Periscope

A leading Catholic lay figure I know who is a deeply compassionate and caring man gives a different read on the church crisis in Ireland than you will read anywhere else.

His points are thought provoking.

Essentially, he says the reason the matter of child abuse got out of hand can be found at the very kernel of the meaning of being a Catholic priest.

A truly pastoral church is what is needed in Ireland today, one responsive to the wishes of the people rather than a bureaucracy in Rome at the Vatican.

The church in Ireland has long been divided between the Celtic and Roman affiliations.

The Celtic church adherents stress the pastoral nature of the church, the need to be at one with their flock and deal with the problems that arise on the pastoral level. It is locally based and grounded.

Republicans have sent a bill to the House floor looking to end the diversity visa program which allows 50,000 immigrants a year to enter the country through a lottery system.

I hope it passes and in the US Senate too.

The diversity visas, known as the Schumer visas after Senator Charles Schumer, originally started out as a visa system to help more Irish come legally to America after they were frozen out by the 1965 immigration act.

The stars have capsized in Ireland and Britain this week. In Britain the Wicked Witch, alias Rupert Murdoch, is dead and the populace is waking up to a new reality.

In Ireland the Prime Minister Enda Kenny gave the most courageous speech arguably in the country's history when he confronted the Vatican with the fallout from their benighted policy of covering up child sexual abuse.

This is a country remember, where until relatively recently the "special position of the Catholic Church" was enshrined in the constitution.

Michele Bachmann gets migraine headaches -- should this disqualify her from running for the White House?

That seems to be the gist of today's New York Times article which examined migraines in deep detail and appears to indicate that Bachmann may have a problem.

To which I say bullbleep.

Dissident IRA groups are seeking a foothold once again in America and are making a major push according to reliable sources.

In recent months they have focused on Irish American civil rights activists, many of whom have attended at nationalists events aimed at stopping Orange marchers going through their neighborhoods.

The Guardian’s latest revelation that The Sunday Times among other Murdoch publications, hacked into phone calls as well leads me to believe I took part in one of those conversations.

In January 1994 complete details of a conversation I had with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams were reported some of it verbatim in the London Sunday Times owned by Murdoch.

Clearly someone was hacking or wiretapping the phone of Gerry Adams.

Fine Gael have picked the least popular candidate from their ranks to run for president of Ireland in Gay Mitchell pictured center above with Prime Minister Enda Kenny after his election.

His selection throws the race for president of Ireland wide open again.

It was Fine Gael's to lose and they may just have.

The hacking scandal in Britain will be that country's Watergate I predict, a spreading scandal and cancer that will eat away at the heart of the Britihs political, law enforcement and media establishment.

It may well take down Rupert Murdoch, described as the most power man in Britain since Winston Churchhill and the Prime Minister David Cameron as well.

The Murdoch question comes down to ala Watergate what did he know and when did he know it?

The death of a newspaper at any time is an event full of tragedy for all those concerned but in the case of The News of the World it is hard to feel any sympathy.

The newspaper simply crossed the line between tabloid journalism and criminal behavior and it had to go.

Known universally as 'The News of the Screws' for its focus on sex scandals and the like, it was a classic Murdoch newspaper, full of tits and tattle masquerading as the conscience of British society.

Noreen Bowden has worked on Irish emigrant issues for 20 years and headed up the Irish Emigrant Advice Network at one point for several years .

She understands better than most the ambivalence in Ireland towards emigrants and those who leave the country.

She has just written a thought provoking piece for Journal.ie on this very subject. It makes compelling reading.

July 4th, Independence Day, that we celebrate today, transformed the world forever.

The divine right of kings, the old order, foundered never to return in the same strength.

Rory McIlroy as a poster boy for the Republican race for president in 2012?

That is exactly what top Republican strategist Matthew Dowd is advocating in National Journal this week.

Dowd writes "Before Rory McIlroy’s triumph fades in our memories, it’s worth considering the lessons the young Irishman’s U.S. Open victory offers for the 2012 presidential race.