Archbishop Neill is right about the Constitution's preamble

The preamble to the Irish Constitution is deeply sectarian and should be changed. A Constitution should be capable of attracting the allegiance of all citizens of the country and one which doesn't, essentially, is signaling that some citizens matter less than the others. It does not mean that the ethos and values of the majority should be discarded or devalued, just that only those principles and values to which everyone does or can give allegiance should be expressed in the Constitution.

The preamble reads:

^ "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,

^ Gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation,

^ And seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations,

^ Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution.

Not everyone in Ireland believes in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity or in God. Even those who do believe in God many of them would not accept that "authority" comes from God, rather they might believe authority comes for the people, especially in a sovereign republic. Some of us might believe that the idea of authority coming from God is potentially menacing, for those who claim to know the mind of God might be prompted to use this as a means of advancing their own claims to authority, irrespective of what the people might think.

Quite a significant minority would not accept the status of Jesus, as suggested by the preamble. And very certainly, very many citizens would take exception to the idea that this same Jesus sustained our "fathers" through centuries of "trial". What "trial"? The "trial" of religious discrimination by those who also believe they were acting under the authority and with the blessing of Jesus? Some might find the "fathers" reference offensive also.

As for the "Gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation", what selective, tendentious balderdash. The "struggle" was not always "heroic", it certainly was not "unremitting" and the suggestion independence was "rightful", while playing to the sentiments of most of us who are nationalists, is dismissive of those of a different historical perspective. And the "nation" bit, do we really needed to import the loaded significances attaching to that concept into our Constitution?

The last bit about "Seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations,", seems relatively uncontentious, although we might be a little uneasy about the significance of the capital letters, unhappy with the notion of the "common good" (the problem with that is whose concept of the "common good" should prevail and prevail against what, individual rights?) and who now gives such a priority to the "unity of our country", instead of the "unity of our people" in the peaceful pursuit of justice?

We could have a simple preamble which would acknowledge the different religious traditions here and our commitment to religious tolerance, our commitment to justice and equity, and to peace and international accord.

The incorporation of bits of the 1916 Proclamation might not be a bad idea either, especially the following: "The right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies… sovereign and indefeasible; (the guarantee of) religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all... citizens; (the resolve) to pursue the happiness and prosperity of the whole nation and all of its parts, cherishing all of the children of the nation equally and oblivious of the differences… which have divided a minority from the majority in the past".

It is heartening that a senior churchman here, John Neill, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, acknowledge the preamble was, in our context, "pretty meaningless". He said in an interview with the Irish Times, published on Tuesday, 10 January said the emphasis in the Constitution should be on "recognition of the role and name of religions in society rather than on pledging the country to any one religious expression".

The politicians should act.

vincent browne