Denis Faul dies
Monsignor Denis Faul following a long illness. He was 75. To his admirers, he was a tireless campaigner for justice in the tradition of ; to critics, he was a meddlesome priest with a political agenda.
One of the most controversial religious figures of the Northern Ireland Troubles, Fr Faul was Catholic chaplain in the Maze Prison during the hunger strikes of 1980 and 1981, and his interventions were significant in bringing those protests to an end.
He and his colleague Fr Raymond Murray were among the first to the proclaim the innocence of the and the . Their co-authored 1976 pamphlet, , made a case for a miscarriage of justice a full decade before the plight the Birmingham Six gained serious public attention.
In recent years, Denis Faul campaigned to have the bodies of 'the disappeared' returned to their families, very directly on the issue. Though some in Northern Ireland will regard his contribution as one-sided, for more than four decades he has challenged just about every institution and power grouping in Northern Ireland with criticisms of injustice. In 1977, he told the IRA their military campaign was both spurious and inconsistent with Catholic teaching; his criticisms of the judiciary as far back as 1967 earned him a rebuke from the then Catholic primate Cardinal Conway; and though was outspoken in regularly challenging the record of the police and army during the 70s and 80s, he was also a critic of the Patten Report on policing in Northern Ireland because in his judgment, to pay 'more specific tribute to the 302 men and women of the RUC who were murdered and the eight or nine thousand who were seriously injured'. Denis Faul could never be pigeon-holed, politically or religiously, though many have tried.
Comments
Denis Faul was a true Christian. Would that there more like him in Ireland, north and south. God rest him.
I am sorry to hear about the death of Msr. Faul.
Regardless, I do not like Liberation Theology because it is based on the same hatreds [ethnic racism, class struggles] practiced by the Republicans, Democrats, and Communists in Europe and North America and then exported to the rest of the world [including ethnic groups in Europe and North America] to make their lives miserable.
I could still remember [as a child in Ohio] that in school, a Liberation Theology Priest [during a Mass] talked about the need [these were his words] "To Eradicate the Pharisees from our midst". After the Mass, I told the Priest that "God is Love" and he stimulated the congregation do give me an "act of repudiation" which was of a Physical Nature.
There have been countless other victims and many [especially in the American Continent] converted to Evangelical Christianity. I myself was a Catholic in my own way with inspiration from my Latin and Celtic Roots [as well as being an Independent Libertarian].
I'm not sure what Roberto is smoking.
Anyway, this man was a voice of reason in Northern Ireland, particularly during the Hunger Strikes. I know little of his theology, but it appears that Faul could genuinely see past the political divide in Northern Ireland in a way that set him apart among public figures during the Troubles. For that he deserves admiration.
A sad loss. Denis had an integrity that crossed the religious divide, and he has left a mark on many who knew him. I did not agree with many of his campaigns but he was a man whose innate goodness shone through.
With all the comment on the death of Fr. Faul from so called political leaders, I would like to add as a former parishioner of Carrickmore, my feelings, as a non political person, of sadness and joy at the loss of the unassuming and gentle man that baptised two of my children, that blessed my home in Loughmacrory, that followed me home from "the once" Omagh Hospital {before the mindless bureaucrats of the DHSSPS and the "nothing to do with me" British Minister of the month for health, education, chaos, and disinformation destroyed it) after seeing my baby son's name on the hospital inpatient's black board, let himself into my home and appeared in my living room to bless my child. This is the man I remember, this is the man I have lost, this is the man, the ordinary man that cared, that loved, that tried to save lives, that was not afraid to be himself - God Bless You Father Faul; we will never forget you, Sean Flanagan and family, Roslea, Co. Fermanagh.
To John Wright: I am not smoking anything. I respect what Msr. Faul did for Ireland and I am sorry about his death.
But I do not respect Liberation Theology because of its class and ethnic hatreds [which I have seen and documented in this thread]. I also consider Liberation Theology a theology based on hypocrisy and intolerance.
Because of these concepts, Liberation Theology has given rise to Evangelical Christianity [as interpreted by Bush and Company].
Those who were turned off [or had their human and civil rights violated] by the established religions because of Liberation Theology establish [and/or joined] Non Denominational Christian Churches [and/or] Evangelical Churches.
Others [in the American Continent] either drifted into atheism, Libertarianism, or Green Party
Values.
Then we have the comments of why America became more insensitive than in previous times.
Instead of making comments about smoking, visit America and The American Continent and take a look on why America became what it is today [a nation of extremes].