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  Mass Goers Walk out

Kilkenny People
July 29, 2011

http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/local/mass_goers_walk_out_1_2916226

A NUMBER of Massgoers walked out of church during Mass on Saturday evening when a priest described the Minister of Justice as‘Jewish and non practising’.

Fr Eddie Conway preached at three Masses at the Black Abbey over the weekend. One Massgoer contacted the Kilkenny People to express his digust at the content of the priest’s sermon.

“At the start of his sermon he said that the church had been in the news over the sex abuse scandals and that it had been a bad week for the church. He said that the scandal was a bad thing but that there was a bigger agenda that would become obvious in the next short while. He said that the agenda was been set by people who have a vested interest against the church including the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, who he described as Jewish and non practising and an athesist Minister and that child sex abuse was been used to get at the church. He said that the sex abuse scandal was bad but that there was a lot more going on. I was digusted by his remarks. They were bizarre and off the wall. I was not having any of it so I walked out and brought my children with me,” he said. He added that at least two other adults also walked out.

The Prior of the Black Abbey, Fr Louis Hughes told the Kilkenny People that he had not attended the Mass in question. He said that he had received no complaints from members of the public regarding the sermon and that there would have been priests outside the church when Mass ended as is the normal practice. He added that he has spoken to the priest but would not comment on the contents of their conversation. Fr Conway told the Kilkenny People that he had ‘been told not to speak to the media.”

The comments followed the publication of the Cloyne Report which revealed that Bishop John Magee refused to co operate with the gardai in relation to reports of child sexual abuse in his diocese and the Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s historic speech which spoke of the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism and narcissism of the church in downplaying the rape and torture of children.

Spokesperson for the Dominican Order Father Bernard Treacy said that he ‘could not stand over those comments if they were made’ and was not in a position to comment further on the matter.

 
 

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