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	Andrew Lynch: Now Enda Really Looks like a True Leader By Andrew Lynch The Herald July 21, 2011 http://www.herald.ie/opinion/andrew-lynch-now-enda-really-looks-like-a-true-leader-2827795.html Enda Kenny has come of age. On the same day that an opinion poll showed his popularity soaring to record levels, the Taoiseach delivered a speech that will go down in history as the moment when Irish leaders finally stopped bowing and scraping in front of the Catholic Church. After 36 years in the Dail, this is the Fine Gael leader's finest moment yet -- and whatever else he does, his electrifying condemnation of the Vatican creeps who protected child rapists will always stand to his credit. If a confirmed atheist such as Eamon Gilmore had made this speech, it would not have had the same impact. Kenny, on the other hand, is a practising Catholic who can be seen at mass with his family on Sunday mornings. By taking on the bishops in such uncompromising language, he spoke for every decent member of the Church who still values their faith but feel desperately let down by the men in black and their complete inability to tell right from wrong. Shock After all the revelations of clerical sex abuse in recent years, it might have been thought that nothing could shock us any more. Last week's Cloyne Report proved otherwise by showing that Irish bishops were still covering up for paedophile priests as recently as 2009. While men such as John Magee have conveniently disappeared, the Vatican's mealy-mouthed response has proved once and for all that the authorities in Rome simply don't get it. This is why Kenny's declaration of war was so badly needed. When the Murphy Report about sex offenders in Dublin was published in 2009, Brian Cowen made a pathetic defence of the Vatican in which he claimed, "The Holy See acted in good faith in this matter, even if the best outcome was not achieved." Now we finally have a Taoiseach who is not afraid of getting a belt of the crozier -- and is capable of speaking in plain English. For over a century, Ulster Protestants have been refusing to join a united Ireland on the grounds that 'Home Rule is Rome Rule'. Catholic morals were enshrined in the constitution, while the Church was allowed to run most of our schools and hospitals -- giving them access to children with the horrific consequences that we now know all too well. So, Enda Kenny has drawn a line in the sand. Now, can he back up those fine words with actions? The Government has promised groundbreaking legislation on mandatory reporting, but we have seen similar pledges fall by the wayside before -- and all the speeches in the world will be useless if we don't see priests being taken to the prison cells where they belong. For now, the Taoiseach deserves huge credit for making a speech that so many people have been crying out to hear. He finds himself in a strange position as the Dail heads into its summer break, personally more popular than he's ever been but head of a government that's seen by over half the electorate as a bit of a let-down. Enda Kenny finally looks like a true leader. If he can apply the same moral clarity to all the other problems facing us, the country will be in safe hands.
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