Sinead O'Connor, Irish singer-songwriter, artist-musician, political activist and troubled soul died on July 26, 2023, at age 56.
Remember the late Pope John Paul II's tepid response to church child abuse, showing more concern with the effect the scandal was having on the church than the effect on the children. Sure Priests betrayed their vows, but he showed little concern about betrayals of the trust that a child has for their priest.
And remember the 1997 letter from the Vatican warning Ireland's Catholic bishops not to report all child-abuse cases to the police. The letter is described as the "smoking gun" showing that the church enforced a worldwide culture of covering up crimes by pedophile priests. The letter was signed by the late Archbishop Luciano Storero, Pope Joh Paul II's diplomat to Ireland.
Finally, I remember Sinead O'Connor on Saturday Night Live when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II. And her March 2010 open letter to Pope Benedict criticizing the Catholic Church's role in, and initial coverup of, the child abuse in Ireland.
She was castigated at the time, but Ms. O’Connor was right all along; we just weren’t ready to listen.
On August 8, 2023, in keeping with an old custom, Ms. O’Connor's coffin was first carried past her last family home in Ireland, in Bray, County Wicklow. While the family wished to keep the funeral private, they had invited the public to come to Bray for a last goodbye.Irish radio stations coordinated to broadcast Ms. O’Connor’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Ms. O’Connor was raised Catholic but converted to Islam in 2018, and she received a Muslim burial.
RIP Ms. O'Connor.