Irish Mass Goers Walk out over Priest's Anti-Semitic Comments, by Cathy Hayes, Irish Central, August 1, 2011

Irish Mass Goers Walk out over Priest's Anti-Semitic Comments

By Cathy Hayes
Irish Central
August 1, 2011

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish-mass-goers-walk-out-over-priests-anti-Semitic-comments-126508223.html

Kilkenny massgoers walked out of a church service last week after the priest described the Minister of Justice as 'Jewish and non practicing'

Kilkenny massgoers walked out of a church service last week after the priest described the Minister of Justice as 'Jewish and non practicing' during the sermon.

The priest, Fr Eddie Conway, preached at three Masses at the Black Abbey over the weekend.

"At the start of his sermon he said that the church had been in the news over the sex abuse scandals and that it had been a bad week for the church, one Massgoer told the Kilkenny People.

"He said that the scandal was a bad thing but that there was a bigger agenda that would become obvious in the next short while. He said that the agenda was been set by people who have a vested interest against the church including the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, who he described as Jewish and non practising and an atheist Minister and that child sex abuse was been used to get at the church.

He said that the sex abuse scandal was bad but that there was a lot more going on. I was disgusted by his remarks. They were bizarre and off the wall. I was not having any of it so I walked out and brought my children with me."

He added that two other people also walked out.

Fr Louis Hughes, the Prior of the Black Abbey, said he had not attended the Mass in question and that he had not received any complaints from members of the church regarding the sermon. He added that he has spoken to Fr Conway but would not remark on their conversation. He also said he told the priest "not to speak to the media."