Sir, It was with much anticipation l began reading Fr David O'Hanlon's article (April 19th) and with a mixture of annoyance and despair that I came to its end. What seemed likely, namely a coherent argument in favour of his point of view, turned out to be a puerile attack on those who had opposed his judgment of Mary Robinson's visit to the Pope.
Whatever the value of his arguments, the general tone of his article was appalling. The presbyters and bishop's palaces of Ireland must have resounded to the sound of clerical cringing over breakfast on Saturday. In recent years there has been some discussion of the calibre of clerical students in Ireland. Fr O'Hanlon's article would seem to indicate that the calibre is twelve bore and the target his own two feet.
In what he wrote he made his person an easy target and undermined whatever value his arguments might have had. As my grandmother would say, he is more to be pitied than laughed at.
Was it the intention of The Irish Times to lend him the rope half a page of it with which to hang himself? While free speech is a laudable ideal, perhaps Fr O'Hanlon should have been persuaded to plead the fifth amendment. Yours, etc. Drumcondra Park, Dublin 3,