25 Years Ago Sinead O'Connor tore up a picture of the Pope on live SNL during The Troubles

[sjoes006]

If you care to listen to the whole song, much was controversial then but still coming to light and troubling the Roman Catholic Church even to this day. O'Connor is from the Republic of Ireland and raised Catholic. Her protest was more about the Church than The Troubles but slightly about both and pointing the finger first religion.

Audible gasps can be heard in the audience. This was basically an unacceptable performance in the eyes of even Noncatholics.

It looks now a lot clearer to me, almost necessary. It ended her careeer deadstop. No one would touch her because she this little performance on live TV without running it past producers. No one knew she was going to call one of the most beloved men on the planet evil.

All I can think is young, dumb but mostly brave and it mattered. It continues to matter.

I think today we'd call it terrorism, seriously. She wasn't a member of the IRA or Protestant. She failed to feature a trigger warning and faced some people to hear some hard truths and OPINIONS.

I'm not against Pope John Paul, I cried on my bare knees kneeling under the basilica infront of his tomb, beside St Peter.

I am for people's right to speak out, particularly when it is against their own leaders of faith, no matter how hard or the cost.

[zagor]

With how much damage the Catholic Church and other religious groups have caused with their opposition to birth control, I have to agree with her.

[Catholicgirl22]

It was a publicity stunt gone wrong. Pop artists, comedians, actors and other celebrities try to prop up their failing career or popularity with stunts designed to shock and appall people, Kathy Griffin picture holding a knife and Trump's head is the latest example of a publicity stunt and of course Maddona has had a lot of publicity stunts over the years with less and less success. Marilyn Manson in the 90s was great at this because he'd shock and offend Christians who would then publically burn his Cds and merchandise which of course they had to purchase in the first place all in front of news stations which was good PR and drove up album sales so it was win win for him.
It was a PR stunt she didn't think out as Catholicism is a majority religion in most of the countries she sells her music to.

[sjoes006]

She was at the height of her career. This was still during The Troubles but towards the end years. Irish were pretty much tired of 30 years of sectarian violence. Living behind walled cities and just, enough.

Young, dumb and emboldened it was for sure. But she new what she was doing would basically make it impossible for her to enter Ireland for some time without threat of death.

Her country was still in the middle of an over 30 year long struggle against unlawful foreign occupation of 6 of its counties.

The Church did not step in to help and people got tired of it. They got tired of war for a church that had forgotten them.

[Catholicgirl22]

I'm sorry but the catholic church in Ireland was actually at the heart of the peace process. Wherever you looked at the height of the troubles you'd see a priest from father Daly escorting a child the British army shot to hospital to Father Alec Reid giving two British soldiers the last rites. The Catholic church in northern Ireland had been for years providing education and charitable services to Catholics for years when the unionist state wouldn't.
Her country is the republic of Ireland. Prodestants in northern Ireland were in the majority at the time and would rather have stayed in the UK.
I don't think Sinnead O Connor like a lot of people from the southern Ireland cared much about the north except when the North' s problems came South as it sometimes did in the form of bombs.
It was 1992 at the start of the revelations of child abuse and cover ups in the catholic church and that was what she was protesting. I dont think she much cared about that but was jumping on the bandwagon as

[Catholicgirl22]

... celebrities often do.

[BigRayFromNC]

My opinion of Sinead O'Connor when she did that was exactly what is in the photo attached and she is what is on the ground with Fly's and Maggots eating it!!!

[Mr_Jolly]

Sinead was protesting child sex abuse by catholic clergy, and the systematic cover-up by the church, will still alive and well today. She was incredibly brave and I shall always respect her for that alone, as well as being a brilliant songstress.

[sjoes006]

I wish she would have written her own song. Because she was saying more or wanted to but only planned it a week out.

It was still about the problems of the occupation of Ireland and the divide between the people. It was a turn not against each other but toward the true problem.

[Likes2drive]

I remember that, it was talked about everywhere, she was protesting about all the bad things going on in the church that they covered up

[sjoes006]

Well yes for certain. If you listen to her give the whole story she first names the British empire and their systematic cleansing and deculturalization that went on for over 200 years.

The Potato Famine as not a lack of food but lack of access to food whilst fish and other proteins were exported and Irish were only allowed to eat potato.

She states in an interview that she was pissed the Roman church knew this was going on in Ireland and still other places and profited from it through power.

She tries to draw a line between this and why so many Irish kids are rapped and the culture was broken. Remember this was during The Troubles and the island was in a state of civil war.

I was about 7 when this happened. My parents had explaining to do as my Dad was Irish and we were Catholic. They had me watch In The Name of The Father after.

Bad Rome but free Ireland is what I took from it.

It was how I first learned about why my Dad didn't live there anymore.

[Likes2drive]

Oh ok, explains a lot , I m not catholic but I remember the incident since I was 26 at the time but there were so many things going on at that time also but it was talked about a lot

[sjoes006]

Yeah it was a big deal I learned when I was older. She couldn't go back to Ireland safely for a while. Noncatholics were offended.

I always felt that if she was a proddy, then maybe people could get upset. But she was Catholic in a country just tired of the fighting and all the history and subtext that led up to the senseless fights.

U2 struck it rich with Bono being from a split house and less aggressive style. Sunday Bloody Sunday and War.

But it was a hard time. I can remember being a child visiting England on a flight and being ashamed because I had to have my Lent meal and their was this guilt amongst the air hostesses.

[Likes2drive]

Interesting and stressful times back then for some it seems

[Juxtapose]

Good. F*** the pope. He is not infallible and cannot talk to a fictional character.