Border debate is irrelevant - priest
�Press Eye Ltd - Northern Ireland.20th February 2011 Father Eugene ONeill pictured at his Glengormley home. Photograph: Stephen Hamilton Presseye.com
NO Roman Catholic priests under the age of 45 are interested in removing the border and many Catholics are re-thinking their nationalism, a Catholic priest has said.
Fr Eugene O’Neill said that many Catholics were questioning whether as Catholics they necessarily had to be nationalist and look to Dublin when the United Kingdom was more respectful of Christian churches.
Fr O’Neill was speaking to the News Letter following a broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster’s Thought For The Day earlier yesterday morning.
In comments backing up polls which suggest that many Catholics would now vote to retain the border, Fr O’Neill said that as an Irish passport-holder he saw the Queen and senior British government figures as defenders of faith in the UK.
And, in a blistering attack on the Dublin government which shows how far the church and the state have moved apart in the Republic, Fr O’Neill claimed that there were similarities between how the Irish government is making life difficult for churches and how repressive communist regimes have persecuted Christians.
The Republic is now “a cold house for Catholicism”, he told the News Letter, singling out the atheistic Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore for particular rebuke.
By contrast, he said that the UK Government had demonstrated a respect and appreciation for the role of Christian churches which Catholics could support.
Fr O’Neill — who is a priest in the parish of St Mary’s on the Hill, a parish of 15,000 on the outskirts of north Belfast — said: “I’m 45 — for my generation of priests and everyone below us, the national question is irrelevant; literally irrelevant. No-one is interested in discussing that — people are interested in discussing Europe, what’s going to happen to Greece, whether the Euro will last... no-one is interested in the national question.
“There’s a desire to say that we have to unpick this fusion between one sort of politics and faith because history has shown us that that has always been a mistake.”
Asked what had prompted his broadcast yesterday morning, he said: “It’s been engendered by the present events with the coalition in the south, starting last year particularly with the attack by the Taoiseach in the Dail and the particularly focused nature of the attack on the handling of the whole abuse issue.
“Whilst there is certainly a huge amount that the church at a local level did wrong and it behaved egregiously — there is no doubt about that — it is certainly also the case that the Irish state horrendously failed to acknowledge its part in that.
“That is not in any way to minimise the role of misbehaviour and crime in the church but everyone has to put their hands up if they’re guilty and I felt therefore that it was a very dishonest statement and pretty cheap politics.”
Fr O’Neill, who was partly brought up in Dublin, said that he was further shocked by the Republic’s recent closure of its embassy to the Vatican — something the Irish Government claimed was to save money but has led to fierce criticism.
And he accused the Dublin Government of a “fairly brutal attempt” to remove control over Catholic schools in the Republic from the Catholic church as part of a wider assault by the southern state on Christianity having a role in society.
“There’s a continual critique and a lack of recognition of any positive role for faiths, any positive role for the churches, not recognising the vast effort that they make in social services and the good that they do.
“Something strange is going on while, at the same time, in the United Kingdom the tide is going the other way.”
Fr O’Neill praised Baroness Warsi’s speech last week in the Vatican as a “really, really powerful” articulation of the role which faith can play in society.
“When you read that, when you read what Cameron said, when you see how the Pope was welcomed to Britain — it was amazing — when you see that and how the British diplomatic service engage on the ground with churches, it’s telling a different story.
“So I was asking myself more fundamental questions like: Why in a state whose head of state is in fact the leader of a church, the Church of England, it seems to be a more open space for faith, debate and cooperation.
“Whereas in a republic it seems to be a very cold house for Catholicism and in fact Christianity, where there is a really powerful hostility, exclusion, aggression.
“I also found it interesting in the last few days to see the touching of the hem of the Chinese vice-premier by Michael D Higgins who I remember as a schoolboy was out protesting against Ronald Reagan.
“We know China’s human rights record — still the biggest executor in the world, oppression of massive numbers of Christians, Falun Gong or anyone opposed to them — don’t we have values beyond the economy?”
Asked whether the proposed changes to the Royal succession laws which would allow the heir to the throne to marry a Catholic were significant, Fr O’Neill said that they had little impact on those other than the Royal family and “do not affect my respect for the role of the Sovereign”.
And the Glengormley cleric said that he believed his thoughts were shared by many ordinary Catholics.
“I did a Thought For The Day a few weeks ago on the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s accession and what we can take from her. On the back of that I got overwhelmingly positive comments from parishioners.
“This morning, I got back from the studio just after nine and again parishioners who I was meeting at Mass were saying ‘I agreed with what you said this morning’.
“I used to be in south Belfast in Malone and middle class professional people have moved on from this issue — I think there is a greater sense of openness and just as people are being more critical of the church, I think people are reassessing what sort of polity they feel comfortable in.”
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Comments
There are 12 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
rthomas
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 10:26 PMDespite Catholics making Sinnfein the second largest party in Ulster this would not be borne through in a border poll. A sizeable proportion of Catholics only vote Sinnfein in the context that they are a Northern Ireland party operating in the UK. In the secret of the poll booth they will know well what side their bread is buttered on and would opt for the old landmark to stay put.
Ulsterwoman
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 06:25 PMIf RC's are against a united Ireland I wonder why the second largest party in Ulster is republican?? Wise up!!
s magowan
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 10:06 PMAdamwilliam,who told you Charlie was going to be the next King ?.Have you not watched television or read the British press to notice that the Duchess of Cambridge is being groomed to become the next queen
East Antrim
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 08:16 AMI find the priests comments difficult to believe. In election time in any nationalist stronghold, votes go to the nationalist parties, and not to the unionist parties! Fair enough in some up-market areas, there may be some cross over votes. Sinn Fein is good at maximising its voter turnout, therfore there could be some apathetic fence sitters leftover. Catholics winge about the royal prod family, remember if the royal family ever becomes Catholic, according to the RC church's draconian laws it must stay that way for ever.
G_E_F
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 07:27 PMBravo Father Eugene ONeill, even though I welcome your outspoken view as a Unionist I wonder how long you will stay at St Mary’s on the Hill without a visit by your superiors in the CC for writing an article against the main SF & SDLP mandate for publication in the Newsletter, the most right wing conservative Unionist newspaper in Northern Ireland
brianmck
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 06:10 PMI know and have respect for the ministry of Fr O’Neill, but find his comments regarding the attitude of Catholics, and priests in particular, towards the border issue lacking in credibility. I am surprised that Fr O’Neill would claim authority to speak for all younger priests, and I think many would question the validity of such a claim. There is much in what Fr O’Neill said about identity and allegiance that might ring true, but is there a danger that we will create a climate within the Church that equates any form of criticism towards as somehow anti-Catholic or disloyal? Given the previous climate of control, and the call to unquestioning obedience within the Church, surely we would be better participating in the ongoing debate within the Republic around Church relationships in acknowledgement of how we have moved away from such an oppressive model of Church. The Church has dedicated itself to promoting openness and transparency in the place of power and control. Worthy as that may be, the cost to be paid is that people will now articulate their dissatisfaction rather than burying it as in the past. As committed Catholics, do not need to take battle positions in a war against the State, but rather welcome debate and challenge as an opportunity to share the faith that we hold dear. I would rather believe in the deep sense of faith and commitment of Catholics to uphold their faith commitment in the face of challenge, and indeed such opposition can cause us to a new awareness of the faith they hold and to an awareness of how often it is taken for granted. It seems to me an over simplicity to equate the comments of the Taoiseach to a general conspiracy against the Catholic Church. One does not have to swallow wholesale the comments made by the Taoiseach. I would certainly acknowledge that his statements have been disingenuous in acknowledgement of both the extent of abuse carried out within the State system and of the positive contribution of the Church towards the life of the State in general. However, it reflects poorly on the communication systems within the Catholic Church that, while many aspects of his statement were biased and unfair, Enda Kenny seemed to catch the mood of Irish Catholics in a more comprehensive way than any statement from the hierarchy. I am confident that while not his intention, for Fr O’Neill to describe an issue that has been at the heart of the conflict within the north of Ireland for some 40 years, and has contributed towards the deaths of more than 3000 people as “irrelevant,” could unfortunately be interpreted as lacking in an awareness of the impact of the trauma that has visited many communities. The danger is that Fr O’Neill’s personal comments will be interpreted as reflecting those of the wider Church community. Fr O’Neill is not, and cannot, speak for the Church as a whole. While we have thankfully moved away from a situation where to be Catholic was to be Republican and to be Protestant was to loyalist, the issue of Irish unity and what it might mean for the Ireland of 2102, is still very much alive. It is not just a political issue, but a moral issue regarding the very setting and the continuance of the system of government within the north of Ireland.
Adamwilliam
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 04:30 PMO'Neill I think you are into the wine. The Government in the Republic are supported by their citizens for their public spanking of the Catholic Church. I assume you will also blindly bless Prince Charlie when he becomes king despite him being on record on wanting to be a tampon in his then mistress. The record of the Catholic Church in Ireland and around the world is disgusting when it comes to abuse. When were you last to confessions I ask!
MOD
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 03:16 PMNothing new. In different polls conducted in the past many Catholics supported the link with Britian.
DrDavidGreen
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 12:28 PMBravo Father Eugene! Now let's get to work and lead Ireland, the whole of Ireland, back to Christianity. During the Troubles I sat on a panel of Protestant & Roman Catholics designing a new syllabus for GCE "O" (in those days) and "A" level students under the old NI GCE Board. Our chair was the late Cardinal's brother, Father Conway. Those sylabuses proved very popular and were taken and tested by Christians and Atheists of all sorts in NI. The examination scripts were marked by both Protestant and Catholic ministers and teachers. Why was this enterprise so successful? Because we approached our sacred duty to deliver syllabuses for all the students of NI irrespective of belief. In those days the "O" level syllabus, for example, was based on a study of the bible. It was only later that the politicians followed our example and started to work for all the people of NI!! It is therefore with great pleasure and God's grace that I see that Father Eugene has taken the lead in divorcing Christianity from politics. What we achieved in RE - ably led by Father Conway and Canon Eric Elliot - can now be replicated in the day-to-day lives of all the people of NI.
hurler on the ditch
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 10:53 AMAgree with johnny up there. And one other thing - this priest's views are as irrelevant as his church is in today's Ireland, thanks be to God!
JPGJOHNNYG
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 10:11 AM''NO Roman Catholic priests under the age of 45 are interested in removing the border '' Your joking me both of them said that!! Its funny how the Irish state was always accused of being a papal state ruled by Rome and as soon as the Government takes a stand against the church for all the nonsense assocaited with it over the years its now described as a state that persecutes christians! I think this priest wants his cake and eat it. If he is looking for people to blame then he should take a look at some of his colleagues oh and just a quick point its not just the state but the vast majority of Catholics who are disgusted at what was done and worse all the cover up afterwards. Help put our church in order Father before you start pointing the figure. As for the general Catholic population at the moment most of us dont care about the border question and just get on with our lives but who knows what might happen in the future opinions change all the time
loe
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 09:30 AMThats quite a militant statement 'father' and you seem quite annoyed, frustrated almost... I wonder if its because the Irish people have seen through the cc which seems to have quite a lot of paedophiles in it. Interesting that you blame the secularists for your troubles isn't it? I'm a Nationalist by the way and have a nice day.
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