This strikes me as a legal ploy and is simply stupid. Or are children actually being protected by this measure?
Stop the planet and let me off please!
Each diocese in Ireland has been directed to have specific guidelines governing the photography of children
Parents have been banned from taking photos of their children at Communion and Confirmation ceremonies.
The Irish Independent reports that each diocese in Ireland has been directed to have specific guidelines governing the photography of children while they are on church grounds.
According to the paper, the rules derive from the 'Safeguarding Standards' guidelines, introduced by the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in 2008, established in response to the clerical abuse scandals.
17 comments:
As a safeguarding measure, this is palpably pointless, so it's evidently the fruit of a deeper agenda.
Protecting the rights of individuals not to be photographed is a symptom of the same ideology that wants to protect individuals' rights to same-sex marriage, or abortion on demand. It's all about me, and about letting me live my life freely in my little bubble world, with no regard for anyone else, let alone for society or community.
I had thought that the economic crash had knocked some sense into Ireland, and revived a sense of community grounded in Catholicism. For a while, back around 2008-9, people felt a genuine sense of guilt for abandoning their old values, and there was a feeling that only through a reinvigorated Catholicism could the country redress its moral deficit.
But measures like this - not to mention the referendum on gay marriage - suggest that the forces of liberal individualism are still dominant (it'll be interesting to see if this is confirmed by the result of the referendum, which is being held on May 22).
Exactly former PI, you hit the nail on the head, no matter which church qualifies, that' church's pastor has to have the gumption, determination and wherewithal to organize a committee to do the work and see to it that it happens and on many, many different levels.
If a pastor has a blaze or antipathetic attitude, nothing gets done in the parish.
In England it is impossible to walk the street, go into a shop or bank, get on a bus or a train, without being recorded on CCTV. At the same time you get primary school headteachers who forbid parents from photographing their offspring performing in school plays or participating in sports days.
It's crazy and illogical. The same children are given compulsory sex education which must cover the mechanics of homosexual 'sex'. As far as I am concerned, you can't have sexual relations with someone of the same sex and attempts to do so are quite simply perversions. However, to say so could get me arrested.
It's a mad, mad world.
ohhhhhhhhhh that's PI!
It does seem to be a nutty nexus of control and protection. I know parents who are convinced their children are being stalked via the internet and perverts are downloading and selling photos of them for their photo albums (They are, BTW). But there is NOTHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT STOPPING IT. The state is now god and ts clergy are bureaucrats.
One man's "gumption" is another man's ego....wannabe...
This is a toughie for me, however I lean more in Favour of the ban than against. Parents these days foolishly forget the sacramental part of the liturgy for these Sacraments of Initiation, and turn them into glorified parties and days for them to Gush over their kids. The kids don't get it or forget the seriousness and sacramental nature of the day in light of the photography and big parties. I think this is appropriate WITH alternative measures for the day. I personally wouldn't want this allowed during the liturgy, but photography either post- liturgy OR for a few days on some weekends with a professional studio who makes packages like school photos, is appropriate to me.
As to the other commenters, you also have valid points with regard to societal hypocrisy. I also take the first posters' ideas a step further and say it's window dressing when the real abusers and ephebophiles are still in pastor-ships and episcopal positions and seminaries in the church. This isn't far enough you need to strip those clerics of all their faculties and status.
Seems extreme, but I dont think it has anything to do with promoting abortion, same-sex marriage, heavy-metal music or any of the other theories here. It's an extreme overreaction to an extreme crisis that will probably remain in place until enough people realize how ridiculous it is.
If you think it will keep any Irish parents or grandparents from shooting pictures of their kids, you don't know the Irish.
People don't know what to do anymore. Virtually everything has become politicized and "agenda-cized" to the point of insane-if-you-do and insane-if-you-don't.
Pictures used to be worth something when there was film, processing and printing costs. The money involved promoted a certain amount of self-restraint.
Now, like so many things today, it's photography gluttony.
Um, that's "blasé," not blaze...
A child to confirm,
A bond to affirm;
A picture to take,
A keepsake to make.
That can't possibly be him.
John Nolan,
Why are Britons allowing their nation to move from the center of Western Civilization to the back alley? It's very disappointing to witness.
JBS
Well, to start with, we in the UK have had copious doses of state socialism since 1945 - Margaret Thatcher bucked the trend to a certain extent, but individual freedom which involves an instinctive distrust of government has been eroded to a far greater extent here than in the United States.
Secondly, uncontrolled immigration has led to a knee-jerk acceptance of the concept of 'multiculturalism', which incidentally was condemned by both John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
Thirdly, we were too quick to take on ideas which actually originated in North America; feminism (which has nothing to do with women's rights), 'gay rights' and political correctness in all its forms.
I'm not sure that Britain ever laid claim to being the centre of Western civilization although in the last 400 years the English, Irish, Scots and Welsh have done more to shape the modern world than any other people. The existence of the USA and the modern state of India bear witness to this.
And England is still a pretty civilized place to live and the cuisine has improved out of all recognition. Honestly.
In our Share Everything culture, we have forgotten that many people have lives that warrant the need for their privacy to be protected. For example, I know that in my parish there have been custody battles involving non-Catholic parents unhappy with their children being brought up in our Catholic parish. Images used, say, on a parish website or distributed electronically could play an influential part of that discussion.
John Nolan,
I do hope things return to normality, and that what remains is not leveled. From Westminster to New Scotland Yard, the UK has much civilizing yet to offer the world. Now is not the time to lose confidence. I do hope you stand back up and carry on, for the betterment of us all.
JBS
Harold Macmillan, the last Prime Minister to have been born in the reign of Queen Victoria, had a cordial relationship with the much younger John F Kennedy. He once remarked to the President:
'For too long Britain has taken on the role of the honest broker.'
'Well, Harold, no nation could be more honest.'
'And none could be broker!'
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