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07 / 11 / 2008 - Call for ‘Alive’ newspaper ban shows desire to silence opposition to Lisbon
Cóir say their earlier assessment of the Committee as a “farce” now shown to be correct.
Cóir has hit out at an Oireachtas Sub-Committee who asked Cardinal Brady to effectively ban the 'Alive' newspaper because they felt it opposed the Lisbon Treaty. Spokesman Richard Greene said that the comments by some members of the committee showed “an alarming desire to censor democratic opposition and free speech.”
“This committee is charged with looking at Ireland’s future in the European Union, and with trying to understand why the majority of Irish people voted No to the Lisbon Treaty. Instead of that, we’re seeing the same arrogance that caused so many voters to be concerned about democracy and loss of power, and now, a new attempt at a most vindictive form of censorship,” said Mr Greene.
The Cóir spokesman said that it was a lie to state that ‘Alive’ said that it was sinful to vote for Lisbon – something claimed by Fianna Fáil TD Thomas Byrne during Wednesday’s discussion with Cardinal Brady. “It’s also a joke to read that Labour's Joe Costello said the magazine ‘seemed to promote hatred of the European Union’,” said Richard Greene. “These politicians have a problem with Alive because it gave the facts about the Treaty and printed adverts from Cóir raising money and explaining the issues in our No to Lisbon campaign.” He accused the committee of attempting to stifle debate and called on Cardinal Brady to support free speech.
And he hit out at Beverly-Cooper Flynn assertion that the Church should have called for a ‘Yes’ vote. “The Lisbon Treaty – and the direction of the EU – carries direct threats to Christian morality,” said Mr Greene. “It’s ironic that many of the same people who call for a separation of Church and State are now asking the Bishops to urge a Yes vote in a political referendum”.
Mr Greene said that Cóir’s earlier assessment of the Oireachtas Subcommittee on Ireland’s future in the European Union as a “farce” was now shown to be correct. Although Cóir had been asked to make a submission to the committee, it wrote to the committee earlier this week stating that unless it publicly called for the Irish No vote to be respected by insisting that the Lisbon treaty ratification be halted immediately, any consultation would be meaningless.
“We’ve now seen that this committee does not wish to have a meaningful consultation process,” said Mr Greene. “Instead they’re showing the same bullying tactics and arrogance that lost them the referendum in the first place.”
Source : Cóir
Please contact Cardinal Brady on 028 3752 2045 or by Fax 028 3752 6182, or by email to admin@aracoeli.com
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Cóir has hit out at an Oireachtas Sub-Committee who asked Cardinal Brady to effectively ban the 'Alive' newspaper because they felt it opposed the Lisbon Treaty. Spokesman Richard Greene said that the comments by some members of the committee showed “an alarming desire to censor democratic opposition and free speech.”
“This committee is charged with looking at Ireland’s future in the European Union, and with trying to understand why the majority of Irish people voted No to the Lisbon Treaty. Instead of that, we’re seeing the same arrogance that caused so many voters to be concerned about democracy and loss of power, and now, a new attempt at a most vindictive form of censorship,” said Mr Greene.
The Cóir spokesman said that it was a lie to state that ‘Alive’ said that it was sinful to vote for Lisbon – something claimed by Fianna Fáil TD Thomas Byrne during Wednesday’s discussion with Cardinal Brady. “It’s also a joke to read that Labour's Joe Costello said the magazine ‘seemed to promote hatred of the European Union’,” said Richard Greene. “These politicians have a problem with Alive because it gave the facts about the Treaty and printed adverts from Cóir raising money and explaining the issues in our No to Lisbon campaign.” He accused the committee of attempting to stifle debate and called on Cardinal Brady to support free speech.
And he hit out at Beverly-Cooper Flynn assertion that the Church should have called for a ‘Yes’ vote. “The Lisbon Treaty – and the direction of the EU – carries direct threats to Christian morality,” said Mr Greene. “It’s ironic that many of the same people who call for a separation of Church and State are now asking the Bishops to urge a Yes vote in a political referendum”.
Mr Greene said that Cóir’s earlier assessment of the Oireachtas Subcommittee on Ireland’s future in the European Union as a “farce” was now shown to be correct. Although Cóir had been asked to make a submission to the committee, it wrote to the committee earlier this week stating that unless it publicly called for the Irish No vote to be respected by insisting that the Lisbon treaty ratification be halted immediately, any consultation would be meaningless.
“We’ve now seen that this committee does not wish to have a meaningful consultation process,” said Mr Greene. “Instead they’re showing the same bullying tactics and arrogance that lost them the referendum in the first place.”
Source : Cóir
Please contact Cardinal Brady on 028 3752 2045 or by Fax 028 3752 6182, or by email to admin@aracoeli.com