domingo, 9 de setembro de 2007

Laicismo na Irlanda

(Eu tinha prometido a mim próprio deixar de copiar ensaios longos para aqui, mas não é todos os dias que os irlandeses começam a questionar a relação do Estado com a ICAR.)

«(...)

Church and State are still intermeshed in health and education. The outmoded concept of ecclesiastical patronage is in conflict with the growing demand for multi-denominational schools. Most of our schools are denominationally controlled, though publicly funded. There is also the vexed and unresolved question of ethos observance in the appointment of teachers, and indeed of the relevance of religious "ethos'' in the modern, secular curriculum.

At the heart of this confused complexity is a Constitution drafted in the Thirties for the racially homogeneous and 95 per cent practising Roman Catholic population of the 26-county State.
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In some respects, the Constitution has served us well. We have modernised the "fundamental rights'' section and removed the clause specifying the "special position'' of the Catholic Church, though that was really a cosmetic gesture. But Bunreacht na hEireann remains, at heart, a Catholic period piece. The "Directive Principles of Social Policy'' section (Art.45) reflects Catholic social teaching of that time. It enshrines some worthy values, but has remained only a council of perfection since (hypocritically) it is not "cognisable by any court''.

Elsewhere, "the publication of . . . blasphemous matter is an offence'' (Art.40.6.1). Even more bizarre is Art.44.1 -- "the State acknowledges that the homage of public worship is due to almighty God''. If these sentiments were taken seriously, they would suggest an Irish sharia regime. The strongest Catholic note of all is sounded in the preamble which, far from being a decorative overture, has been taken into account in judicial decisions. Here, "the people of Eire'', or the 57 per cent majority of the 65 per cent turnout in 1937, identified themselves blatantly with the Irish Catholic nation and with a partisan, denominational interpretation of Irish history.

(...)

The business of a secular Constitution should be to guarantee religious freedom, and no more. That should have been the common-sense position all along, in a religiously divided country, and more so now in the new pluralist Ireland. It was always the secular republican tradition. The Labour Party, now in search of a new mission, might well make constitutional reform their special project. Their founding father, James Connolly, would strongly approve

The time to separate faith from the fatherland is now», por John Murphy no Independent irlandês.)

2 comentários :

Filipe Castro disse...

eu acho que este papa não se rala muito com a erosão dos fiéis. O outro desdobrava-se me espetáculos, canonizava três pessoas por dia, andava pelo mundo... este aposta na Opus Dei e dos Bilderberg e deve estar-se nas tintas para os irlandeses com miolos, como se está nas tintas para os ortodoxos, os judeus, os muculmanos, os budistas... o poder já não está na rua! Os votos não interessam. O poder está nas redacçoes dos jornais e nas grandes empresas.

Anónimo disse...

Ao comentário do filipe castro: clap, clap, clap, clap...