Modern messaging wins in Ireland
Dear Editor: I was in Ireland for three weeks leading up to the referendum and what was clearly played out on the stage of the abortion proposal was a conflict drama for the Irish soul.
The principal actors were modern young women and political leaders demanding this: put no limits on our freedom to decide our own lives and Christians appealing to Irish voters not to plunge the country into a Godless adventure of moral chaos.
This period of Irish culture is very conflictive with an emotional wave behind each of the sides.
It is something so modern. It is incredibly cruel when a new, so called enlightenment movement, comes along and they really do throw out the baby with the bathwater. The old system in Ireland epitomized by the Catholic Church faces a new generation perfectly in tune with all that’s happening in the whole social attitude of change.
Especially on the “Yes” side, there were incredibly clever people who were very familiar with the craft of TV debates and how to use drama. It had a lot of tension and young people became fascinated by their principal actors.
The church on the other hand played a stoic hand on a teaching method that has fallen out of time, representing a style that has lost favour with youth. Neither side showed any signs of humility. It was never about the human life growing in the womb.
The “Yes” side won the hearts of many with a crass sentimentality that the Irish always lurch towards and milk for all its worth.
The Christians with their classic arguments were no match for arguments in favour of “compassion” for Irish women supported by a host of pathetic experiences presented daily on radio.
Sentimentality won the day. It is always centred on oneself. The 33 per cent who voted “no” were convinced that good decisions in favour of truth are hard and there is nothing harder than Catholic realism. Christian faith cannot be reduced to sentimental subjectivity.
The Pope courageously comes to Ireland in August and it will be interesting to see what he has to say to the Irish soul.
Fr. Harry Clarke, Kelowna