Norris and those letters

The letters Norris wrote on behalf of his child raping (ex-)lover continue to dog his campaign.  Today he was claiming that he cannot release them for "legal reasons".  He was suggesting that this was because the case was heard in camera.

The word on the street is that the letters call into question the character of the child victim and once again muddy the waters of consent.

Of course when Kenny was attacking the Pope and accusing him of "managing rape" there was no distinctions made about statutory rape, rape, assault, a pat on the head, a hug, a funny look coming out of the sacristy - none of which of course had any connection whatsoever with one Joseph Ratzinger.

Last in, hopefully first out.

So Norris is back in the race to become President of Ireland.  Good grief.  How much worse can it get?  It's bad enough having the liar Enda Kenny as Taoiseach but having Norris as President.  I think I could not literally bear it.  My grandfather had a British passport - I wonder is that any use to me.  Still Cork did the business and rejected him.

We're still waiting for the press to ask more abuse victims what they think.  Christina Buckley was given a momentary appearance and then never seen again.  We're still waiting to see the other letters that Norris has written.  Of course they'll be much the same as the first one, but can you imagine having a President who has written to Binyamin Netanyahu seeking clemency for his child raping lover?  I would literally prefer having a provo.  And as the President is Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces it might be useful to have a candidate with some experience in the military.  Also, the name: James Martin Pacelli McGuinness.  Who else gives us a chance to show our support for the Holy See by voting for a Pacelli?

Back to Norris.  There is more to come.  It's never come out publicly why he was sacked from Trinity and there are distinct rumours that he was forced to resign because of an inappropriate relationship with a student.

We'll have to wait and see how interested the press is in digging around and how determined some of the other candidates are.  Some signs of hope in the statements from Dublin City Council even as they nominated him.

Children First

Couple of interesting letters in the Irish Times today about mandatory reporting.  Doctors are suddenly discovering that they will have to report under age girls who approach them for contraception or with a pregnancy.  Of course they won't in practise and the Government will find some way to explain it all away - oh yes, Children First - that ought to do it.  It's a great line, isn't it.  If a 14 year old girl wants the Pill we must give it because we must put children first.  But if she then goes to confession and tells the priest, he must rush off to the guards and tell them.  And here's the funny bit - tell the HSE - who gave her the Pill in the first place! 

The other letter is more general, about how old hags will use the process to destroy innocent people.  They're below:

Sir, – Much ink has been spilt in recent weeks as to whether or not the seal of confession ought to be broken in a case where an ephebophile or paedophile confesses to abusing a child.

Little consideration has been given to the problem of a general practitioner like myself, where an underage girl presents for treatment in pregnancy.

If there is mandatory reporting, will I have to report this case to the Garda? Or if an underage girl seeks the morning-after pill or pregnancy counselling, will the doctor or pharmacist or counseller have to report a crime? Whether or not the girl has consented, it is a case of statutory rape, ie child sex abuse. In such a case, there is absolutely no doubt but that a crime has been committed. And it is by no means a rare occurrence. –
Yours, etc,

Dr JOHN KEHOE,
Chestnut Hill,
Naas,
Co Kildare.

Sir, – While clerical sexual abuse is particularly shocking, it is relatively a very small part of the problem. With regard to the substantive issue of compulsory reporting, apart from the obvious consideration that, rather than actually protecting children, it would effectively bury social workers under an avalanche of largely useless information, it seems to me the church authorities, caught on the back foot, in fact have conceded too much. We may well be sleepwalking into a totalitarian nightmare, where anyone with a grudge or a notion can ruin anyone they object to, and they will be considered guilty until proven innocent. And I suppose once again the church will eventually be accused of failing to stand up to totalitarianism! – Yours, etc,

JOE ASTON,
Horseshoe Cottage,
Sherkin Island,
Skibbereen,
Co Cork.

Good grief - he can.

Reading the Government's latest lazy lies about the Vatican.  Clearly a lot of work didn't go into that response.  It's pretty much "I don't care what you say, I still think you did it" school of drafting.  Read it below:

Statement by the Government of Ireland on the response of the Holy See regarding the report of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne:

The Government of Ireland thanks the Holy See for its response of 3 September regarding the report of the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne (the Cloyne Report) and the representations made to it by the Tánaiste in this regard in his meeting with the Apostolic Nuncio on 14 July 2011.

The Government acknowledges and welcomes the statement in the response that the Holy See is sorry and ashamed (I knew the Holy See shouldn't have used that phrase - looks like a bad translation from something else) for the terrible sufferings which the victims of abuse and their families have endured. The victims of abuse and their families must remain foremost in our considerations. (except attacking the Church will remain foremost).

Having considered carefully the Cloyne Report and the response of the Holy See, the Government of Ireland remains of the view that the content of the confidential letter in 1997 from the then Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Storero, to the Irish Bishops, regardless of whether or not it was intended to do so, provided a pretext for some members of the clergy to evade full cooperation with the Irish civil authorities in regard to the abuse of minors. This is a matter of great concern to the Irish Government.  (Even though the Cloyne Report presents no evidence to support this opinion and Kenny's government in 1997 was still opposing mandatory reporting.)

The Government of Ireland notes the comments in the Holy See’s response on the political debate which ensued in Ireland after the publication of the Cloyne Report and in particular the statements made by the Taoiseach and other political leaders. The Government of Ireland must point out that the comments made by the Taoiseach and other political leaders accurately reflect the public anger of the overwhelming majority of Irish people (as generated by the Government and its friends in the media - what percentage of the Irish people read the report?) at the failure of the Catholic Church in Ireland and the Holy See to deal adequately with clerical child sexual abuse and those who committed such appalling acts.

It is the Government of Ireland’s hope that, in spite of outstanding differences, lessons have been learned from appalling past failures. In this regard, it welcomes the commitment in the concluding remarks of the Holy See’s response to a constructive dialogue and cooperation with the Government. In welcoming this commitment the Government expects the fullest cooperation from the Holy See (the arrogance is quite extraordinary - we've accused you of managing rape, used bogus quotations from the Holy Father to make him look bad and now we expect full cooperation!), the Catholic Church in Ireland and all other relevant bodies with a view to ensuing that Ireland is a society fully safe for children and minors and that all of those with responsibility for the welfare and care of children in this country are fully subject to Irish laws and requirements (By which of course they mean the attack on the seal of the confessional).

Can Kenny get worse?

Perhaps I'm misreading this - but Enda Kenny, on being asked about his infamous speech and the Vatican's reaction to it - i.e. their rejection of his accusations point by point - basically says "they weren't asked to comment on my speech - they were asked to comment on the Cloyne Report".  Perhaps I'm misreading him but if I'm not, then he is the most arrogant little creep that Ireland has ever had the misfortune to have as leader.  In today's paper:

"I made my statement to the Dáil, and obviously the question being asked by the Tánaiste on behalf of the Government was to have the Vatican respond in respect of a statutory commission of inquiry arising from the Cloyne situation,”

Kenny's judgment has always been decidely iffy - remember his joke from 2002 to party members and journos - well let's just say it was about an African leader who'd been murdered, it contained the N word and several of the man's family happened to live in Ireland.

Scum, blood traitors, mud-bloods, filth.

Today (Saturday) the Holy See issued its response to Eamon Gilmore, Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs over the Cloyne Report and subsequent remarks of Enda Kenny along with votes of censure passed by both the Dail and the Seanad. 

I thought it was a perfectly judged document.  Its tone was the very opposite of Kenny's poisonous rant.  It was measured, fair, accurate, factual, truthful, to the point, specific, short but comprehensive.  You can read it here.

I think the key passage is: 

"It should be noted that, at the time, not only the Church but also the Irish State was engaged in efforts to improve its own legislation on child sexual abuse. To this end, the Irish Government organized an extensive consultation on mandatory reporting in 1996 and, after taking into account the reservations expressed by various professional groups and individuals in civil society – views broadly in line with those expressed by the Congregation – it decided not to introduce mandatory reporting into the Irish legal system. Given that the Irish Government of the day decided not to legislate on the matter, it is difficult to see how Archbishop Storero’s letter to the Irish Bishops, which was issued subsequently, could possibly be construed as having somehow subverted Irish law or undermined the Irish State in its efforts to deal with the problem in question."

When I read that I was reminded of Christ's trial - if I have done something wrong tell me;  if not, why do  you strike me?

And a short time later I watch, with a sick heart, Eamon Gilmore being interviewed.  I have heard many dreadful words coming out of the mouths of politicians over the years, but rarely any as twisted as these.  Remember, we've had the Church's own report, then the Murphy/Cloyne judicial report - a 400 page legal document, then motions passed by the legislature.  We've had Gilmore, former member of the political wing of the Official IRA, demanding that the Vatican issue a "comprehensive response" and having got such a response, what does he say?  He accuses it of being legalistic and technical.  The Vatican has refuted all charges against it so his response is - "it's not about the facts, it's about the children".

You remember that old advice that professors of law give their students?  "If you have the facts on your side, hammer the facts. If you have the law on your side, hammer the law. If you have neither the facts nor the law, hammer the table."  That's precisely what Kenny and Gilmore will be doing over the next few days.

I think we really need to pray for Gilmore's soul - like Pontius Pilate faced with Jesus, he's asking himself "Truth, what is that?".  Gilmore knows the answer and is pretending otherwise and anyone who knows their catechism knows what happens to those guilty of sins against the Holy Spirit such as resisting the known truth.

My message for Enda

I emailed Kenny a few days ago.  I was waiting for his reply to post along with mine - but it hasn't come, not even a bland acknowledgement.  Here's my message to him:

Dear Enda,

the disgust I and many orthodox Catholics in the country had when you made that ludicrous speech in the Dail attacking the Vatican, based not on anything in the Cloyne Report, but clearly on the prejudices of you and your advisers, including some ordained, is increasingly turning to anger as the implications unfold. 

When I read the speech I thought, "this is something Paisley would have been proud of in his day".  When we heard that you were being quoted by the Chinese authorities in support of its persecution of the Catholic Church in China we were no longer shocked.  This is what you have brought the country to.

Last week the Chinese authorities arrested dozens of lay people and priests who would not support the State choice for bishop.  These are the people whose ideology you now share.  I hope Enda you feel proud.

Brendan Doyle