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London: Commemorative Mass for Sr Roger Casement


A commemorative Mass was celebrated in the crypt of Westminster Cathedral on Monday for Sir Roger Casement - on the eve of the 100th anniversary of his execution. Casement was hanged in Pentonville Prison on 3 August 1916 after he was convicted of treason following his attempts to secure German military support for Irish independence.

An heroic figure, earlier he had exposed the abuse suffered by natives in the Belgian Congo and Peru.

The special Mass was concelebrated by Fr Gerry McFlynn of the Irish Chaplaincy and Fr Stephen Coker, the Catholic Chaplain of Pentonville Prison. Members of Roger Casement's family and the Congolese Chaplaincy also took part.

The Ambassador of Peru, the High Commissioner of Mozambique, and members of LGBT Catholics Westminster were among the congregation.

The Mass was followed by a reception at the Irish Embassy, hosted by Irish Ambassador Dan Mullhall. Mr Mulhall said that although Casement took no part in the Easter Rising, he was and remains one of the best known individuals connected with it. Describing Casement as a "truly international figure" he said it was important to remember not only what he had done for Ireland, but also what he had achieved the world over.

"In Ireland we have naturally tended to focus on the final phase of Casement's life. Those were the years when he threw himself wholeheartedly into our national struggle," Mr Mulhall said.

"Roger Casement's greatest achievement lay not in helping pave the way for the Easter Rising, but in his courageous stand in defence of oppressed peoples in Africa and Latin America. He added that Casement was a particularly inspirational character, given that his defence of those who were suffering was considered unorthodox at the time.

"When he arrived in Africa in the late-19th century, European Imperialism was at the height of its pomp and prestige. It was based on an assumption that privileged European nations had a right, even a duty, to preside over the lives of allegedly less well-equipped peoples.

"But his experience of the realities of the Congo caused him to develop a deepening sympathy with the plight of the native population, abused and exploited as it was by a ruthless system designed, as we now know, for the personal enrichment of the Belgian King, Leopold."

The Ambassador concluded with a poignant tribute to Casement, describing him as an embodiment of those who continue to champion the cause of the exploited in these modern times.

"In today's world, replete with conflict, inequality and injustice, it seems to me that his courage in standing up for oppressed peoples deserves our continued respect and admiration," he said.

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