Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has passed way at age 56.
In her better years, O’Connor sold millions of record albums, winning a Grammy for her work.
She became an overnight sensation in 1992 when she appeared on “Saturday Night Live” and ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II. Her antics, often controversial, were condemned not only by rank-and-file Catholics, but by celebrities such as Madonna and Frank Sinatra.
The “SNL” stunt was uncalled for, but it was her advocacy of violence that was more disturbing. In 2011, she warned Pope Benedict XVI not to come to Ireland, saying that if he did there would be a “f***in bloodbath.”
O’Connor was also delusional, perhaps a reflection of her drug habits. In 1999, she announced that she had become a priest; she even wore priestly attire. She described herself as Mother Bernadette Mary and claimed the authority to say Mass and administer the Sacraments.
When I was asked about this, I told The Star she “must be hallucinating. Next week, she’ll be a Buddhist monk. The week after, maybe she’ll turn into an Orthodox rabbi. She is no more a priest than I am a camel. The woman is obviously certifiably crazy.”
I once debated her on Larry King’s CNN show on the subject of clergy sexual abuse. The discussion floundered when I mentioned that most of the victims were postpubescent, meaning that it was homosexual priests, not pedophiles, who were the offenders. She asked, “What does postpubescent mean?”
O’Connor was a victim of child abuse and her travails were long standing. In 1997, she admitted, “I’ve been a very troubled person.” So true. She had at least two abortions, suffered from mental health issues, and contemplated suicide; her son killed himself last year at 17.
May she find peace at last.
