18:00 - time to end the Angelus

national | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis Monday April 03, 2006 20:08 by Lefty type

An opinion on why the Angelus should not be broadcast by RTE

Today, society is (thankfully) becoming increasingly secular. The church's influence in shaping public attitudes and society's morals is diminishing. Mass attendances are down; entries to the vocations have plummeted, with only 15 priests ordained in 2004. Recent scandals and abuses within the Catholic church in Ireland have highlighted the corruption and cover-ups that are endemic within the organization. Details of abuse within the church dioceses, of priests fathering children, of gay priests have all leaked out in recent years. The church is clearly in decline, and it must re-assess the role it has to play in modern Irish society. Further afield, religious fundamentalists be they Christian, Jewish, Muslim etc are fuelling holy wars in the name of their gods. People are being killed and oppressed in His/Her name. This is a dangerous spiral, whereby the supposedly liberal West is being pitted against the supposedly fundamental Middle East. A prime example is the violence ensuing due to the Mohammed cartoon debacle. This is an alarming precedent, and serves to highlight the negativity that religion can at times inspire.

The preaching and public practicing of religion has a time and a place. The church/mosque/synagogue is the appropriate chamber for espousing such views. Within the confines of these establishments, people are free to exchange their views among fellow believers, without fear of offending the non-believers amongst us. This is perfectly acceptable. However, Ireland today is still blatantly geared towards Christianity, and Catholicism in particular. The preamble to the constitution states:

“In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred, We, the people of Éire, Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial…”

The main text of the constitution also refers to (an implicitly Catholic) God, compelling the President to recite the following oath upon inauguration (article 12.8):

"In the presence of Almighty God I, do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will maintain the Constitution of Ireland and uphold its laws, that I will fulfill my duties faithfully and conscientiously in accordance with the Constitution and the law, and that I will dedicate my abilities to the service and welfare of the people of Ireland. May God direct and sustain me."

Similarly, judges must recite the following declaration not later than 10 days after appointment (Article 34.5.1):

"In the presence of Almighty God I, do solemnly and sincerely promise and declare that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my knowledge and power execute the office of Chief Justice (or as the case may be) without fear or favour, affection or ill-will towards any man, and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws. May God direct and sustain me."

This appears to be in direct contrast to the personal freedoms granted at Article 40.6.1.i, that is:

“The right of the citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions.”

Further hypocrisies can be found at Article 44:

“1. The State acknowledges that the homage of public worship is due to Almighty God. It shall hold His Name in reverence, and shall respect and honour religion.
2. 1° Freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion are, subject to public order and morality, guaranteed to every citizen.
2° The State guarantees not to endow any religion.
3° The State shall not impose any disabilities or make any discrimination on the ground of religious profession, belief or status.”

So although the state guarantees not to impose any religion on us, we must adopt (at least in name) a loyalty to the Almighty God, when adopting certain positions within the executive and judiciary! And finally, we acknowledge the debt of gratitude that we owe to God, with the statement at the end of the Constitution:

“Dochum Glóire Dé agus Onóra na hÉireann” (Dedicated to the Glory of God and Honour of Ireland)

For a nation's constitution to so blatantly favour one particular religion is incredulous. The Equal Status Act 2000 prohibits discrimination on the basis (Article 3.(2)(e))

“…that one has a different religious belief from the other, or that one has a religious belief and the other has not…”

Yet, here we are, the founding document of the state, blatantly proselytizing in one direction. This, in 2006, is simply unacceptable. The only fair way of addressing this conflict is to remove these religious references altogether. Thus no-one's particular sensibilities will be offended.

The state has clearly shown hypocrisies in its legislation, however an out-dated antiquated document will not have an impact on most people’s daily lives. A much more visible example of the Christian bias by the State is to be found on the national broadcaster at 6p.m (on RTE1 and Radio1). Since 15 August 1950, the state broadcaster has been used as a pulpit, transmitting Roman Catholic symbology and iconoclasms to the country daily. In 1962, with the addition of the “T” to Raidió Eireann, the Angelus began to be broadcast with both sound and visuals. Pictures of Celtic crosses, cathedrals and religious statues are in abundance. This would appear to be in stark contrast to the ban on religious advertising that has been in place since 1960. Section 20(4) of the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960 states that:

“The Authority shall not accept any advertisement which is directed towards any religious or political end...”

Dermot Ahern TD, Minister for Communications, on 29th January 2004, ruled against over-turning this ban, arguing (from the DCMNR archives):

“The choice effectively was whether we left in place what, by and large, has served us well over the past 40 years or throw open the airwaves to religious advertising which could result in those with the deepest pockets presenting an unchallenged message. On balance, I felt we should leave the status quo in place.”

His successor Noel Dempsey has reaffirmed this view (unison.ie archives):

“In 2003 my predecessor, Dermot Ahern, conducted a review of the ban on religious advertising and decided the ban should remain. Having regard to the potential intrusive nature of advertising on radio and television, which is different from other forms of advertising, it was considered that it was not desirable for individual groups to be in a position to buy airtime to deliver an unchallenged message that is aimed at influencing and altering behaviour in society in circumstances where it is difficult for the public to test or verify positions advanced."
The European Court of Human Rights recently found in the case of Roy Murphy v Ireland that a ban on religious advertising did not constitute a violation of Article 9 (dealing with freedom of religion) or Article 10 (dealing with freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Mr. Murphy, a pastor attached to the Irish Faith Centre was effectively precluded from broadcasting an advertisement for a screening of a video dealing with "the historical facts about Christ" and "evidence of the resurrection". (courtesy ECHR website) It has thus been found that such a ban on religious advertising is indeed justifiable, and in the public interest. Why then, does the national broadcaster; give the Church what can only be perceived as an endorsement of their views; a regular spot on prime-time television?

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of Ireland's mandate is to ensure impartiality in news & current affairs. They have not fulfilled their obligations in this regard. Clearly it is also hypocritical on RTE’s part to pump out such dogma night after night. It is said that the Angelus is a time for reflection, to take a few moments out of our day to reflect on all that we have been given. A few moments' peace is of course a desirable thing, but not where it is achieved by encouraging us to spend this time thinking about the god of one particular religion. This is clearly not on. It is high time that RTE remove all Christian symbolism and iconography from this broadcast. Wesley Boyd, a former head of news at RTE has stated that it is clearly discriminatory: (courtesy unison archives)

"a practice unique to one religion being imposed daily on the population at large, including those of us who do not subscribe to that religion."

RTE has responded by saying that:

“(they)…did not consider it offensive or divisive, more a personal approach in people's lives calling them to cease activity and reflect”

However, as I have already pointed out, the Angelus owes its roots to a distinctly Roman Catholic tradition, having been ascribed to Pope Urban II, by some to Pope John XXII, according to Wikipedia. I concur with Mr. Boyd on this matter, in re-iterating the belief that a broadcast including images of crosses, churches and cathedrals is biased towards those of a particular faith.

As both a license fee holder, and a taxpayer, my contributions support RTE, and are being used to help fund this daily devotion in memory of the Incarnation. The Six-One News broadcast on RTE1 is watched by hundreds of thousands of viewers each night, (according to the official Nielsen rating scheme, details on medialive.ie) and we are being subjected to this sermon each time. A semi-state body such as RTE has no place in transmitting these views. Our country is becoming increasingly multicultural, with many and varied ideologies now to be found. Nowhere are these many diverse views given such a platform as that which the Catholic church currently enjoys.

The Angelus does not reflect my own views, and they do not reflect the views of a sizable minority of the population. The Angelus should be scrapped altogether, in order that we can live in harmony in a secular state.