Sir, – Patrick Davey (July 26th) says “Surely this situation is worth discussing in its own right ( ie the effects of social media and the internet on young minds) rather than treating anything that Breda O’Brien writes as apologetics for the Catholic church and attacking her accordingly without actually engaging with what she is saying”.
But of course Mr Davey is right. But instead of going over old ground let us look at what Breda O’Brien wrote last Saturday (July 26th) and see if we can clear it of a Catholic “apologetics” dimension.
In this article Breda strongly attacks the content of Tony Blair’s Philip Gould lecture that week. Tony Blair had said: “No political philosophy today will achieve support unless it focuses on individual empowerment, not collective control. The role of society or the state becomes about helping the individual to help themselves, and to gain control over their own lives and choices.”
Breda replies with: “Notice what is missing – communities, co-operatives, families.” But the only family Breda O’Brien acknowledges is the family where the two people marrying are of the opposite sex. Not surprisingly this happens to be the Catholic model also.
Tony Blair, a Catholic himself, but not of the Iona Institute brand, has long been a supporter of marriage equality and vehemently challenged Pope Benedict XVl on this subject a few years ago. Breda would have been aware of this challenge.
It is precisely to give minority “communities” (like the gay community) a voice, and minority “families” (like same-sex couple families) a right to exist, that Tony Blair resists “collective control” in favour of “individual empowerment”.
Breda O’Brien, like the Catholic church she strongly supports, will brook no such “individual empowerment”.
For centuries the Catholic church has maintained strict collective control over the institution of marriage, health and education, on this island. Now the Irish people are beginning to free themselves of such collective control and the individual is finally being empowered. This is thanks to people like Tony Blair, Barack Obama and our own Eamon Gilmore.
Can we clear Breda O’Brien’s latest column of Catholic “apologetics”? I will let Patrick Davey decide for himself. Yours, etc,
DECLAN KELLY,
Whitechurch Road,
Rathfarnham
Dublin 14