Chai Brady
Pro-choice activists pose in front of the Virgin Mary. The actions of Labour Youth in Maynooth have been condemned as “juvenile” and “disrespectful” after ‘F*** the Pope’ was posted twice from their official account.
An image of the Communications Officer of Labour Youth, Liam Haughey, was posted with him holding a sign which read “I am pro-choice because… F*** the Pope”.
The Labour Party released a statement acknowledging the posts, saying they were brought to the party’s General Secretary but had since been removed.
A spokesperson wrote: “All sections of the Labour Party have been reminded to abide by our code of conduct for social media, and to treat all points of view with respect.”
Offensive
Former Labour councillor Michael O’ Sullivan said it was “juvenile and offensive”, and that it does not speak for the party as a whole.
In a separate incident three pro-choice activists, not believed to be part of Labour Youth in the university, posed in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary – where St John Paul II prayed during his visit to the college in 1979 – causing similar insult.
Pat Montague, who is the former Labour Party Youth Officer and has been involved in the party for decades described the comments made by Labour Youth as having “no place in a modern pluralist society”.
“I think it’s a separate issue from Repeal the Eight, I think that it’s an issue of basic respect for other people’s opinions.”