Sarah Harte: Irish Catholicism still alive in piecemeal way since Sinéad's incisive protest

Sarah Harte examines Ireland's attitude to Catholicism and how it endures in the works of many priests and nuns since Sinéad O’Connor ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II in 1992

Sinéad O’Connor was derided by many in 1992 when she ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in protest at clerical sex abuse.

It’s always hard to go against the grain. In 1992, Sinéad O’Connor ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in protest at clerical sex abuse. She was derided by many, some of whom are certainly falling over their feet to praise her now. What she did at that time was radical.

Two very different stories over the last fortnight involving Irish clerics made me consider Sinéad’s gesture, and whether things have changed since 1992 both in terms of the Roman Catholic hierarchy’s response to clerical sex abuse and how Catholicism is portrayed more broadly today.