Clergy Who Hold Acts of Public Worship Can Go to Prison Under New Covid Measures [Ireland]

Iona Institute ^ | 10/23/20

[marshmallow]

Under new Covid restrictions passed into law last night in the Dail, a priest can now be fined, or imprisoned, or both, for saying Mass in public. The same applies to any minister of religion who holds a public act of worship.

This is drastic, draconian and unacceptable and must raise questions about the Constitutionality of the measure, quite apart from its total disproportionality.

Aside from Wales, the Republic of Ireland appears to be the only place in Europe where public worship has stopped, and in our case, now attracts penal sanctions.

Prior to this pandemic, when did such a law exist in Ireland? You have to go back to penal times.

Deputy Michael McNamara pointed out the implication of the new law to Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly, in the Dail last night. Minister Donnelly said Deputy McNamara was wrong, but a reading of the relevant law shows he is correct.

Deputy McNamara said: “Priests will be committing a criminal offence if they open the doors of their churches for Mass. I know that lots of priests do not want to say Mass and do not believe it is appropriate. That is their prerogative. I am not a Mass-goer, but I know how important it is in the community I represent for people to go to Mass or to a church or mosque. The Government is denying them that. Is the Government is going to send gardaí after priests who decide to say Mass? If the Government is thinking of that, I have one word to say, ‘Don’t’.”

Minister Donnelly said he would “challenge NPHET to provide the evidence again [for the ban on public worship] because I agree that this is a major imposition”, but he added: “I assure the Deputy and other colleagues that with regard to penalties........

[Bulwyf]

Are the Irish armed?

[Leaning Right]

> The same applies to any minister of religion who holds a public act of worship. <

Wake me when they burst into a mosque and arrest the resident radical imam.

[neverevergiveup]

This is all the result of arrogant, moronic, pinheaded ‘science’ that used pedestrian recombinant DNA/nucleic acid technology to do the ill-informed idiotic gain of function research that started in the US, and was subsequently continued at the Wuhan lab, with US funding. This led to the production of a very simple to create retargeted coronavirus. The rest we are now living.

[CheshireTheCat]

Didn’t they used to do things like this (and worse) under Elizabeth I and other English monarchs?

Who said history doesn’t repeat itself.

I think a lot the Irish who fought in the revolution there must be turning in their graves.

[The MAGA-Deplorian]

Queue back up the IRA! Start blowing up politicians. They will be made heroes.

[Olog-hai]

Not the same thing.

[Olog-hai]

Sure; that solved everything in the past.

[.44 Special]

A communist, a thief, and an Irishman walked into a pub.
His name was O’Reilly.

[daniel1212]

Maybe coming to a city near you, while thousands of prisoners have been released in order to prevent Covid infections, as if these would be law-abiding citizens.