THE former High Court judge, Mr Rory O'Hanlon, has called on Irish Catholics to sign "a message of love, loyalty and support" which he and a small group of conservative Catholics will present to Pope John Paul II next month to mark the golden jubilee of his ordination as a priest.
On October 23rd, they will present the Pope with an illuminated manuscript on vellum, in the style of the Celtic monastic manuscripts, containing an address composed by Cardinal Newman to Pope Pius IX in the mid 19th century. It has been produced by an expert calligrapher, Mr Tim O'Neill.
Its introductory text invokes the Pope's words at the close of his 1979 visit to Ireland: "Ireland: semper fidelis, always faithful."
It goes on to quote Cardinal Newman: "The voice of Peter is now, as it ever has been, a real authority, infallible when it teaches, prosperous when it commands, ever taking the lead wisely and distinctly in its own province, adding certainty to what is probable, and persuasion to what is certain. Before it speaks, the most saintly may mistake and after it has spoken, the most gifted must obey."
Mr O'Hanlon said at a press conference in Dublin yesterday that they had received 20,000 to 30,000 signatures even before the project had been publicly launched. With the help of parish clergy it was now hoped to have forms available at churches throughout the country, which members of the congregation could sign.
The book containing the manuscript will be on public display in University Church, St Stephen's Green, Dublin, from September 16th to October 16th.