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![]() Personal blog of christian
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(No Title)I've been looking into the citizenship laws of a couple countries I've had my eye on, and I think I've hit the jackpot. If you can prove you have a grandparent who was born in Ireland, you are granted Irish citizenship, with all the responsibilities and benefits thereof. Since the Republic of Ireland is a member of the European Union, an Irish citizen can ostensibly live and work in any of the Union countries, not just Ireland. Fun, huh? My Irish grandfather has proven to be a wily character, though, slippery and unwilling to be found. Until last week, I didn't know for sure whether has was from County Armagh (in Northern Ireland) or County Monaghan (in the Republic). Imagine my thrill at accidentally uncovering a third cousin of mine on the Internet, and exchanging our bits of information until we discovered that our grandfathers were brothers! My "new" cousin happened to know definitively that our grandfathers were from Monaghan, in the south. I'm one big step closer to Irish citizenship. Grandpa emigrated to Scotland as a young man, met my Scottish grandmother, and my father was born and raised there. My father became a U.S. citizen in 1955, when I was two years old. Today I found out that I am a British citizen "by descent," with no paperwork to file and nothing to prove. I just am. Some countries don't take kindly to you claiming citizenship of more than one, and if matters are not handled properly, you could forfeit your citizenship in the country of your birth without meaning to-sort of like giving up your birthright for a mess of pottage. You'd better know the rules of the kingdoms you're dealing with. Somehow, it all reminds me of the sacrament of Baptism, and how the one being baptized is asked, "Do you renounce Satan? And all of his works?" The rules of citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven don't allow continued loyalties to any other spiritual realm. Somehow, though, Satan's kingdom keeps its doors wide open, always ready to welcome a returning son, never quite accepting that one of its citizens would willingly walk away, and never, ever come back. You'd better know the rules of the kingdoms you're dealing with.
Posted by Katy on 01/29/02 at 02:05 AM
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