A tree has roots

by Harry Smith

In this booklet the author takes us on a journey back through Irish church history since 1100AD. Henry II came here with Papal authority to bring Ireland under its political control and the aberrant Celtic Church under the authority of the Papacy, through its use of the gradually developing Doctrine of Discovery and the “empire spirit”. He argues that there is much in the separate histories across the island of Ireland that we collectively need to understand, own, repent of and be reconciled over, especially in the light of the fact that we have been divided over the same root issue mentioned above – the spirit of empire. We continue to see the fruit of that “seed” being played out politically, spiritually and culturally today. What is present is a tool for discussion, prayer, repentance and reconciliation - the possibility of a new narrative for moving forward!

86 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2023

About the author

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Reviews

[David Campton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of facts, that even a history geek like me didn't know, packed into this short booklet. A couple of frustrating errors, probably due to editing (suggesting that Henry VIII's break with the Catholic church was due to lack of children with Catherine of Aragon, rather than lack of a male heir) or a simple typo (reference to Breton rather than Brehon Law), but that didn't diminish the importance of the issues discussed here, which are largely a development of Harry's long term critique of the spiritual effect of the 1912 Ulster Covenant and 1916 Irish Proclamation of Independence. Here he focuses on the older Doctrine of Discovery and how it has underpinned a colonial mindset here and elsewhere. I am not as convinced as he is as to the causal effect of the DOD or even the covenant on the spiritual and political landscape... rather I see both as symptomatic of the tension that has always existed from the beginnings of scripture between an oppresive, colonising, imperial/nationalist mindset and that of the kin-dom of God.