[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > As a proud, hopelessly fallen-away American Catholic, even *I* was offended > when Sinead O'Connor ripped up the Pope's picture on SNL. It seemed like the > kind of publicity stunts Madonna was pulling at the time. I knew the whole > thing would backfire on her. Then I went to Ireland (ten years ago) and saw > how much of a stranglehold the Catholic church had on so many aspects of life > there, and I could understand this young Irishwoman's anger.
As I understand it, perhaps incorrectly, the Catholic Church and the government of Ireland were in effect the same institution, and so there was no divorce allowed until rather recently and perhaps still no abortions and maybe not even birth control available now either. (The last two are my guesses.) I've heard that there's been some attempt in the past few years to separate church from government there, although I don't know the specifics of it all. I didn't have any reaction to Sinead's tearing up the pope's picture, and wondered what all the fuss was about. I couldn't tell from the show if she did it in genuine anger or as more of a publicity stunt. Whichever it was, she had a right to express her disapproval of the pope and, by extension church, and her protest didn't bother me at all. That stranglehold in Ireland is another example of how it's never ever a good idea to mix religion with government, whether it's in Ireland or Iran or Afghanistan or here. From my view, it just doesn't ever work to the benefit of most citizens to combine the idealism of religion (and it's usually one specific religion) with all the practical matters and many different types of people governments have to serve. Bush complaint alert: That's why Bush's attempt to meld the two, in his faith-based giving plan for example, is so potentially destructive. Plus it's downright unconstitutional, although with his conservative judges on the court eventually by the time challenges to it work their way through the court system, that melding will probably remain in place, if not increase. It is not a good thing. Can I tear up a picture of Bush now? Debra Shea
