Dear Editor, Subsequent to the concert at Manchester Arena, outrage was expressed worldwide in the media at the deliberate targeting of the innocent. Among the dead and injured were a sizeable number of young and teenaged children. Some of them were accompanied by parents to act as guardians in getting them there, ensuring to the…
Category: Letters
Thank you, archbishop
Dear Editor, You published on July 13 Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s recent address at a conference in Germany. The archbishop concluded that the Church is “the redefinition of power in terms of the way in which Jesus revealed who God is”. To me anyway, I have not ever read words that outline the true meaning and…
Time to hand over civil marriage requirements
Dear Editor, In relation to Bishop Kirby’s contribution to the conference ‘Let’s talk Family, let’s be Family (IC 20/07/2017), the State definition of marriage “which cannot be described in terms of traditional Christian doctrine” is at odds with the Christian definition of marriage (“the creator from the beginning made them male and female…is why a…
Never was so much decided by so few
Dear Editor, Amongst the several useful points made by Martin Mansergh in his article on how Irish people should decide on the shape of their future society without the influence of foreign funding (IC 20/07/2017), is his comment that a “decisive battle between two very different visions of Irish society is not far off”. He…
Cardinal Schoenborn hit the nail on the head
Dear Editor, At the end of the article ‘Building on Doctrine that speaks to real Human Situations’ (IC 20/07/2017) Cardinal Schoenborn states: “…It’s very often a matter of justice…what is due to the other…the Bible teaches us to be very attentive to justice.” One often hears the statement: “The Church was too focused on sexual…
We need to go back to our Christian roots
Dear Editor, I read with interest the account of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin’s analysis of the state of the Catholic Church in modern Ireland and his many solutions that would improve the situation (IC 13/07/2017). While many of them have been put forward in the past 40-50 years, very few of them yielded the much longed…
GAA is the new religion in Ireland
Dear Editor, I was born in Ireland and educated in Ireland as a Catholic. I worked all my life as a consultant in South Africa. When I retired some years ago I reflected on the Ireland we have today. Catholicism and Christianity is very much on the wane. Indeed, in 10 years we will have…
Children need more exposure to God
Dear Editor, I write to offer a contrasting perspective to Rev. Patrick Seaver, who expressed the opinion that religion should be taken out of schools and that sacramental preparation should take place in a parish context (IC 06/07/2017). I agree that parish-based formation is vital; by virtue of our Baptism, we are all called by…
Religion should be taught outside schools
Dear Editor, Here in Ireland, up to relatively recently, children absorbed the faith of their parents in the home, where religion, in all its forms, was part of living. What happened in school was simply a reinforcement of that same religious ethos. In such a climate, it was only natural that the schools should prepare…
Facts around suicide and detention orders
Dear Editor, The recent media and political reports about the young pregnant mother detained under the Mental Health Act 2001 show a large lack of knowledge of what suicidal ideation is and how mental health law works around it. If any person arrives to A&E in an actively suicidal state they are assessed quickly and…