The National Party

Doesn't give you the right to make false racist claims.

if being a creepy fcuker hanging around kids was enough to be charged with a crime, every priest in Ireland would be behind bars.

It seems there are quite a few on boards who will defend the most reprensible sorts.

Would you abuse a male journalist in the same fashion?

Yeah, foreign cultures like Catholicism for instance. 😂

RCC has always been a big fan of fascism, and all the Irish fascists endorse the RCC too, funny that.

Yes, yes, everybody is a big dirty fascist who spends their free time goose stepping up and down church aisles singing Ave Maria and stalking Kitty Holland on Instagram.

But, in fairness, perhaps not so much in Ireland. Ireland is striking as the only new state emerging in Europe after the Great War not to fall to fascism in one form or another in the 1920s and 1930s, but to remain a functioning multi-party democracy. Given that the influence of the Catholic church over the new state was very great, if the church was so keen on fascism, how are we to explain this?

If we actually look for examples of the Catholic church promoting fascism in Ireland in the '20s and '30s — well, there aren't many to be found. There was next to no church engagement with, or promotion of, the Blueshirts, for example. While fascists in Ireland could be quite vocal about their Catholicism or Christianity and often claimed a Catholic or Christian motivation, that's something that characterises them, rather than Catholicism. Catholics tended not to return the favour. The conclusion has to be that, actually, the Catholic church had zero interest in promoting fascism in Ireland. If they had, the history of Ireland might have been very different.

We see the same today. Some of the many tiny hard-right organisations that are now emerging tend to trumpe their Catholicism or Christianity, but their is precious little evidence of much support or encouragement going in the other direction. Mostly, my impression is, those who honk about their Christianity are doing so in support of their Islamophobia.

Obviously the circumstances of all these countries are different. But Ireland is, strikingly, at the democratic end of the spectrum and I think that's in tension there with a simplistic narrative that says Ireland:priest-ridden and priests:fascist.

(Not sure that it's entirely fair to present the Lateran Treaty as evidence of Catholic support for fascism. Italy had had a fascist government for seven years before the Lateran Treaty was concluded, and the church had obvious motives for wanting a treaty that had nothing to do with who was in government in Italy. If they were going to make a treaty with Italy, there was only one government they could make it with; the one that was in office. There's really no reason to think they only made the treaty because it was a fascist government, or that their motive for making the treaty was to advance the cause of fascism.)

No - I am simply an undecided voter looking at various options -

I very much get the sense though that plenty of posters on this would like to limit the options down to the mainstream parties and that’s it, and that the public should be “told off” and insulted for even considering options.

Who said anything about limiting of options?

Any thoughts on the very selective basis of Pepper's videos, and his lack of interest in attacks carried out by far right goons?

The reality of the RCC is that given a choice they will always jump right of centre and they don't seem to care how far right that is. They have been in constant conflict with any branch of the church which adopts a socialist agenda and practically disowned many of their south American socialist priest throughout the 70 and 80s.

At the moment the USA Catholic church is lurching to the hard right of politics.

I cannot think of a single instance where the RCC has adopted Christ's socialist principles.

Those ladies that Gav Pepper interviewed seemed very believable. I don’t think it was a hoax, the perpetrator got arrested etc. I don’t condone the mob violence meted out to him prior to arrest. They should have detained him until AGS showed up.

Also, I will say that the like of P Dwyer does seem to have his heart in the right place. I don’t condone his past conviction or the drunken rant he was filmed doing.

BUT - He is concerned over Ireland’s future, as are so many of us now in society.

Why do you think that Pepper hasn't done any videos about the two incidents of female politicians being threatened?

Any religion adopting socialist ideals is a bit of a odd position. Socialism isn't exactly renowned for allowing freedom of religious expression.

Thanks - we can add plonker to the ever growing list of insults and slurs.

Conveniently ignoring that you are now promoting a guy who assaulted a garda. Perpetual being offended doesn't improve your credibility.