Dear Editor, I am a full-time worker with regular hours who doesn’t finish before 5pm, and prior to the pandemic I had little difficulty locating an evening Mass to attend on weekdays. Since the churches have re-opened however, I have found to my dismay that there is now a dearth of evening Masses (7pm-7.30pm) in Dublin city. At present daily Mass times are mostly scheduled in the morning, and thus seem exclusively geared to the retired and elderly. I wonder why this is? I feel it’s unintentionally unfair on those of us who are not available to attend during the daytime. Where I live there are at least eight churches within a few kilometres. Would it not be possible for each of them to schedule one evening Mass on different days to each other Monday to Friday? I presume I am not the only day time worker in Dublin who would welcome the opportunity to attend Mass after work, so there is no reason in my opinion why this type of arrangement could not be rolled out in various areas of Dublin
Yours etc.,
Anne Lardner
Kimmage, Dublin 12
Objections to women’s ordination in Killala
Dear Editor, The back story to this story [Bishop to send report on ‘hot button’ issues to Rome,
The Irish Catholic 21/10/2021] is that Bishop Fleming also took a submission from objectors to women’s ordination. Bishop Fleming corrected the original thinking behind the proposal for women’s ordination through a lecture presented by a Jesuit who stated that feminist ideology, indeed any ideology, has no place in the formation of the People of God or in the direction the Church takes. The submission from objectors was also shared with the Irish bishops’ conference, Papal Nuncio and the Vatican dicastery responsible for overseeing the listening process.
Yours etc.,
Jane Campbell
Ballina, Co. Mayo
Paganism should not be imposed on St Brigid’s Day
Dear Editor, For the proposed extra public holiday, I appeal to this Government to take their hands off St Brigid’s Day. St Brigid is a patron saint in Ireland whose feast has always been observed by Catholics and by Protestants, too, perhaps. This day, with us for so long is embedded in our Christian culture.
A heavy media campaign is in progress to make February 1 a public holiday. Enthusiasts are regularly on RTÉ eulogising a goddess, and certain presenters are cheerleading this drive to impose the pagan on the feast day, for the new holiday.
The pagan is the deity Brigit, which some pagan perspectives present as an entity that is interchangeable with St Brigid or that the two are one, which we know is heresy. She is described by followers as the fire goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, deity of the Imbolc and of the mystical magical world of the underworld and more.
St Brigid’s Day cannot be replaced by or shared with a goddess of the occult. We must resist demands to impose a pagan from the underworld on a feast that belongs to the largest Christian Church in the world. This has left me feeling hurt, harassed and marginalised. It is an attack on my religion.
Yours etc.,
Mary Reynolds
Dublin 6
Catholics can celebrate Halloween in a Christian way
Dear Editor, Although I agree somewhat with Fr Richard O’Connor [The Irish Catholic – October 28, 2021] who expressed concern about Halloween’s focus being on dressing up as witches, demons etc. rather than the saints, I think Paula McKeown from Living Church also made some excellent points in the same article.
While we can try to put an emphasis on dressing as saints and learning about them around Halloween, it does not mean Catholic children can’t do both while not be driven towards the demonic!
Mrs McKeown says we should trust parents, their approach to Halloween can be “with a sense of fun, but we can always draw children into the right traditions”. She says Halloween can also be a teaching moment for children, bringing up discussion about life and death and schooling them in the Faith.
It is certainly true however that Halloween has a darker side. It’s a time when people might be drawn towards the dark side through Ouija boards, seances and things like that but carving a few pumpkins and dressing up as your favourite superhero certainly are not things that will endanger young people.
Furthermore, Catholics should not retreat from society but lead the way in showing how celebrations like Halloween can be done in a Christian way and that does not necessarily mean everyone dressing up as saints, which although would be wonderful, perhaps is unrealistic in an increasingly secular society. There could be uproar in some Catholic schools if it was mandated children only dress as saints, as it would exclude children of other faiths and no faith.
Yours etc.,
Mary O’Donnell
Blanchardstown, Dublin
The Church is not a democracy
Dear Editor, Before priests and religious go headlong into changing the Church, perhaps, first they should see if the synod ends up attracting extremist feminists/liberals/atheists who want the Church to follow them, rather than they follow it?
As has often been said the Church is not a democracy, but it seems to be the case with religious pro-modernists that “all the Church is out of step except us”.
Yours etc.,
Brid Fitzpatrick
Terenure, Dublin