It doesn’t follow that an atheist is the enemy of all religions.

The biggest enemy the church has is themselves..

He’s an education minister trying to change the education system to be more like the way the vast majority of people want it to be… Religion free. Your comment smacks of a cry of persecution, the first place the unreasonable go when they don’t like the way the wind is blowing, followed swiftly, of course by a bit of mud slinging for good measure.

“look here, he can’t be telling the truth, his nephew is corrupt”.

You look at any individual on the planet, and go two spaces in any direction

We are a Republic, which means separation of Church and state. Surely real issue should be why church has been allowed to contaminate education for so long?

(cont..damn iPhone) in any direction on their family tree and see who is left squeaky clean by those standards.

Ruairi my friend because you make no lies about wanting the separation of Church and State that is enough for the Church to claim persecution. The fact that you ask for the payment of the compensation owed by the relugious orders and not turn a blind eye to it as the previous government did makes you agressive and strident. Playing the victim is one of their favourite games.

In a secular system all are included. Religious way you discriminate against anyone who doesn’t follow your archaic rules. So to me it’s religion that is the enemy.

why would someone be upset about being seen as an enemy of child rapists?

about time an Irish political party was brave enough to stand up to the church in Ireland and its monopoly on deciding tin relegion of the people. for those who doubt the influence they have see curriculum books which say its against gods law to use contraception.

Ruairi Quinn is doing well.

Thank God I’m an Atheist like Ruairi.

All the little catholic servants are coming out from under their rocks now. Opus Dei, CFM, Iona. Your day is over.

@David – we the dogs on the street know that the 87% of the population that is Catholic want religion-free schools. You can now quote us to substantiate your claim above. As in “The Dogs on the Street know …”

No your not. Isn’t that the devils job?

His nephew has not been convicted of any offence. People should be careful about what they post.

He should be more worried about being seen as a “Yes” man to Europe and its austerity treaty… I agree there should be a clear delineation of church and the eductaion system… But if we vote Yes to the treaty, there is a snowballs chance in hell of getting approval from the EU to spend the money to make the separation possible.

Fair enough castigating the church but it’s fair enough licking the backsides of the Chinese. Populist Hypocites

True, true

Nothing contradictory about you at all Quinny. A millionaire socialist is the norm for Labourl

donkey !

Quinn occupies another ministry with more reverse gears than a Taliban travelling library. There is ample, more than ample, evidence that calls into question Roman Catholic school patronage. It seems very strange that the government would close the Vatican embassy, the nearest to breaking off relations, and yet continue to permit its agents to dominate education policy and continue in school management. It is grotesque. Religious formation should be done outside state funded school hours. Quinn started out well, like so many others, but has failed abysmally to implement, not just talk about, the important decisions on church and state.

What book is that?

Quinn is anti Church. He is clear about this himself. He is therefore not being in anyway misrepresented. Therefore I don’t see how he can assert that he is being caricatured.

In UK The head of both church and state are the same person.
Most people there are not bothered with it and get on with the important things in life

Mr Quinn lets get something right here for once, You have not nor would be an enemy of the Catholic Church you know this and they know this, you and the so called Catholic Church are stealing this money from where it belongs in total TO THE VICTIMS OF BOTH YOU AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. Since when do two guilty party’s of the same crime make 50 50 deals or share 50 50 of the time for crime especially against children, is there no measure you the Government and church go to by playing such games to try and fool the tax payer? you got most of your funds back in taxes you publish the total bill but never the tax return on the bill, you then insult survivors of these crimes time and time again by enforcing a useless fund titled statuary fund by which you dump all the funds into YET children of survivors yes we have very young children who you left out of the funds, when your office realized this you sent a cover letter to cover your crime yet against the children by writing I did not fill in appropriate forms yet before this your office after a year contacting you said sorry no funds for children. It was obvious you your office of EDUCATION are incompetent and so selfish you never gave a darn. You even struggled to read what you call your bill your fight for the statuary fund you really struggled as not even prepared for it in the Dail No sir you have not made yourself an enemy of the church you have made yourself the enemy of all decent survivors. Your office gains the money involved to pay for costs that decent tax payers expect to cover not the flippen banks. you and your Government sir are grabbing all the money till we all bleed. Resign sir you have no idea on Education because if you did Just two funds would have been the healing process.

1 WELFARE. THE HARDSHIP FUND YOU REMOVED FROM THE MOST VULNERABLE SURVIVORS JUST BECAUSE THEY RECEIVED REDRESS, TO BE SEEN AS SUFFICIENT SAVINGS THAT ARE BEING SUCKED DRY TO COVER BILLS AND THE SUCH IN NO TIME AT ALL. CAN BE PROVED.

2. PENSIONS FOR SURVIVORS AND MAGDALEN LAUNDRY WOMEN WHO WERE AS YOUNG AS 14 YET YOU NEVER RESEARCH TIHIS SAYING THEY WERE WOMEN AND NOT OF THE STATE. ( what do you think Irish people are?) They were forced by a Dictatorship from Rome, and never protected.

What was the first on the fund list? ooops EDUCATION AND YOU ARE? OH RIGHT EDUCATION MINISTER. WHITEWASH WHITEWASH Where is the list who benefitted from the funds? plus the tax returns in full so far and rising.?

The greatest enemy Ireland has ever had is the Roman Catholic Church. It’s rich for an organisation that ran a Gulag torturing and raping children to start claiming they were the ones being persecuted. It’s irrational for a country to pay for schools run by the Vatican where they advance their own agenda. The RC church is effectively a State within the State with more regard for Canon Law then civil law. Good little Vatican fans like Bertie pulled a swift one by signing the Indemnity Deal effectively handing the bill for clerical child rape and torture back to the Irish people. If Mr. Quinn is not anti-RC he should be replaced with someone who is.

Polls show the majority of Irish people (whatever their own personal belieft) want the separation of church and state – this is not anti-church; this is reform that seeks to redress the grip that one discriminatory non-state organisation has on nearly our entire publicly-funded education system, a system that serves all citizens. It seems to me he is being very nice in the circumstances, considering the vitriol he is getting from people who are supposed to be adherents of such a loving ‘turn the other cheek’ faith!

This guy Quinn comes across as nothing b ut a crank with a spiteful / sad agenda. If he is not crying about the poor standard of education he himself received and then trying to reform the same education as one who has failed miserably, he is attacking the church. Now when he makes this Confession that he doesn’t hate the Church he wants forgiveness – maybe he has bitten off more than he can chew?

Mud slinging is always a bit of crack!!