Madam, - I would like to compliment Brendan Ó Cathaoir on his article about the life and death of Fr Tim Leonard ("A tale of faith, heroism and martyrdom in China", Rite and Reason, August 7th). Until about 20 years ago, Irish people were rightly proud of the contribution of countless Irish missionaries, of all demoninations, who worked tirelessly to bring education, healthcare and the good news of the gospel to millions of people.
It is a pity that, in recent times - possibly because of scandals in the Church - that the contribution and commitment of these heroic women and men, who worked in some of the poorest and most isolated parts of the world, has been airbrushed out of our history. It is almost as if such lives of unselfish love are now an embarrassment to us in the era of Celtic Tiger. And yet, given the magnitude of the social, development and ecological problems which we face both in Ireland and across the globe, we were never in greater need of such truly courageous role models.
I hope other media will follow your example and bring us stories about the lives and work of other missionaries and development workers in different parts of the world. - Yours, etc,
Fr SEAN McDONAGH, St Columban's, Navan, Co Meath.