563 lines
23 KiB
Plaintext
563 lines
23 KiB
Plaintext
2 articles
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2nd is 'The campaign to seperate Church and state'
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************ Thinking about Anarchism **********
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Religion
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from WS 45 (1995)
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The popular stereotype of anarchists' relationship
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to religion is that we are all priest-killers and
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church-burners. This is, as is usually the case
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with mainstream representations of anarchism,
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almost completely false. It is useful in the wake
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of the clerical paedophile scandals and the general
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stranglehold that the church exerts on Irish
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society to give a truer explanation of our
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position.
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Anarchists are materialists. We understand that
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there is a real and concrete basis for the way
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society is organised right now. Religion generally
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sees society as god given and inevitable. Almost
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all world religions claim that the poor will be
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rewarded in the afterlife for passively accepting
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their lot in this one.
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Religion is by its nature authoritarian, whether to
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a greater of lesser extent. It is based on 'faith'
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and obedience. The reality we face is of churches
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that are involved in the repression of women, of
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gay people and all of those who seek to change the
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face of the traditional (nuclear) family. It is no
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coincidence that fundamentalists of all religions,
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from Ireland to Iran, seek to push back the
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progress made by women in the workplace and the
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sexual revolution.
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Church power in Ireland
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As anarchists we oppose this authoritarianism. We
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are fighting to break the power of the church in
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Ireland. This power is immense. As well as it's
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direct wealth, they control over 3,000 out of the
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3,500 primary schools in the 26 counties, despite
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the fact that all the staff wages and 90% of
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building costs are paid by the State. They also
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control 67% of secondary schools and own Maynooth
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College. They have a majority on the boards of
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about half the hospitals. This allows them to veto
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even legal operations such as sterilisations.
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However it is not enough just to oppose the
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churches' power. As Anarchists we must offer a
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real practical alternative analysis of society.
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The stronghold that the church has is not simply a
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result of historical circumstances, it offers
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something that people want. It offers an
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explanation of all sorts of natural and personal
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disasters, by saying that they are "the will of
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god". It offers hope in a world where misery,
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poverty, ignorance, frustration and alienation are
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endemic.
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To break this stranglehold we need a strategy that
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unites our vision of a better world in the here and
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now with struggles that bring people into conflict
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with clerical power and show up religion as a prop
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for the status quo, that stands in the way of their
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needs and desires. In Ireland this means fighting
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against clerical control of schools, hospitals,
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etc. It also means fighting for separation of
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church and state.
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Church and State
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The question that often arises is "surely as
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Anarchists you are against the state as well?" The
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simple answer is that we are but we are also for
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fighting for improvements to people's lives in the
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here and now. Breaking the stranglehold of the
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church would ease the way for divorce, reproductive
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rights including abortion, along with stopping
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church control of schools.
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For us religion is a private matter. It should
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enjoy no special privileges, tax reliefs etc. We
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expect members to be involved in the struggle
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against the power and control exercised by the
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churches. Nonetheless members can hold religious
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beliefs provided they fully accept this aspect.
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In short we fight religion by fighting its root
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causes. The Workers Solidarity Movement is
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fighting for an anarchist society where people will
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come to realise that they have no need for religion
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or other mystical ideas. We challenge religion in
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a practical way by showing where it obstructs
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social progress and by leading the challenge to it
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at every opportunity.
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Louise Tierney
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*****************
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from Workers Solidarity No 32
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paper of the Irish anarchist
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Workers Solidarity Movement
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Church and State
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THE CAMPAIGN to Separate Church and State have
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been busy. They've being taking a court case against
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the govern-ment for employing Chaplains in Vocational
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schools. The 26 county Constitution prohibits the state
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from "endowing" reli-gion. Though we wouldn't place
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much faith in the courts or De Valera's Constitution
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our-selves we got to admit that they've got a point,
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paying for these 30 priests and ministers is costing the
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taxpayer £800,000-£1,000,000. However this is only the
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tip of the iceberg!
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The Catholic church in Ireland has always been massively
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supported by the State and allowed a huge say in the
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running of the country. This article will attempt to cover
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the facts of church power in Ireland and the long history of
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State support beginning hundreds of years be-fore the
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establishment of the 26 county state.
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RELIGIOUS BELIEF
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Firstly it must be made clear that we see religion as a
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personal matter. Everyone should be free to worship as
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they want and hold whatever beliefs they want. We
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condemn totally any attacks on an individual's re-ligious
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freedom.
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Equally we are opposed to any-one telling us how to run our
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lives, including religious leaders. This article will hopefully
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show how organised religion works with State and bosses to
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oppress all whatever their per-sonal religious beliefs.
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Within the Irish 26 counties we are referring of course to
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the Catholic church ...and now a brief his-tory lesson.
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A BIT OF HISTORY
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In 1951 Noel Browne, Minister for Health in the "inter-
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party" coalition government, intro-duced his "Mother and
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Child Scheme". This was a proposal for free gynaecological
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care for pregnant women and a compre-hensive health
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programme for children up to 16.
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Following their Autumn meet-ing in Maynooth the Catholic
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bishops sent a letter to the gov-ernment.
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"The powers taken by the State in the proposed
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Mother and Child health service are in direct
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opposition to the rights of the family and of the
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individual and are liable to very great abuse. Their
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character is such that no assurance that they would be
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used in moderation could justify their enactment. If
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adopted they would constitute a ready-made instrument
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for totalitarian aggression"(!)
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Such was the power of the bishops (helped by other
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conserva-tives and with the strong support of many wealthy
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doctors fear-ing for their practices) that this tripe was
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sufficient to send Labour and Clann na Poblachta tripping
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over each other to catch up with Fine Gael in the "No"
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lobby. Noel Browne was forced to resign.
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THE CHURCH AS CAPITALISTS
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The church's fear of "totalitarian aggression" (i.e.
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communism) is of little surprise when you consider it's
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material base in society. Recently (1987) the church's total
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assets in Dublin alone amounted to £100 million, with an
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estimated income of £7.5 million per year.
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According to the Irish Independent (31/01/83) it owned 234
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churches, 713 schools, 473 houses and 100 community
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centres in Dublin. In 1979 in the midst of appalling poverty
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they spent £2.5 million on the pope's visit.
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Needless to say the ordinary members of this company (i.e.
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the vast majority of Irish people) have no shares, and voting
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rights lie in the hands of a non-elected board of
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management: the Bishops.
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As well as it's direct wealth, it has a massive amount of
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control in State institutions. They control 3,300 out of the
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country's 3,500 primary schools despite the fact that all the
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staff wages and 90% of building costs are paid by the State.
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They also control 67% of secondary schools and own
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Maynooth College. They have a majority on the boards of
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most orphanages, 'reform schools' and hospitals. This allows
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them to veto even legal operations such as sterilisations in
|
|
most hospitals.
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KEEPING IN WITH THE
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IN-CROWD
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The Catholic church has always known which side it's bread
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was buttered on. It worked hand in glove with British
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imperial-ism (while engaging in a little nationalist posturing
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to main-tain it's credibility with the masses) and after 1921
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worked to prop up the weak Irish ruling class. They opposed
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the first stirring of radical democracy and egalitarian
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republicanism of the United Irishmen at the end of the
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Eighteenth century.
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In 1795 the English authorities began to recognise their
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useful-ness and helped build Maynooth seminary to replace
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the one in Paris destroyed by "Godless French
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revolutionaries". The cornerstone laid by the Lord
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Lieutenant in 1795 was the rock on which the clerical elite
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was to build it's power over the next 200 years.
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In 1799 the bishops met at Maynooth to vote their support
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for the Act of Union. In 1845 Robert Peel (the English
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Prime Minister) trebled the annual grant for Maynooth and
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gave them a large sum to expand the college. During the
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famine Bishops hardly commented on the mass starvation
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gripping the country while grain exports to England
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continued to grow.
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KITTY O'SHEA
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They opposed the Fenians and even constitutional
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nationalists like Parnell, whom they hounded out of politics
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after his affair with Kitty O'Shea. The Catholic hierarchy
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was in the front-line in condemning the locked-out workers
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in 1913. Priests and lay Catholic activists physically
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prevented children of the strik-ers being sent on holiday to
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trade union families in "Godless" England during the
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dispute.
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The 1916 proclamation repre-sented the views of the more
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radical wing of the Irish bourgeoisie & intellectuals and had
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a vague aspiration to "cherish all the children of the nation
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equally". After 1921 the Free State government and the
|
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weak Irish ruling class fell back into the arms of the church.
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The bishops con-demned the anti-treaty side in the civil war,
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recognised the "legitimate government" and attacked
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republicans for "causing criminal damage".
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After the war both pro- (Cumann na Gael/Fine Gael) and
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anti- (Fianna F‡il) treaty sides were in the palm of it's hand.
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In 1923 the Censorship of Films Act was passed, 1924 saw
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the Intoxicating Liquor Act, in 1925 divorce was out-lawed
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and in 1929 the Censorship of Publications Board was
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established.
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In 1937 De Valera's Constitution was passed with the
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bishops being consulted on every syllable. Among its
|
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articles was:
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"The State recognises the special position of the
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Holy Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church as the
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guardian of the faith professed by the majority of
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citizens". (This was not repealed until 1972).
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Fine Gael did not allow them-selves to be outdone in abject
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grovelling. In 1947 Costelloe, head of the new coalition
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gov-ernment, wrote to the pope:
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"on the occasion of our assumption of
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office......my colleagues and myself desire to repose at
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the feet of your holiness the assurance of our filial
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loyalty and our devotion to your August person".
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A NEW IRELAND?
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The 1960s and 70s saw an upturn in the Irish economy with
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international investment. This led to an increase in the
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number of women working out-side the home, and combined
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with the emergence of the Irish womens' movement, led to
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a slight weakening of the church's position. In 1979 Fianna
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F‡il actually went against the hierarchy to bring in limited
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availability of condoms.
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But the 1980s saw a series of defeats for liberal reforms. In
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1980 Noel Browne, once again, got the thin end of the stick
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when not one T.D. would support his divorce bill. In 1983
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the Constitution was amended to "uphold the right to life of
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the unborn". In 1985 a "Lenten Pastoral" forbade Catholic
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hospitals carrying out sterilisa-tions. In 1986 an amendment
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to the Constitution allowing divorce in very limited circum-
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stances was defeated.
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However there are some definite signs of a weakening of the
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ideological power of the church in Ireland. There has been
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a decrease in both church atten-dance and "vocations to the
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priesthood" since the 1970s. For example there has been a
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9% drop in Mass attendance between 1974 and 1989,
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attendance at confession has declined from 47% to 18%
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(according to a re-cent survey by Rev. Michael Mac Grail -
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Irish Times 2/3/1991). The recent election of a "liberal"
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woman President (Mary Robinson) and the Fianna F‡il
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attempt to widen the availability of condoms would also
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seem to confirm this.
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IS THERE A WAY OUT?
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Though we must acknowledge that liberals such as the
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Campaign to Separate Church and State have the right
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idea, we don't think that their methods will work. We stand
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for the complete separation of Church and State. Yes, I
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know some-body will point out that we oppose the State as
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well. This is a tactical question, just as our opposition to
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the wages system doesn't stop us looking for higher wages.
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In the short-term we have to fight against clerical control of
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hospitals, schools, community centres and youth clubs. We
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also fight against the laws which place restrictions on
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peoples' personal lives. The WSM is in favour of
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campaigning for the best possible secular laws in the areas
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of divorce, contracep-tion, abortion, sterilisation, adoption
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and gay & lesbian rights.
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We fully realise that there are limits to what can be
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achieved under the present system, but that should stop
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nobody seeking to win those limited goals that are
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immediately possible.
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A victory in any one of these struggles exposes the wide
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powers of the church and shows whose side it is on. It
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creates the possibility of involving more people in future
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struggles. The long-term alternative we offer of a new free,
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self-managed world where people control their own lives
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will be one in which the mystical and authoritarian ideas of
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most religions will probably attract little support.
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Des McCarron
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THE CAMPAIGN to Separate Church and State
|
|
have been busy. They've being taking a court case
|
|
against the govern-ment for employing Chaplains
|
|
in Vocational schools. The 26 county Constitution
|
|
prohibits the state from "endowing" reli-gion.
|
|
Though we wouldn't place much faith in the courts
|
|
or De Valera's Constitution our-selves we got to
|
|
admit that they've got a point, paying for these 30
|
|
priests and ministers is costing the taxpayer
|
|
£800,000-£1,000,000. However this is only the tip of
|
|
the iceberg!
|
|
|
|
The Catholic church in Ireland has always been
|
|
massively supported by the State and allowed a huge
|
|
say in the running of the country. This article will
|
|
attempt to cover the facts of church power in Ireland and
|
|
the long history of State support beginning hundreds of
|
|
years be-fore the establishment of the 26 county state.
|
|
|
|
RELIGIOUS BELIEF
|
|
|
|
Firstly it must be made clear that we see religion as a
|
|
personal matter. Everyone should be free to worship as
|
|
they want and hold whatever beliefs they want. We
|
|
condemn totally any attacks on an individual's re-ligious
|
|
freedom.
|
|
|
|
Equally we are opposed to any-one telling us how to run
|
|
our lives, including religious leaders. This article will
|
|
hopefully show how organised religion works with State
|
|
and bosses to oppress all whatever their per-sonal
|
|
religious beliefs. Within the Irish 26 counties we are
|
|
referring of course to the Catholic church ...and now a
|
|
brief his-tory lesson.
|
|
|
|
A BIT OF HISTORY
|
|
|
|
In 1951 Noel Browne, Minister for Health in the "inter-
|
|
party" coalition government, intro-duced his "Mother and
|
|
Child Scheme". This was a proposal for free
|
|
gynaecological care for pregnant women and a compre-
|
|
hensive health programme for children up to 16.
|
|
|
|
Following their Autumn meet-ing in Maynooth the
|
|
Catholic bishops sent a letter to the gov-ernment.
|
|
"The powers taken by the State in the
|
|
proposed Mother and Child health service are in
|
|
direct opposition to the rights of the family and of
|
|
the individual and are liable to very great abuse.
|
|
Their character is such that no assurance that
|
|
they would be used in moderation could justify
|
|
their enactment. If adopted they would constitute a
|
|
ready-made instrument for totalitarian
|
|
aggression"(!)
|
|
|
|
Such was the power of the bishops (helped by other
|
|
conserva-tives and with the strong support of many
|
|
wealthy doctors fear-ing for their practices) that this tripe
|
|
was sufficient to send Labour and Clann na Poblachta
|
|
tripping over each other to catch up with Fine Gael in the
|
|
"No" lobby. Noel Browne was forced to resign.
|
|
|
|
THE CHURCH AS CAPITALISTS
|
|
|
|
The church's fear of "totalitarian aggression" (i.e.
|
|
communism) is of little surprise when you consider it's
|
|
material base in society. Recently (1987) the church's
|
|
total assets in Dublin alone amounted to £100 million,
|
|
with an estimated income of £7.5 million per year.
|
|
|
|
According to the Irish Independent (31/01/83) it owned
|
|
234 churches, 713 schools, 473 houses and 100
|
|
community centres in Dublin. In 1979 in the midst of
|
|
appalling poverty they spent £2.5 million on the pope's
|
|
visit.
|
|
|
|
Needless to say the ordinary members of this company
|
|
(i.e. the vast majority of Irish people) have no shares,
|
|
and voting rights lie in the hands of a non-elected board
|
|
of management: the Bishops.
|
|
|
|
As well as it's direct wealth, it has a massive amount of
|
|
control in State institutions. They control 3,300 out of
|
|
the country's 3,500 primary schools despite the fact that
|
|
all the staff wages and 90% of building costs are paid by
|
|
the State. They also control 67% of secondary schools
|
|
and own Maynooth College. They have a majority on the
|
|
boards of most orphanages, 'reform schools' and
|
|
hospitals. This allows them to veto even legal
|
|
operations such as sterilisations in most hospitals.
|
|
|
|
KEEPING IN WITH THE
|
|
IN-CROWD
|
|
|
|
The Catholic church has always known which side it's
|
|
bread was buttered on. It worked hand in glove with
|
|
British imperial-ism (while engaging in a little nationalist
|
|
posturing to main-tain it's credibility with the masses)
|
|
and after 1921 worked to prop up the weak Irish ruling
|
|
class. They opposed the first stirring of radical
|
|
democracy and egalitarian republicanism of the United
|
|
Irishmen at the end of the Eighteenth century.
|
|
|
|
In 1795 the English authorities began to recognise their
|
|
useful-ness and helped build Maynooth seminary to
|
|
replace the one in Paris destroyed by "Godless French
|
|
revolutionaries". The cornerstone laid by the Lord
|
|
Lieutenant in 1795 was the rock on which the clerical
|
|
elite was to build it's power over the next 200 years.
|
|
|
|
In 1799 the bishops met at Maynooth to vote their
|
|
support for the Act of Union. In 1845 Robert Peel (the
|
|
English Prime Minister) trebled the annual grant for
|
|
Maynooth and gave them a large sum to expand the
|
|
college. During the famine Bishops hardly commented on
|
|
the mass starvation gripping the country while grain
|
|
exports to England continued to grow.
|
|
|
|
KITTY O'SHEA
|
|
|
|
They opposed the Fenians and even constitutional
|
|
nationalists like Parnell, whom they hounded out of
|
|
politics after his affair with Kitty O'Shea. The Catholic
|
|
hierarchy was in the front-line in condemning the locked-
|
|
out workers in 1913. Priests and lay Catholic activists
|
|
physically prevented children of the strik-ers being sent
|
|
on holiday to trade union families in "Godless" England
|
|
during the dispute.
|
|
|
|
The 1916 proclamation repre-sented the views of the
|
|
more radical wing of the Irish bourgeoisie & intellectuals
|
|
and had a vague aspiration to "cherish all the children of
|
|
the nation equally". After 1921 the Free State
|
|
government and the weak Irish ruling class fell back into
|
|
the arms of the church. The bishops con-demned the
|
|
anti-treaty side in the civil war, recognised the
|
|
"legitimate government" and attacked republicans for
|
|
"causing criminal damage".
|
|
|
|
After the war both pro- (Cumann na Gael/Fine Gael) and
|
|
anti- (Fianna F‡il) treaty sides were in the palm of it's
|
|
hand. In 1923 the Censorship of Films Act was passed,
|
|
1924 saw the Intoxicating Liquor Act, in 1925 divorce
|
|
was out-lawed and in 1929 the Censorship of
|
|
Publications Board was established.
|
|
|
|
In 1937 De Valera's Constitution was passed with the
|
|
bishops being consulted on every syllable. Among its
|
|
articles was:
|
|
"The State recognises the special position of
|
|
the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church as
|
|
the guardian of the faith professed by the majority
|
|
of citizens". (This was not repealed until 1972).
|
|
|
|
Fine Gael did not allow them-selves to be outdone in
|
|
abject grovelling. In 1947 Costelloe, head of the new
|
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coalition gov-ernment, wrote to the pope:
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"on the occasion of our assumption of
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office......my colleagues and myself desire to repose
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at the feet of your holiness the assurance of our
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filial loyalty and our devotion to your August
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person".
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|
A NEW IRELAND?
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The 1960s and 70s saw an upturn in the Irish economy
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with international investment. This led to an increase in
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the number of women working out-side the home, and
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|
combined with the emergence of the Irish womens'
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|
movement, led to a slight weakening of the church's
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|
position. In 1979 Fianna F‡il actually went against the
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hierarchy to bring in limited availability of condoms.
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But the 1980s saw a series of defeats for liberal reforms.
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In 1980 Noel Browne, once again, got the thin end of the
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|
stick when not one T.D. would support his divorce bill.
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In 1983 the Constitution was amended to "uphold the
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|
right to life of the unborn". In 1985 a "Lenten Pastoral"
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|
forbade Catholic hospitals carrying out sterilisa-tions. In
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|
1986 an amendment to the Constitution allowing divorce
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|
in very limited circum-stances was defeated.
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|
However there are some definite signs of a weakening of
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|
the ideological power of the church in Ireland. There has
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|
been a decrease in both church atten-dance and
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|
"vocations to the priesthood" since the 1970s. For
|
|
example there has been a 9% drop in Mass attendance
|
|
between 1974 and 1989, attendance at confession has
|
|
declined from 47% to 18% (according to a re-cent survey
|
|
by Rev. Michael Mac Grail - Irish Times 2/3/1991). The
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|
recent election of a "liberal" woman President (Mary
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|
Robinson) and the Fianna F‡il attempt to widen the
|
|
availability of condoms would also seem to confirm this.
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IS THERE A WAY OUT?
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Though we must acknowledge that liberals such as the
|
|
Campaign to Separate Church and State have the right
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|
idea, we don't think that their methods will work. We
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|
stand for the complete separation of Church and State.
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|
Yes, I know some-body will point out that we oppose the
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|
State as well. This is a tactical question, just as our
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|
opposition to the wages system doesn't stop us looking
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|
for higher wages.
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In the short-term we have to fight against clerical control
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|
of hospitals, schools, community centres and youth clubs.
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|
We also fight against the laws which place restrictions
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|
on peoples' personal lives. The WSM is in favour of
|
|
campaigning for the best possible secular laws in the
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areas of divorce, contracep-tion, abortion, sterilisation,
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|
adoption and gay & lesbian rights.
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|
We fully realise that there are limits to what can be
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|
achieved under the present system, but that should stop
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nobody seeking to win those limited goals that are
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|
immediately possible.
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A victory in any one of these struggles exposes the wide
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|
powers of the church and shows whose side it is on. It
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|
creates the possibility of involving more people in future
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|
struggles. The long-term alternative we offer of a new
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|
free, self-managed world where people control their own
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|
lives will be one in which the mystical and authoritarian
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|
ideas of most religions will probably attract little
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|
support.
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Des McCarron
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