Trinity College A decision by a student committee at Dublin’s Trinity College to warn a Catholic society to stop praying “would seem to fly in the face of Trinity’s avowed commitment to diversity,” according to a well-known barrister and Catholic commentator.
The Irish Catholic reported earlier this month that Trinity’s Central Societies Committee (CSC) warned the Laurentian Society that they must stop organising prayer meetings, provoking fears that funding to the Catholic group may be cut.
Remarkable
Maria Steen described as “remarkable” the fact that a committee of a college “part of whose full title is ‘the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity’, and which begins and ends every evening meal with Latin prayers derived from the Psalms, should take exception to a college society saying prayers of its own.”
Correspondence seen by this newspaper revealed that the CSC had written to the Laurentian Society to inform it that it can no longer advertise or hold prayer meetings under the society’s banner, as the committee claims it is in breach of the society’s status as a “cultural” society.
Asked for a comment regarding the distinction they felt that existed between culture and worship, the CSC responded: “The Laurentian Society constitution outlines that the aims and objectives of the society are as follows: to provide a forum for the exposition and discussion of historical and contemporary issues pertaining to Catholic culture from a Catholic perspective and to educate interested members of the College community on aspects of Catholicism, including in particular the teachings of the Catholic Church.
“The aim of the society then is to engage with and explore faith-based culture and literature. Trinity already provides a space for worship and religious practice through the College Chaplaincy,” a spokesman for the committee said.
Catholic perspective
However, members of the Laurentian Society believe that from a Catholic perspective, such a distinction is difficult to make, with worship and culture often blending together.
“Anyone who has ever been to a Catholic meeting or society knows that it is common practice to begin and end the meeting with prayers, and that prayer forms an integral part of Catholic culture,” Mrs Steen said.
“The CSC’s attempts to delimit the cultural expression of a Catholic cultural society is, in effect, cultural repression,” she warned.