Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan
The Bishop of Galway appears to have rowed back on his strong stance on the St Vincent de Paul (SVP) donation towards a gay resource centre, telling a member of the public that he “got it badly wrong”.
There have been calls for Dr Martin Drennan to resign in the wake of his comments on Galway Bay FM last week about the €45,000 allocation to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community support group Amach.
He described gay culture as “morally wrong” and said he had a problem with the “moral judgment” involved with making the decision by the SVP.
Salthill resident Cormac Ryan wrote an email to the Bishop after hearing the interview, describing his remarks as “deeply offensive, uncharitable and unchristian”.
A reply the following day from the Diocesan email address, which was also sent to the Bishop’s Diocesan secretary, thanked him for the letter.
“My humble apologies for the hurt caused. I got it badly wrong,” it said.
Vice chairperson of Amach, Nuala Ward, invited the Bishop to sit down and talk with the organisation to discuss their work, which involved collaborating with bodies such as the Health Service Executive, the Gardaí and suicide prevention groups.
Meanwhile..
Tackling poverty is what the SVP does best. But Galway LGBT Amach! is a campaigning organisation. It even helped promote a pro-abortion march in Galway last year. That’s the opposite of reaching out to the poor and marginalised.
And it’s not as though left-wing, liberal causes are stuck for money these days. When it comes to friends in the media and funds from millionaires, gay rights projects are top dogs, not underdogs.
Did SVP Galway ask Amach! whether it would be campaigning for the redefinition of marriage next year? Might its resource centre and facilities be used in that referendum?
It’s a strange thing, but heaven help you if you dare to regret using the poor box to fund a campaigning gay rights organisation.
Read my article in this week’s Connacht Tribune about St Vincent de Paul grant to LGBT Amach! pic.twitter.com/c7iSHlE8G9
— Senator Rónán Mullen (@RonanMullen) September 11, 2014
Keep supporting St. Vincent De Paul. But crikey, the Galway branch was ill-advised. — Senator Rónán Mullen (@RonanMullen) September 5, 2014
Update:
Enda Cunningham [of the Connacht Tribune] writes:
Purely in the interest of balance, there is actually a third piece [above] in the Tribune today – it’s from Nuala Ward, Vice Chair of Amach LGBT.
Bishop of Galway says he got it ‘badly wrong’ (Denise McNamara, Galway City Tribune)
Previously: How Dare They?
Graham Hughes/Photocall Ireland
Ronans brain cells need help to connect memory neurons
http://geoffsshorts.blogspot.ie/2012/09/youth-defence-money-shot.html
That should help
I have to agree with Mullen here. StVdeP seem to be straying far from their mandate here which is a bit disingenuous to people donating.
Personally I would never donate to them as their main ‘customers’ consist of people funding their basics after their spent their dole on drink, drugs and other fun pursuits.
Oh look, its Mr Contrary again.
Actually, Jock & pals, Mullen is muddying the waters.
http://www.gaelick.com/2014/09/a-response-to-the-bishop-of-galway-martin-drennan/35878/
No donated money from the public went to this resource center. It came from the Maureen O’Sullivan Fund not from public money.
Maureen O’Connell Fund my apologies.
Gay people who get f**ked out of their homes becuase they are homosexual are left to live in hostels, on the street, friends sofas. They are in need as much as anyone else. If the world didnt discriminate these places wouldnt be needed.
F**kin thicko
Everything Fluffy says.
Couldn’t they just ask for help from the charity direct? Why does the money need to go through another intermediary?
Creating a specialised targeted service probably meas more effective use of funds.
Because the catholic ethos of such organisations would bring down fire and brimstone from some cock in a frock with a dog collar
It’s a fund administrated by the SVP but not from public donations. It was used to fund a Youth and Family Centre in Tuam. I guess Ronan doesn’t have an issue with that but does with a LGBT center?
Wrong. Plain and simple.
“Social Justice” is part of SVPs remit, they don’t just deal with poverty issues.
opinions are like assholes
Maybe there’s a charity for the deserving poor out there for you. Your money buys a Christmas turkey for an idealised Dickensian family with no addiction issues.
I hate to say it but I partly agree with Ronan Mullen here. Now I’m going to have a shower with a brillo pad to get this stain off my soul.
I think SVP need to redefine what exactly their function is.
What valid points is he making?
His brain was replaced by a brillo pad
I like how my opinion is respected even if people disagree with it.
“Social Justice” is part of SVPs remit, they don’t just deal with poverty issues.
Rather than redefine what their function is, maybe you should have looked up what it is in the first place, and Ronan too.
You haven’t expressed your opinion, dear. Do you want to give it a little try?
Ronan Mullen is trying so hard to make “Redefinition of Marriage” a thing
We should cancel all prior redefinitions and go back to when it was men getting paid to take the wenches off their father’s hands.
Shit, my wife’s father died when she was young, so I never took her off his hands. I’m the enemy!
Well, that’s that then. You’ve destroyed society.
Hope she was worth it and you’ve had your fun. You’ll be wed to a dog and a stapler by next week.
Grasping at straws
We should go back to traditional marriage, parents arranging who their children will be married too, none of this evil liberal free will crap.
Ronan’s Mammy wouldn’t be slow about knocking this ‘confirmed bachelor’ nonsense on the head if that were the case!
I wouldn’t object. It’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to finding a husband.
*sobs*
Hey, there, I’ll marry you and we can have a gay old time.
We can find some old enormous wreak of a place in the countryside near a beach and do it up ourselves with our hands.
We can raise lots of cool kids and some noisy ones too for balance. We should also have huge houseparties once a month full of noise, laughter and buckets of wine (and juice for those into that sort of thing)
… oh and we will also donate to the SVP as well of course!
What do you say?
I DO!
This comes from that muppet whose funding all comes from american billionaires and large american organisations, you don’t see pro-choice or pro-marrage equality groups being able to afford massive billboard campaigns and ad’s in leading newspapers like the organisations Ronan supports.
Catholic bishop denounces homosexual behaviour shocker.
He’s only making life hard for *himself* by placating these pro gay activist groups.
No sympathy whatsoever. You’re a bishop FFS. You get to tell people what to do and lay down the law because that’s what the Church expects of you. Man up, exercise your power, or give up all the privileges that being a bishop affords you.
Your handling of all this is pathetic IMO.
“You get to tell people what to do and lay down the law because that’s what the Church expects of you.”
Sorry my bitter friend, those days are over, go cry in your hugbox.
No, ABM is right. Bishops need to be thundering from pulpits, telling us what’s right and what’s wrong. The fact that it’s all derived from an outdated moral code is a good thing, because the more they shout about it the more people feel compelled to reject their doctrine in its entirety.
So preach on, ABM. Preach on, bishops and other bigoted defenders of a patriarchal system of oppression! Show the few remaining adherents to your faith how rotten the whole thing really is at its core.
Bishops do get to lay down the law. They get to decide what goes on in their diocese.
Of course you being a free-willed human, can choose to ignore what is right and just if you wish.
If you don’t like to be reminded of wickedness, then don’t go to Mass and don’t support Catholic organisations (either explictly or implicitly – you will find you benefit from the Catholic Church in more ways than you care to imagine).
>>Bishops do get to lay down the law. They get to decide what goes on in their diocese.<>If you don’t like to be reminded of wickedness, then don’t go to Mass and don’t support Catholic organisations (either explictly or implicitly – you will find you benefit from the Catholic Church in more ways than you care to imagine).<<
This has been working out pretty good for me, glad to see we're on the same page!
Hahaha!
” If you don’t like to be reminded of wickedness, then don’t go to Mass ”
The fact you have to go to Mass to see what’s wrong with the world just proves you are incompetent and incapable of any type of self determination. Religion was made for you ABM. Revel in it :)
” If you don’t like to be reminded of wickedness, then don’t go to Mass ” … or read about anything related to bishops and their behaviour…
Quite pathetic, one must agree. This man clearly disagrees with homosexuality, and therefore should stay on record as having this stance. Does the RCC not openly hold an anti-gay line anymore?
That’s right. He thinks homosexual behaviour is morally wrong.
Is the Pope Catholic?
He probably thinks lots of things are wrong. Drug abuse? Alcohol abuse? Gambling? Does he object to services helping the people who do these things simply because they are morally wrong? Even if we disagree over whether homophobia or homosexuality is the moral wrong, the victims still need help, don’t they? Jesus walked with the outcast, the despised, the diseased. This bishop declines to associate with such a rabble.
“This bishop declines to associate with such a rabble.”
What utter clap trap.
Bishop Drennan’s track record is exceptional.
When you’ve done what he has done, then you might be in a position to knock a humble, hardworking, God-fearing, charitable and exceptionally intelligent man.
So why does he single out the LGBT community to exclude them from his good works? But maybe you’re right. He may actually be everything you claim he is. After all, he had the decency to admit he got it ‘badly wrong.’
“Bishop Drennan’s track record is exceptional”
Wrong.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/bishop-drennan-its-time-to-fall-on-your-crozier-and-quit-26594876.html
A reliable source (i.e. not establishment opinion pieces) would be great the next time you try to make a point.
Actually, what point are you trying to make?
Like your good self fake ABM, Bishop Drennan isn’t in any real position to take the moral high ground. The Murphy report didn’t exactly exonerate him. Now is it fish or obsessing about the gays ABM which is tonight’s activity. Or both – life is that sad for you.
Once again ask yourself if your internet obsessions and lack of anything productive to do in your life are the result of being a middle class, happy and socially functional male? Or a lonely and desperate man from the dregs of society using religious zealotry as a displacement activity.
You poor sod. Enjoy the hypocrisy, just like the cleric Drennan…
ignoring your pope, abm? ten hail mary’s for you lad..
Catholic bishop more interested in denouncing homosexuals than in offering christian charity to homosexuals who are victims of homosexuality being denounced shocker.
What % of his time do you think he spends on denouncing homosexuals vs. say, visiting the sick and elderly people, running his diocese, saying Mass, etc.?
What % of religious affairs “news” from the D4 media is about gays, abortion, secularism, etc.?
IMO, all he has to do is say “homosexuality is wrong” and move on. By placating these groups the opus Dei suffers.
Pope Francis doesn’t bother with the gay issue because he knows there are far more important things to be worrying about in this world (such as feeding the poor and protecting Christians from persecution, torture and being killed).
What is written about homosexual behaviour is there in black and white if anyone wants to find out more. The most relevant church scholarship on immoral sexual behaviour was written over 50 years ago. Until someone comes along with new information, that’s not going to change any time soon. The church is not pre-occupied with sex issues and gay issues the way those outside the bosom of the church are. Media pests and gay activists need to be kept at a safe distance – they have a bad habit of misinterpreting church teaching to satisfy their own twisted agendas.
He didn’t denounce homosexual behaviour, really, though, did he? We take that for granted. He criticised the use of funds to help homosexuals, or members of the LGBT community. Helping people. Helping sinners. Helping the needy. There appears to be something about the ‘sin’ of homosexuaity that precludes helping homosexuals. This does not extend, to my knowledge, to alcoholics, gamblers, adulterers, paedophiles, thieves and murderers. I agree. You’d think there’d be more important things to worry about.
“Pope Francis doesn’t bother with the gay issue ”
Maybe you should tell him to stop bothering the Cardinals and Bishops around the world about it then….
http://time.com/3303851/is-the-catholic-church-evolving-on-gay-marriage/
…and then tell him not to be raising it at the world conference of Synod on the Family…
http://world.time.com/2013/10/08/pope-francis-calls-extraordinary-synod-on-family-and-marriage/
And this one….
http://time.com/13161/pope-francis-willing-to-evaluate-civil-unions-but-no-embrace-of-gay-marriage/
I really love how you are sooooo out of touch with the RCC when you purport to be knowledgeable on its matters.
It’s uplifting to know that the RCC is far more advanced than yourself on the matter ABM.
Typical.
What percentage of the Pope Francis’s writings and public statements concern the great thorny issues that the 21st century media obsess over?
Honestly?
You’ll find the percentage is tiny. The church is not about you. It’s not about sex, the gays, atheist internet forums, abortions, contraceptives, whatever-you-want-the-church-to-bless, etc.
If you want to worship anything-goes sexual behaviour, perhaps you could set up (and pay for) your own little monastery where you can dabble in a bit of whatever you’re having yourself? Such enclaves are very successful in America.
What has percentage got to do with it? Oh hang on, you’re a right wing nut, you don’t care about minorities…. ah… right… to answer your question, no idea. A little bit anyway, he cares more than you do, honestly.
I see the mere mentioning and drawing of your attention to the subject causes you to automatically imply that I am solely and only concerned with that subject, that I desire to worship sex…. haha :) You’re some work hi !
This is, just another reason why you are incapable of viewing anything outside of the blinkered view you have developed in life. Mass it is, for you.
LOL “The Church is not preoccupied with sex issues”. Perhaps not the Church but you certainly are ABM!
That is ABM, the self-confessed cat-owning celibate man who spends most of his time online waiting to pounce with tellingly caustic commentary the moment anything pertaining to his special areas of hypocritical interest arise, namely abortion or the gays. Of course, nothing more than a distraction from an obvious desperation, crushing loneliness and nothing much going on in his wasted life.
ABM, you lay bare your multifaceted hypocrisy for all of us to see.
Where’s the other lad gone?
Did he ask you to fill in for him today?
When will these fake ABMs cease and desist? Mods please. The crazy is high with this one. I get it: dial up the religious zealotry, get everyone exercised and promote the opposite view to the one you claim. Do you think this is the most productive way to spend your day fake ABM?
The bulk of today’s teaching on sexual norms comes from work that was done over 50 years ago. Not much has changed since then.
Why is it’s only now that you guys are getting all angry? Why do you care so much about what some guys in Rome wrote 50+ years ago?
Do you care so much about what other religions write about illicit sexual relations? Just Catholic hate, right? Hate Jews too? (We know from recent entries that many broadsheet.ie contributers do).
Anyway, I suspect the root of anti-Catholic outrage is that there are still good Christian folk who aren’t shy about reminding you that one day, you will be answerable for your actions.
Love it when you threaten me with your imaginary friend ABM ^_^
What we doing for dinner tonight? I fancy a chinese and a bit of a shag but we can head out either if you want xxx
I slightly suspect we have been nobbled by fake ABM. The crazy has been ratcheted up to quite high levels so as to promote the opposite view to that espoused. Whether real or fake ABM, they’re both twisted.
Fish for me tonight. Good for the brain.
I’ll leave you and your sex partner to your MSG-laden “Chinese”. Tell me, what’s more gratuitous? The low quality food, or the contracepted “shag”?
Fish – that means dinner for two ABM! Your cat will be over the moon. Tell me, what middle class home-owning happy and socially functional male behaves as you do online? Not many, eh…Wonder why?
I’ll bet you’ll spend the rest of the evening feverishly imaging all of the illicit, immoral contraceptive sex people are having. Ironically though ABM, no need for you to resort to contraception – you are sort of natural contraceptive in your own right. You are a sort of “natural” celibate mired by a diet of hypocrisy and immaturity even at your age.
Revel in your loneliness and desperation or sort yourself out while there is still time, you twisted wretch.
“The church is not pre-occupied with sex issues and gay issues the way those outside the bosom of the church are.”
Bosom…
From St Vincent De Paul’s Twitter account Bio “The Society of St. Vincent de Paul tackles poverty through Support & Friendship; Promoting Self-Sufficiency; & Working for Social Justice in Ireland.”
Two words in there – “Social Justice”
The ignorant bigot that is Ronan Mullen completely ignores that and focuses on only one element of SVPs remit, helping the poor, those in poverty as if that was all they did.
Either he does that on purpose making him a bigot or he’s thick as two planks and just an ignorant little man.
‘More in his line to talk about his own crowd’s sources of spondoulies.
left wing and liberal,
how can an organisation be both?
I disagree with Rónán Mullen’s right to life. Such a hate-filled little toerag.
Physician, heal thyself!
Mind you
Tis nice t’hear from the bould’Mullen every now and again
Social justice is not part of their remit.
Who defines their remit?
Because they say “Our focus is on practical approach to dealing with poverty, alleviating its effects on individuals and families through working primarily in person-to-person contact by a unique system of family visitation and seeking to achieve social justice and equality of opportunity for all citizens.”
http://www.svp.ie/About-Us.aspx
Remove the poverty part and that’s “Our focus is on … seeking to achieve social justice and equality of opportunity for all citizens.”
Also they have an entire section dedicated to the thing you don’t belive is part of their remit:
http://www.svp.ie/Social-Justice.aspx
“We are working to make Ireland a fairer place; where caring for each other and our children, older people and people with disabilities is valued and supported; where individuals, families and communities can participate fully in work and society; and where an adequately resourced state, a strong economy, employment and business support the type of society that we wish to live in.”
You sir are a muppet.
A religious charity might have a different idea of social justice than you. It’s laughable how blind you all are to this.
And in this case, they clearly do have the same definition of social justice as those of us defending the SVP decision, given they just donated a bunch of cash to an LGBT outreach centre.
+1
“poor” isn’t just a financial trap.
So Gregory Campbell is the new Bishop of Galway? Why did no one tell me?
That’s Gregory Campbell of the DUP, not Gregory Campbell the Canadian ice hockey centre who plays for the Boston Bruins.
Who disturbed the dinosaurs
It would be helpful to this debate if people informed themselves on what AMACH is all about before making misleading comments like those made by Mr. Mullen. Refer to above article “centre helps to break down barriers”. I’ve checked their website and their Facebook page….clearly Mr Mullen’s claims are false. Check it out for yourselves.
This guy is the Ian Paisley of Galway. Best recruitment tool the gays have!
What’s next…will Ronan Mullen try to take the crown off the Rose Of Tralee? After all, she has stated that she hopes she can and will some day get married.
The only damage done to SVP is done by the bishop and Ronan Mullen and his ilk who (are well funded) with their bigoted narrow minded ill informed damaging comments. I for one will definitely support the SVP in future whenever I can due to their openminded and inclusive stance on this. They have gone up tenfold in my estimation, representing all in society who are marginalised, isolate, at risk etc
From what I can see…AMACH LGBT Galway has no hidden agenda ( which is more than I can say for Mullen with his incitement to hatred)
*sigh*
Good and all as insulting ABM is, I can’t get much pleasure out of it this time.
These things matter. http://www.thegailygrind.com/2014/09/11/gay-teen-commits-suicide-outed-harassed-catholic-school-officials/
So did he or did he not sexually harass another pupil?
Are you, or are you not, a f****g plank of the highest order?
Is the Broadsheet comments page the place people go to when they’re not allowed to go to student union council debates any more? An what do the letters A, B and M stand for?