U.S. must speak out for religious freedom

Respected screen writer Kevin McCann called me from Ireland this weekend to talk about coming to Boston next month to discuss his latest screenplay proposal, “The Rising of 1916,” a true story about one of the most important events in the history of Ireland’s struggle for freedom and independence.

I grew up hearing about the events of this tragic period from my grandfather and the men and women who participated in the struggle against British oppression, discrimination and occupation of Ireland for many decades. Several of these Irish patriots who I listened to, including members of my own family, were recipients of this tyranny, later became activists in the cause of freedom in that country, and came to the United States. Some of their sons and daughters later fought and died in the defense of America.

But unfortunately, the struggle for a united Ireland continues to this very day, which is why the effort to inform all freedom-loving people in America and throughout the world is so very important today. The main reason is because both England and Ireland have elected new leaders. Britain’s just elected Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ireland Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, and both appear to be supportive of a governmental policy that the people of Northern Ireland join the Republic of Ireland as one country.

Much of the abuse by the British government was the denial of religious and economic freedom, which I was informed about in my many visits to the north of Ireland and in countless conversations with leading politicians and religious leaders. For most of those years, American politicians, Democrats and Republicans refused to support the call for a united Ireland because they didn’t want to oppose the U.S. media and the powerful business interests on both sides of the Atlantic. And there had been a well organized and financed anti-Irish Catholic lobby in America and England. This was “The Know Nothing Era” of the 1850s, with help wanted signs in Boston business store windows and newspaper ads reading “No Irish Catholics Need Apply.”

Perhaps this movie describing the tragic event of 1916 will help educate young people about this injustice and the Great Famine from 1845 to 1849. Maybe it will help end this abuse that some of us have fought for six or seven decades.

I told McCann that a leading voice for Ireland’s freedom was inside St. James Catholic Church on Harrison Avenue in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. I attended many events there over the years. And I will once again return to St. James Church this coming Sunday after the 10:30 a.m. Mass to talk with fellow Bostonians about the current international political climate, including the ongoing Catholic persecution in Hong Kong and North Korea and how we should all encourage our political leaders to speak out for peace and justice in a united Ireland. Everyone is invited.