Letter: Enoch Burke is still being persecuted over his faith because he challenges the Irish state for practising injustice against Christians
A letter from Rev Paul S Burns:
Charles Dickens released his novel A Tale of Two Cities in 1859, dealing with the cities of London and Paris during the French Revolution.
It has a hero in Charles Darnay who, coming from a ruling class, knows the damage the aristocracy in France inflicted, and seeks to stand up for true justice and also stop the ruling working class from committing the same mistakes.
Living in England during the French Revolution, Darnay seeks to establish true justice for all, where no ruling class - either rich or poor - seeks to destroy/persecute the other based on power or vengeance, as his uncle Marquis Evremonde had practiced.
Today we have two cities - Belfast and Dublin: one that believes in free speech and freedom of expression alongside religion, whilst the other seeks to do the opposite. In Dublin the Irish government continues to persecute evangelical Christians e.g. the Burke family.
Regardless how they present themselves, the fact remains that Enoch Burke continues to be persecuted over his Christian faith.
Mr Burke keeps having his salary taken by the courts and imprisoned because he challenges the Irish state for practising injustice against Christians who refuse to adhere to government laws that instruct Christians to teach the new sexual education to pupils, and address their pupils under their transgenderism pronouns.
Originally under the Irish constitution that they declared in the 1916 Proclamation (displayed in Connolly Station), children, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, etc. were protected, even before Article 10 of Human Rights became law.
However today in Dail Eireann, that seeks to bring Belfast and NI under its jurisdiction, we see the opposite of what we believe in NI.
Children's innocence is being taken from them, with no protection, and faith/religion, speech and expression in Ireland doesn't exist.
A unified Ireland would result in a poor future for those who hold to freedoms, and persecution increases with imprisonment, as what the Burke family has suffered, leaving only two choices in a united Ireland: conform or become a refugee. Charles Dickens wrote A tale of Two Cities in 1859. I wonder did he write it prophetically.
Rev Paul S Burns BTh (Hons) Dip Theo, Sandy Row, Belfast