Courtney McGrailDear Editor, Well done on your coverage of the recent installation of Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly as Archbishop of Cashel and Emily. As usual the photographs were excellent except for one major eyesore, i.e. the photo of Micheál Martin cosying up to the archbishop. This is a man who voted for introducing abortion into Ireland and tried to bully other members of his party to do likewise. A photo like this one sends out all the wrong messages. It says that someone can behave like this and still be accepted among the faithful as if nothing had happened. It also gives free positive publicity to a party slowly going nowhere on the political scene. You may as well have given them an ad saying vote Fianna Fáil in the next election.
Contrast this to the wisdom and discernment shown by Church authorities in the Vatican, of whom it is said will not go ahead with a papal visit to Ireland until after the next general election, so as not to give support to the most anti-Catholic Irish Government since independence.
Yours etc.,
Gerard Rooney,
Ballymacoda,
Co. Cork.