LETTERS

Letters from Irish Voice readers

LETTERS

February 20, 2008

Reject Lisbon Treaty

I AM asking Irish Voice readers to contact family and friends in Ireland to vote no to the Treaty of Lisbon in the upcoming referendum, which will take place in the next few months, probably in June.

This treaty is a disaster for Irish neutrality and is the culmination of the complete surrender of the sovereignty of the Irish nation to the European Union Empire. This same treaty was rejected by the French and the Dutch in 2005, but the EU bureaucrats were not happy about that so they have changed the name from a constitution to a treaty, and only Ireland gets to vote on this treaty. This is typical of the autocratic and arrogant attitude of the people who run the EU.

What started out over 50 years ago as an economic union has turned into political union of 27 countries, and Ireland is now merely a state in Europe, just as New York is a state in the U.S.

Under the new rules Ireland will have 12 members in the European Parliament out of 751 members, and decisions will be resolved by a system called Qualified Majority Voting (QMV), which in essence will remove the requirement of unanimity and the possibility of national vetoes.

Thus, if this treaty is ratified, Ireland’s independence will be sacrificed on the altar of political expediency, and the short-term economic gains of our membership in the EU will be useless when compared with the loss of control over our own destiny as a nation.

The proposed treaty includes the following language: “The common security and defense policy shall include the progressive framing of a common defense policy. This will lead to a common defense, when the European Council, acting unanimously, so decides.”

This provision is a violation of the Irish Constitution, Article 29.4.9, which prohibits Ireland from participating in a common defense and thus is a violation of the constitutional protection of Irish neutrality.

The Irish government has produced a pamphlet in support of the treaty that states, “The new treaty will not fundamentally alter the relationship between the member states and the union” and that the treaty “continues to ensure that Ireland is not part of a military alliance.”

These statements are untrue. The Irish government has already committed Irish troops to a EU force, which is being sent to Chad on a mission which is clearly not a humanitarian mission and which is in total violation of the Irish constitutional provisions on neutrality. The reality is that Irish troops have already been drafted into the EU empire’s police force without even waiting for the referendum.

There are many other reasons why the Treaty of Lisbon must be defeated in the upcoming referendum. I refer readers to an organization in Ireland that is trying to defeat this treaty, www.libertas.org, which has listed many other reasons why a no vote is the only way to vote to preserve any semblance of our national identity and sovereignty.

The upcoming referendum is the most important vote that Irish people will ever vote on. What is at the stake is the very definition of the Irish nation and our independence as a people.

The present Irish government and politicians lack any moral conviction and are clearly willing to sacrifice our national identity to advance their own narrow political and financial agendas.

It is ironic that it took us over 700 years to free us from the yoke of British Imperialism, but in less that 30 years we are willing to sacrifice our nation on the altar of European imperialism.

John O’Halloran
Ossining, New York

Christ Will Save Us

I WOULD like to respond to the editorial “The Pope and the Anti-Christ” (February 6-12). I am afraid you have omitted several important points regarding the recent remarks of William Thompson, an aide to Minster for Enterprise, Trade and Development Nigel Dodds.

Firstly, Mr. Thompson made his comments on a radio phone-in show, in his own time and he was speaking in a personal capacity as secretary of the Evangelical Protestant Society entirely independent of his daytime job.

Secondly, you attribute his belief to Ian Paisley. Now while Paisley may well subscribe to such an interpretation of the Book of Revelation, he is by no means the first to do so. Many of the historical Protestant/Reformed creeds denounce the Pope as anti-Christ or the anti-Christ; indeed the preamble of the King James Bible also alludes to this.

Indeed the Westminster Confession of Faith states “. . . The Pope of Rome . . . is that anti-Christ . . . that exalteth himself in the church against Christ and all that is called God. Some persons think us too severe and censorious when we call the Roman pontiff anti-Christ.” John Knox, (1505-1572) the founder of Scottish Presbyterianism concluded, “The very anti-Christ, and son of perdition, of whom Paul speaks.” (The Zurich Letters, by John Knox, page 199.)

Thomas Cranmer, an Anglican (1489-1556) also concluded in is works, “Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of anti-Christ, and the Pope to be very antichrist himself.”

I could go on, but it is quite clear that from a historical point of view that many, many Protestant denominations all around the world, including the U.S. and not just in Northern Ireland, did hold to this view and many still do.

Father Sean McManus of the Irish National Caucus should be well aware of this, but like his recent infantile hiatus about the geographic term “British Isles” — which historically refers to the island of Great Britain, Ireland, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Hebrides, Orkey and Shetland isles and others, some of which, including the Republic of Ireland are entirely self governing — he evidently is not.

Thirdly, what is the difference between Mr. Thompson making such a theological statement and the Vatican recently reaffirming that Reformed churches are “not real churches?”

Christ, not man, is king, and it is to him we should look as only he can save and redeem us in this fallen world — not a building, institution, man or ritual!

Alan Day, The Orange Chronicle
Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Obama Is the One

I WAS disappointed that the Irish Voice editorial endorsing Senator Hillary Clinton (January 23–29) was so dismissive of Senators Barack Obama and Ted Kennedy. I have the greatest respect for Clinton and can readily understand why the Irish Voice would endorse her. Her commitment, and that of President Bill Clinton’s, to the island of Ireland and the Northern Ireland peace process has been unstinting for 16 years.

But Kennedy’s commitment has been equally intense and of longer duration. For 45 years, when few in Congress and the executive were paying attention, he kept the flame alive on Irish and Irish American issues.

I find it interesting that in endorsing the Illinois senator, Kennedy singled out Obama’s considerable efforts on behalf of immigration reform, an issue championed by Kennedy for years. In the event that Obama is elected president, you can be sure it will be Kennedy who will be the one to weigh in with the new president on Irish issues.

The Democratic Party can be proud that it has had such exceptional candidates contending for its presidential nomination this year. But like the distinguished senior senator from Massachusetts, I too believe that Obama is the best choice to put this country on an important new path.

Rosemary O’Neill

Washington, D.C.

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