Cardinal Sean Brady, null points

I’ve never met Cardinal Sean Brady but he seems a nice man. They say he was a handy Gaelic footballer in his day, which also suggests a core of quality. But his declared intention to attend the wedding of Wills and Katie make me want to weep for the future of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

I have no objection to the hierarchy pronouncing on moral matters. In fact that’s their job. Cardinal Keith O’Brien gave a commendable example the other day when he urged the scrapping of British nuclear weapons and an end to the ghastly arms trade from which Britain makes so much money. I could query why he didn’t make such a declaration the day he became a cardinal but I won’t. Cardinal Brady himself took a Christian position when last month he denounced the killing of Ronan Kerr. I could query why he and other Irish cardinals didn’t make such a denunciation against ALL violence, including state violence against Irish people, but I won’t.

What I do object to is the leading clergyman in Ireland trying to influence Irish people on a political matter. Wills’s and Katie’s wedding isn’t political? Right, and the Pope's a Muslim. Wills is being groomed to be the British Head of State. The British Head of State, Wills’s grandma, will make a state visit to Ireland next month, a visit clearly intended to tell us there’s nothing left for our two countries to disagree on. No, I wouldn’t be for stopping the cardinal going to weddings. I hate weddings but maybe he likes them. What I would be for stopping him doing, if I possibly could, would be making a blatantly political gesture like this one. There’s also an implicit arrogance in the belief that the Irish people will be influenced by his gesture.

In God’s name I hope they’re not.