Jesus wants higher taxes!

[dubsthcentralboy]

A priest writing in The Irish Times has said that Jesus was for higher taxes. Now, in all my reading of the Gospels I never once heard him mention higher taxes.

In a letter to The Irish Times published today Garry O'Sullivan, the Editor of The Irish Catholic newspaper took the priest to task in no uncertain terms. They've also been on The Right Hook tonight giving it loads.

Here's the letter:

Madam, - Fr Tony Flannery (Rite and Reason June 26th) complains about the difficulties in preaching the Gospel of Jesus in a society that he believes has grown greedy and deaf to the needs of the disadvantaged. May I respectfully suggest that Fr Flannery's preaching difficulties can be attributed to his message being hopelessly out of touch? Fr Flannery and many religious of his generation preach a message that rightly falls on deaf ears because they present Jesus as some kind of economic Marxist intent on social equality at all costs. "Jesus advocated higher taxation," Fr Flannery writes - I'm sorry, Father, but he didn't. Jesus spoke of a spiritual kingdom. As far as he commented on taxation, he said "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's".
Fr Flannery reduces the teachings of Christ to "selfishness and greed are bad", putting Christ in the role of some kind of bearded Joe Higgins wagging his finger and proclaiming the cause of the disadvantaged. The electorate have seen through the failed rhetoric of Marxist socialism and Christians have too; they're not listening. Ordinary people who have struggled and by their hard effort have managed to build a life for themselves and their families are not listening because Fr Flannery is out of touch with reality. He never had to worry about job security, his mortgage or rising interest rates, or remember high taxation on his wage packet and soaring interest rates when Ireland was on the verge of economic collapse.
Irish people are not in the main greedy or selfish - every week the papers are full of pictures of charity runs and fundraisers. During international disasters, Ireland is among the top donors.
It's time that some religious preachers forget the rhetoric of guilt and negativity and come out of their leafy suburban houses and preach, as the Pope suggested recently, the positive message of Christian spirituality and leave the economics to the economists. - Yours, etc,
GARRY O'SULLIVAN,
Editor,
The Irish Catholic,
55 Lower Gardiner Street,
Dublin 1.

[Boss Croker]

Why did he lash the tax collectors out of the temple then?

Plus, the parable of the labourers in the vineyard is entirely contrary to the principles fair pay for fair work.

I doubt if he was ever a paid up member of GCU - the Galileean Carpenters' Union.

[Defeated Romanticist]

Why should I adhere to what that layabout said. He never had a proper job and lived at home till he was thirty

[FutureTaoiseach]

Confirms the leftwing bias of the Church on economic matters (even if they are curiously rightwing on social and moral issues). They need to stay out of politics - the recent paper attacking hospital co-location smacks of a return to the bad old days when they tried to tell our politicians what to do (even if the difference now is that they are attacking from a socialist rather than rightwing perspective on health unlike with Noel Browne). We should be a strictly secular state.

[stringjack]

Why did he lash the tax collectors out of the temple then?

Moneychangers.

[dubsthcentralboy]

Confirms the leftwing bias of the Church on economic matters (even if they are curiously rightwing on social and moral issues). They need to stay out of politics - the recent paper attacking hospital co-location smacks of a return to the bad old days when they tried to tell our politicians what to do (even if the difference now is that they are attacking from a socialist rather than rightwing perspective on health unlike with Noel Browne). We should be a strictly secular state.

Well, we ought to be a pluralist state where every group can offer their opinion. However, I reject this priest's analysis completely. I think the Editor of the 'paper scoced a lot of points on this one. It's easy for these guys, who never pay tax, to lecture the rest of and demand that we may more tax.

[Jozer]

Confirms the leftwing bias of the Church on economic matters (even if they are curiously rightwing on social and moral issues).

Remind you of anyone?

[baldur0300]

Confirms the leftwing bias of the Church on economic matters (even if they are curiously rightwing on social and moral issues). They need to stay out of politics - the recent paper attacking hospital co-location smacks of a return to the bad old days when they tried to tell our politicians what to do (even if the difference now is that they are attacking from a socialist rather than rightwing perspective on health unlike with Noel Browne). We should be a strictly secular state.

Why is it curious to be right wing socially and left wing economically?

Why shouldn't they be able to make their views known. They are a social institution like any other. Trade Unions, farmer groups, business groups and others often comment on such matters and should be quite to do so as well. These institutions form part of the fabric of Irish society and just because you disagree with the views expressed is not a reason to shut them up.

[joel]

Why should I adhere to what that layabout said. He never had a proper job and lived at home till he was thirty

[returning officer]

On the contrary the Church should speak more about issues of social inequality - nobody else else does.

We don't an opposition worth speaking about and when the press step into that role - they either over-do it and retract or else become zealets in whom no-one could have confidence.

The Catholic Church is one of the few organisiations which is nationwide in every parish. It is an organisiation which makes most sense from the grassroots up: their views should be heard. It also deals with the effects of poverty eg soup runs, Vincent De Paul, general collections or allowing travellers park on Church lands and so speaks from a position of knowledge.

It is the "I pay my taxes, and give a few quid to the black babies" smugness that needs to be challenged, if the Church can do it, fair play to them.

(And I think it was the money changers who were removed from the temple)