Yearly Archives: 2014

march

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmdoNe_gHek&feature=youtu.be

Joseph Conroy writes:

“Pro Choice March on Saturday from the Spire on O’Connell Street to Leinster House. Featuring excerpts from speeches by (in order) Sinead Redmond of AIMS, Ross Kelly from Doctors For Choice Ireland, Ruth Coppinger TD and Monika Janas from ROSA.”

Previously: Meanwhile, At the Spire

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Cartagena, Colombia yesterday.

Mmf.

Thanks Eimear Hayes

Meanwhile…

spoon

David Arch writes:

“After stirring my hot chocolate last night….”

The Broadsheet Book of Unspecified Things That Look Like Ireland (NewIsland)

Screen Shot 2014-08-25 at 09.06.20Jozef Wesolowski

You may recall an interview Pope Francis gave last month in which he pledged that bishops who covered up the abuse of minors would be held accountable.

It has now emerged that the former Papal Nuncio to the Dominican Republic, Jozef Wesolowski has been defrocked after being accused of sexually abusing boys.

But far from settling the matter, the Vatican has stirred an outcry because it helped Mr. Wesolowski avoid criminal prosecution and a possible jail sentence in the Dominican Republic. Acting against its own guidelines for handling abuse cases, the church failed to inform the local authorities of the evidence against him, secretly recalled him to Rome last year before he could be investigated, and then invoked diplomatic immunity for Mr. Wesolowski so that he could not face trial in the Dominican Republic.

The Vatican’s handling of the case shows both the changes the church has made in dealing with sexual abuse, and what many critics call its failures. When it comes to removing pedophiles from the priesthood, the Vatican is moving more assertively and swiftly than before. But as Mr. Wesolowski’s case suggests, the church continues to be reluctant to report people suspected of abuse to the local authorities and allow them to face justice in secular courts.

The Vatican says that because Mr. Wesolowski was a member of its diplomatic corps and a citizen of the Holy See, the case would be handled in Rome.


For Nuncio Accused of Abuse, Dominicans Want Justice at Home, Not Abroad (Laurie Goodstein, New York Times)

17/4/2013 Inquests into the death of Savita Halappanavar

Writing in yesterday’s Sunday Business Post, Dr Peter Boylan (consultant obstetrician and former Master of the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street) has called for cross-party support to either repeal or retain the Eighth Amendment:

The vast majority of Irish women who seek abortions do so in the UK. This avenue should not be presumed to be available forever. Growing public awareness in Britain of the extent to which we are exporting our problem, as well as on-going financial constraints in the NHS, make it likely that British hospitals will increasingly restrict access to women from Ireland for termination.

Our current law is governed by the 1983 Eighth Amendment, which provides for the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn. As we saw with the case of Savita, this has resulted in abortion being lawful only where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother.

Obstetricians find this difficult to interpret. Put simply, obstetricians have to decide how close to death a woman has to be before they can intervene and the woman herself has no say in the matter.

Psychiatrists have to assess the risk of suicide. In practice this really only applies to those who are not able to travel, the majority of whom are in the care of the state.

…I suggest that our politicians reach cross-party agreement, as soon as possible, that a referendum – whose sole issue should be the removal or retention of the Eighth Amendment – will be held at a specified date early in the term of the next government. Such political consensus would not bind parties to a particular stance on the referendum to follow, but would take much of the toxicity out of the issue of a referendum itself from the politics of the next general election campaign and lessen the kind of aggressive lobbying to which TDs have been subject in the past.

We can only hope thereafter for a mature, factual, and compassionate debate on this most difficult of subjects. In the meantime, bad law makes hard cases.

No country for vulnerable women (Dr Peter Boylan, Sunday Business Post) [behind paywall]

Previously: Dr Peter Boylan on Broadsheet

Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland

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Dublin Airport yesterday.

Medal-laden Team Transplant Ireland.

Gwen O’Donoghue, of the Irish Kidney Association, writes:

“Tired yet victorious, 34 inspirational athletes returned home from Poland this weekend after their outstanding performance at the 8th European Transplant & Dialysis Sports Championships in Krakow [Poland]. With its tally of 18 Gold, 18 Silver and 31 Bronze medals, Transplant Team Ireland was ranked in the top three position on the medals table, just behind Hungary which took first place and the host country Poland in second….”

From top: Transport Team Ireland;  Paul Prendergast with his children and grandchildren; Oldest member of Transplant Team Ireland and oldest participant at the European Transplant & Dialysis Championships John McAleer with his son John (Jnr) and daughter-in-law Maxine and grandchildren Eoin  and Louis.  John won a Silver medal in his Golf event at the Games;  James Nolan and baby son Andrew James and his two bronze and silver medals; Bridie Nicholson, a kidney and pancreas transplant recipient  with 2 Bronze and 2 Silver; Andrew Duncan with his aunt Joy Gordon from Rathfarnham. Andrew (16), from Clonmel the youngest member of Transplant Team Ireland won 4 medals at the European Games including 2 Silver and 2 Bronze in Badminton and Tennis; Chloe Murray waiting to greet her father Kieran Murray who returned home with 3 Golds and 1 Bronze medal.

Team Transplant Ireland (Facebook)

Anyone?

More Than 190 Hollywood Notables Sign Pro-Israel Statement Criticizing Hamas (Hollywood Reporter)

Thanks MT