Author: Anthony

Paying for navigation

The British government has always paid a subvention to fund the operation of Irish coastal navigational systems.

The British shipping industry has now asked the British government to end this subvention which amounts to €13 million per annum.

If the subvention does ends the Irish Lights Commissioners will have to make up the difference by extra charges for those using Irish ports or by government funding.

Personally, I’ve always thought it odd that Ireland, as a sovereign state, would allow another state to fund a service that rightly should be its own responsibility. The British shipping industry is right, the practice should end.

Letter to the bishop

On the same day I submitted a formal complaint to the European Parliament regarding the criminalisation of those who sell Mass cards without the permission of a Catholic bishop I also wrote to the local bishop here in Cobh for permission to sell Mass cards.

I received a curious, minimalist, reply yesterday saying that as a commencement order has not yet been issued the Act remains inoperative.

Fair enough, I’ll check that out with the relevant department next week. The case continues.

Mass card law

I received a reply from Marian Harkin, MEP, today regarding my formal complaint on the issue of the criminalisation of those who sell Mass cards without the permission of a Catholic bishop.

Ms. Harkin agrees with my stance on the matter and has indicated that she will write to the Attorney General for his view and get back to me.

I received no acknowledgement to my petition to the European Parliament on the matter so I sent off a reminder to them today.

Converting the Muslims?

The US Army has rejected allegations that its troops have been trying to convert Afghans to Christianity (Gavin’s Blog).

The report alleges that troops are handing out bibles which have been translated into local Afghan languages.

Such activity is against army regulations but listening to the most senior US Army chaplin at Bagram military base one could be forgiven for thinking that this regulation is largely ignored. Here’s some of what he had to say:

“There’ll never be anybody like Jesus, he’s the one and only, he’s the Messiah. Those Special Forces guys, they hunt men, we do the same thing as Christians we hunt people for Jesus. Hunt em down; get the hound of heaven after them to get them in the Kingdom, right? That’s what we do, that’s our business.”

See here for a discussion on the matter on Al-Jazeera news.

See here for an account of what happens to unbelievers in the US Army.

Reaction to proposed blasphemy law

Letters on the proposed blasphemy law in today’s Irish Times.

Madam,
Considering that every judge in the Irish judicial system has taken a religious oath asking God to “direct and sustain” them in their work, how can any atheist accused of blasphemy ever be offered a fair trial?

Yours, etc,

GAVIN TOBIN,
Celbridge,
Co Kildare.

Madam,

The Irish Government’s proposal to make blasphemy punishable by law seems curious to those British parliamentarians, like myself, who fought successfully to bury this relic of the Star Chamber.

The archaic common law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel were abolished in the UK just a year ago, in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.

With all-party support, we relied not only on the advice of the Law Commission, but on the wise judgment of the Irish Supreme Court in the Corway case.We had the support not only of English PEN and writers and artists, but also of the British clergy.

There was wide recognition of the chilling effect of these offences on the right to freedom of expression, and of the divisive nature and effects of retaining the offences in our modern plural society where one person’s religion is another person’s blasphemy, and where British Muslims were campaigning to extend blasphemy offences to protect Islam (a move rejected by our court in the Satanic Verses case in which I acted for the publisher of Salman Rushdie’s novel).

Parliament has also enacted a narrow offence in the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 of incitement to religious hatred. This applies only to threatening (as distinct from abusive or insulting) words or behaviour, and places the burden on the prosecution to prove specific criminal intent.

I drafted and Parliament approved section 29J (the so-called “English PEN clause”) which provides as follows: “Protection of freedom of expression:

“Nothing in this Part shall be read or given effect in a way which prohibits or restricts discussion, criticism or expressions of antipathy, dislike, ridicule, insult or abuse of particular religions or the beliefs or practices of their adherents, or of any other belief system or the beliefs or practices of its adherents, or proselytising or urging adherents of a different religion or belief system to cease practising their religion or belief system.”

To those of us who admire Ireland’s constitutional and legal system, it would be bizarre and perverse if the Irish Government and legislature were now to resurrect the Star Chamber offences and make them punishable by law.

It would also provide an unfortunate example to the rest of the free world at a time when many Arab and African states are pressing for a new international crime of religious defamation.

Yours, etc,

ANTHONY LESTER,
(Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC),
Liberal Democrat Peer,
Blackstone Chambers,
Temple,
London, England.

Lee goes political

Great to see that RTEs Economics Editor George Lee has decided to seek the Fine Gael nomination in the upcoming Dublin South bye election.

Lee has always been passionate in his beliefs and that passion has, in recent times, spilled over into deep anger at how this country is governed.

There is no doubt that the Irish political system is sorely in need of an injection of genuine passion and anger.

See here for his first (robust) interview

Obama to outlaw offshore tax havens

President Obama has made his first move to outlaw offshore tax avoidance schemes by US corporations with overseas divisions.

This could have serious financial consequences for the economy as US corporations have long used Ireland as a profit/tax laundering base to avoid paying billions in tax obligations.

In an RTE interview in February 2008 Prof. Anton Murphy of TCD said such activities gave Ireland a Cayman Islands type financial reputation and added that the Government, political parties, the IDA and other State agencies are effectively colluding in this profit laundering but because of various short term interests nobody is saying anything.

Perhaps they will have something to say now.

Going to EU on criminalisation of Mass card sellers

I received very little response to my email to the three Munster MEPs regarding the criminalisation of those who sell Mass cards without the permission of a Catholic bishop so I’ve sent the same email to all 13 Irish MEPs.

I’ve also submitted the following petition to the European Parliament.

To Whom It May Concern:

In February this year the Irish government enacted a law which makes it a criminal offence to sell a Mass card not authorised by a Catholic bishop (Charities Act 2009, Section 99).

I strongly object to this law for the following reasons.

1. Contained within the Act is a presumption of guilt until proved innocent. This runs contrary to Article 48 (1) of the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights which states:

“Everyone who has been charged shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.”

2. Section 99 is an unjustified restriction on Article 44 of the Irish Constitution which guarantees the free profession and practice of religion (See newspaper article below).

3. The criminalisation of the sale of Mass cards is a disproportionate reaction to what is a very minor business activity (See newspaper article below).

4. This law confers an absolute monopoly to the Catholic Church for the sale of Mass Cards. I believe this to be contrary to EU law.

5. The requirement to obtain permission from a member of a religious organisation to engage in legitimate business is an infringement of the right of all EU citizens to engage in such activity.

I request that the EU take action to force the Irish government to repeal section 99 of the Charities Act, 2009 or, at a minimum, have that part which is offensive to the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights regarding the principle of ‘innocent until proved guilty’ struck out.

Thank You
Anthony Sheridan

References:

Section 99. (Charities Act, 2009)

(1) A person who sells a Mass card other than pursuant to an arrangement with a recognised person shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) In proceedings for an offence under this section it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved on the balance of probabilities, that the sale of the Mass card to which the alleged offence relates was not done pursuant to an arrangement with a recognised person.

(3) In this section—

“Church” means the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church;

“Mass card” means a card or other printed material that indicates, or purports to indicate, that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass howsoever described will be offered for—

(a) the intentions specified therein, or
(b) such intentions as will include the intentions specified therein;

“priest” means a priest ordained according to the rites of the Church;

“recognised person” means—

(a) a bishop of the Church, or
(b) a provincial of an order of priests established under the authority of, and recognised by, the Church;

“sell” includes, in relation to a Mass card, offer or expose the card for sale or invite the making by a person of an offer to purchase the card.

Irish Times article

Mass card section of Charities Bill could be unconstitutional

CAROL COULTER, Legal Affairs Editor

Thu, Feb 26, 2009

A SECTION of the Charities Bill may be unconstitutional because it makes it a criminal offence to sell a Mass card not authorised by a Catholic bishop, according to a former attorney general. The Bill went to President Mary McAleese for signing earlier this week.

The section in question was inserted into the Bill by the Seanad on February 11th last to deal with a problem of the sale of “bogus Mass cards”, which purport to be signed by a priest, but where the signature is not genuine and no Mass is actually said.

The Government amendment was put forward following the earlier proposal of a similar amendment by Senator Ronan Mullen.

Former attorney general John Rogers SC has provided an opinion on it to the solicitor for a man who sells genuine Mass cards, signed by a priest in the Philippines by arrangement with a bishop there. The money raised goes to build churches there. He fears shops may feel pressure on them not to sell if the Bill becomes law.

During the Seanad debate, Senator David Norris read from Mr. Rogers’s opinion, which stated that section 96 was “an unjustified restriction on the Article 44 guarantee of the free profession and practice of religion.”

The section provides that a person who sells a Mass card “other than pursuant to arrangement with a recognised person” is guilty of an offence. A “recognised person” who can authorise the sale of such Mass cards is defined as a bishop of the church, or the head of an order recognised by it.

The section defines a Mass card as a card that indicates that “the holy sacrifice of the Mass” will be offered for a person’s intentions.

In any proceedings it will be presumed, unless proved to the contrary, that an offence has been committed.

In his opinion Mr. Rogers says this goes further than is reasonably required to deal with the problem of the sale of a Mass card not properly signed by a priest, where no Mass is said, or where the purchaser thinks it is for a charitable purpose and it is not.

“The narrow categories of persons is arbitrary and unfair and represents a serious interference with the religious practice of some priests and others who are members of non-Catholic churches and religious communities in this State,” he states.

He also points out that it presumes an offence has been committed until the contrary is proven. “The criminalisation of the sale of Mass cards is another aspect of the disproportionate nature of this piece of legislation,” he says.

ENDS