Breaking Irish News: Call for writing God – and Catholicism – out of the Irish Constitution – Southern Star

Editorial calls for writing God -- and Catholicism -- out of the Irish Constitution
 
" The awe and reverence with which the Roman Catholic Church was regarded at the time of the framing of the Irish Constitution back in 1937 has diminished – almost dissipated, in fact – since then and one has to question how relevant the preamble to Bunreacht na hÉireann now is: ‘In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred, we, the people of Éire, humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial …’ It is certainly not the type of truly secular constitution a modern republic should have.
Instead of an ever-increasing stream of constitutional amendments requiring referenda to ratify them, surely it would be more prudent to replace the 1937 model with a new constitution that would also reflect proposed political reform? Mr Kenny’s reiteration last week of the nation’s sovereignty in conducting its own legal affairs struck a chord with people – even if we have given away our economic sovereignty for now – and is very important, because while we will eventually, albeit painfully, find our feet financially, our moral and legal imperatives to protect our own people and to be allowed to bring to justice, without outside interference, all who harm anyone and especially those who perpetrate heinous crimes against the most vulnerable of people are sacrosanct.
Rather than becoming all precious about it, the Vatican needs to find the humility to take the Taoiseach’s speech as a well-meant wake-up call from Ireland, because its eagerly-awaited ‘measured response’ to the Cloyne report will tell a lot about the institution’s chances of repairing the serious reputational damage it has suffered here. "
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