Sir, - Reading Fr Brian D'Arcy's article (Rite and Reason, January 20th) was one of those special moments when you experience the reality of the common unconscious. Brian's thoughts, my thoughts and, I feel certain, the thoughts of the majority of my Catholic brothers and sisters would be in harmony in the belief that if the Christian Churches are to have any relevance for the next 1,000 years, they must step down to join their flock in the humble search for God.
Meeting the foot-soldiers of life, both lay and clerical, day by day I sense their frustration at the oldfashioned, pompous, powerretaining, change-refraining position seen to be adhered to by career bureaucrats in the institutional Church. They are often seen to be no better than senior managers in any large business corporation, playing power games, mostly for their own ends. Fr Darcy pointed out that many people's children, "no matter how well brought up, don't bother going to Mass at all, and even when they do, have little more than a vague idea of what the Eucharist is." Do we, the parents, have a better idea? In my experience over the past 30 years, the central question of the Eucharist, or indeed any other core theological question, was never discussed in Church or in any other readily available forum. Even though people nowadays are well educated, Church policy seems to be to continue to treat their flock as children.
If we believe the basic tenet of Christianity - love God, love your neighbour - then let's get back to these basics and stop letting power games, canon law and all the rest get in the way. Can we all work together as equals in the great search, or is this an impossible dream? - Yours, etc.,
Hillcourt Road, Glenageary, Co Dublin.