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Thursday, September 11, 2003
Old friends should be best for a man true to his word
COLOURFUL cleric Fr Neil Horan is unlikely to be accorded a civic reception when he returns home to Kerry on vacation later in the year – but he should be!
One can only admire the man, who describes himself as a priest on sabbatical, for having the courage to risk life and limb to highlight his beliefs but, in that respect, he has been ploughing a long furrow for decades. In keeping with our policy of giving a voice to individuals or groups that find themselves in a distinct minority, this newspaper has been charting the life and times of the Scartaglin-born priest for many years.
We have reported faithfully on his one-man crusade for world peace, his peace dance at the House of Commons, his correspondence with world leaders and his heartfelt belief that the end of the world, as we know it, is fast approaching and will be replaced by "a glorious new world". Fr Horan’s publicity campaign has stemmed from a genuine belief that the end is nigh and, dear reader, who are we to dispute his stance or dismiss his predictions? His decision to race onto the track at Silverstone while the British Grand Prix was in full flight was the act of a man desperate to get his point across and it confirmed that he was willing to risk his own life be true to his convictions.
Fr Horan has since expressed remorse but said he acted because he felt previous attempts to get his views aired on an international stage had been unsuccessful. "I am not planning any more stunts and I will not break the law again," he declared before adding that he hopes to return to Kerry later this year to visit his family. It is people like Fr Neil Horan that make this world an interesting place and he deserves to be treated with respect and with dignity on his return.
It is interesting that senior officials in the Catholic Church, who were quick to appeal for respect for a bishop who fathered a child and used diocesan funds to hide the fact, are remaining strangely mute on the Fr Neil Horan issue.
Now more than ever the Scartaglin man, who was educated at St Brendan’s College in Killarney and ordained close by at St Mary’s Cathedral, needs the support of old friends
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