Courtney McGrailDear Editor, Mary Kenny is wrong about Church weddings (‘Churches should advertise for weddings’ IC 23/07/2015). Marriage is a sacrament which the spouses confer upon each other by expressing their consent before the Church. If the spouses themselves do not believe in the Church’s understanding of marriage, or even in God, but go along with the ritual for the sake of tradition, they abuse the sacrament itself. If they receive the Eucharist at their nuptial Mass, they compound hypocrisy with sacrilege.
A lie is not the best start to married life for anyone’s son or daughter.
Perhaps a modest beginning to our reality check on marriage would be for well-meaning parents to respect the faith choices of their adult children, rather than cajoling reluctant offspring up the aisle on the promise of a beautiful photograph.
A Church wedding is only a joyful and charming occasion if the couple is there for the right reason.
Yours etc.,
Noel Malone,
Drumcondra,
Dublin 9.