Sir, - it has been amusing to hear the reaction of some of our so called liberals to the success of Faith of Our Fathers. For them, it must either represent a seeking after a "harmless dose of nostalgia or mark a "dangerous return to conservative values".
However, David Grant's reference (January 31st) to satanic forces would make one think that perhaps some of the reaction is not so harmless after all. Would The Irish Times have published a letter that inferred that the hymns of the Jewish community, or of Anglicans or Presbyterians, had a devilish provenance?
Reading through the text of the hymns on the CD, I can find nothing that could be held to be even mildly offensive. Catholic hymns predominate, but there are also some from the Protestant tradition (although many do not seem to realise this). So why the strong reaction?
Could it be that those who in this materialistic era deny the existence of God, are deeply offended and upset that they do not yet appear to be in the majority? After all, the reason for the CD's success could just be that people want to praise God and venerate the mother of Jesus in the way their ancestors did. - Yours, etc.,
Woodley Park,
Dublin 14.