant thing' precisely because any monarchist movement in Ireland as a whole would be overwhelmingly Catholic to begin with.

I) Rex Hibernie. Imperator Scotturum.
II) Clans and the Role of the Church
III) -
- Supplementary post: Divine Supremecy and Tolerance: The Neccessity of State Religion and toleration of Heretics
IV) The Legislative Process in an Irish Monarchy
- Supplementary Post: Monarchist Economics and Dynamic Politics
- The Role of Chieftans and other Lords
V) The High Coronation, the true All Ireland Final
- The Role of the Council of Chieftans, Dynastic succession issues and legitimacy
- The Role of the Church
- The Role of the Monarch and the Royal Family
- Lords, Statesman and Farmers
- Final comments on the Coronation
VI) And all the world is a stage... Foreign Relations and the Role of a Monarchical Ireland in Europe and Elsewhere.