Tom Cooper, have you ever heard of the word "whataboutery"? The Belfast Encyclopedia defines it as a blatant attempt to avoid confronting a political issue by attempting to incriminate the other side.
The only coherent part of this very confused epistle is the part that states "I do not intend to vote in this election".
The letter might have some credibility had it not been signed by Ross M. Hussey, UUP.
Come on Seamus, get real! Is it really necessary to politicise EVERYTHING in this wee place?
For centuries the Church sold "plenary indulgences" to rich people, which supposedly guaranteed them a place in heaven. It also taught that babies who died before baptism could never enter the kingdom of heaven because they inherited the "original sin" of Adam. Instead they were confined to a mysterious place called Limbo. Galileo was persecuted because he stated that the earth revolved around the sun, and not (as the pope believed) the other way around. I could go on and on, but the point is that the Church has changed it's teachings many times over the centuries, in accordance with the natural process of evolution. Abandoning outmoded beliefs is not a liberal idea but a realistic necessity in a changing world.
The celibacy rule is a man-made rule. During the first millennium of the Church many priests, bishops and even a few popes were married. Pope Gregory the Great then reasserted the celibacy rule, to ensure that the estates of deceased clergy were passed on to the Church instead of their next of kin. Jesus never insisted on celibacy for his followers, and eleven of his twelve apostles were married. It is time for Pope Francis to listen, and move the Church forward.
A few years ago our local pastor was accused of having molested a boy some forty years earlier. The local media outcry was incredible, and he was forced to take a leave of absence while the church "investigated" his case for over a year. Eventually his accuser admitted that he had identified the wrong priest. Our pastor was reinstated, but never fully recovered from the emotional trauma, and resigned soon afterwards in poor health. There should be some recourse for those who have their reputations destroyed by false accusations. It seems to me that the only thing worse than being a victim of a sexual predator is to be wrongly accused of being a predator.
Using the same logic as Jim Rodgers, should not the Orange Order restrict their parades to those areas with a high population of Protestants?
They mean that every adult should be able to share the same rights and responsibilities of marriage with the person he (or she) loves, regardless of gender. Ten years from now it will be accepted practice in every developed nation in the world, and younger people will look back and wonder why the old f**ts with their holy books ever made it such a contentious issue in the first place.
Mr. Moore is correct that an entity as small as N. Ireland has the worst of all economic scenarios, being cut off from the economy of the rest of Ireland and having to rely on a much larger overseas benefactor whose population has little interest in the province or its people. The Irish government should become much more active on this issue than they have been willing to. The Brits won't object - in fact they will welcome it.
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