Madam, - Pat Corcoran (February 1st) wants the Vatican's treasures sold to give the dying mothers and children of Africa food. As if the Vatican was to blame for this.
Religious leaders, including the Catholic Church's, have tirelessly campaigned for a more just approach to capitalism, including freer trade, so that the poorest can share in the world's economy. The church has already done more for the world's poor than all of its secular detractors put together.
Still they aren't satisfied. They want the priceless treasures of the church - works now accessible to people of all faiths - sold off and locked away in the mansions of the super-rich.
Man cannot live by bread alone. The Vatican's treasures are, mostly, works dedicated to God and created for the edification of all mankind, rich and poor alike.
We should solve world poverty by striking at the roots of it and not by attacking one of the few institutions actually trying to do something about it. - Yours, etc,
MARC COLEMAN, Saint John's Close, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Pat Corcoran says his letters on this matter to ecclesiastical authorities have been met with silence.
Closer to home, given the poor state of our health system, I wonder whether he has considered asking the Government to sell off the priceless collections of our National Gallery and Museum to relieve much suffering here.
Mr Corcoran is under the misguided belief that the Vatican and the Irish Government "own" such treasures and can dispose of them at will, when in fact they are simply holding them in trust for future generations. - Yours, etc,
MARK DALY, Castlefield Woods, Dublin 15.