We need to weed out the influence of the church

Sitting down to write this week, I am overcome with a powerful sense of déjà vu. Though it is difficult not to be enraged by recent comments made by Bishop Philip Boyce of Raphoe, the anger they engender is not in any way original or fresh. The bishop said the church was facing “testing times” as a result not only of the sins and crimes of priests but because of the arrows and external attacks from a “secular and godless culture”.

As previously stated, there is nothing new in this. This can be almost considered par for the course. A spokesperson for an organisation that relentlessly rams humility and penance down the necks of its members responds to criticism with aggressive language and belittling comments. “Godless”; this phrase is generally used with its companion word heathens. Even used alone, as it was by Bishop Boyce, it is clearly a term of derision. The Oxford English Dictionary defines Godless as 1: “Not believing in a god or God.” And secondly as “Wicked.” The decision to use this word was not made lightly, I would imagine. Therefore the inference in the bishop’s statement is that the church is a victim of attacks from a wicked society. In fact the truth is that the church is an organisation that has been a destructive force within Irish society. The litany of its crimes is significant and the hangover of intolerance still festers with worrying influence. 
The bishop in question made his statements at a novena in Mayo and they were not released to the press until a few days later. This highlighted an interesting and often overlooked fact for me. The spokespeople of the Catholic Church are preaching to many thousands of people in churches all over Ireland on a weekly basis.
Freedom of speech dictates that they are perfectly entitled to do so and long may it continue but it is something that people should be more aware of. It makes the true influence of this organisation on the nation very difficult to quantify. Who is to say whether the ranting of a priest on any given Sunday will not find agency in the attitudes adopted or actions taken by one of their flock later in the week?
For some time now, Ireland has been regarded as a secular society. Some may argue with this statement and of course they have a valid argument but given the religious diversity that exists in the State as well as those who profess no faith, then it seems to make sense to leave religiosity out of everyday life so as to not put any noses out of joint. In this context, it is nothing short of bizarre that the Catholic Church still has such a massive stranglehold on the Irish education system.
This must be stopped immediately, no matter what the cost. Most people will be aware of stories that show with startling clarity the influence of parish priests on management boards at primary level. Whether these people are pushing their own personal – admittedly church inspired – ideals and principles or the company line from Rome, the point must be recognised that their power and influence extends far beyond what it should. Certain people will react badly to this statement and state that the church has been a force for good in Ireland and has helped educate probably millions of young people throughout the years.
Granted, this is the case, many people have been educated, but as an organisation it has systematically protected child rapists and continues to this day to discriminate against homosexuals. The only reason it is not in breach of employment law in this regard is because the protective veil of being a religious organisation. I would not like to be an openly gay man applying for a job in an Irish primary school. I have no fear in stating that in my honest opinion such people are still discriminated against to this day. How open or hidden this discrimination is I cannot say but I am in no doubt that it exists.
I mentioned a sense of déjà vu at the beginning of this piece because I am again writing about the Church and its position and corrupting influence in Ireland. I have written about this many times before and, like so many other people, I am reacting to the words of a bishop released into the public domain to show that the Church will continue to fight against what it plainly sees as persecution by the media, the godless and the secular.
I dream of a day when the statement of a bishop will not make me and my ilk feel the slightest inkling to write about what it says; a time when the influence of the Church will have been paired back to what it should be; a religious organisation.
This is a difficult subject to deal with because essentially the Catholic Church wants things all ways to suit it and its own best interests. When it comes to ignoring Irish discrimination laws it is a religious organisation and yet when the elected Taoiseach Enda Kenny rightly criticises it for its repeated flouting or Irish law and the abuse of citizens, it reacts sharply as a nation state that feels snubbed.
In this context, it is worth asking how people in Ireland would feel if we invited Britain or perhaps Denmark to come in and run the vast majority of our primary schools. Have their ambassadors and emissaries sit on the boards of management and enforce a Danish or British ethos and see how long it would last before parents openly revolted.
The report into the diocese of Raphoe is to be published imminently. Within the pages will once again be damning evidence of rape, torture, lies, cover-up and official indifference. While perhaps not solely, the Catholic Church will once again be the main protagonist. It is fresh evidence, as if it were needed, that this organisation needs to be weeded out of any place of influence in Irish society fully and immediately.