Dear Editor, I am commenting on the recent resignation of Bishop McAreavey because of his having been criticised for offering the funeral Mass for a priest who, according to the secular media, was “a known paedophile”.
Paedophilia is an abomination before God. The trauma caused to victims – physical, psychological, spiritual and social – is incalculable, often resulting in suicide.
The perpetrators are sinners who in every respect are no different to all other sinners amongst whom are those who commit murder, steal, cheat, exploit the poor, abort babies, prosecute wars and despoil the earth, causing famine and disease.
Jesus Christ told us he came to save sinners and that it was not the healthy but the sick who need the doctor. He also said that prostitutes and sinners would make their way into the Kingdom of God before Pharisees.
God’s mercy is his greatest attribute and is open to all no matter how heinous the sin. Therefore, Bishop McAreavey was right to offer the funeral Mass for his priest. Not to have done so would have been an admission that forgiveness is available only to some sinners and he would have set himself up as judge in contravention of Jesus› admonition “judge not and you shall not be judged”. Judgement belongs to God alone.
The Pharisees in the secular media would do well to remember that when it comes to eternity they might appreciate the gift of a funeral Mass, the supreme example of God’s mercy, which is open to all and is not merely confined to a select few.
Yours, etc.,
Loretto Browne,
Ashbourne,
Co. Meath.
Moral limits to the use of medical intervention
Dear Editor, As if the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment isn’t a big enough threat to the rights of the unborn, we now learn that a law to regulate the practice of Assisted Human Reproduction is currently before the Oireachtas.
God created man and woman, in equal dignity, in “his own image” to be companions for each other. He blessed their union and told them “to be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28). Jesus brought to full awareness God’s divine plan for marriage and raised it to a sacrament. The crowning glory of matrimony is procreation, a participation in God’s work of creation. Human life is given as a gift; it is the fruit of marriage and conjugal love. A child is a gift from God, not a right; it shouldn’t be treated as a commodity to be obtained by any means available.
Infertility can be very distressing for couples unable to conceive, but the Church recognizes that there are moral limits to the use of medical intervention such as IVF and embryo transfer (ET). These are morally objectionable procedures, undermining human life and human dignity, as well as having a high failure rate.
Human embryos, are from the first moment of their existence, human beings possessing an inherent dignity and an inviolable right to life. IVF and ET usually involves the freezing and thawing of embryos which puts them in grave danger of survival. It is an elective procedure; some are chosen, the remainder destroyed or experimented on. Surrogacy also goes against the teaching of the Church by failing to meet conjugal fidelity; failing to meet the obligations of responsible motherhood; and offending the dignity of the child. It carries the same risks to the embryo as IVF and ET. Human life is a gift from God not something to be created in a laboratory.
Yours etc.,
Christina Coakley,
Ballyhaunis,
Co. Mayo.
We must pray for unity
Dear Editor, I am inspired by the fact that Pope Francis prays for those who call him a heretic, rather than showing contempt towards them (IC 22/02/18). This response is a message to all Catholics that we need to have unity in the Church, and that hateful comments about our Pope causes more damage than good. There are so many factions in the Church now which is disheartening considering historically the Church has always been identified as unitive. Instead of spouting hateful comments, we should all be praying, like Pope Francis, for unity.
Yours etc.,
James Dudley,
Tallaght,
Dublin 24.
We should organise a day of fasting in support of life
Dear Editor, The lives of the unborn must always be protected and the mothers must be cared for as well. I urge all our bishops to declare a day of prayer and fasting so that the Eighth Amendment may be saved. I pay great tribute to the many pro-life organisations who do their very best in the preservation of the lives of the unborn. These people need our constant support and prayers as abortion is a very serious sin. All people are made in the likeness and image of God and have a right to live. There should be no such thing as disposable people, as all people are special.
Yours etc.,
James A. Corcoran,
Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo.
Lack of knowledge? Vatican Council II is partly to blame
Dear Editor, In response to a letter by Anne Brady entitled ‘Oh for the Penny Catechism’ (IC 22/02/18), a lot of questions have been asked as to why there is a decline in Church practice. In this short letter she hit the nail firmly on the head in relation to serous decline in Catholic practice and belief in Ireland today. The young people are leaving school with hardly any knowledge of their Faith, and who’s to blame?
The turning point came in all of this following the second Vatican Council when everything was turned on its head. It left bishops, priests and the laity in a complete state of confusion and was all downhill after that.
New secular programmes were introduced in the national schools by left-wing politicians accepted by the bishops. Ignorance of the faith and paganism followed and nobody seems to care.
Did students studying for the priesthood in Maynooth and other places set the proper formation for the priesthood either, following the council? My answer is no. So, decline came all the way down the line. There are three sources from which young people should get religious instruction: the home, the school, and the Church. Many young parents did not set proper instruction themselves so they have nothing to offer or pass on. The teachers do a good job but the curriculum is secular and unsuitable.
Many children and their parents do not attend Mass so no hope there either. In the old days we heard a lot about meeting our God when we die and being held accountable for what we fail to do. Who will be held accountable for the failure to pass on the faith in Ireland for the past 50 years?
There is certainly a link between the Council changes and this terrible loss of Faith.
Yours etc.,
Michael Walsh,
Woodford, Co. Galway.
Story of abuse remains to be told
Dear Editor, Your article ‘Clerical abuse small proportion of national rate – Garda’ (IC 8/3/2018) will have given some small relief to those who imagine Irish child sexual abuse to be a largely clerical phenomenon.
At the same time, however, the Garda figure tells us very little that people who’ve been paying attention didn’t already know. The 2002 Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI) report, for instance, found that only 1.7% of Irish adults who had been sexually abused had been victims of religious ministers, with a further 1.7% being victims of religious teachers. In other words, for every survivor of abuse from religious ministers or teachers in Ireland, there are 29 other survivors.
This silent majority of abuse survivors make up over 26% of our population, with a surprisingly high number of these being victims of abuse from teenage boys. That story remains to be told.
Yours etc.,
Gabriel Kelly,
Drogheda, Co. Louth