MAGGIE BLACKLEY,
Sir, - The current painful scandals in the Roman Catholic Church serve to emphasise the reality that this church is composed of two very distinct parts, seemingly moving further and further away from each other.
There is the Church of the people - the regular churchgoers and the regular clergy with no great aspirations to advancement on the hierarchical ladder; and there is the governing organisation, from the local episcopal palace all the way to Rome.
What the Church of the people never seems to have realised is that, whereas the Hierarchy - Pope, cardinals, bishops, etc. - may claim some authority in interpreting Christ's teaching to the people, there is absolutely no reason why the people must accept the entire man-made structure of organisational authority which, we now see, is given as much importance by our supposed moral leaders as the teaching of faith .
What we now, very sadly but very clearly, can see is that this structure, like everything man-made, is corruptible - and corrupted-and fallen into error.
What we must now appreciate is that we can refuse to accept it. We can demand a more Christian and moral approach from the Hierarchy, and we can reject the top-heavy, self-protective, domineering and uncaring structure that has been foisted on us for so long. It is obvious that the organisation of the Church is in dire need of reform, but those who are comfortably ensconced on purple and red thrones won't budge while the people accept the current status quo.
And if that status quo prevails, the church will fragment and disintegrate. - Yours, etc.
MAGGIE BLACKLEY,
Gurrane,
Fermoy,
Co Cork.
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Sir, - In the light of recent events concerning the Catholic church and child abuse, I am reminded that, although Christ forgave the woman taken in adultery, and even his own murderers, he made no concessions when referring to paedophiles.
The Gospels quote him: "Woe to him who scandalises one of these my little ones; it were better for him that he hath a millstone tied around his neck and to be cast into the sea." - Yours, etc.,
BREDA FOLEY,
Connaught Place,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
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Sir, The exposure of the terrible deeds and bad reaction of bishops and clergy has strangely strengthened my lapsing faith in God.
The God I believe in has torn down the temples erected by us ordinary Church members in which we set up the all-powerful Hierarchy who accepted their role as separate from us and above us. They forgot their roots, those of humble fishermen.
We are more than just a club led by a bad committee. We are all God's children and equally deserve the respect that was denied the victims of sexual abuse. Maybe now, with some spring cleaning of these grand authoritarian palaces, good priests exist,will be free to speak and lead us in a more modest fashion. - Yours, etc.,
MÁIRÍN BRENNAN,
Merrion Grove,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.
Sir, - I have the greatest respect for many journalists, including Breda O'Brien, Patsy McGarry, Fintan O'Toole and others, but sometimes misunderstandings can arise.
Last week Joe Humphreys telephoned me to say he was doing an article for last Saturday's Irish Times on the fall-out from the recent scandals in the Catholic Church. My normal response to a request is to be helpful. I gave him several articles that I had written on the topic between 1993 and 2001, and we had a brief telephone conversation.
We talked about the problem of communication and the fact that many clerics had a kind of ecclesiastical talk that does not really reach ordinary people. I quoted a comment on preaching made by the late Father Joe Dunn: "What I miss most in sermons is a man talking." I intended this to refer to shortcomings in preaching generally and not as a sweeping generalisation about bishops. I wish to distance myself from that.
When misunderstandings like this can arise, I can understand why some bishops are shy of speaking to reporters. The sad lesson I have learned is that in future I may be hesitant to speak to journalists unless I know them personally. - Yours, etc.
Father SEAN FAGAN SM,
Lower Leeson Street,
Dublin 2.
Joe Humphreys writes: I note that Father Fagan does not deny the accuracy of the quotation I attributed to him.
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Sir, - I note in coverage the references by various Catholic clerics to legal advice and the need to obey it.
Legal advice is an answer to a question. From the apparent nature of the advice I suspect the Church's question to its lawyers is: "How can we defend civil claims arising out of child abuse allegations so as best to keep Church money and property from being paid out in damages?"
I ask the Church authorities: would your words and actions have been different if you had no assets to protect?
What is that about the camel and the eye of the needle? - Yours, etc.,
F.F. MOCKLER,
Ballyroan Park,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
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Sir, - The article, "The Church in good shape compared with the old days" by Desmond O'Donnell, Oblate priest in Inchicore (Opinion, April 3rd) brings a message of hope in the reality of the Church for now and in the future. Reading his honest appraisal of the good shape of the Church compared to the "good old days", one is reminded of the words of Christopher Fry: "Thank God, our time is now".
"Is it grace inviting the Church upwards?" Des O'Donnell asks, while reflecting on what the bad news of recent scandals reveal.
The real Church is surely what Jesus Christ revealed. It has to be all about a relationship with God, with oneself, with other people and with the environment. The task ahead - Keep the focus on Jesus, the way, the truth and the life. - Yours, etc.,
Sr EMMANEUL LEONARD,
Continuing Adult Religious
Education Adviser,
Convent of Mercy,
Cobh,
Co Cork.