Before Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland Sean Brady was criticising illusions while speaking ironically from Knock. He spoke in American at a plastic paddy festival and conflated materialism with secularism again, he's done this a number of times in the past year and its really pissing me off.
There was clear evidence that "many people are getting tired of the emptiness and stress of a life built predominantly on secular and consumerist values".
Brady says Ireland's secular project has failed reg required, version of the article/speech
here.
This is a letter I wrote in response.
Materialism not secularism
I really object to how Mr Brady keeps
conflating consumerism/materialism
with secularism. It is an insult to all
non-religious in Ireland. They might be
the two noted trends of the modern era
but I don't see the direct connection
between them.
Consumerism is laziness, gluttony,
conformity and pliableness. Is this
secularism? To me secularism means
thinking for ourselves and fully
comprehending the outcome of our
actions on others, it is a sign of
Ireland's maturity that we increasingly
do so rather then depend unquestionably
on authority, His organisation is the
prime example in Ireland of an authority
having too much power over people
and abusing its position, socially,
politically and in relation to child abuse.
He seems to pine for that era and wants
to compete for influence with the mass
media rather then see us more worldly
aware.
By suggesting Northern Ireland should
reduce it corporation tax to the same
level as our own he goes against reports
from CORI who question whether our low
corporation tax shares the wealth fairly
and provides us proper levels of social
and public services. His concern for our
emptiness and stress ignores that it is
the relentless pace needed for the low
tax Celtic Tiger which has made us live
to work rather then work to live. He even
suggested in his speech that financial
institutions have social and moral authority?
To me the secular project is separation
of church from state which some mistake
as having as been complete, but with
90% of primary schools still run by the
Catholic church an unconstitutional
monopoly through lack of choice in education
still exists.
Earlier in the year the Taoiseach warned
against 'aggressive secularists' although
he still hasn't come up with any examples
of any but I think I can warn Mr Brady
of influence from aggressive materialists
like Mr Ahern.
I was quite hoping that the letter would get used, I rewrote it a couple of times, perhaps it was too long, although I see now that they did put in letters about the article arguing over whether the editors should have not used long title like archbishop in a headline :?
P.S. I don't get why the Irish Times insist that you should include your name and address with the letter for it to be printed in the paper. It doesn't add or detract from my point to have my name there or not. I'm sure it must have comeback on some people badly at some time.
check out atheist.ie
Bock is on first name/pet name terms with the Archbishop already.
StoB suggests Brady shouldn't blame everything on religion (or lack of it), and points out the ills aren't that new. Paige H treats the speech with the respect it deserves That's Ireland points out the superstitions aren't that new or different to his, the only new thing I see is the tarot cards ability to advertise as entertainment while religions cannot yet.
