Saturday, May 18, 2013

Boston’s Cardinal O’Malley insults Irish in boycotting Irish leader Enda Kenny

 
Niall O’Dowd – Irish Voice -  Saturday, May 11, 2013 
 
So much for Cardinal Sean O’Malley the hope of the millions of moderate Catholics worldwide who almost became pope according to some reports.

The Boston cardinal has now shown his true colors in boycotting Irish leader
Enda Kenny when he gives the commencement speech in Boston College next weekend.
Irish officials are said to be deeply upset at the cardinal who had indicated he would not attend but would make no statement, a sensible way around the issue. That was the state of play until yesterday when O’Malley made a deeply controversial statement which is said to have taken Boston College leaders by total surprise.

Kenny’s crime is following the ruling of his country’s Supreme Court which ordered that abortion legislation be drawn up in very narrow circumstances such as when the life of the mother is in clear danger.

The tragic consequences of not legislating were laid out in Galway recently when a young Indian woman died after a doctor refused to terminate her non-viable fetus, fearing she would be prosecuted and Savita Halappannvar suffered an infection and death soon after.

Kenny took his courage in his hands after that and decided to finally enact the laws that the Irish Supreme Court had dictated had to be enacted all those years before in 1992 in the infamous X case when a young underage girl, raped and made pregant by a neighbor was refused permission to travel to Britain for an abortion.

The bill he drew up is as narrow a focus and interpretation as is possible in law, doing the bare minimum and severely constricting the right to an abortion except in desperate cases.

The usual Irish solution which might horrify O’Malley, is that unlike in the X case thousands of Irish women, many raped or victims of incest get to go to Britain for their terminations. That way Irish society can pretend such dirty truths do not happen to them.

Kenny knows all that and tried to do the humane thing and also enact the law as he is designated to do under the constitution.

As he remarked himself, the law in Ireland is the constitution not the bible. He deserves enormous credit for standing up.
But for his sins Kenny is now feeling a belt of the crozier from the suddenly hard-line O’Malley.

The fact that O’Malley is taking his instructions from Irish Primate Cardinal Sean Brady who covered up for the worst pedophile in recent history, Father Brendan Smyth makes the matter even more mystifying.

O’Malley has a stellar reputation in Ireland where he confronted the pedophile issue openly and honestly as part of a brief for American bishops sent from the Vatican.

Now I believe many Irish will look again and see the iron fist of church intolerance under the benign presence.

To boycott the Irish Prime Minister is to insult Irish people everywhere which is what O’Malley has just done.
In the process he will drive Kenny’s popularity through the roof most likely. “There’s nothing like an attack on a country’s leader from afar done completely in the wrong context” said one senior Irish government official I spoke with. Kudos for Boston College for standing up to the pressure to discard Kenny as commencement speaker. It is good to see one Irish institution in Boston show some courage in the face of extremists.
 
Comment:
 
This article is the typical ranting of the “secular progressive sycophants” of which Mr. O’Dowd is a shining example. As is the practice of persons of his ilk, he prematurely lays the blame at the feet of Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley. The case is reminiscent of a similar one that occurred at Notre Dame University a few years ago. President Obama, a strong supporter of abortion, was invited to give the commencement speech there. When strong objections were raised by pro-life supporters, Notre Dame was asked to reconsider their choice of speakers and they flatly refused. Mr. Obama not only gave the speech but was also given an honorary degree thereby enraging Catholics all across this nation. It would appear that the same situation applies here. It begs the question of who is at fault. Is it the fault of Mr Kenny for accepting an invitation to give a commencement speech and be awarded an honorary degree from a very prestigious “supposedly Catholic” institution of higher learning? I submit that the answer is no. Is it the fault of Cardinal O’Malley for upholding the teaching of the Catholic Church with regard to the sanctity of human life? Once again I submit that the answer is no. As it was in the Notre Dame issue, the fault lies wholly with Boston College for inviting a speaker whose public position on the key issue of abortion is in opposition to that of the Catholic Church. Shame on Boston College, Notre Dame, Georgetown, and all “supposedly Catholic learning institutions” for not screening their speakers and recipients of honorary degrees more judiciously to insure that they are not in opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church. When Mr. O’Dowd insults a Prince of the Catholic Church, he insults all Catholics. He owes Cardinal Sean P. O’ Malley a written apology for his reprehensible accusations.
 
Jack Meehan, Past National President
Ancient Order of Hibernians in America
Knights of Columbus – 4th Degree

Thursday, May 9, 2013


Irish lobby gear up for visa battle in bid to make undocumented Irish legal in U.S.

ILIR set for major campaign to help more irish come to U.S. and legalize those here

 
 
As the Senate Judiciary Committee kicks off what is expected to be a lengthy process of debating and amending the immigration bill on Thursday, the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR), the group dedicated to creating a new legal pathway for the Irish in America, is gearing up for a major battle.
They will hold a fundraiser on Thursday, May 23 to bolster its lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C.
“This is now probably the last opportunity the Irish American community has to address the long term issue of legal access to America for Irish immigrants,” ILIR president Ciaran Staunton told the Irish Voice.
To make the push for comprehensive reform, ILIR has organized in almost every state with Irish American communities, Staunton explains. “This is the last opportunity for Irish America to pry open the golden door for those who want to come here from Ireland,” he adds.
Since the last big effort to achieve reform several years ago with Senators Edward Kennedy and John McCain leading the effort, ILIR has stayed working on Capitol Hill, Staunton explains. A perception among some (or more accurately most) in the Irish community that the lobby group had wound down many of its operations is inaccurate said Staunton.
“In the last number of years we’ve built up relationships on both sides of the aisle with very senior people in the House and Senate. The last two major immigration initiatives in 1965 and 1986 in the United States had huge effects on the Irish community and their effects are still being felt,” he said.
“The 1965 Act locked us out,” Staunton explains. “We weren’t at the table for the 1986 Act other than to get the Donnelly and the short term Morrison visas. So when the hearing on the new bill commences in Washington ILIR will retain consultants and lobbyists on both sides of the aisle, and we will also follow up on all the support it has secured around the country.”
Behind the scenes the relationships ILIR has built with senators and other leaders has continued.
“This is not the time for the previous big demonstrations we took to Washington,” Deirdre Foy, a volunteer ILIR activist explained about the large-scale rallies ILIR organized during the Kennedy-McCain efforts.
“This is the time to quietly win over lawmakers to our side. Now is the time to fundraise to support our continuing efforts.”
To that end the second annual Annie Moore Awards, named in honor of the Irish girl who was the first passenger registered through the immigration station at Ellis Island in 1892, will be held to honor prominent Irish Americans for their ongoing efforts on behalf of the Irish immigrant community.
This year ILIR has chosen to honor Brendan Murray, president of the Newport Group, a leading financial services firm, with the Patrick J. Donaghy Award, named after the retired chairman and founder of Structure Tone.
 
Comment:
 
One can only hope that every other group and individual in the U.S. who has labored long and hard to resolve the plight of our undocumented Irish nationals currently living in the U.S. and to secure a “fair and equitable U.S. immigration policy for the Irish” will take note of the recognition that Mr. Staunton has so generously bestowed on their efforts in this self aggrandizing diatribe. He has long been a “poster boy” for the old adage, “self praise is no recommendation” and it appears as though he still subscribes to that theory. I can assure you that when immigration reform finally becomes a reality, it will be the result of years of dedication and hard work by many more concerned groups than ILIR and many more individuals than Mr. Ciaran Staunton.
Jack Meehan, Past National President
Ancient Order of Hibernians in America