A chara, – A wonderful opportunity has presented itself for some meaningful and practical ecumenism (Patsy McGarry, “Dublin archdiocese drops plans to locate Dublin’s Catholic cathedral on city’s southside”, News, June 4th).
The Catholic Church has no cathedral in Dublin, while the Church of Ireland occupies two, that is Christ Church (11th century) and Saint Patrick’s (12th century). However, these two cathedrals used to be Catholic, they were built by Catholics and for centuries were used by Catholics for Catholic worship. It was under the reign of the English king Henry VIII (16th century) that they were “confiscated” and given to his newly created state church, the Church of Ireland.
Today, 500 years later, the Church of Ireland is still with us but they have yet to return the “confiscated” cathedrals. To add insult to injury, Catholics can visit their former cathedrals as tourists on paying an entrance fee. The current need for a Catholic cathedral is an ideal opportunity to right a past wrong and return at least one of these historic buildings to their rightful owners. – Is mise,
CIARÁN MacGUILL,
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Clichy,
France.