The Irish Presidential Election and Rendering to Caesar

The election for the presidency of Ireland is over, and it appears that the votes of one million people of those eligible to vote in the election resulted in the appointment of a former member of the Labour Party Michael D Higgins to that exalted position.

 Picture shows president elect Michael D Higgins

On many occasions in the past, I have quoted the words of Archbishop Charles Chaput (now archbishop of Philadelphia, U.S.A.).   In August 2010 the Archbishop addressed those attending the 15^th Symposium for the Canon Law Association of Slovakia.   He commented that many Catholics in the U.S. and Western Europe today do not understand the costs of Christian witness under fifty years of Nazi and Soviet regimes.  He continued:

‘[…] Many are indifferent to the process in our countries that social scientists like to call “secularisation” – but which, in practice, involves repudiating the Christian roots and soul of our civilization. […]

‘The Enlightenment-derived worldview that gave rise to the great murder ideologies of the last century remains very much alive.  Its language is softer, its intentions seem kinder, and its face is friendlier.  But its underlying impulse hasn’t changed – i.e., the dream of building a society apart from God; a world where men and women might live wholly sufficient unto themselves, satisfying their needs and desires through their own ingenuity.

‘This vision presumes a frankly “post-Christian” world ruled by rationality, technology and good social engineering.  Religion has a place in this worldview, but only as an individual lifestyle accessory.  People are free to worship and believe whatever they want, so long as they keep their beliefs to themselves and do not presume to intrude their religious idiosyncrasies on the workings of government, the economy, or culture. …

‘In the United States, … government agencies now increasingly seek to dictate how Church ministries should operate, and to force them into practices that would destroy their Catholic identity.  Efforts have been made to discourage or criminalize the expression of certain Catholic beliefs as “hate speech.”  Our courts and legislatures now routinely take actions that undermine marriage and family life, and seek to scrub our public life of Christian symbolism and signs of influence.

‘In Europe, we see similar trends, although marked by a more open contempt for Christianity.  Church leaders have been reviled in the media and even in the courts for simply expressing Catholic teaching.  Some years ago … one of the leading Catholic politicians of our generation, Rocco Buttiglione, was denied a leadership post in the European Union because of his Catholic beliefs. […]

‘Downplaying the West’s Christian past is sometimes done with the best intentions, from a desire to promote peaceful co-existence in a pluralistic society.  But more frequently it’s done to marginalize Christians and to neutralize the Church’s public witness….

‘In practice, … we see that without a belief in fixed moral principles and transcendent truths, our political institutions and language become instruments in the service of a new barbarism.  In the name of tolerance we come to tolerate the cruellest intolerance; respect for other cultures comes to dictate disparagement of our own; the teaching of “live and let” justifies the strong living at the expense of the weak.

‘This diagnosis helps us understand one of the foundational injustices in the West today – the crime of abortion.

‘I realize that the abortion license is a matter of current law in almost every nation in the West.  In some cases, this license reflects the will of the majority and is enforced through legal and democratic means.  And I’m aware that many people, even in the Church, find it strange that we Catholics in America still make the sanctity of unborn life so central to our public witness.

‘Let me tell you why I believe abortion is the crucial issue of our age.

‘First, because abortion … is about living within the truth.  The right to life is the foundation of every other human right.  If that right is not inviolate, then no right can be guaranteed. […]

‘From the earliest days of the Church, to be Catholic has meant refusing in any way to participate in the crime of abortion – either by seeking an abortion, performing one, or making this crime possible through actions or inactions in the political or judicial realm.  […]

‘In our day – when the sanctity of life is threatened not only by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia, but also by embryonic research and eugenic temptations to eliminate the weak, the disabled and the infirm elderly – this aspect of Catholic identity becomes even more vital to our discipleship.

‘My point in mentioning abortion is this: Its widespread acceptance in the West shows us that without a grounding in God or a higher truth, our democratic institutions can very easily become weapons against our own human dignity. […]

‘The Catholic beliefs that most deeply irritate the orthodoxies of the West are those concerning abortion, sexuality and the marriage of man and woman.  This is no accident.  These Christian beliefs express the truth about human fertility, meaning and destiny. …

‘But we can never render unto Caesar what belongs to God.  We need to obey God first; the obligations of political authority always come second.  We cannot collaborate with evil without gradually becoming evil ourselves. […]

‘We need to fight the evils we see.  And most importantly, we must not delude ourselves into thinking that by going along with the voices of secularism and de-Christianization we can somehow mitigate or change things.   Only the Truth can set men free. […]

‘And let us support each other – whatever the cost – so that when we make our accounting to the Lord, we will be numbered among the faithful and courageous, and not the cowardly or the evasive, or those who compromised until there was nothing left of their convictions, or those who were silent when they should have spoken the right word at the right time. […]’

Although this is a fairly lengthy extract from the Archbishop’s address I hope that I have not taken any of it out of the context of the whole.  However, I consider that what is quoted above makes for very relevant reading in these times.

Irish Presidential Election Thursay 27th Oct

For whom do we vote?

On Thursday, 27 October, the Irish electorate will vote to elect a new President of Ireland, who will take office for the next seven years.

The Constitution of Ireland proclaims that the President ‘shall take precedence over all other persons in the State and … shall exercise and perform the powers and functions conferred on the President by this Constitution and by law.’  The Constitution further states that the President shall enter that office ‘by taking and subscribing publicly, in the presence of members of both Houses of the Oireachtas [parliament], of Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court, and other public personages, the following declaration:

‘ “In the presence of Almighty God I ……  do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will maintain the Constitution of Ireland and uphold its laws, that I will fulfil my duties faithfully and conscientiously in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and that I will dedicate my abilities in the service and welfare of the people of Ireland.  May God direct and sustain me.” ’

That’s a serious declaration for anyone to make.

There are seven people who have put themselves forward in the upcoming election as a possible president.   But how do we decide who is the person most suitable to represent the Irish people and to guard the Constitution of Ireland?   The Constitution deals with many aspects of life in a State but, in particular, it deals in detail with the rights of the citizens.   These basic rights include the most fundamental of all human rights – the right to life, which, of course, includes the right to life of the unborn child.  Another most important right is that recognition given by the Constitution to the family founded on marriage, and the pledge of the State to protect the family founded on marriage against attack.  The State guarantees to protect the family in its constitution and authority as the necessary basis of social order, and as indispensable to the welfare of the Nation and the State.

Indeed, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Note on the participation of Catholics in political life [2002] warns that we cannot close our eyes to ‘the real dangers which certain tendencies in society are promoting through legislation, nor can one ignore the effects this will have on future generations.’ 

Now, who of all the seven candidates can truthfully (and the President must be truthful) say that he or she subscribes to the requirements of the presidency to uphold the Constitution?   Only one person comes to mind, and that person is Dana. All of the others want to change it in various degrees.

A Number 1 vote for Dana on Thursday next will show that we still have a conscience, and that we still respect the important things in life.

BAIL OUT FAMILIES NOT THE BONDHOLDERS Says Dana Rosemary Scallon

BAIL OUT FAMILIES NOT THE BONDHOLDERS

Says Dana Rosemary Scallon

There is a real crisis of trust, a crisis of fear and a crisis of confidence in almost every home.  “Middle Ireland” is reeling from mismanagement of those who profiteer. 

Governments have failed us, politicians have failed us and banks have failed us. We are in a time of crisis for families. We need to start looking after each other first before we look after the bondholders, banks and speculators. Families are suffering as jobs are lost, house values tumble and bills soar.

I will offer a Presidency that upholds values, trust, equity and fairness; one that supports the families of Ireland and ensures the most vulnerable are listened to. I will ensure that no government will be allowed to pull the wool over the eyes of the Irish people, subject families to penal times, facilitate a bail out foreign banks, speculators and the elite, or undermine our Constitution,” concluded Dana Rosemary Scallon.

Dana appearing on the Late Late show last Friday night promised as President to uphold the Constitution which is in fact vitally important at a time when the Government is setting up a Constitutional Convention and threatening to make significant changes to it

This theme was also reflected by Dublin's Archbishop Martin over the weekend when he made the following statement.

Our Constitution, Bunreacht na hEireann, is sometimes presented just as a fossilised child of its time; within its limitations, it has proven to be a document which was ably capable of guaranteeing rights and curbing power – including the power of the State - and has fostered a valuable culture of legal interpretation which has served the people of Ireland well. 
The Constitutional Convention which is to be launched soon must be a moment of true discernment. Renewal does not always mean discontinuity. Tradition is not outdated each new day. True values are different to fashion, where the fashion of the day can tomorrow be quickly out of fashion. Values must be rooted somewhere. They must represent a constant in society and what society aspires to.

Irish Presidential Election

The period for acceptance of nominations for the Presidency is closed and it is now evident that there are seven contenders for the office of President leading to the following Sky News report:

“Contenders for the Irish presidency include a former Eurovision song contest winner, an ex-IRA commander and a gay rights activist.”

The list of contenders is as follows: Dana Rosemary Scallon, Senator David Norris, Martin Mc Guinness Sinn Fein, Michael D Higgins, Labour, Gay Mitchell MEP Fine Gael,  Mary Davis former CEO of the special olympics ; and entrepreneur Sean Gallagher . We will report on the various personalities and their campaigns as they develop.

 

The reference to former Eurovision song contest winner refers to Dana Rosemary Scallon, who won the Europe-wide singing competition in 1970 and had a successful career as a television presenter and musician. Dana stood unsuccessfully for the post of President in 1997 however she made history in that election by opening up a new avenue for nominations to the Presidency by receiving the nominations of five county councils. While this was a constitutionally legitimate means of gaining nomination to compete for the presidency, the approach was unprecedented before her campaign. In the election she campaigned for family values, protecting the Irish Constitution and on Pro-Life issues.

In the 1999 European Elections Dana was elected to the European Parliament and served as an MEP for Connacht–Ulster until 2004, where as her record showed she continued the fight for Ireland, the Irish people and particularly the impoverished West coast of Ireland in Europe. 
Dana narrowly lost her European Parliament seat in 2004. 
In both Lisbon Treaty debates Dana supported the No side of the debates. She knew exactly what Lisbon would mean for Ireland in terms of loss of sovereignty on many fronts which is becoming more evident on a daily basis.

Dana's record speaks for itself. She's not afraid to stand up for what is right and she is certainly not afraid to stand up for her country her beliefs or the disenfranchised.

The importance of informed conscience in casting our votes

The ‘race for the presidency’ occupies much of the media’s attention at the moment in Ireland.   Catholics, in particular, should be reminded that no matter what public opinion says, no matter what their individual likes or dislikes are, each voter in the upcoming presidential election must follow her or his own informed conscience in the choice she or he makes.  As Cardinal Raymond Burke said in Knock recently:

‘An erroneous notion of the moral law and of conscience has led to an equally erroneous exclusion of the discussion of the moral law and of questions of conscience from public life.  In many so-called advanced nations, we witness an increasing tendency to deny to citizens the most fundamental right, the right to observe the dictates of one’s conscience, formed through right reason and the teaching of the Church.  We witness the phenomenon in the language of political leaders who profess to be Catholics and yet vote for legislation which violates the moral law, claiming to hold personally to what the moral law demands but, at the same time, to be obliged by their political office to follow a different law in making decisions for those whom they represent and govern.’

He went to say that today: ‘The struggle is fierce, and the opposition is powerful.’

[Emphasis added]

We must inform ourselves of the views of the candidates who say they are Catholic (this is most important), but we must also, of course, make ourselves aware and take note of the ideologies and agendas of those candidates for the presidency who are not Catholic, or who are not Christian.   What do these people stand for, what are their beliefs with regard to the sacredness of all human life from conception to natural death?  

What are their beliefs with regard to the dignity of marriage – the union of one man and one woman?  Will they uphold the Constitutional pledge to guard with special care the institution of Marriage, on which the Family is founded, and to protect it against attack? 

What are their beliefs with regard to the Constitutional recognition of the Family as the natural primary and fundamental unit group of Society?  Will they uphold the Constitutional guarantee to protect the Family in its constitution and authority, as the necessary basis of social order and as indispensable to the welfare of the Nation and the State?

All of these questions must be answered satisfactorily before we enter the polling booth on presidential election voting day.

We call on all our Archbishops and Bishops of Ireland – please make a public statement now, well in advance of the voting day, so that all Catholic voters are made aware of the importance of knowing the stance of each candidate with regard to the questions posed above

Dana for President?

The saga of the Irish Presidency and the list of contenders continues. Fianna Fail (FF) leader  Michael Martin already has egg on his face from his unsuccessful attempt to woo Gay Byrne to stand on the Fianna Fail ticket.

It is also public knowledge that Dana Rosemary Scallon approached Fianna Fail for support but if reports are to be believed rather than accept Dana, Martin would give Fianna Fail support to David Norris who was forced to quit the race for the park as a result of his support for a convicted paedophile.

Anthony Murphy editor of the Catholic Voice newspaper places this in context on Facebook 

I have been told on very good authority that at the last parliamentary meeting a number of the FF TD's and Senators wanted to nominate Dana Rosemary Scallon - Micheal Martin blocked this saying words to the effect "over my dead body" - now he is pushing for Norris. In other words Martin would rather endorse an advocate of a convicted rapist rather than an advocate of the family and the child. How this party has changed and how Dev must be turning in his grave!

 Perhaps it is high time for Fianna Fail to abandon Martin and seek a new leader

The Oath of Office of the Irish President is a declaration to maintain the Constitution and uphold its laws

Much has been written, debated and broadcast about the upcoming presidential election in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland declares that the President ‘shall take precedence over all other persons in the State and … shall exercise and perform the powers and functions conferred on the President by this Constitution and by law.’
On election, the President ‘shall enter upon his office by taking and subscribing publicly, in the presence of members of both Houses of the Oireachtas, of Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court, and other public personages, the following declaration:

“In the presence of Almighty God I …. do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will maintain the Constitution of Ireland and uphold its laws, that I will fulfil my duties faithfully and conscientiously in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and that I will dedicate my abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Ireland. May God direct and sustain me.” ’

That’s a mighty powerful declaration to make, and it is all the more so in the light of the words of the Preamble to the Constitution:

‘In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred,
‘We, the people of Éire,
‘Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial, […]
‘And seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations,
‘Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution.’

When the time comes to elect a new president, the Irish voter would do well to listen to and act on the words of Cardinal Raymond Burke, paraphrased as follows: –

The faithful Catholic has a very serious moral obligation to vote only for a candidate who will uphold the truth of the moral law, which also serves the greatest good of everyone in society.

Dana considering Presidential run

The Irish Times reports today that former MEP Rosemary “Dana” Scallon is considering an attempt to get on the ballot paper for the presidential election this October,
The story continues

"[...]according to her brother John Brown who acts as her spokesman.“She is deliberating on the matter and is looking at it very seriously,” he said yesterday following Senator David Norris’s decision to withdraw.

Mr Brown said that Ms Scallon had come under great pressure from various elements in society to stand in the election. He said she had gone on a two-week holiday and would make a decision on whether or not to seek a nomination on her return.

Mr Brown said the message was coming through that the people wanted to decide who would be president and they didn’t want the decision made for them by political parties. To secure a place on the ballot paper Ms Scallon would need the backing of four county councils or 20 Oireachtas members.

She ran for the presidency in 1997 and secured her place on the ballot paper by winning a nomination from four county councils.

Ms Scallon finished third in that election behind Mary McAleese of Fianna Fáil and Mary Banotti of Fine Gael. But she was ahead of Labour Party candidate Adi Roche.

She picked up more than 175,000 first-preference votes in that poll, winning the support of 13.8 per cent of the electorate, and expressed interest in running again in 2004 but was unable to secure a nomination. President McAleese was automatically returned.

Ms Scallon was elected an MEP for Ireland West in the 1999 European election, but failed to retain her seat in 2004. She also ran in the Galway West constituency in the general election of 2002 but was not elected.

As an MEP she campaigned strongly against the Nice Treaty and against the abortion referendum proposals advanced by Bertie Ahern’s administration in 2001. The electorate voted No in both referendums but in the second Nice referendum in 2002 a majority voted in favour. [...]

Interestingly two straw polls in yesterdays Independent looked at the prospects of all candidates.
The first presented a list of candidates who have declared to date or who had expressed a wish to do so and then added a category "none of the above". The result of this first straw poll was that 43% chose the "none of the above" category.

The second straw poll asked if Dana entered the race would you give her your No, 1 vote. At the time of writing, this straw poll is still live and can be accessed on this link . Whilst there is as yet no final result the poll clearly shows that there is massive support for Dana.

DANA for President?

According to recent media reports we may see the name Dana Rosemary Scallon on the ballot paper as a candidate in the Presidential Election next November.

TV3 Report that Dana is currently considering her position with regards to this election

Miriam Lord writing in the Irish Times had this to say;

Meanwhile, strong but unconfirmed reports are reaching us about Dana Rosemary Scallon, who polled well when she ran for the presidency 14 years ago.

She was also one of the two politicians who tried but failed to challenge Mary McAleese’s uncontested return to the Áras last time out, the other being the former Green Party minister Eamon Ryan.

We hear that her supporters have been taking soundings about her prospects. Apparently she fared well in a private poll they conducted, so don’t be surprised if she throws her hat into the ring again.

 In1997 Dana made history by receiving the nominations of five county councils. While this was a constitutionally legitimate means of gaining nomination to compete for the presidency, the approach was unprecedented before her campaign. In the election she campaigned for family values, protecting the Irish Constitution and on Pro-Life issues.

In the election Dana came 3rd beating the Labour, Democratic Left and Green candidate Adi Roche with 13.8 % of the vote, 175,458. Our current President Mary McAleese won that election.

In the 1999 European Elections she become an MEP for Connacht–Ulster,

She continued the fight for Ireland and the impoverished West coast of Ireland over in Europe, as her record showed.

Dana narrowly lost her European Parliament seat in 2004. In both Lisbon Treaty debates she supported the No side of the debates. She knew exactly what Lisbon would mean for Ireland in terms of loss of sovereignty on many fronts

Dana's record speaks for itself. She's not afraid to stand up for what is right and she is certainly not afraid to stand up for her country her believes or the disenfranchised