Word: ireland
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...Rome, not Dublin, that must answer for it with a full confession and in a criminal investigation. Until it does, all good Catholics--even little old ladies who go to church every Sunday, not just protest singers like me whom the Vatican can easily ignore--should avoid Mass. In Ireland, it is time we separated ... our faith from its alleged leaders...
...This safeguard has not stopped cultural and opposition figures from lining up to attack the new law as arcane and anachronistic. Leading the fray is the advocacy group Atheist Ireland, which in January defiantly published 25 blasphemous statements on its website by figures as diverse as atheist author Richard Dawkins and musicians Frank Zappa and Björk. "This is introducing medieval canon law into a modern pluralist republic," says the group's director, Michael Nugent. "There are other countries that do have blasphemy laws from bygone eras that are on the statute books but not enforced. Ireland...
...statute at the heart of the exhibition, which came into effect on Jan. 1, is actually an update to a dormant blasphemy law that had been included in Ireland's 1937 constitution but proved too vague to be enforceable. A parliamentary committee set up to overhaul the constitution issued a report in 2007 recommending that the old law be dropped altogether. But Justice Minister Dermot Ahern led a campaign to clarify the law instead, defining blasphemy as any statement "grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion" and adding a fine...
...those it has slighted in the past (ask Galileo or the victims of the Spanish Inquisition). In this regard, the Pope’s response to the sexual abuse allegations represents an unusually quick reaction, and he was proactive in creating a council to investigate the abuses in Ireland. Even so, the Pope’s actions thus far are only a first step in what must be a long road toward forgiveness and progress. Pope Benedict’s letter is an impassioned apology, but the Church’s penance still lies ahead...
Most people who know me know about my British Isles fetish. After my summer in Ireland, I announced to my parents that I was moving there. It was like my parents were Pat Buchanan and I had just told them I was dating a Democrat. A black Democrat. They weren’t pleased. I’ve tried to figure out why I like traveling to Europe so much. It’s not just the inviting palaces or inviting hookers, as great as those are. I think it has more to do with café culture...