Today is the final instalment of Fr Michael Bennett’s Guest Posts on the crisis in the Irish Catholic Church, A Look from Afar.
Fr Michael concludes with reflections on the concept of the ‘kingdom of God,’ juxtaposing it against the institution of the church. He argues that the kingdom transcends church institutions and that promoting it is the task of all people of goodwill – even those outside church structures. He also wants reconciliation to take centre stage in the Irish Catholic Church, recognising that this will be difficult, and that it requires both acknowledgement and forgiveness.
Continue reading ‘Crisis in the Irish Catholic Church – the Kingdom v. the Institution, Final Guest Post by Fr Michael Bennett’
The Democratic Unionist Party has a lot to worry about in this election. Traditional Unionist Voice’s Jim Allister has been smelling blood ever since the DUP’s compromise with Sinn Fein. Especially in the conservative heartlands, the TUV cause may get a boost from the Iris Robinson scandal and suspicions over Peter Robinson’s dodgy property deals.
The DUP’s broadcast for the 2010 General Election aired last night. It’s an interesting piece of theatre (watch here). The party is, of course, trying to hammer home the message that it has tagged to its election manifesto: ‘Let’s Keep Northern Ireland Moving Forward!’
Continue reading ‘DUP Election Broadcast: Will Looking Back Keep Northern Ireland Moving Forward?’
Will we ever know the truth about Gerry Adams and the roles he played during the Troubles? Perhaps the more important question is whether we want to know.
The publication in the Sunday Times of the first part in a serialisation of journalist Ed Moloney’s new book, Voices from the Grave, contains quotations from a sensational interview with Brendan Hughes, a former commander of the IRA in Belfast.
Continue reading ‘Gerry Adams: The Troubles & The Truth’
Gerry Adams’ presentation of a programme on the Channel 4 series ‘The Bible: A History,’ has provoked a flurry of comment and indignation on this morning’s radio phone-in shows and in the blogosphere.
The subject of Adams’ programme was ‘Jesus.’ This has prompted the inevitable observations that Adams tries to equate the republican struggle with the situation of the Jews under Roman occupation during Jesus’ time. This could lead to some rather uncomfortable Adams-Jesus parallels. For example, there is debate over on Slugger O’Toole about whether Adams was really trying to massage the Christian message to justify the IRA campaign.
Continue reading ‘Gerry Adams & Jesus: Forgiveness is the Core of the Gospel’
Tomorrow, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams will be the featured guest on the Channel 4 series, ‘The Bible: A History.’ The series bills itself as, ‘the story of the most influential book ever written, interpreted by seven prominent figures from different walks of life.’
Friday’s Belfast Telegraph carries an interview with Alan McBride, whose wife and father-in-law were killed in the IRA Shankill bomb in 1993. McBride, a graduate of my School’s master’s in Reconciliation Studies, now works at the WAVE Trauma Centre and is a member of the Northern Ireland Victims Forum. He has dedicated his life to building peace.
Continue reading ‘Gerry Adams & Forgiveness: Alan McBride on the Channel 4 series ‘The Bible: A History’’
Marianne Elliott’s latest book, provocatively titled When God Took Sides: Religion and Identity in Ireland – Unfinished History, (Oxford University Press, 2009) describes how Catholics and Protestants in Ireland perceive each other – and explains why this matters so much today.
Elliott’s title conveys the idea that both Catholics and Protestants assumed that God was on their side throughout this island’s centuries-old religio-political conflict.
Continue reading ‘Marianne Elliott Book Review: When God Took Sides’
Northern Ireland is dealing with its past every day – but usually not in a way that is helpful or constructive. That was the message from a panel discussion, ‘Can we Handle the Truth?’ that I attended on Saturday 30 January 2010 in Derry.
The panel featured Denis Bradley, who along with Lord Robin Eames was co-chair of the Consultative Group on the Past. A year ago, only a few days after the Consultative Group had released its Report on dealing with the past, I attended a similar panel discussion.
Continue reading ‘Northern Ireland Reconciliation – Those who [try to] forget their past are doomed to repeat it…’
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