“State-sponsored sectarianism/racism – the twin evils of the world.”—Fr. Sean McManus Being ‘too clever by half’ is occupational hazard for many clever writers Letters to Editor. Irish News. Belfast. Published Monday, June 3, 2019 I always read Patrick Murphy’s column. He is a very clever writer but in some instances, he may be ‘too clever by half’ which could be the occupational hazard of clever writers.
I refer to his column ‘Time to decide if we want religious belief to take precedence over democracy’ (May 25). He begins with “I blame the Bible” and ends with “But would anyone seriously suggest that religious belief, however genuinely held, should take precedence over democracy?” Clever, eh? Well, let’s rephrase that a bit and see what happens: “Can anyone suggest that justice should take precedence over democracy.”
One of my favourite quotes is from the American Protestant scripture scholar Walter Brueggemann: “In Biblical faith, the doing of justice is the primary expectation of God.”
Why, then, is it that in some of the most Christian fundamentalist areas – Alabama/Mississippi, South Africa, Northern Ireland – social justice did not seem to be the norm? Indeed, state-sponsored discrimination was the norm.
And there’s the key term in all of this, that is often not acknowledged regarding racism and sectarianism – “state-sponsored.”
It is much easier for those in power to present the issue as one of individual failure – that individuals lack tolerance, respect and good-neighbourliness.
Individuals, of course, can be anti-black, anti-Catholic, or anti-Semitic, and some will always be, I guess, as in America. That is personal failure, a sin against the virtue of charity/love.
However, there is a world of difference between personal sin and state-sponsored racism and sectarianism – the “structures of sin,” as Pope John Paul II brilliantly terms it in his 1988 Encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis (Solicitude for social concerns). Furthermore, that is also the first Papal Encyclical to dedicate the Catholic Church to a “preferential option for the poor.” Not too shabby for a “conservative” pope.
What does that do to the sectarian slogan, ‘no pope here’? – which, anyway, was always more about insulting local Catholics and keeping them in their place than it was about theology. It never affected the pope but always effectively showed contempt for local Catholics – the very function of sectarianism.
The fundamental (not to be confused with fundamentalist) issue in any country must be justice, which pulls down the structures of sin and abolishes state-sponsored sectarianism/racism – the twin evils of the world. Justice transcends ideology and party politics. It is the acid test of all political systems. It is also the ultimate test of religious faith, because without justice there is no love: “If anyone says, ‘I love God and hates his brother,’ he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4:20). Let Patrick Murphy blame the Bible for that too.
Addressing a press conference at Shannon Airport today alongside the
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, US President Donald Trump told the Irish media
the crisis over Britain’s withdrawal from the EU is “going to work
out… with your wall, with your border”. He also said claimed to know
most Irish-Americans personally, declaring: “We love the Irish”.
Despite the threat posed by the potential remilitarisation of Britain’s
border through Ireland, the US president insisted that Brexit itself
will be “very, very good” for Ireland. Mr Trump was corrected by
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar after referring to the border as “the wall”.
The two premiers held a joint press conference after Trump landed on Air
Force One at Shannon airport and before later flying out by helicopter
to his golf resort at Doonbeg, County Clare.
Speaking to the media, Mr Varadkar said it was a great honour to welcome
President Trump to Ireland. Mr Trump responded by saying he and Varadkar
have become friends. Mr Trump said Ireland and the US do a lot of
business together and noted it is one of the leading countries in terms
of immigration to the US.
“We have millions of Irish and I think I know most of them because they
are my friends, we love the Irish, so it’s an honour to be here, we will
be discussing various things, probably he’ll ask me about Brexit because
I know some very good people that are very likely to welcome Brexit.
“I think it will all work out very well also for you, with your wall,
your border, I mean we have a border situation in the United States.” Mr
Varadkar responded by saying Ireland wanted to avoid a border or a wall.
Asked about the United Stated as a guarantor of peace in the North of
Ireland, Mr Trump said: “I think what’s going to happen is over the next
period of time is, first we have to wait to see who is going to be Prime
Minister, and I think it’s a very important decision, we’ll see what
happens over in the UK because that’s going to be decision number one,
who is going to be Prime Minister.
“Once that happens, that person will get in and try to make a deal and
maybe if they don’t make a deal, they do it in a different way but I
know one thing, Ireland is going to be in great shape, Ireland is a
special place that’s going to be in very good shape.
“I don’t think the border is going to be a problem at all.”
Mr Trump also told reporters that he is working to find a solution to
the Irish immigration/deportation issue with the US, saying he wants to
do so for Irish people and Irish-Americans.
“We almost made it last time, we’re looking at that, it was one vote, do
you know that, and we’re looking to that, I’m sure that is something we
will discuss… I want to do for the people of Ireland, but for the
people who are in the US and want this vote to happen and happen to be
of Irish descent as well,” he said.
Several hundred people turned out to protest at the entrance to Shannon
Airport. Various groups are protesting against the president’s policies
on climate change and the continuing use of Shannon Airport by the
American military in violation of Irish neutrality.
Sinn Fein Senator Paul Gavan said he was struck by the irony of the fact
that Mr Trump met the Taoiseach at Shannon Airport.
“It is not that long ago that we saw Vice President Pence give a pep
talk to US troops on Irish soil in Shannon Airport, our civilian
airport, except it is not a civilian airport anymore,” he said.
“It is constantly filled with US troops travelling to or from the
various war zones of US occupation and imperialism.”
“Three million US troops and their weapons have been transported through
Shannon Airport to and from US wars since 2001, as well as torture
rendition flights. He said this was an affront to our tradition of
neutrality and of standing up for human rights across the world.
“There are a host of other very valid reasons to oppose President Trump
including his racism, his misogyny, his anti-Palestinian policies and
his appalling denial of climate change.
“However, above all, it is his fuelling of the military war machine that
continues to wreak havoc and destruction throughout the world that
demands that we take a stand today.”
A claim that the British Army “don’t do conspiracies” by one its most
infamous liars, General Mike Jackson, drew derision and frustration in
equal measure at the inquest into the Ballymurphy massacre this week.
Jackson — who was behind the cover-up for the Bloody Sunday massacre,
and who also described innocent victims of the Ballymurphy massacre as
“gunmen” — faced questioning over the latter atrocity for the first
time.
He described his role in 1971 as “community relations and press
liaison”. When he asked in the courtroom why he had falsely described
two victims of a shooting spree by the Parachute Regiment as having been
armed, Jackson said: “I don’t know”.
On the back of the murderous reputation of the Paras, the low-ranking
adjutant rose to the highest ranks of the British military and was
knighted and honoured for services to the Crown. He became one of the
most high-profile British Army generals since the Second World War, and
has held the rank of Commander of Chief of British Land Forces.
On his first tour with the 1st Parachute Regiment, he was present at
Ballymurphy in August 1971 and was then closely involved in the events
of Bloody Sunday in 1972.
A litany of murder and brutality followed 1 Para during his tours, not
only in Ballymurphy but on the Shankill Road and Bogside in Derry. This
‘culture of killing’ has come under close scrutiny during the
Ballymurphy Inquest, as have the attempts by the British Army to cover
up the actions of their soldiers.
In a newspaper article in the aftermath of the Ballymurphy killings,
Jackson is quoted as saying “his men fought a two-hour gun battle with
as many as 20 gunmen who were using a Thompson sub-machine gun, pistols
and rifles. We killed two of them and recovered the bodies… we got
another gunman and I think he is dying.”
Mr Jackson went on to play a similar role in the Bloody Sunday killings
in Derry five months later, when 13 unarmed civilians were shot dead by
some members of the same units present in Ballymurphy.
He was responsible for the infamous “shot list” invented to justify the
killings, labelling those gunned down as “gunman,” “nail bomber” and
“petrol bomber.”
It claimed that all those killed by Parachute Regiment troops were
armed, when in fact none of them were carrying weapons. The “shot list”
was wired to every British embassy and consulate as part of the
cover-up. Mr Jackson initially denied knowledge of the list during the
Saville inquiry into Bloody Sunday.
The inquest has already heard horrific details of individual atrocities
by the Parachute Regient. Michael Mansfield QC, counsel for the family
of victim Joseph Corr, asked Jackson why Paras involved in the shootings
were not questioned at the time.
He put it to Jackson that there had been an attempt to cover up the
murder of the two men who he had described as “gunmen”. John Laverty,
who was 20, and Joseph Corr, who was 43, were shot dead on the upper
Whiterock Road near Dermott Hill Road early on the morning of 11 August
1971. The inquest has heard that no weapons were ever found on their
persons.
Mr Jackson responded: “It is a preposterous accusation to make which
would require a huge number of people to be part of. It simply does not
add up.
“It may be there was a breakdown in procedure, it may be that the whole
system was overwhelmed by the mayhem of that week, I don’t know.”
He insisted a “thumping noise” he heard in the Ballymurphy area was the
sound of IRA machine guns, firing on the British Army. But it was his
claim on behalf of the British Army and MI5 that “we don’t do
conspiracies” that drew groans of derision.
Pressed on why he described Laverty and Corr as gunmen, the retired
General said he had been “fed information”. He added: “In retrospect, of
course I should have said ‘alleged’.”
For the families, there was no surprise at the courtroom bravado.
“He should have said allegedly shot dead,” said Eileen McKeown, daughter
of Joseph Corr. Rita Bonner, John Laverty’s sister, added: “There was a
conspiracy to hide the death of every one of our loved ones.”
John Teggart, son of Ballymurphy victim Danny Teggart, said that having
the General take the stand was “a big day for the families.”
“We have been working all these years to change this narrative from
Jackson,” he said.
“As the inquest continues, the evidence we have heard so far as been
harrowing, it’s been really hard on the families – but we are one big
family down there, down at the courts. Everybody is looking after each
other as this continues and that is a massive help to us all.
Irish Repertory Theatre to honor President
Bill Clinton at its Annual Fundraising Gala!
Ciaran O’Reilly
and Charlotte
Moore, Founding Directors, Irish
Repertory Theatre: The Irish Rep presents their 30th
Anniversary Celebration, honoring President Bill Clinton for his role in
the Peace Process in Northern Ireland. The award will be presented onstage
by Emmy Award-winner Alec
Baldwin. The show will also feature a Full
Orchestra and Chorus, a star-studded Broadway cast and a special appearance
by Judy
Collins. The Gala takes place on Monday June 17 at
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, NYC. For information www.IrishRep.org
or call 212.727.2737.
Rebecca Skedd, CEO, Solace House
NYC: Solace
House provides confidential, therapeutic support for those who are
experiencing suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, bereavement by
suicide, and, for those who engage in self-harming behaviors. Its
therapists are Licensed Clinical Social Workers and work with the utmost
professionalism and kindness. There are two locations where you or a loved
one can avail of their free services: New York Irish Center Building,
Long Island City Queens and Yonkers. The
Annual Solace Sunrise Walkwill take place in 8 venues
this year including next SAT, JUN 8 4:30 AM-Queens,
Bronx, San Francisco, Toronto, Lexington,
KY. Those participating will walk from the darkness of the night into
the bright, sun-filled morning, symbolizing the journey many in suicidal
distress undertakes when visiting Solace House Centers in New York. The
Walk will raise much needed funds to maintain its free services, providing
professional therapy for those who need it and to facilitate the expansion
of its services in the US. Tel:718-482-0001 or email: mary@solacehouseinc.com. News and Sports live from Ireland
with Kevin O’Connor, sponsored by
Tourism Ireland Community Organisations Listing Ireland’s Great
Hunger Museum: www.ighm.org The Irish Repertory Theatre: www.irishrep.org Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) https://aoh.com/ Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH)
http://www.ladiesaoh.com/ Emerald Isle Immigration Center www.eiic.org Irish International Business Network: www.iibn.nyc New York Irish Center www.newyorkirishcenter.org American Irish Historical Society: www.aihs.org Irish Arts Center: www.irishartscenter.org Aisling Irish Center: www.aislingcenter.org NY Irish
History Roundtable www.irishnyhistory.org
I do not grudge them: Lord, I do not grudge My two strong sons that I have seen go out To break their strength and die, they and a few, In bloody protest for a glorious thing, They shall be spoken of among their people, The generations shall remember them, And call them blessed; But I will speak their names to my own heart In the long nights; The little names that were familiar once Round my dead hearth. Lord, thou art hard on mothers: We suffer in their coming and their going; And tho’ I grudge them not, I weary, weary Of the long sorrow – And yet I have my joy: My sons were faithful, and they fought.
