BISHOP TREANOR AND MORAL ABSOLUTES

BISHOP TREANOR AND MORAL ABSOLUTES

In the run up to tomorrow's local council and european elections in the North of Ireland, Bishop Noel Treanor of Belfast has published a REFLECTION on four matters - which you see on www.downandconnor.org :

Bishop Noel Treanor

1. The Right to Life.

2. Same Sex Marriage.

3. Promoting Justice.
4. Promoting Peace and Reconciliation.

BISHOP TREANOR'S STYLE AND TONE:

Bishop Treanor is to be congratulated on the style and tone of his comments which are both non aggressive and sensitive. In fairness no one can accuse Noel of any form of extremism. He calls for respect for the dignity of all and is not seeking to dictate to society but is engaging in a dialogue with society. At the same time he is expressing his own Roman Catholic beliefs - beliefs he and his fellow RC's are perfectly entitled to. He is seeking to "inform" the consciences of Roman Catholics and those who wish to be informed by his views. As a Roman Catholic bishop part of his "job description" is to teach the Roman Catholic faith.

WHERE I AGREE WITH HIM:

1. That how every one vote is up to their own personal conscience.
2. That it is very important to vote.
3. That the Right to Life in a fundamental human right.
4. That every person is equal in the sight of God.
5. That EVERYBODY should be treated with love, care, dignity and respect.
6. That churches and religions should have the right to teach their own beliefs.
7. That religious ministers should not be forced to perform same sex marriages.
8. That churches should teach their beliefs with respect and sensitivity.
9. That the poor and children should be protected.
10. That all of us should pomote peace and reconciliation.

BUT I DISAGREE ON MANY OTHER THINGS:

RIGHT TO LIFE:

The right to life is a fundamental right. But it is NOT an ABSOLUTE RIGHT. For instance if we try and kill another human being we lose our absolute right to life and they have the right to kill us in self defence - once kiling is absolutely necessary to their self defence.

ABORTION:

I think that abortion is most often a MORAL EVIL - but not always. For instance if it comes down to the stark choice of the mother and baby then it is moral for a couple to choose the life of the mother. In such a case abortion does not become a "good" - but it does become the LESSER OF TWO EVILS.

EDUCATION:

I think that the right to an education is a human right. But the right to a CATHOLIC, PROTESTANT or MUSLIM eduation is not a human right.

The state should provide schools and colleges for all. If any religion like the Catholics, Protestant or Muslims want to have segragated education they should have to pay for it themselves as they do in the USA.

Segregated education has and is still a contributory factor to the hurt, hatred and killing that has paralysed the North of Ireland.

Why should we have two teacher training colleges - one Catholic and one State? They should be combined.

But the problem is that education is one of the big areas in wich the Roman Catholic Church has exercised control over children, teachers and parents. This control needs to be broken.

SAME SEX MARRIAGES:

I absolutely disagree with Noel Treanor when he says that "Religious and non religious people alike have long acknowledged and know from their experience that the family, based on the marriage of a woman and  man is the best and ideal place for children".

It was Roman Catholic married mothers and fathers - helped by their parish priests - who put their pregnant daughters into Magdalen Laundries to hide them away - where they could be sexually, physically and mentally abused!

It was Roman Catholic married mothers and fathers who sent - and still send - their pregnant daughters for abortions in "immoral" England!

It was Roman Catholic catholic fathers who had incest with their daughters - often with the knowledge of their Roman Catholic mothers.

It was married Roman Catholic mothers and fathers who brought Father Brendan Smyth (Cavan), Father Danny Curran and Father James Donaghy (Down & Connor) into the world and brought them up so well that they turned out to be paedophiles that hurt hundreds and thousands of little innocent children.

Bishop Eamon Casey was the product of a good Catholic man/woman marriage. So was Father Michael Cleary. So was Cardinal Keith O'Brien.

Catholic heterosexuality is no guarantee of good parenthood! In fact it seems to have failed in a spectacular fasion in so many instances.

HUMAN COMPLEMENTARITY:

Noel Treanor says that men and women have  a complemenatry sexual union.

Is he basing that on the fact that the man has a bit sticking out and a woman has a crevice into which that sticking out bit goes?

I have been conducting my own private very sensitive survey over recent years into anal sex.

And I have discovered that a surprising number of homosexual men do not engage in it - and more to my surprise that a surprising number of heterosexual men and women do engage in it. Sometimes married couples use it as a form of contraception! Sometimes it happens because a woman's receiving crevice has become hopelessly loose by having many babies. Sometimes couples engage in at for sheer experimentation and pleasure. I know that "AS" is not a very Catholic activity. But Noel might be surprised to know how many Catholics practice it - and how many of its adherents are heterosexual!

I think we need to be very careful about judging people or summing them up on the basis of their genitals.

You would be surprised what people do with them. Ask any doctor who works in a busy E&E unit.

CONCLUSION:

By all means let us have dialogue and debate. But let us be very careful about the boundaries we put around our dialogue and debate. In general I think that modern society cannot form its moral codes and ethics on the basis of medieval dogmas or flat earth doctrines.

+Pat Buckley
21.5.2014.