An excellent letter from Nora Bennis was published in the Irish national newspapers on 18 August. Mrs. Bennis’ letter deserves to be read and studied carefully and, as well as bringing it to the attention of your local Council members and all your local public representatives, your clergy, and your friends, please do your best to disseminate it far and wide.
Here is the letter:
‘Sir, - David Cameron is at last listening to the calls in Britain for the strengthening of the family unit (World News, August 16th). In the wake of the recent riots, Mr Cameron has finally recognised what so many enlightened groups and individuals have been saying for decades, ie, that laws and policies that undermine the marriage-based family unit ultimately lead to the undermining of society, to increased lawlessness, anti-social behaviour, rioting and crime of every description.‘Mr Cameron has this week taken action to stem the tide. He said, “If we want to have any hope of mending our broken society, family and parenting is where we’ve got to start. So from here on I want a family test to be applied to all domestic policy. If it hurts families, if it undermines commitment, if it tramples over the values that keep people together, or stops families from being together, then we shouldn’t do it.”
‘When I set up the National (Family First) Party in Ireland, back in 1996, protecting the family was our primary objective. Back then, we were calling for the family proofing of all domestic policy. We warned the government at the time that its unconstitutional, anti-family liberal agenda would lead to more broken homes and to greater social upheaval.
‘Oh, it listened to us alright, and in 1998 a new family affairs department was set up. In his introduction to the Final Report of the Commission on the Family, the then minister for social and family affairs said: “The government is committed to adopting a families first approach by putting the family at the centre of all its policies.”
‘That’s what they said, but it was nothing more than “lip service”. We soon discovered that they had absolutely no intention of putting the family first. They continued to drive the anti-family agenda in law and policy. And, to make matters even worse, the current coalition has taken this devious agenda a step further!
‘Far from carrying out its pledge in the Constitution to support and defend the family founded on marriage the current Government has actually eliminated the family from its government departments.
‘Do we have to have riots in Ireland before our political elites wake up?
‘Yours, etc,
Nora Bennis,
