Take on the EU, not the Church

THERE was a time, not too long ago, when people would look at events in history, such as the penal laws in Ireland, and wonder how any society could really believe in such practices.

Not so much as to how they could have been implemented, because history gives us many examples of unjust administration, but how people, presumably people just like ourselves, could possibly have supported such obvious injustice.

The astonishing populist attack by Enda Kenny against a church which has a significant membership in this country is a case in point. Over the past several years an ongoing campaign of vilification has been waged against that Church at a variety of different levels by public and private organisations, both national and international. This has been complemented by an atmosphere of mass hysteria on the issue of child abuse leading to more and more extreme measures for protection, which in reality are only cynical exercises in vote catching.

The Taoiseach’s attack was unfactual, inaccurate and intemperate. Had it been aimed against any other religious or even civil group in society it would rightly have brought the full machinery of the human rights industry down on Mr Kenny’s head. The suggestion that Mr Kenny showed courage in making this statement is absurd. For the past 40 years in this country the surest way for any politician to boost his popularity has been to kick the paper tiger of the Catholic Church. Mr Kenny made his speech on the eve of one of his trips to Brussels when he knew that he and his country were once again going to be humiliated by our European “partners”. Far from being courageous, Mr Kenny’s attack represents the classic posturing of an essentially weak man trying to appear strong.

If Mr Kenny is anxious to show us what a strong man he is, he might consider engaging a somewhat more robust opponent. He might start with the European Central Bank and the EU which are systematically plundering this country and will soon start stripping its assets for sale to private investors. Another potential opponent might be the public sector unions who, as yet, seem unaware of the extent of the financial and cultural crisis facing this country.

Michael Leahy

Corofin

Co Clare