Dear Editor, With reference to your front page article about exorcists in Ireland (IC 18/01/18) I have to confess to considerable shock that a spokesperson from the Catholic Communications Office at Maynooth would state that “…this office has not been made aware of any recent cases of exorcism in Ireland in recent years”. That is astonishing! Even I, an ordinary layman, with little access to events of this nature, am aware of incidents of possessed houses and possessed people who have had to resort to exorcisms to be healed.
I am very privileged to have been invited to write a book about John Gillespie from Belfast (The Miracle Ship). John has been granted the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit and has been called to a ministry of healing. He is well known in Ireland for his healing services and the many miraculous cures that have been attributed to his prayers.
Less well known, but an essential part of his ministry, is his gift of identifying evil spirits that possess or oppress people (and places) and casting them out.
While full-blown exorcisms are not a daily occurrence in his life, there would be many occasions in the course of any one year when he would be called to rescue possessed souls by exorcism. Some of these incidents have been documented in my book.
The Fr Pat Collins in your article who is “baffled” that the bishops of Ireland are not doing more to have priests trained as exorcists, is absolutely correct in his contention that the demand for genuine exorcisms in Ireland is huge, and that the modern Church is increasingly afflicted by an apostasy that would apparently deny the very existence of the devil.
Such a blinkered stance is extremely dangerous and, as Fr Collins rightly points out, is leaving the Church increasingly vulnerable (and inept) in the face of demonic attacks of this kind.
Yours etc.,
Dr Brian O’Hare,
Newry,
Co. Down.
We must act now to change wrong attitudes
Dear Editor, By holding the proposed abortion referendum in the early Summer our government leaders hope to have the harm done before the Pope comes in August for the World Meeting of Families (WMOD). They will then welcome him with big smiles, indeed, while sniggering up their sleeves at him while he is talking, knowing that whatever he might say about the value of human life will have been rendered ineffective anyhow, if the vote is pro abortion and the killing has already begun.
Hence if we are concerned that the WMOF will have good effect, it is urgent that we organise now to defeat the referendum. I say “now” because a few mild words from the altar a week or two before the vote will not be enough.
Lessons should be learned from the gay marriage referendum, a disaster from a Church viewpoint. A whole society, like a big ship, is not turned around in a short time in the face of an iceberg like free-for-all abortion.
And even if there will be some limitations set on the amount of abortion legalised – so as to make it more acceptable to the undecided – that should make our efforts to resist all the more determined because limited abortion very soon becomes unlimited abortion anyhow.
Accordingly, there needs to be a planned series of sermons for months before hand and a canvassing campaign also. Hence it was encouraging to hear the Archbishop of Armagh speak out recently. I hope his lead will be followed in every diocese and in every parish very soon.
Staying quiet or talking softly so as not to offend some minority will not be much of an excuse on Judgement Day if we have to give account for the blood of innocents.
Yours etc.,
Fr Richard O Connor,
Rome.
How low can we go?
Dear Editor, When those who have been through Catholic schooling and reception of the sacraments are daily screaming for the killing of the unborn, the pleas of Fr Collins for more exorcists in our dioceses come as no surprise! They represent nothing short than a declaration of a national apostasy and illustrate how low we have become both as church and nation.
The manifestation of preternatural and demonic powers shows that we have all become too clever for God and for our own good and that until the maxim of St Theresa of Calcutta that we are called by God, not to be successful, but to be faithful is taken to heart, then things can only become even more problematic.
Yours etc.,
Fr John McCallion,
Coalisland, Co. Tyrone.
Confusion over Down syndrome testing
Dear Editor, There appears to be quite a bit of confusion about the stage in pregnancy at which Down syndrome and some other genetic conditions can be diagnosed.
It is probably true that a 100% accurate diagnosis can only be derived from amniocentesis carried out from 16 to 20 weeks. However there are a number of other tests which can be carried out much earlier and are considered to have a predictive accuracy of 99%.
Non-invasive pre-natal testing (NIPT) is a simple blood test on the mother which can be carried out as early as nine weeks. Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) can be carried out as early as 10 weeks and a nuchal translucency scan (NT-scan) can be carried out as early as 11 weeks of pregnancy.
These tests have a very high predictive value giving an almost certain indication of the presence or absence of genetic disorders such as trisomy 21 (Down syndrome).
Admittedly there may be a very, very occasional false positive and an extremely rare false negative. It is a virtual certainty that as genetic testing becomes more and more refined, even earlier testing will be developed.
Those who wish to pursue the matter further may wish to consult the British NHS website.
Yours etc.,
Oliver J J Broderick,
Youghal,
Co. Cork.
Sign of peace at Mass is not an option
Dear Editor, In the last few weeks, there have been different directives by Bishops in Ireland in relation to the issue of some parishioners in handshaking during the sign of peace. What concerns me is that there appears to be an understanding that the sign of peace is now being omitted from the Mass, which should not be the case, and will lead to confusion across parishes and diocese.
The sign of peace is embedded into the Mass, according to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, as: “…here follows the Rite of Peace, by which the Church entreats peace and unity for herself and for the whole human family, and the faithful express to each other their ecclesial communion and mutual charity before communicating in the Sacrament.”
What we have implemented into the parish of Ss Peter and Paul’s in Clonmel, following a directive from Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan of Waterford & Lismore, is to maintain the sign of peace but to refrain from shaking hands at this time. He suggests to use the custom of bowing to the other person, hold up your hand and nod saying “peace be with you” or to simply pause and pray for peace. I am happy to report – this is working well here!
So while we have discontinued exchanging peace by the shaking of hands at Mass, we have not omitted it from the Mass, as we cannot do this.
I would hope that the Irish Bishop Conference could recommend a new local custom for Ireland across all dioceses and parishes be implemented, as “…the manner is to be established by the Conference of Bishops in accordance with the culture and customs of the peoples”. We cannot just omit the sign of peace as I already said it is an integral part of the Mass in preparation of ourselves before receiving the Blessed Sacrament.
I’m wondering if those calling for a total ban of shaking hands during the celebration of the Eucharist will also be calling for sports clubs like the GAA and soccer clubs to implement the same restrictions before and after games, or indeed if funeral directors will ask mourns to refrain from shaking hands from the bereaved? When will it end?
Fr Michael Toomey,
Clonmel,
Co. Tipperary.
Remember our Christian duty
Dear Editor, I agree with Maria Steen’s comments in her column ‘The humility of the Magi’ (IC 4/1/18).
The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at conception and that, from one cell onwards, an embryo should receive the same moral status as a newborn baby or an adult. A foetus is already a person with the potential to become who they were created to be.
A foetus prenatally diagnosed as having a disability is no different; it has an equal right to life and deserves to be treated with equal respect, The Catholic social teaching on justice recognises all people for what they are, human beings, and this should be extended to the dignity of the foetus who is so often at the mercy of society’s discriminatory attitudes.
The Eighth Amendment, as Maria rightly states, doesn’t mention abortion at all but recognises the right to life and dignity of the unborn baby. By repealing this we are failing in our Christian duty to protect and respect the most vulnerable members of our society.
Yours etc.,
Christina Coakley,
Ballyhaunis,
Co Mayo.