A chara, – Perhaps as someone who has served in the US armed forces, I won’t be accused of being anti-American for saying – despite my abundant lack of fondness for Osama bin Laden, my deep absence of sorrow for his demise, and my large sigh of relief that the world is rid of a dangerous individual – that I still find the manner of his death somewhat troubling?
The US president declared that this was justice done; but how you treat those whom you and the whole world despise is the acid test of justice. Bin Laden may have died as he lived, but what does his death say about the way that we now live? – Is mise,
Rev PATRICK G BURKE,
Willowbank,
Blackrock,
Cork.
If the request was a hoax, that is another matter. However, if these Masses were sincerely requested, certain facts need to borne in mind: the Masses would not have been offered “in honour” of bin Laden but for the repose of his soul. Osama bin Laden must face the judgement of God like everyone else. No mortal may pronounce upon his eternal destiny. Only God knows all the facts about Osama bin Laden. As Christians, we should pray for him now that he has left this world. The Catholic Church, which declares that many are in Heaven, has never said that any human being is in Hell. That is the prerogative of God and only God.
There are many human beings, throughout history, who have perpetrated unspeakable evil against the innocent and vulnerable. Once upon a time, these evildoers were innocent children themselves. Only God knows the human heart through and through. We do not know, and cannot know, what caused a person to turn out the way they did.
The doctrine of Purgatory is about purification and rehabilitation. It holds out hope for the most villainous. We should rightly pray for the likes of Osama bin Laden. The mercy of God is infinite and beyond human comprehension. The God of Love can heal victims and save perpetrators. May the most merciful God, one day, hold all of us, together, healed in those loving arms. – Yours, etc,
Fr PATRICK McCAFFERTY,
Lower Rathmines Road,
Dublin 6.
Madam, – The controversy caused by an apparent request for two Masses to be offered for Osama bin Laden, in the parish of Howth, needs to be understood in context (Home News, May 9th).