Rome Watch March/April 2005

Mary McAleese, the President of the Irish Republic, in a Radio interview regarding her visit with other European Heads of State to Auschwitz to mark the 60th Anniversary of the entry of Russian troops into the Nazi Concentration Camp, said:-

"The Nazis gave to their children an irrational hatred of Jews in the same way that people in Northern Ireland transmitted to their children an irrational hatred of Catholics in the same way that people give to their children an outrageous and irrational hatred of those who are of a different colour and all of these things."

Thus the Protestants of Ulster were equated with the German Nazis to all who heard President McAleese or subsequently read her words.

Her remarks created a major outcry right across the entire range of Loyalist, Unionist and Protestant opinion. In fact there was such a furore that President McAleese had to engage in a damage limitation exercise and so an "apology" was issued in which she said she was "absolutely devastated" by the reaction to her remarks. She said her remarks had been "clumsy" and the last thing she wanted was to create the impression that sectarianism came from only one side of the community.

This was more of a qualified explanation rather than a retraction of the slur that linked Ulster Protestants to Nazism. Mrs McAleese is a clever and articulate woman. You don't become a lawyer, the Chancellor of a University and the President of a Country {even the Irish Republic) by being clumsy; and speaking of Queens University, what would have caused anyone to grow up with an irrational hatred of the British National Anthem? Perhaps it is a case of you can take the woman out of Ardoyne, but you can't take Ardoyne out of the woman.

Now let us look at the record of what is now the Irish Republic to Nazi Germany and World War II.

DeValera refused to allow American troops arriving for the liberation of Europe from the Nazis to land in this country.

"Without Northern Ireland, I do not see how the American forces could have been concentrated to begin the invasion of Europe. If Ulster had not been a definite, co-operative part of the British Empire and had not been available for our use I do not see how the build up could have been carried out in England."

When Hitler perished in his bunker in Berlinin May 1945. Mr De Valera went personally to the Nazi-German legation in Dublin to sign a book of condolence.

This sympathy was for Hitler whose war-planes blitzed Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland at Easter 1941 killing over 400 of our citizens, because of the contribution that our shipyards and factories were making to the British War effort.

The same Mr De Valera would only admit 35 Jewish refugees from Europe during the War period.

Did not what is now the Irish Republic have its own Fascist Movement - the Blue Shirts, who led by General O'Duffy went to fight for Franco in the Spanish Civil War?

Did not I.R.A. leader Sean Russell die in a Nazi German U-Boat returning to Ireland from Berlin, where he had sought Nazi-German help for an uprising to force loyal Ulster under Dublin rule?

Make no mistake in World War II, De Valera's Ireland like Spain and Portugal were waiting to see which way the War was going. If the Nazis had won the war Ulster and its loyal people would have been given to the southern state as a reward.

We wondered if President McAleese has heard of the Limerick Pogrom - if not let us briefly retell the facts.

In Limerick, Bishop O'Dwyer had overseen a vicious campaign in 1904 against a small, defenceless population of 171 immigrants from Lithuania. The Limerick Jews numbered 35 families and were mostly poor shopkeepers who had fled persecution in Tsarist Russia. In January 1904, John Creagh, a Redemptorist preacher and spiritual director of the powerful Arch-Confraternity of the Holy Family, preached a violent sermon against the Jews, denouncing them as enemies of the Catholic Church and ritual child murderers. The community's rabbi, Elias Levin, tried to visit O'Dwyer to get him to call off the dogs. The Bishop refused to see him, which was in itself an immensely important symbolic gesture that gave a green light to a Church-run campaign against them. The Catholic nationalists of Limerick trained the same weapon against the Jews that they had used against the Protestant landlords: the boycott. The goal was to destroy the Jews economically, but physical force was also involved. On 4 April a 12-year-old boy, John Raleigh, stoned the rabbi in the street and was detained by the British authorities for a month. On his return, he was feted by the city as a great son of Ireland and of the Church.

We also wondered if President McAleese is aware of two very popular Irish Roman Catholic magazines published during the 1920's and 1930's.

One was the CATHOLIC BULLETIN which lauded Hitler's annexation of Austria and called for an Irish Anschluss to deal with Ulster. It rejoiced in the dismemberment of Czechcoslovakia "the ulcer of Europe" a land full of Protestans,t Jews and Masons; the same magazine hoped Irish Universities would copy Nazi students and burn unsavoury books. - "They should chuck their Anglo Irish books Into the yard to be burned."

Meanwhile the IRISH ROSARYdetected in 1929 that the Jews were behind the Jazz Music craze.

"There is a great danger from lascivious Jewish dances..... Fromthe imported cinema film mostly Jewish and from immodest fashions for women invented by Jewish men."

It also insisted that Catholic Celts wanted to keep their blood and morals pure and Jews were described as:-

"parasites as a race living off the follies and weaknesses of their weaker Christian brethren whom they love to spoil and plunder."

Surely President McAleese has heard of MALACHYCONLON founder and secretary of the ANTI-PARTITION LEAGUE. Within a few months of the opening of Auschwitz it is interesting to read the comments of this devout Roman Catholic politician who represented South Armagh regarding Jews, in an electoral contest with a Labour rival.

Standing as a Nationalist in South Armagh at the Northern Ireland election in1945, Malachy Conlon issued a remarkable address to the voters. He began piously by referring to the 'duty under God' by which the Irish nation had to lead a 'crusade of mercy and charity', going on to observe the suffering of war-scarred Europe.

"But to the East", he continued in a sharp change of tone, "is the sneering bulk of communist Russia,where the Jews have marshalled mighty forces to carryon their age old struggle -the destruction of Christianity.'"

"For here surely the seed bed is ready for the vile henchmen of the Communist Jew. The crumbling edifice of Christianity which they have built out of the ruins of the so-called reformation has been deserted for the crystal palaces of vice and pleasure. Standards of purity which we in Ireland hold dear and sacred, are scoffed at in England."

Conlon's stance was 'under the emerald banner which has been raised aloft by the great leader of our race Mr Eamon de Valera', and he declared himself certain 'that I am but one of a bristling mass of Irishmen, Republican and Hibernian alike'.

"At last in this year of 1945", he continued, "we have come together like children round our mother Ireland to listen to her commands, to defend her rights and if needs be, to shed our blood that her altars and shrines to God and God's Mother may forever remain unsullied."

By way of peroration, and with reference to a Labour opponent depicted as in thrall to Soviet Russia, Conlon stated:

"Ireland stands today where she stood at Limerick.We are marshalled together and we are asked to march. There are two flags in the sand - the Hammer and Sickle of the Communist Jew - and the flag of our own land."

Conlon was elected, defeating the Labour candidate, in reality a Catholic moderate who was firmly anti-partitionist, on social questions - by 6,720 votes to 4,143. In November 1945 at a conference organised by Conlon and his fellow Nationalist MP Eddie McAteer, the Anti-Partition League (APL) was born, and Conlon became its organising secretary till his death in 1950.

NOW LET US ASK WHAT PART DID THE VATICAN PLAY IN THE EVENTS SURROUNDING NAZI-GERMANY AND WORLD WAR II?

Hitler and his Nazi Party did not achieve an overall majority in the German election of 1933. They took power on 30th January that year with the help of the R.C. Zentrum (Centre Party) of Von Papen. Then on 26th March 1933 Hitler and his Nazis got the vital two thirds majority to assume dictatorial powers - again with the votes of the Zentrum. Von Papen who was for a time the Pope's Privy Chamberlain states:-

"Nazism is a Christian Reaction against the spirit of 1789" "The Third Reich is the first power in the world not only to recognize but to put into practice the high principles of the Papacy."

When the Nazis took over Austria in 1938 Cardinal lnnitzer appealed to his flock:-

"To-day the Catholics of the Diocese of Vienna are invited to give thanks to God, our Master for having seen fit to let the great political changes in Austria take place without bloodshed and to pray for a happy future for our country. It goes without saying that all the instructions of the authorities (Nazis) should be obeyed willingly and with good grace."

Surely visiting this site President McAleese might have been better to reflect on the complicity of the Vatican with Nazism than to make her "clumsy" remarks against Ulster Protestants.

The Franciscan Brother Filipovitch,in his cassock - and in his Ustashi uniform, as Chief of the Jasenovac Concentration Camp

Two Sinn Fein public representatives recently refused to say whether they believed the murder of Belfast mother Jean McConville over 32 years ago was a crime.

During the week, several senior figures in the organisation backed up party chairman Mitchel Mclaughlin's statement that while the murder was "wrong", it was not a criminal act.

But Dublin MEP Mary Lou McDonald and Dublin South-West TD Sean Crowe dodged the question in separate media interviews in which they were challenged by Government Ministers. Ms McDonald said the McConville killing was "a dreadful act" which had happened "in circumstances of conflict".

In tough exchanges with Justice Minister Michael McDowell on Today FM's 'Sunday Supplement' programme and with Social AIfairs Minister Seamus Brennan on RTE's 'The Week in Politics', the Sinn Fein MEP refused to say if she believed the killing was a crime. Mr Brennan said his constituents and all the people in Dublin who had voted for the Sinn Fein candidate in the European elections "deserve to hear you say this was a heinous crime and should never have happened". She responded: "It was a dreadful act."

Earlier, Mr McDowell said he knew of IRA activities because of information he had which was not available to the public. He said criminal acts must stop but they would not stop as long as politicians were equivocal on whether the criminal law was being broken.

Meanwhile, Mr Crowe clashed with Defence Minister Willie O'Dea on TV3's 'The Political Party' programme in which he also would not answer the direct question about Mrs McConville's murder. The Sinn Fein TD said he was not going to get involved in "playing politics" over the killing and said the McConville family had asked politicians to leave the issue alone. But Mr O'Dea told Mr Crowe one of the reasons why the McConville family had said this was because some of them had been "threatened by the political wing of your party".

Meanwhile, Mr Crowe said Gerry Adams wanted the Taoiseach to clarify his remarks that the party's leaders must have had prior knowledge of the Belfast bank robbery. Mr O'Dea said the Taoiseach had received intelligence from the Garda authorities and the PSNI.

Robert Ogle Gowan in writing about the 1798 Rebellion in the Wexford area of Southern Ireland, tells about the dreadful massacre of defenceless Protestants on 20 June.

The rebel leaderThomas Dixon and his followers carried a Black Flag with a bloody cross and the initials M.W.S. - Murder Without Sin signifying that it was no sin to slay a Protestant.

When one rebel horrified at the slaughter ran to the home of the Roman Catholic Bishop to get him to intervene he replied "it was no affair of his" and "the people must be gratified."

The Bible says "WOE TO THOSE WHO CALL EVIL, GOOD"

A PROBE has been demanded into the recruitment policies of Down District Council after it was discovered that Catholics filled 80% of job vacancies over a seven year stretch.

From 1997 to 2003, 485 jobs were advertised and only 101 were, filled by Protestants.

The latest figures show that in 2003 Protestants constituted less than a quarter of the permanent workforce, holding only 69 of 291 positions. The figures, which were released by NIO minister Angela Smith in response to a parliamentary question by MP Iris Robinson, also show that the number of jobs held by Protestants is falling.

In 1998 Protestants held almost 30% of positions but that has fallen each year. Mrs Robinson has demanded an inquiry.

"The council must take urgent action to change this very worrying situation and ensure that it does not become a 'cold house' for the Protestant community," said DUP Assemblyman Jim Wells.

However, an independent report to the Equality Commission, by HR Managed Services, showed the council's procedures comply with fair employment recommendations to a high degree. Chief executive John McGrillen said the report found a number of Protestants rejected job offers and a large number of applicants, mainly Protestants failed to turn up for aptitude tests.

"Management at Down District Council are trying to address these two issues but our efforts to do so are continually undermined by individuals who are seeking to suggest that members of the Protestant community are unwelcome and discriminated against, which is patently incorrect. Statements such as that made by Mrs Robinson only serve to reinforce these difficulties."

THE number of Catholics in the Northern Ireland workplace is rising steadily, according to a report published recently.

The 14th annual Fair Employment Monitoring Report revealed the proportion of Catholics in the workforce grew by 0.8% in the 12-months between 2002 and 2003. Chief Commissioner Joan Harbison said the returns showed the gap was closing between Catholics and Protestants in employment. In 1990, the Catholic share of the workforce stood at just 34.9%.

The monitored workforce, which includes part-time workers, is now 58.3% Protestant and 41.7% Catholic. However, the news received a mixed reception from politicians.

Dermot Nesbitt, Ulster Unionist MLA, said the Commission was still failing in its legal duty to consider "equality of opportunity".

"The latest statistics show that in five of the past seven years more Catholics were appointed to the public sector than would have been expected, in comparison with the number of applicants," he said.

The DUP's Gregory Campbell said the statistics revealed that the number of Protestants in employment had fallen by 1,176, while the Roman Catholic numbers had increased by 5,260.

"The Commission must face the realities of employment disadvantage by the Protestant community," he said.

Sinn Fein MLACaitriona Ruane acknowledged the "slight increase" in the Catholic representation in the workforce, but said the statistics were also evidence of how much work still had to be done to redress the workforce imbalance.

The figures were based on an analysis of monitoring returns relating to 486,420 employees sent to the Equality Commission by 3,828 private companies and 136 public bodies. The report revealed that Catholics were no longer under-represented in the public sector, but were still proportionally lower in security occupations and district councils.

There were some areas of the public sector such as education and health where Protestants were under-represented.

In the private sector the gap between the two communities continued to diminish, with a 0.7% increase in Catholic employees between 2002 and 2003.

ROMAN CATHOLIC TERROR IN WEST TYRONE (ARSONISTS DON'T WANT A PROTESTANT ABOUT THE PLACE)

Republican elements in West Tyrone have made it clear that they don't want a Protestant about the place after two vicious sectarian arson attacks on two Orange halls in the area, within a period of forty-eight hours.

Tyres were set alight at the door of Douglas Bridge Orange Hall and malicious graffiti was daubed on the hall including "ORANGE BASTARDS OUT" and "ANTI-CATHOLIC ORANGE SCUM MUST BE EXECUTED."

What message does this give to the Protestants of West Tyrone who are a minority?

Two nights earlier another Orange Hall ten miles away at Garvetagh Road, Castlederg was gutted by Roman Catholic Arsonists. Where did the Republican arsonists learn their hatred for all things British and Protestant? - at home? In their sectarian/segregated schools? One local Unionist Assembly man described the graffiti as "extremely offensive." That is really quite an understatement.

Did you hear a squeak from local Ecumenical clergy, who would loudly have denounced attacks on Roman Catholic property? Did you see any Roman Catholic clergy offering to wash away the offensive slogans? As we go to press at least one Protestant owned business in Strabane has been burned.

It is not the aim or intention of Rome Watch to incite hatred of Roman Catholics but rather, by use of International Press reports already carried in newspapers, to show the religious and political advances of the Papacy in the light of Bible Prophecy, which foretells an end-time World Religion, Government and Economy.