Cathal Barry‘There’s no better way to live,’ says broadcaster
Veteran broadcaster George Hook has appealed to Catholics who have become alienated from the Church to follow his lead and return to the fold.
The controversial rugby pundit, who announced earlier this year that he had “re-converted” to Catholicism during a brief stint in hospital, insisted other non-practising Catholics could benefit from following suit.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Irish Catholic, Mr Hook said there is “no better” belief system than the Catholic faith in which to bring up children.
“The idea of love thy neighbour as thyself is still a very good idea as a way to live. The idea of faith, hope and charity. The idea of thou shalt not lie. The idea of honouring your father and your mother. Thou shalt not kill. What a way to live. There is no better way to show your kids how to live their lives.
“I think if you got a sheet of paper and wrote down what this would mean to me as a person, what it would mean to my children and my grandchildren, then I think the positive column fills up far greater than the negative column,” he said.
The Newstalk presenter, who is due to retire next year, also said he was “increasingly coming around to the idea that faith actually comes from parents rather than schools and that a parent should teach their children about faith”.
Criticising the way religion is being taught in schools, the broadcaster said he felt the current curriculum was outdated.
“The modern kid isn’t going to believe the star andthe three wise men and the talking snake. You have got to teach it a different way and I don’t know why we aren’t,” Mr Hook said, adding that he “would love nothing more than to go into schools and preach the message to young kids”.
“I would love to do that because we are teaching it [religion] the wrong way. Today’s ten-year-olds are not going to buy it.
“It’s a fantastic story but we have to explain it differently,” he said.