Does hostility to Catholics extend to all other faiths? Manifesto
BEFORE my beloved granny died, she spent time in hospital one Christmas. One day, she mustered the energy to leave the ward and go looking for the nativity scene. Near tears, she told us she couldn’t find the crib and was very upset.
We tried to explain that, in modern times, some Christian symbols could cause offence to some people so the crib had to go. But she said sadly, ‘I don’t understand’.
My granny was not extremely religious but she was a Catholic, and through the trials and
tribulations of her long life, she held on to her faith. It steered her through the tough times in this country and provided solace when she lost close relatives. And when she died, the faith she held so dear gave comfort to our whole family.
This scenario, even in modern Ireland – despite all the appropriately condemned sins of the institutional Church – is the rule and not the exception.
So when Dr Peter Boylan nearly flatlined when someone sent him an image of a wooden cross, some pamphlets and a drizzle of holy water in a voluntary hospital, I wondered whether he is aware of the silent majority who see little wrong with this.
In the last census over 72% of Irish citizens identified as Catholic. That the Catholic Church committed grave and unforgivable sins over many decades is not in dispute. But should the sins of the few be visited in perpetuity upon the many?
Things have reached such a state of vitriol that merely identifying as Catholic in Ireland is, as far as some people are concerned, a transgression punishable by ridicule and ostracisation.
But if we are on the road to religious prohibition, then, in the interest of equality, a totalitarian approach is the obvious end point.
If Catholicism is to be banned from hospitals, then must other expressions of faith be banned too? Should Muslim medics be prohibited from wearing the hijab? Should Sikhs not be allowed to wear a turban to work? Should all crosses – even if only a statement of fashion – be considered contraband? Would Dr Boylan be brave enough to advocate a ban on non-Christians expressing their faith?
A little perspective in this discourse is urgently required. If history has taught us anything, it’s surely that nailing people to a cross for practising their chosen faith serves no one – neither God nor man.
Racing’s animal rights shame
ANOTHER week, another damning indictment of Ireland’s attitude to animal welfare.
It seems racehorse owners love their horses just as much as greyhound owners love their dogs – so much so that 3,000 thoroughbred horses were slaughtered for meat in Ireland since the beginning of 2020, figures released by the Department of Agriculture to TD Paul Murphy revealed.
‘It seems the horses are being killed because they are not fast enough to win, and it is cheaper to kill them than keep them,’ he said.
Of course it is. Just as 6,000 greyhounds were ‘culled’ because they were too slow.
It seems the fanfare that greets a winning horse as it romps past the finish line fades very quickly once the animal’s performance slows. Then it’s off to the abattoir before you can say ‘winners enclosure’.
‘It raises a new question about the tens of millions of euros of public money given every year to the horse racing industry,’ said Mr Murphy.
That’s a whopping €70m this year alone, to be exact, bringing the total State funding of the industry to a staggering €1.46bn since 2001.
Mr Murphy described the figures as ‘horrifying’. Indeed they are, the stuff of nightmares.
Empathy lessons from the front line
CONTRAST those who sent their horses to slaughter with the empathy and sacrifice of animallovers fleeing Ukraine. With bombs and bullets ripping through their cities and forcing them to leave their homes, thousands upon thousands of Ukrainians have been pictured carrying nothing but their beloved pets, whom they could not bear to leave behind.
Then there’s the brave army vet known as Tom, who has run towards the war in his quest to save the abandoned animals. Tom has rescued some 3,000 animals in just eight weeks.
‘It’s a race against time to get to the most desperate of places,’ says Tom, 34, who with his team has rescued dogs, cats, farm animals, bears, tigers and any injured and abandoned animals he finds.
By contrast, here in Ireland we dispatch perfectly healthy horses to the glue factory because they have outlived their usefulness.
It makes you wonder why it’s animals that are commonly called savage, when humans commit the worst atrocities.
How husbands were above the Wag war
THE Wagatha Christie trial ended this week on what can only be described as a clanger of a cliffhanger. This came courtesy of the HABs – husbands and boyfriends – bearing witness.
In what was a first for the serially-misbehaving Wayne Rooney, he displayed unstinting loyalty to wife Coleen. Giving nonchalent evidence, Mr Rooney admitted that ‘sitting in the courtroom this week is the first time I’m hearing almost everything on this case’. He added: ‘I’ve never discussed it with my wife... I didn’t want to get involved in it… My wife is an independent woman who does her own thing.’
His HAB opponent, Jamie Vardy, made a cameo appearance on the penultimate day supporting his wife, Rebekah. He seemed just as flummoxed as Mr Rooney. Caught unawares, Mr Vardy scored the own-goal of the year when he disputed claims - outside of court - that he had been tackled by Captain Rooney during Euro 2016 over his wife’s antics.
But while the two lads were very much on opposing sides, what they had in common was the shock and awe factor. Both were clearly unfamiliar with the facts of the case their wives were fighting.
Their lack of interest proves beyond all reasonable doubt that, while the WAGs are wholly invested in social media, tittle-tattle and gossip, the HABs are utterly indifferent but eternally tolerant.
But I imagine when the legal bills take a big chunk of change, the lads will be banging the unlike button ad nauseam.