The Cardinal and the Taoiseach

The Cardinal and the Taoiseach | Michael Coren | CWR



Cardinal O’Malley’s boycott of Boston College’s graduation is both welcome and momentous.

By the grace of God, the recent
decision by Cardinal SeÁn Patrick O'Malley could be a turning point in Catholic
history, a collective epiphany on the road to Boston College. He has made it
entirely clear that he will not be attending the university’s annual
commencement, at which Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny will be speaking. Boston
College’s decision to invite the Taoiseach was provocative and was supposed to
be so. Frankly, it’s a childish and petty thing to have done but entirely in
character with the modern approach of liberal or even post-Catholic
institutions of higher education. Give a metaphorical finger to those horrible
old grassroots Catholics who still believe in the faith, and to the Magisterium
and episcopacy who insist on making it difficult for teachers from Boston
College or Notre Dame or Georgetown to be invited onto talk shows and to
fashionable dinner parties.

Ireland is in the midst of a
culture war. It is the country that in spite of—perhaps even because
of—occupation, oppression, starvation, and dispersion, remained true to the
Church. It was the epicenter for English-speaking Catholics and Catholicism,
and Irish Catholics fuelled English and Scottish Catholicism and became the
beating heart of the Church in the United States.

Today the kulturkampf concerns a triumphant secular and modernist government
declaring virtual war on Church prestige and standing, and challenging Catholic
teaching on life, sexuality, and morality. Kenny wants to change Ireland’s
abortion laws. He claims it is a minor reform, but he knows that is not the
case; the legislation is not only in itself a major departure, but will open a
door to a room full of frightful eugenics. If you don’t believe me, read the
editorials and columns from his supporters in the Irish media.

None of us were sure what
Cardinal O’Malley would do. He is an orthodox man, of course, and a fine and
good Catholic priest and bishop, but he had assisted at the funeral mass of
Sen. Ted Kennedy, an individual with a worrying personal record, and an
execrable public one. Kennedy had opposed the Church on most of its moral
teaching around life issues, often leading campaigns to introduce and extend
abortion, same-sex marriage, and other related subjects. O’Malley led a prayer
at the Mass, explaining, “as archbishop of Boston, I considered it appropriate
to represent the Church at this liturgy out of respect for the Senator, his
family, those who attended the Mass and all those who were praying for the
Senator and his family at this difficult time.”

This time, however, the reaction
was fundamentally different.

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