From The Catholic League: SINEAD O’CONNOR—”KILL THE POPE”

From The Catholic League:

SINEAD O’CONNOR—”KILL THE POPE”

Irish singer Sinead O’Connor is warning Pope Benedict XVI not to come to Ireland, and if he does, she wants him shot. She warned on Twitter there will be a “f***in bloodbath” if the pope visits Ireland.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on her outburst:

Sinead O’Connor has a long history of Catholic bashing, so in one sense her latest foray is not unusual. What’s new, however, is her advocacy of violence. Given her precarious condition, it is not likely she could shoot straight, but her violent appeal may trigger others to act. That is the danger.

O’Connor is not doing well. The cops were recently summoned to her home after she Tweeted about suicide. She needs long-term help. In the meantime, whatever family or friends she has would do well to get her to ramp down her rhetoric and at least pretend to be normal.

I don’t know about Irish law, but …

I understand that this deeply disturbed woman spent some time in a “Magdalen Asylum”.  Weren’t there instances of sexual abuse of children by women religious reported?  I may be wrong.

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18 Comments

  1. Warren says:

    Sinead who?

    Hers is just the rant of a tired, talentless hack whose career finished before it began. No amount of pope-bashing will provide her with the publicity she thinks she needs to gain re-entry into the limelight.

  2. irishgirl says:

    Yes, it seems that Sinead O’Connor did spend some time in a ‘Magdalen Laundry’. I read it on Wikipedia last week.
    She sounds like one seriously disturbed woman.

  3. Scott W. says:

    If I recall correctly, her brother made a public statement that, yes, Sinead is mentally disturbed and to not take her rantings seriously, and to please back off [if only the media would stop giving her air time]. I don’t think she is being a publicity hound.

  4. Subdeacon Joseph says:

    She seems really mixed up.

    According to Huffpost Celebrity she recently sought publicly sought a sexual partner over a blog using very graphic and explicit language.

    In the late 1990s, Bishop Michael Cox of the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church (an Independent Catholic group not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church) ordained Sinéad as a priest. In a July 2007 interview with Christianity Today, O’Connor stated that she considers herself a Christian and that she believes in core Christian concepts about the Trinity and Jesus Christ. She said, “I think God saves everybody whether they want to be saved or not. So when we die, we’re all going home… I don’t think God judges anybody. He loves everybody equally”. She also expressed a belief in pantheism, viewing the physical universe as a body with divine “energy”.

    She needs prayers.

  5. Margaret says:

    The woman is seriously ill and has my sympathies and prayers. I have no idea what she’s doing musically these days, if anything, but she was a gifted singer once upon a time. I do share Mr. Donohue’s worry, though, that she could inspire someone equally deranged but less impaired to carry out the deed.

  6. asperges says:

    She’s certainly not doing much to promote Irish womanhood!

  7. BLB Oregon says:

    Ah, yes, what a blessing to the world Twitter has been. And flash mobs. And…

    No offense to present company, but I’m not entirely certain that the constant temptation to literally publish our opinions to the world has been a good thing, particularly considering the allowed time frame. Might humanity not benefit if we were a bit less connected?

  8. anna 6 says:

    She is a troubled woman…but what is really strange is that she has a daughter with the Irish Times writer, John Waters…a man who is a great admirer of Pope Benedict.

    http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2011/0902/1224303347904.html

  9. gambletrainman says:

    BLB Oregon:

    I completely agree. The wonders of modern technology! However, not all for the better.

  10. shane says:

    Normally I find Sinéad’s rants (inadvertantly) amusing. She’s certainly on the eccentric side of things. Not to be taken seriously at all. That said I do agree with her that a papal visit to Ireland would be very unwise right now, but I suspect it won’t happen anyway.

  11. LisaP. says:

    I think the problem with computer communication is that it gives us the illusion of connectivity without the reality of it. We don’t see, feel, smell, touch, hear, or interact with a human being when communicating through keyboards and keypads.

    What we do get is a dopamine burst from the flashing lights on the screen, which affects our neurochemical balance (dopamine balances with seratonin and affects insulin) and could be considered feeding a screen-induced addiction.

    So instead of filling the real need for human interaction, we fill a manufactured need for dopamine while being able to plausibly tell ourselves that we are “connecting” with people.

    Computers are a good that can be used for our benefit, but they can be perilous when we don’t guard ourselves well enough against their hazards.

  12. robtbrown says:

    BLB Oregon says:

    No offense to present company, but I’m not entirely certain that the constant temptation to literally publish our opinions to the world has been a good thing, particularly considering the allowed time frame. Might humanity not benefit if we were a bit less connected?

    It’s ambivalent and depends on the content.

    IMHO, the most useful contribution of the Internet is that it breaks up the information monopoly previously controlled by those who have power. Two examples:

    When Summorum Pontificum was promulgated in 2007, there were bishops (or chancery officials) who sent their priests letters that either distorted the document or completely undermined it. They assumed the correspondence would remain private. Instead, many of those letters quickly appeared on the Internet on sites like this, exposing the perpetrators.

    In 2004 Cardinal Ratzinger sent a letter to the US bishops via Cardinal McKarrick concerning pro abort politicians and Holy Communion. McK’s presentation to the bishops portrayed the letter as ambivalent, which it wasn’t. Quickly, the SCDF learned of the distortion, a copy of the letter was received in the US, then made public. And Cardinal McKarrick’s fraudulent representation was exposed.

  13. O’Connor was unwell before the Internet. And she’s scarcely talentless.

    On the bright side, it seems it’s not uncommon for the Irish to throw the f- gerund around, without a great deal of force to it; and I’ve heard people throw around the word “bloodbath” a lot also. In fact, both words combined seem pretty common.

  14. ChristopherB says:

    Well, for what it’s worth — let’s go to Sinead’s own blog:

    Ok.. A newspaper in Ireland chose to report on saturday, as being serious, jocular remarks I made regarding shooting the pope if he comes to Ireland, when that paper knew very well these remarks were in jest. In the course of a conversation as to whether or not the Irish people would accept a visit from the pope… Which frankly, no. They fucking wouldn’t.
    In case of any concern. I have no interest in shooting anyone whatsoever and I consider it naughty of the said paper to have put the slant they did on my remarks. I accept my remarks were public, but the context in which they were made was knowingly twisted by the paper to continue the ‘crazy Sinead’ business.
    Rest assured.. Neither the pope will come to Ireland nor I will ever contemplate murdering anyone.
    God will take care of the pope.

    Not that she doesn’t need help (and prayer) — but it seems the tabloid media has a wee part in this hubbub as well.

  15. benedetta says:

    Not sure how one could tell that the remarks were made in jest or that the media knew this, but if she says that the context is a joke then I take her at her word. Though it can’t justify or really undo. But for those, we always have a remedy with God when this occurs.

    I will pray for her. I think that the pressures on people who become famous particularly through popular culture today are enormous. The secularist culture will jump on this or that but is incapable of caritas, of mercy, as it is just a business and thrives on urging others to consume more and more as much as possible, it thrives on innuendo and intrigue. But there are humans caught up, in all places within that culture who still may take solid, real steps to encourage the good. While I agree that there are a lot of negative effects, particularly for young people, considering the texting and sexting phenomena and potential to become cut off from real social interaction without parental guidance and input as they grow up, and there is a lot of really horrible stuff out there on the internet, still I think it is true that wherever there is human discourse the light of the Gospel has the potential to transform, and where two or three are gathered in His name…

    In fact objectively her music does employ some beautiful imagery of Christian compassion. Certainly some of her music is angry and some very indulgent in melancholy which for some can have a very discouraging effect. However, one who suffered abuse in childhood truly carries a cross and the wounds that experience creates can color and influence one’s interactions and it takes quiet a lot to deal with. It would be very understandable if she endured, or witnessed others’ spiritual, physical, sexual abuse while living in such a place that a very high degree of anger would result. That is why the abuse of children is no small matter, for the children, and for the wide ranging effects of the sin that is never confined to isolated harm toward one individual. But her issue is with the priests and religious who oversaw the care of those young people in Ireland at that time, and justice for them. She has for many years attacked the Popes publicly, but directing her anger at them is misdirected. I think if she did some research she would find that this Holy Father has in fact been attentive to these travesties of child abuse and is not at all interested in sweeping it all under the rug but in healing, listening to the forgiveness and even on behalf of the whole Church taking the first step in showing need for conversion and penance, reparation for what has happened in terms of spiritual abuse especially in the form of sexual abuse of minors. Bono, who I have read is not Catholic, has been able to overcome differences of doctrine and be of service and working with the very good efforts of the Church, putting his fame and wealth at the service of Christians including meeting with Bl JPII, risking his pop culture persona and reputation to meet with someone so derided by the media anyway to be a channel of peace, a message of hope and reconciliation. I think this singer, who is very talented, could also place her talents in service in similar way.

  16. Peggy R says:

    Another has-been looking to remain relevant.

  17. Supertradmum says:

    Sadly, the young lady is appealing to a large group of youth who agree with her.

  18. Maria says:

    Not wishing to stray off topic, but I agree that Sinead O’Connor is a very disturbed person and yes, she may have root issues that have caused her malady.
    It is interesting though that I once watched a TV interview between a very provocative interviewer and Shane McGowan who has very serious drink issues.
    It is a well known fact that real alchoholism is an identified mental illness.
    Shane McGowan swears a lot but somehow, he manages to display respect towards others.
    He was goaded to slam the pope – at this point Pope John Paul – and he very gently and intelligently swerved the interviewer away from his nasty attempt and maintained decorum despite being drunk on the show. I could not help feeling at the time (and I was not Confirmed Catholic then either) that despite his cross he was blessed deeply in some way and it did in fact make an impression on me at that time.
    I am not particularly a Sinead O’Connor, nor a Shane McGowan/Pogues fan and I do recognise they have talents, but I find Sinead O’Connors offensive outbursts and rudeness disgusting and vile. She seems to have no respect for anybodys feelings.
    She needs psychiatric help in my opinion, and perhaps even an exorsism.
    I feel sorry for her. She must be very unhappy.
    She definately needs some prayer.

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