John Paul II Society - Roscommon conference mis-reported

Michael Kelly attended a conference in Co Roscommon at start of February in his news article reporting on the event he failed to say by whom it was organised -The John Paul II Society and who else apart from Ronan Mullen spoke at it. For instance, Michael Kelly failed to say that the other headline speakers who spoke on the same panel as Mullen all said they would vote No to Lisbon.
Both Susan Philips and Declan Ganley said that the suggested political promises (declarations, not legally-binding protocols) would 'not be worth the paper they are written on.' No reporting of these comments or speakers are recorded in the article below:

Senator's 'Yes' to Lisbon if conditions right
Michael Kelly

Senator Rónán Mullen has said he will campaign in favour of the Lisbon Treaty if Ireland's right to decide on ethical issues is guaranteed.

''I will vote 'yes' if the guarantees we have been promised ensure Ireland's freedom to decide its laws on sensitive social and ethical issues,'' he said.

Senator Mullen was speaking at a conference in Co Roscommon at the weekend which discussed the interface between faith and politics. His comments provoked an angry reaction from a minority of the audience.

Mr Mullen also warned against a tendency, ''detrimental in my view, among lay Catholics to too easily dismiss the secular.

''There were also signs of this simplistic dichotomy between the secular and sacred in the recent Lisbon Treaty Referendum. I voted 'no', but I hope I did so for more nuanced reasons than simply thinking Europe is evil and Catholic Ireland is good,'' he said.

Meanwhile, a senior expert on Vatican affairs has underscored the fact that the Holy See remains extremely positive.

Speaking to the '2009 Irish Catholic Lecture', John Allen said ''both Benedict XVI personally and the Vatican corporately support the project of European integration, which is nothing more than a concrete application of the universality and consequent relativisation of national identity that is of the essence of Catholicism.

Mr Allen was speaking to more than 300 attendees at the inaugural event organised by The Irish Catholic.

The Government negotiated a series of guarantees at the European Council meeting in December aimed at ensuring Ireland's independence on ethical issues. The guarantees will be published in advance of a second referendum due later this year.

''If we want to debate the EU we must engage our reasoning capacities and must make an effort to understand what the EU is and what it is not.

''Unless we inform ourselves of the functions of the Parliament, the European Council, the Commission and the Court of Justice we risk discrediting our deeply held political views.

''This is true for every issue; dismissing the secular is sometimes an alibi for us to disengage our critical faculties,'' Senator Mullen said.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic this week, Senator Mullen insisted that he will campaign in favour of the Treaty if the guarantees are forthcoming.

Kelly says Forgive and let the convicted paedophile live among you

According to the Tribune:
Fr Eugene Greene (81) was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment eight years ago for raping and sexually assaulting boys as young as seven from 1962 to 1985 in the west Donegal Gaeltacht.


The Irish Independent and Donegal Democrat both reported the controversial remarks of Michael Kelly, Irish Catholic deputy editor.

In December 2008, the Irish Independent reported:

A GAELTACHT community has reacted angrily to a call from the deputy editor of 'The Irish Catholic' to forgive a paedophile priest who is due for release from prison.

Defrocked priest Eugene Greene (80) is expected to be freed this week after serving eight years of a 12-year jail sentence for abusing 26 boys over three decades in west Donegal.

The paedophile, who terrorised and brutally raped his young victims, many of whom were altar boys in the various parishes he served, is widely expected to return to the west Donegal Gaeltacht to live with a family member shortly after his release.

He came to garda attention only after he reported an attempted blackmail attempt by one of his victims to gardai.

Yesterday, the deeply wounded community was in shock at a call on them from the deputy editor of 'The Irish Catholic', Michael Kelly, to offer their forgiveness to the former priest and allow him to live among them.

"Obviously, Eugene Greene has committed dreadful crimes. He has caused immense pain, especially to victims, but also to the whole community. I think if we are serious in how we take Christian message there is an obligation to show forgiveness, whether or not he has shown remorse," he said.

But local radio station, Highland Radio was flooded with messages from the public objecting to his call. One man described his crimes as abhorrent.

"This man abused his position of trust to the highest extent possible and there is no evidence that he is rehabilitated. Given what he has done he must suffer the alienation he has brought on himself," he said.

Michael Kelly told The Derry Journal: "The priest has to live somewhere. He has committed dreadful crimes and to the best of my knowledge he has not tried to rehabilitate himself. There is an onus on the community to look after him as a christian community."...

He added that Father Greene has a genuine need for forgiveness and that in the true spirit of christianity people should turn the other cheek.
He said: "The easy option would be to be very right wing. However, at the end of the day, you have an elderly man who although he did despicable things needs to be provided for. It is part of the paradox of Christianity. It is rather radical Christianity."
A Donegal priest, who wishes not to be named, disagreed profusely with the statement by Mr Kelly. He said: "My opinion is that the community can only forgive if there is an acceptance by him, on the exploits of the past, and he acknowledges the damage that he has caused to so many people. It is only then that the community can move towards forgiveness."

Neo-Zionist with trips to Israel funded by Israeli Embassy

Speculation is rife that deputy editor of The Irish Catholic, Michael Kelly is to be promoted as de facto editor of the paper.
Certainly that is what Mr Kelly was saying himself to everyone who would listen at last weekend's John Paul II conference in Ballaghederreen. Co. Roscommon.

Michael Kelly said the same thing over two years ago - so hopefully his wish will soon come true meaning that Garry O'Sullivan will be promoted sideways to a position with no editorial control.

Displaying a great sun-tan, Michael Kelly was regaling those present with his views that "Israel should bomb the Palestinians in Gaza into the sea." I kid you not. Not a very Christian attitude but it does show he has made quite a change in recent years on the issue of Israel/ Palestine.

Three years ago, Michael Kelly was a fervent supporter of the Palestinian cause who quoted Cardinal Martino with gusto.
But after being introduced to the Israeli ambassador by David Quinn, and after four trips to Israel, thanks to the generosity of the Israeli government - He is now, he tells us, a committted Zionist.
He is firmly of the opinion that the "God will protect Israel". That is a moderately easy task now Israel now has nuclear weapons don't you think.

Michael, as a pro-Israeli Zionist who supports the treaty of Lisbon, is now is a small minority position among practicing Catholics in Ireland, and this stance in the paper shows in its dropping cirulation. The last time it was printed by the Limerick Leader it had a print run of 17,000. A huge drop from just a few years ago - so maybe the paper's own - The Agricultural Trust can't get a new owner quick enough.

The Irish Catholic - when it does what it says on the tin, I'm sure its circulation will increase again. Until it does so, methinks its circulation will fall even further.

What is plagiarism?: An example by Michael Kelly of The Irish Catholic

I spotted a post recently about journalists who plagiarise other people's work and pass it off as their own. So I looked up wikipedia and found the working definition as follows:

Plagiarism is the use or close imitation of the language and ideas of another author and representation of them as one's own original work.

In journalism, plagiarism is considered a breach of journalistic ethics, and reporters caught plagiarizing typically face disciplinary measures ranging from suspension to termination.

Journalism
Since journalism's main currency is public trust, a reporter's failure to honestly acknowledge their sources undercuts a newspaper or television news show's integrity and undermines its credibility. Journalists accused of plagiarism are often suspended from their reporting tasks while the charges are being looked into by the news organization.

I was reading a book entitled "Letters to a Young Catholic" by well-known American author George Weigel recently. Chapter two of his book is a fascinating account of the find of the 'trophies' of St Peter in the Roman Basilica under the reign of Pope Pius XI.
On can read this chapter here on google books.
It is pages 19-21 which chime exactly with what I read later in an article by Michael Kelly, a journalist with The Irish Catholic newspaper.
George Weigels book was published in 2004 while Michael Kelly's article, with exactly the same wording was published a year later in The Irish Catholic on February 17, 2005.

[Click for full photo view] The first paragraph, in chapter two of Weigel's book reads:

"Pius XI died on February 10, 1939. Prior to his election as bishop of Rome in 1922, he had ben the archbishop of Milan for a brief period, and the Milanesee wanted to honour his memory by building a fitting resting place for him in St. Peter's Basilica. So funds were raised, artists commissioned, and a magnificent marble sarcophagus, which was to be the centrepiece of a richly decorated mosaic vault, was prepared and sent to Rome. ........"

The first paragraph of Michael Kelly's article has exactly the same wording and continues in that vein for the rest of the article.

Fianna Fail activist leads Irish Catholic lower

Another blog once asked if the Irish Catholic newspaper is not just going down the tubes editorially but financially as well.
The print run for the paper when it was last printed by The Limerick Leader had fallen to 17,000. It has a large number of journalists and plethora of say-nothing columists - all of whom need big pay packets. Having a flick through it one can notice it has next to no large ads. This week it had one half page ad - about a meeting organised by the paper itself. It is not getting ad income. It has now been forced to put up its cover price for second time in a few months.

This fall in readership no doubt was because it has turned not just liberal in matters theological, but become a campaign sheet for Lisbon Yes campaign. No wonder as Irish Catholic deputy editor Michael Kelly is an activist in Fianna Fail who canvassed for Seam Ardagh TD for Dublin South Central during the last election, and the paper is governed by a board made up in part of IFA leaders. How could one expect to be independent and objective in this matters?

It is a great pity to watch it go down hill so steadily - it could have been a force for good and building up the faith and reporting on the Church in Ireland. Many friends of mine, who would have been keen readers before, now no longer buy it. With readership, prestige, advertising revenue going down as costs go up - is it only a matter of time before this privately owned company hits the wall. This year might tell us.