‘Repeal the Eighth’ becoming a thoughtless slogan
Dear Editor, I was shocked to read in Mary Kenny’s article (IC 28/09/2017) that the GAA Dublin Ladies players unfurled flags to show their support for repealing the Eighth Amendment. Needless to say, this was not reported in the national press. At this stage it seems that ‘repeal the Eighth’ is simply a slogan with most people unaware of the consequences of repealing this amendment.
No one objects to factual and balanced debate but this is becoming more and more unlikely, with so many permitted to shout out the slogan but with no opportunity to oppose it. It is so sad to see so many taken in by this tactic and not being allowed to hear the many arguments for retaining the protection for unborn babies in our Constitution, nor to be informed of the very many lives saved because of the Eighth. We must continue to make every effort to speak up for the vulnerable baby in the womb and promote respect for all life, no matter how limited or short.
Yours etc.,
Mary Stewart,
Donegal Town
Impressed by size of undertaking by WMOF
Dear Editor, The hosting of the World Meeting of Families in Ireland next August is a huge task, but I did not realise how huge until the vanguard of the project arrived at a public meeting in Meath and unveiled some of the plans. That meeting, plus Petra Conroy’s excellent article in the family section of The Irish Catholic (IC 28/09/17), has opened my eyes to what will be a glorious, joyful event.
The week-long programme is clearly not something that will ‘just happen’ and it is to their credit that the staff and volunteers of WMOF 2018 are already ‘on the ball’ and pushing out the joyful news of the meeting all around Ireland.
The only anomaly as I see it is the failure of the Vatican to confirm that Pope Francis will attend the event, combining it with a long-overdue visit to Ireland. It’s not exactly a secret that Popes tend to attend world meetings, so why the reluctance of the Vatican to make and reveal a decision?
It seems, despite the assurance recently by Cardinal Kevin Farrell about the Pope’s likely attendance, that the Third Secret of Fatima was not so well guarded.
Nonetheless, let us pray for those who are empowering WMOF 2018, may all their wonderful plans and initiatives get the fair wind they deserve – with, surely, Francis in attendance to appreciate the enormous volume of work that is going into the event.
Yours etc.,
Declan Rankin,
Donnycarney, Dublin 9
A memory of Liam Cosgrove RIP
Dear Editor, Stationed in Manor Kilbride, Co. Wicklow in 1962 -1967 I received a sick-call one day: one of the riders in a hunting party had collapsed with a heart attack. I drove to the location and administered the Last Rites. The man died shortly afterwards. While awaiting the ambulance, I suggested to the group that we might say the Rosary for the poor man and his bereaved family. Liam Cosgrave immediately took out his rosary beads from his hunting jacket and joined in the Rosary.
Yours etc.,
Fr Con McGillicuddy,
Raheny,
Dublin 5
Vocation is God’s call to life with a purpose
Dear Editor, I’m writing to say that I disagree with your article about vocation to the single life (IC 28/09/2017). A vocation is God’s call to live a life with a purpose and this is something all Christians share. The vocation to the single life is not a life without commitment. It is a commitment to the radical living of the Gospel where we are at.
It’s finding God’s purpose for our life and living it with all our heart. Contrary to what you said in your article, acknowledging this often overlooked vocation does not take away in any form from the vocation to religious life, the priesthood or marriage. It complements them and also recognises the value of the contribution of single people to society. I am single and wish to remain so.
As a secular Franciscan I have a deep sense of God’s purpose for my life and feel my vocation, my purpose in life is as valid as any other in the Church.
Yours etc.,
John Bennett ofs,
Finglas,
Dublin 11
How can abortion be free, safe and legal?
Dear Editor, One of the slogans promoted at the recent pro-abortion march was that it should be free, safe and legal. The problem is that each of the slogans’ elements needs complicated definition.
Why should abortion be free, for example when payment is required for all manner of contraceptive devices? If the medical condition of the mother requires that a surgical procedure be carried out, how is the condition defined?
What is the basis for the safety aspect? How is safety to be defined for the son or daughter in the womb? How is the State to ensure safety in the mental difficulty faced by the father and/or mother, especially if alternative views are held by each?
What is meant by “legal” if no protection is given to the medics who have an objection on religious, ethical, philosophical practical, or timing grounds to the chosen procedure?
And on a different point, who makes the choice, the mother, the father or the child/foetus in the womb? What if the choices differ?
Your etc.,
Gerald Murphy,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16
Inclusive language misunderstands meaning of noun ‘Man’
Dear Editor, In recent times, many of us have listened as speakers have stumbled over the use of gender specific words, especially the term man when it arises in the Church situation. This difficulty began after Vatican II with the promotion of the use of inclusive language. Apparently there was little thought given as to how biblical concepts could be corrupted on foot of redirection of language.
Now with the advent of this political correctness and the onset of individualism, the term man has come to be understood as a singular noun ‘man’ and is usually separately ascribed as uniquely referring to the individual male person. However, in times past, the term ‘man’ was the accepted expression that included all of humanity as aptly encompassing all the body of the people in the world; ‘Man’ as a collective proper noun.
The thinking arises from the biblical understanding in which “God created Man, male and female he created them’; he created Man as people in communion, a communion of people. Clearly, the concept of individualism contradicts this thinking, but people are interactively in the service of one another, a communion of people created in the image and likeness of God, who is himself a communion of persons, the Blessed Trinity.
In correcting this misunderstanding, any biblical reference to ‘Man’ as the people of God should always show that this term is denoted by a proper collective noun, best spelled using a capital letter first; ‘Man’ as distinct from the individual male, man.
Yours etc.,
Seamus Quinlivan,
Cloughjordan,
Co. Tipperary
A vocation requires a public commitment
Dear Editor, I read your editorial with interest in The Irish Catholic of September 28. I agree with what you say. There is a tendency to talk up the ‘vocation’ of single life at the expense of the priesthood or religious life.
I think the job of the Church in this area should be to promote the priesthood for what it is, a higher and supernatural calling. Marriage also has its place as a vocation in the Church, however I do think that an emphasis on the importance and value of the priesthood should be promoted over an attitude that ‘all vocations are equal’. Vocation in the Church’s understanding requires a public commitment and an undertaking from an individual to enter into a life of self-sacrifice and self-gift, whether that is in marriage or spiritual fatherhood.
Yours etc.,
Adam Conroy,
Newbridge,
Co. Kildare