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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Ireland_______________
Ire over leader’s “partner”
Cardinal caught in public dispute
]Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern caused a furor in May when he had his live-in companion co-host a reception for Cardinal Desmond Connell.
Many Protestant clergy boycotted the event and some Catholic leaders openly criticized Ahern—who is separated, but not divorced, from his wife, and lives openly with his companion Celia Larkin. While Ahern pushed the bounds of what some consider good taste by having Larkin host the party, he spared Cardinal Connell from having to greet her in front of reporters and photographers in the courtyards of Dublin Castle before the reception. Larkin arrived earlier and remained out of sight of reporters.
“What I find offensive is the fact that this has nothing to do with their private lives, but this is an official government invitation and it seems to me improper that the government should be condoning what is not a marital relationship,” said the Rev. Robert MacCarthy, Church of Ireland dean of St. Patrick’s in Dublin.
“The Taoiseach’s (prime minister’s) private life is entirely his own,” said Father Oliver Rafferty, professor of ecclesiastical studies at the National University of Ireland in Maynooth. “But the point is that he is intruding his private life into the public forum, and therefore that becomes a matter for the public.”
While divorce is now legal in Ireland, Ahern has made no public move to divorce his wife Miriam, with whom he has two children. However, his relationship with Larkin has been public since 1997 and she has accompanied him on official visits to other countries.
The reception, to which some 1,400 people were invited, was seen as creating a particularly difficult situation for Cardinal Connell, who has publicly supported the Church’s teachings on marriage in relation to the divorce laws. Some reports suggested the cardinal may not have known that Larkin would be present when Ahern originally extended the invitation to him.
A junior minister of the Irish government said that it was “a bit rich” for Catholics to criticize Ahern. Junior Foreign Minister Liz O’Donnell told the Irish Times that in light of recent pedophilia scandals, the Irish clergy should avoid discussions of public morality. “I think they should remember their own issues on public morals before they start giving very vocal advice on the private lives of others,” she said.