THE recent attacks on people from different countries have raised challenges to Europe’s ideology and democracy.
I do wonder whether the Churches have done enough in this.
Apart from the Bishop of Down and Connor who called for calm and prudence, very little has been said.
How was the message preached in all our parishes? In such situations the Gospel message should be contextual.
The attacks on what we call ‘immigrants’ show a lack of historical knowledge.
In a country like Ireland, where there are far more emigrants away from home than the citizens, this is contradictory to reality.
We in the West did condemn Robert Mugabe when he repossessed white farmers’ property and rightly so.
Do people know that there are European people in Africa with large business empires? In Uganda where I come from, an Irish businessman is flourishing without any hindrance.
Besides political and geo-economical influences, our faith is seriously challenged. People are asking whether we are reading the same Bible.
‘I was a stranger, and you welcomed me’ (Matthew 25:35). How do we interpret that message in our time? How can a country that claims to be a source of Christianity turn against strangers and pilgrims?
I am just worried how fast we forget history – do we remember the horrendous acts of ancestors during the colonial and slavery periods?
King Leopold in Congo, the Germans in West Africa, the British in East and Central Africa up to as late as the 1960s?
But even next door, do Irish people remember such inscriptions as ‘No Irish, no dogs and no blacks?’
It was said that a miracle happened when the tricolour flew next to the Union flag for the first time.
The question remains, will the tricolour be respected forever from now?
Will the two communities march together on the Twelfth?
Above all let us go beyond emotions and turn to our Christian identity, imitating Christ, for in Him there is no more Jew or Gentile, white or black.
REV CHARLES LWANGA KAWEESI
Portglenone Monastery
Democracy is less today for loss of voices in local politics
LAST week ‘Feeney on Friday’ embarked on his journey providing an analysis of the mainstream parties within our political system.
In his first column on this journey, Brian managed to frame Stormont as a toy town assembly, People Before Profit were described with a shorthand title Brian within the same sentence admitted they’d reject as mis-representation, and he summarised the efforts of the TUV and PBP in the Northern Irish political system to less than a row of beans.
While there is some truth in the analysis, it’s easy to be overwhelmingly negative about the smaller parties; it’s punching down.
This week it will be interesting to see if ‘Feeney on Friday’ can provide a fair analysis of the SDLP. Can he recognise Stormont needs an opposition in order to better politics, and at this time there are articulate voices in opposition such as Matthew O’Toole MLA and Sinead McLaughlin MLA?
Will he share the view that constitutional change on this island towards a new Ireland will be more difficult to achieve when left to one single nationalist party and acknowledge that representation at all levels of politics can bring successes, such as ensuring Labour made a commitment to repeal the legacy act and lives up to that commitment?
Our democracy is less today for the loss of voices in local politics such as Clare Bailey, Dawn Purvis and David Adams from elected mainstream positions. If we strive to create three blocs, we lose the diversity virtue of minorities.
Northern Ireland is now a collection of minorities – agreed, some larger than others – however, it is not just orange and green with yellow in the middle, and to provide such an analysis in an effort to punch down smaller parties would be as big a rejection of the future of Northern Ireland as it would be to bury your head in the sand about constitutional change.
GERARD MCDONALD
Belfast
BT10
‘You reap what you sow’ has never been so apt
ON June 7, long before the tragic events in Southport, I wrote a letter to The Irish News regarding racism in the north of Ireland.
Part of that letter – which wasn’t printed – read: “While there have definitely been racist and sectarian incidents emanating in nationalist areas, there appears to be a far greater intolerance to those of a different race or religion from the Protestant/loyalist/unionist community.”
I would reiterate that comment, as the geographical locations of continuing racist events clearly shows that to be the case.
What is also of importance is that it has been reported that loyalist paramilitaries have been involved in encouraging and orchestrating these attacks, yet elements of the British government, executive, councils etc continue to pander to these organisations by consulting with them and ensuring funding is directed towards them.
This is so, even though we are about 30 years after these organisations declared they were on ceasefire and yet they continue to recruit and arm themselves, and everyone knows of involvement in criminality, extortion, drug dealing etc.
“You reap what you sow” has never been so apt when it comes to pandering to so-called loyalism, which while having in impact on the whole society probably has a more significant deleterious effect on the community that it claims to protect.
SEÁN O’FIACH
Belfast
BT11
