Madam, - Most ordinary, decent Roman Catholics are appalled at the way in which Fr Iggy O'Donovan and the other two Augustinian priests have been bullied by Rome and conservative Catholic forces over the Easter Eucharist at Drogheda.
It is unfortunate that Fr Iggy and his brother priests issued the apology, but any sensible person can see that it was extracted from them as a price for their continuation in priestly ministry. The Augustinian community and the priesthood are like families and to be threatened with expulsion must have been frightening. It is time that somebody stood up to the bully boys. Are there any lay Catholics willing to take a stand, or is the conservative, fascist element to be allowed to rule the roost?
It is interesting to observe how religious conservatives are abusing the Eucharist and Holy Communion as a means of enforcing conformity to Rome's dictates. In the United States and elsewhere, people have been refused Communion because they are gay or divorced or living with someone outside marriage. Politicians who would not toe the line on the issue of choice in the abortion debate were threatened that they would be refused the sacraments. What a nasty, bully-boy abuse of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ!
Of course, many people who have been bullied by Rome have had the courage and common sense to move out and move on and join other Christian churches, where they are valued as sons and daughters of the one God and Father of us all. In Ireland, more and more people are making that brave decision.
A Roman Catholic Church that has lost its dominant and domineering place in Western societies is hitting out at minorities and vulnerable groups. It is abusing the Eucharist as a weapon in its war with those whom it considers dissidents and those who would challenge its attempts to claim a monopoly on the preaching of Christian morality.
Morality has changed and Rome cannot accept that. In attempting to shore up outdated morality, the Vatican and religious conservatives of other traditions are doing huge damage to the Christian ethical tradition. The ethic remains the same but the rules must change to take account of the evolution of human understanding. No man-made rules should be made absolute.
The Eucharist belongs to all Catholic Christians. The problem, of course, is that Rome still sees itself as "THE Catholic Church", instead of being just a part of the Catholic (ie universal) Church and it thinks that it owns the sacraments and has the right to withhold them.
Rome does not recognise the full validity of the priests and ministers of the Reformed tradition. That is Rome's problem and Rome must sort it out. There are wide differences of interpretation between and within the churches on the issue of what happens at the Eucharist and on the nature of the presence of Jesus Christ. What cannot be denied is that when bread is broken and wine is poured and the name of the Lord is invoked, Jesus is somehow present.
I wish Fr Iggy and his comrades well. They must now ponder in their hearts and decide on what to do. Like a lot of people, they seem to have opted for the quiet life over the more difficult path of standing up to the bullies and I understand what has led them to issue their "apology".
Perhaps they may yet find added courage to speak out again and stand over what they did. Other people need to stand up now and defend what they did. Who has the guts to take on the bully boys of Rome? - Yours, etc,
Rev DAVID FRAZER, Inse Bay, Laytown, Co Meath.