Between a Pope and a Hard Place
Recently this blog noted that the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness is off to Rome for the Consistory - papal speak for the occasion when the Catholic Primate Archbishop Sean Brady gets his Cardinal's red hat. Needless to say Ian Paisley is otherwise engaged.
The Secretary of State Shaun Woodward is also going, and the rumour has it that there's a questionmark whether he or Martin McGuinness should be the NI politician who will meet the Pope.
Apparently the Deputy First is keen to make the acquaintance of Pope Benedict XVI. But his best hope of getting to the Pope is as the BRITISH representative at the occasion. That tends to involve arriving at the Vatican in a car bedecked with a Union Jack.
My spies tell me taking a taxi is not de rigueur. If anyone spots a Stormont Skoda boarding a ferry in the coming days, it might be Martin working on an alternative solution to his papal/union flag dilemma.
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Easily solved. Just get him some flags bearing the Assembly's flax logo. Or perhaps that green and purple thingimy for the Executive.
Why doesn't the DFM be the Northern Ireland politician and Woodward be the British one?
Am I missing something here?
Mark
THE POPE AND MCGUINNESS HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON
I hope McGuinness gets the opportunity to meet Pope Benedict. Superficially they would seem to have little in common but on closer examination that turns out not to be the case. They are both churchgoing, devout Catholics and they believe passionately in truth, justice, equality and human rights. At the secular level both are experts on Fascism. As a teenager, growing up in 1930s Germany, Joseph Ratzinger, as the Pope was then, rejected that authoritarian political ideology at an early stage, deciding that it was totally at odds with his Catholic faith. By contrast, Fascism played no part in McGuinness’s upbringing but in adulthood he has embraced the ideology while remaining faithful to Mother Church.
In meeting the Pope I’m sure McGuinness would enjoy espousing the view that in a North of Ireland context there is no conflict between Fascism and Catholicism. He would trumpet the fact that Sinn Fein and the DUP are now firmly established in a Fascist Coalition that has brought ‘peace’ to Northern Ireland (well, give or take endemic criminality and the odd bout of bloodletting). While each Party’s end political goals are different (United Ireland/British Rule) success has been achieved by adherence to basic Fascist principles such as: putting nation above individual, maintaining control through centralised dictatorial leadership, instigating social, economic and political crises as the need arises and using internal housekeeping to crush dissension.
Finally, it’s disappointing that Dr Paisley has not been able to make the trip. I’m sure he would have loved the signed red socks that the Pope presents to visiting dignitaries on these occasions.
Dominus vobiscum
Susie
Carryduff
Well... considering NI isn't actually an independent country I would imagine that they typically aren't invited to send a representative (much like Scotland and Wales don't send individual reps). And I don't know if Martin would be happy with a NI flag either!?