Robert P. Lynch

An attorney, Adjunct Associate Professor, and a bagpiper who performs and teaches Irish music.

[Robert P. Lynch @Piobaire]

@Xtopher_Uzo No female altar servers and, apparently, only a pre-Vatican II without space for the presider to face the people.

[Henry Joy @DiscipleElland]

🪉NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES...

Just over a month ago, on a dark, wet Sunday morning, 68- year old Breandán Mac Cionnaith confronted a PSNI commander who had walked towards him on the Garvaghy Road.

"I said no negotiations", said Breandán

"Do you not know what no means...?"

Breandán now walked directly towards the Cop, who by this time, had almost walked right up into Breandán's face. The Press & Media were close beside them.

"But Mr McCionnath is there anything I can reasonably do to 'open discussions'..." said the Cop.

Breandán now walked even closer to him, visibly angry, and he interrupted the Cop again -

"No...no...!" he said as he pointed his finger towards the Cop - "Because youse aren't trusted...!".

In that one fleeting, dramatic, moment on Garvaghy Road, the PSNI, The British Government and the Orange Order knew that they had a problem.

A very big problem....

And that 'problem' was a man who simply refused to allow the spirit of his proud community to be broken.

In front of the World's media, 68 year-old Breandán MacCionnath had drawn a line in the sand.

There would be no going back... Not now, and not ever...

What followed in the weeks ahead was a mini revolution. 15,000 people from all over Ireland turned up on Breandán's Road to support him & his community.

Political leaders within Nationalism led bravely from the front. Irish people united together to stand as one. Something not seen decades....

Messages of support came from around the Globe. The U.S Congress, The European Parliament and far beyond. Rallies were held in Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Philadelphia and many more...

Dozens of movie and rock stars pledged their support. Noel Gallagher led the voices....

This was becoming a seminal moment.

This morning, outside the High Court in Belfast, Breandán Mac Cionnaith addressed the media in a quiet and dignified manner.

His victory had been secured, but as always, Breandan did not speak of celebrations. Instead, he simply remembered the 21 innocent victims who had lost their lives all those years ago. He spoke about their families and the grief that still haunts them...

And then he left.

Not always in this World does justice prevail. But today it did...

And it was acheived by a man who simply refused to have his spirit broken...

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it".
Nelson Mandela.

HENRY JOY. 🪉🇮🇪

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

NEW: An order of New York nuns founded in 1817 has rebuked the bishops who laid hands on President Trump 12 days before the midterms.

“Images carry messages,” the Sisters of Charity wrote. “Silence carries messages, too.”

The nuns have a powerful ally in Pope Leo XIV, who has put women at the center of his leadership. They now run three Vatican dicasteries, a larger share than in Trump’s cabinet. https://t.co/pxZoraf8wA

[Robert P. Lynch @Piobaire]

@JamesMartinSJ @StJohnsU https://t.co/GMitocGLfH

[Robert P. Lynch @Piobaire]

@JamesMartinSJ @StJohnsU Yay! I found the recorded livestream!

[James Martin, SJ @JamesMartinSJ]

Wonderful encounter during my time at St. John's University @StJohnsU in New York this week. This young woman is from my hometown of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., where much of my new book, "Work in Progress," is set. We went to the same elementary school (Ridge Park) and the same high school (Plymouth-Whitemarsh), both of which figure in the narrative. She also knew that little meadow in which I had an early experience of God's presence, as described in the book. "I know just where that is!" she said. Great to see you again! And Go Colonials!

Image: Chapel of St. Thomas More, St. John's University.

[Maria Shriver @mariashriver]

While the pope rests his voice, May those of us from across the globe who rely on his decency, his morality, his integrity, his wisdom on so many issues, raise up our voices until he can speak again. May we be so loud that he can hear us from his room! May he know that those who count on him from all religions are using their voices on the issues they care about — loudly, compassionately, and clearly.

I use my voice today to bring attention to the need for more federal investment in Alzheimer’s research, as well as the outage I feel about wanting to televise a public execution. We are better than this.

Now it’s your turn to raise YOUR voice about the issues that matter most to YOU, and I’m tagging in @timothyshriver, @stephruhle, @annelamott, @shannonrwatts, @emmahemingwillis, @drlauraberman, and @adam_kinzinger to get us started! Let’s go!

[Fr. Brian Paulson, S.J. @briangpaulson]

The Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States joins the Church and people of goodwill throughout the world in praying for Pope Leo XIV as he recovers from surgery and faces a lung cancer diagnosis. https://t.co/u5H8gRy1Oq

[Kevin Campbell @KevinCampSF]

The North was designed so that we could never be in charge and unionism would always lead.
But change has happened and Sinn Féin are now the largest party in both council & assembly. The days of the orange state are gone, never to return and a United Ireland is closer than ever.

[Robert P. Lynch @Piobaire]

@maria_catholic4 @RealAdVaticanum Yes, with Vatican II being a vital part of the “Sacred Tradition” leg.

[Michelle O’Neill @moneillsf]

We have just received confirmation that there will be no unwanted Orange march down the Garvaghy Road.

[James Martin, SJ @JamesMartinSJ]

The Catholic Church teaches that the death penalty is "inadmissible," primarily because every human being has God-given dignity, even a murderer, even a mass murderer. The televising of an execution is barbarism of the worst kind, offering up death as entertainment.

Some Catholics still reject Pope Francis's magisterial pronouncement on the death penalty, which is now included in the Catechism. But opposition to the death penalty, grounded in the respect for all human life, is not a brand new doctrine. Rather, it is one that took time to develop, as the church came to understand more deeply the innate dignity of every human life.

"The new evangelization calls for followers of Christ who are unconditionally pro-life: who will proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life in every situation. A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that the dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. . . . I renew the appeal I made . . . for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary."

—St. John Paul II, St. Louis, Missouri, January 27, 1999

[Christopher Lamb @ctrlamb]

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been elected Dean of the College of Cardinals.

Tagle, from the Philippines, is the first prelate from Asia to hold this post, which includes presiding over a conclave (provided he's under 80 at the time) and the pre-conclave meetings.

The dean is the spokesman for the cardinals and is the "first among equals" leader & co-ordinator of the college.

[Garrett Hargan @GAHargan]

It's fascinating to see all of the hot takes from people who haven't the first clue about the North; whether they're from the South, Britain or elsewhere. From the sort of people who'd casually use the term 'Nordie scum' or think they're much more open-minded, cultured and tolerant. Easy to do so from a distance when they don't live the reality of sectarian politics every day. Something that literally filters into rows about the use of dual-language signage; to decisions about which children, which schools, which groups, which communities should and should not benefit from funding here.

Top of the list of things to be considered is the dark and murderous past linked to the parade, including the killing of children. Not something that should be brushed aside when it is clearly still raw and a source of trauma for many residents, including families who were directly impacted.

According to the blow-in experts on the intricacies of NI politics, it's so simple and straightforward that:

1. The march was rejected by the Parades Commission for almost 30 years. The Parades Commission made a decision a couple of days before this march was due to take place with little time for it to be scrutinised.

2. A non-contentious route was/has been available to the Orange Order for years which they don't/won't accept.

3. The PSNI assessment — finding they had 'no information' to indicate the parade would result in violence or disorder — which informed the Parades Commission decision to approve the march is being questioned by many people. The same PSNI says it can't take paramilitary flags off lamp posts due to the perceived risks. And can't touch offensive/contentious bonfires containing racist/sectarian material because it poses too much of a risk.

4. One judge ruled that the march should not go ahead on Sunday. Another judge ruled differently, hours before it was due to take place.

Orange Order parades that happen elsewhere (including my home city of Derry) routinely feature the playing of anti-Catholic tunes (The Billy Boys & No Pope of Rome) and the glorification of loyalist paramilitaries who prided themselves on murdering Catholics. Why is that normalised? The media plays a significant role in that.

Why do people march alongside those people every year (including politicians) without publicly condemning and ostracising them?
Indeed if the police attempt to act — as they half-heartedly did when a band wore Soldier F uniforms in support of a man who stood trial for murdering innocent civilians on Bloody Sunday (with the intention of antagonising the families of innocent victims who sought justice for decades) — some politicians were practically apoplectic with rage and cried 'two-tier policing'.

What do UVF or UDA men who murdered Catholics during the Troubles have to with the celebration of historic events from 1690 (when Protestant King William defeated Catholic King James)?

Would the same politicians backing this as a human rights issue say republicans have a right to march wherever they like?

Would a republican march with anti-Protestant tunes and paramilitary trappings be accepted through the Shankill, Fountain estate or Ballymena?

What about an anti-Jewish march, where they play anti-Jewish tunes, through a predominately Jewish neighbourhood in London?
Would the Met Police get on board with that?
Would officers say there was no risk of disorder?

Why do I not see the same people who are so flippant about this march going ahead ever comment on those realities?

Do you stand up for the feelings of all communities or just some when it suits your liberal-minded, holier-than-thou agenda?

If you're going to patronise people at least demonstrate that you are consistent.

We've some southern darlings lecturing communities, telling the untamed savages to catch a grip. Telling them they're at fault for jeopardising the prospect of a unity referendum. Your interest in the North is surface level at best. Pipe down.

[Robert P. Lynch @Piobaire]

@JeremyWesthead @fergalrte @john_notabot False equivalence always distracts from the truth.

[Robert P. Lynch @Piobaire]

@Irina_exh 71 and done it all… at least all 20 shown.

[Robert P. Lynch @Piobaire]

@JamesMartinSJ @DollyParton America, thank God, does not have royalty, but if we did …

[Robert P. Lynch @Piobaire]

RT @JamesMartinSJ: RIP @DollyParton: "Dolly lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus." I greatly admired her during her long and suc…

[Robert P. Lynch @Piobaire]

@RechargAmerica History will certainly record hin as the worst American president to date.