Sir, – I fully support Dean MacCarthy’s proposal to share St Patrick’s Cathedral with other Christians. In 1970, as Dean and Ordinary, I made a similar offer to the leaders of the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, but only the Methodists were interested. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Your Editorial (November 7th) correctly points out that St Patrick’s belongs to the Church of Ireland, but fails to ask the question how it came about ownership in the first place. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – In my opinion there are two reasons at least why St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, should stay under Church of Ireland control. First, those of us who are church-attending Catholics know how empty a lot of our churches and cathedrals are on Sunday mornings and at the vigil Masses on Saturday evenings. Second, I do not want to see any more cathedrals and churches vandalised in order to comply with the “improvements” ordered by the Second Vatican Council. – Is mise,
Sir, – Ciaran MacGuill (November 4th), in his haste to reclaim St Patrick’s for the Catholic church, has fallen prey to anachronism. St Patrick’s was not built by Catholics but by members of the Western Christian church.
Unless we are to entertain thoughts of digital-watch-wearing Vikings sailing up the Liffey in longboats, we must at least acknowledge the timeline that has brought us to where we are today.
That aside, the more pressing question to be answered is whether any one of the cathedrals or large churches – of whichever denomination – manages to fill its pews. I suspect that there is already massive overcapacity in Dublin, and shuffling the chapels on the Titanic will make little difference to their serene (and decidedly downward) gliding trajectory. – Yours, etc,