Peace campaigner John Hume is knighted by Pope Benedict

He'll be one of the last people to receive such a knighthood, one hopes.. Next pope is the final one folks!

John Hume is a great man who richly deserves every honor!

(…more) Ironically, though it is a Papal Award, the Pope doesn’t choose anyone to give the award to and it does not mean that John Hume is now a stooge of the Pope. The award usually comes about on foot of recommendations of people in the citizen’s own community to the Bishop of that community and the cause is then led by the Bishop to the Vatican’s Secretary of State. The Pope just rubber stamps it. Don’t worry… John Hume will not be called ‘Sir John’ as in your ‘proddi’ language. There are three other Orders of Military Chivalry going back to the time of the Crusades. The present Irish-American Cardinal O’Brien (of Baltimore?) is the current Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the most highly regarded Orders of Military Religious Chivalry. Cardinal O’Brien was ‘knighted’ Grand Master for his services to the 2 million or so Catholic members of the US Armed Forces worldwide. Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre are monk-knights, religious clerics under the protection of the Holy See. The people of Derry and elsewhere in Nth Ireland are to be commended for nominating Mr. Hume for this citizen's knighthood.

cillowen - RC Knighthoods are not a bit new… you need to brush up on history of knighthoods which existed in England before Protestantism and therefore before your so-called ‘proddi knightings’). Papal Knighthoods (properly called Orders of Chivalry; there are five Order levels), mostly go back to just the Crusades. John Hume shares one of the knighthoods – that of the Order of St. Gregory the Great – with John McCormack, the world famous Irish Tenor who was papal-knighted three times and also awarded the title Count - Count John McCormack as he later became known as. It is the fourth level of knighthood, generally given to citizens, even of any religion, for exceptional services to mankind and the Church. Women are awarded the title of Dame of St. Gregory the Great. (More…)

Knighted for ending violence? Colonial occupation is violence and violates the universal declaration of human rights. It is the duty of all to resist invasion and denial of national sovereignty.

Freedom first then peace. Are the Britts out yet? Is Northern Ireland still under Brittish rule. Is all of Ireland united and free?

Knighted by the pope Portia! Not even by the Queen who is the head of NI where Hume is from! the Pope!

Hilarious. Oh how our children will look back at the hypocrisy of being knighted.