Madam, - As an English Protestant resident in the State only for the past seven years, the thing I found most striking in your poll of the over-50s was the resilience of the Catholic Church. Despite the scandals caused by those who betrayed the sacred trust placed in them, despite the constant ridicule and abuse from sections of the media, your poll suggests that 90 per cent of the 50+ population hold on to their faith.
To an outsider's eye, the Church seems considerably stronger than some critics have suggested. As well as the 50+ faithful, the large numbers of those under 50 who still attend Mass regularly confound the prophets who believe the Church is about to curl up and die. Perhaps the Church's enduring strength derives from the fact that, when it is at its best, it offers an encounter with the sacred and a true sense of community, neither of which can be found in money, no matter how large one's salary, or possessions, no matter how exclusive the label.
Fifteen centuries ago, as the Roman Empire collapsed and Christendom disappeared from Western Europe, it was the vocation of the Irish Church to remain faithful. As our current Christendom disappears, the opportunity seems to have arisen to again pursue that vocation. - Yours, etc,
Rev IAN POULTON,
Rector of Saint
Matthias's Church,
Killiney,
Co Dublin.