Yesterday, Paul Hewitt, known better as Bono Vox, or just Bono, was made a knight of the British Empire. The recognition was largely for his humanitarian work in Africa and his consciousness-raising and calling people of wealthy nations to solidarity with people in the global south, who are impoverished, victims of the structural inequities of the global economic order.Bono, 46, proving once again that being over 40 is and can be way cool, was named a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. The ceremony, which took place in Dublin at the home of the British Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, was typically Irish in its informality and humor.
According to the Associated Press' Shawn Pogatchnik, Bono said to reporters after the ceremony: "You have permission to call me anything you want — except sir, all right? Lord of lords, your demigodness, that'll do."
He does not have the title Sir before his name, like Sir Paul McCartney, because as an Irish citizen he cannot, that honorific is only for subjects of the Queen. So, only British citizens or citizens of the British Commonwealth, like Australia, New Zealand, Canada can use it. Due to its long, sad history of oppressing and repressing the Irish, when Ireland became a republic in 1949, it severed formal ties with Great Britain and did not become part of the British Commonwealth and is not part of the United Kingdom.
Writing about art and life, there is a post on our parish blog on just this topic.
(Photo from Yahoo News)
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