Senator Ronan Mullen, what say you now?

[Toland]

I await his pronunciations on the issue with impatience.

Whatever it is, it'll be the authoritative version.

[Toland]

They might as well pursue the few hundred thousand or so who accept Chruch doctrine and her sacraments, even if they find it hard live it, but who have absolutely no time for the compromised, destructive and cowardly leadership of the collective Hierarchy, bar more recent appointments.

Why not target Nuala O Loan or Des Kelly of Des Kelly Carpets, or the new E.U President who is a fully committed and practising Catholic, or Bertie or Enda, and a multitude of others who wear the ashes, or Senator Jim Walse, or Lucinda Creighton, I could go on but you get the picture.

Why is Senator Ronan Mullen is perceived as being a Church or Catholic Senator, he rarely if ever refers to the Church,I heard him speak at a public Conference and much of it referred to Natural Law Theory, Social science, etc, etc.

I may be wrong but your post smacks of prejudice, as if anyone dares stay committed to Catholic social and moral teaching, even if they arrived at it through reason, they must be pilloried, labelled, smeared, and shut down.

One thing that has impressed me most about many of the victims of abuse who are public voices is that they rarely attack Church teachings or the space which the Chruch occupies, rather, and rightfully they attack her for failing to live the Gospel of Love. Indeed it was sad when I attended one conference given in honour of those who exposed the rot within the Church, and to honour the victims, that the guest clerical speakers and the organisers used the occasion to simply justify and push their own personal theologies, not one of the victims did this. Truly they retain a remarkable dignity and noble passion in their courage in pursuing justice and truth. How easy and understandable it would be for all of them to ridicule the sacraments, when they see a priest who abused them going into a confessional, or raising the sacred host, or preaching on the Gospel.

Many around here could learn from them. Their only agenda is Truth and Justice not politics, or vindictiveness, or scapegoating, or a frenzied drumbeat against any public Catholic who dares to hold on to their faith, despite the faithlessness and felonies of their leaders.

Westie,

I don't like Ronan Mullen because his columns in the Irish Examiner were beneath contempt for their opportunism, dishonesty, crass ignorance and general smarminess.

e.g. he invented an East Berlin full of non-German-speaking Turks to back up his case against Turkish entry into Christian Europe.

[west'sawake]

So a politician who hasn't been asked a question, hasn't said anything. This absolutely needed a thread.

+1 for you.

[Toland]

+1 for you.

If I want to know what Opus Dei's line is, I await the comment from Mullen.

I really would be interested in hearing his view.

[CookieMonster]

No trolling here Cookiemonster.
All factual.

I didn't question if it was factual or not, I questioned what it had to do with the topic being discussed. You haven't answered that.

[Free to Prosper]

A politician who speaks when on television, well I never.

What's this - the Lisbon Yesmen defending their new found friend?

As far as I am concerned the Yesmen can keep him now.

I am very happy for Ronan Mullen to be a committed Catholic, and fully respect his right to defend Church teaching in public.

What I object to is his hiding from the public (or keeping quiet when it suits) that

he is a cooperator in Opus Dei, a Zionist and a former spokesman for Cardinal Connell.

I understand he is well able to badmouth people behind their back - so I'm sure he can take a few simple facts being pointed out and simple questions being asked.

[west'sawake]

Westie,

I don't like Ronan Mullen because his columns in the Irish Examiner were beneath contempt for their opportunism, dishonesty, crass ignorance and general smarminess.

e.g. he invented an East Berlin full of non-German-speaking Turks to back up his case against Turkish entry into Christian Europe.

Fair enough, I'm not an examiner fan, but I think you'd know by now that I don't concur with the man on everything indeed I think he is coy about his Catholicism, and like Breda O Brien thinks he can be seen as the reasonable voice with facts, figures, a barrister's brain and loads of empiricial support, ditto Iona, who let's face it have made practically no progress thus far in warding off a radical social agenda. (Unfortunately). The irony is that they are still labelled and put into the rightwing and neo con box anyway, though to be fair to Ronan Mullen, David Quinn has been a much greater apologist for the Neo Con cause (but since those WMD were never found we haven't heard much on that front since!)


I think we both know each other's distaste for any hint of a mob, and although you and I might have been on opposite sides of the Lisbon debate, and on many other issues, we also share an utter contempt for anything that smacks of scaremongering, scapegoating, opportunistic xenophobia, and the stereotyping of some nations where their poor are seen only as potential mass migrants, this goes against the very heart of the Gospel and Catholic social teaching, all humanity is our neighbour. What's more it is the politics of fear not hope. Let's not cow Catholics into silence either, I know that's not you, but that's only because you have an ulterior motive as in who'd you engage with around here if there was no one to get your nickers in a twist? Who'd send you into paroxyms of rage, were it not for a few Catholics who just won't hide in the closet. Be careful what you wish for A.S. you just might get it and be like the superannuated man, your work done, bored out of your skull, your soul dead, your raison d'etre gone. (I jest of course, perish the thought).

[KingKane]

They might as well pursue the few hundred thousand or so who accept Chruch doctrine and her sacraments, even if they find it hard live it, but who have absolutely no time for the compromised, destructive and cowardly leadership of the collective Hierarchy, bar more recent appointments.

Why not target Nuala O Loan or Des Kelly of Des Kelly Carpets, or the new E.U President who is a fully committed and practising Catholic, or Bertie or Enda, and a multitude of others who wear the ashes, or Senator Jim Walse, or Lucinda Creighton? I could go on but you get the picture.

Why is Senator Ronan Mullen perceived as being a Church or Catholic Senator, he rarely if ever refers to the Church, I heard him speak at a public Conference and much of it referred to Natural Law Theory, Social science, etc, etc. There is literally a lot of Catholic Phobia around.

The main reason people view Senator Mullen as a catholic senator is that he owes his election to a constitution within the NUI that William Binchy assisted in creating which is focused on viewing a number of social issues primarily a dictated by the church's position, whether that is divorce, abortion, gay marriage whatever. And in his own case he was, for the 2007 election, able to draw on the active support of various specific issue groups e.g pro-life etc across the country to canvass for him directly. Something that is very hard to do, he owes his election to this constituency and he continues to be their candidate. Hence the interest and description.

[liamfoley]

Since the latest Church scandal (ie our Cardinal's knowledge of the criminal acts of a paedophile priest way back in 1975) became public knowledge, I haven't heard of any statements/comments from Senator Mullen.
Surely the Church's main supporter in the Senate has something of public interest to say.
Have any journalists pursued him about this matter?
I for one am very interested in whether the Senator believes the Cardinal should resign or otherwise.
Has anybody heard from the Senator?

Why don't you call his office and ask him if you are so interested? Or are you afraid that he is out meeting his friend the albino monk? http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...code.4.650.jpg
Are you actually interested or is this a pure troll thread?

[Stroke]

He's a senator because an awful lot of priests, monks and nuns are entitled to vote as graduates of NUI Maynooth. Did he take an oath of silence on certain matters, perhaps?