Sir, - The refusal by the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral of the invitation by Bertie Ahern and Celia Larkin to a State reception honouring Cardinal Connell serves as a timely reminder to those of us who are in a second relationship of just how hypocritical and excluding is the society in which we live. Is the sin of being in a second relationship on a level different from the sins of others whose hospitality is freely enjoyed by the great and the good?
Surely it is possible to encourage the "principle" of marriage, without at the same time insulting in such a public way those whose experience of marriage has prevented them from remaining within it. Most people unlucky enough to have experienced separation, for whatever reason, would not choose the path on which they find themselves. They do not need to be reminded by more fortunate people how difficult it was to make the decision to separate, and how excluded they now are from the Church to which they formerly belonged as a penance for having again found happiness.
I do not recall hearing the hierarchy of any Christian church announce that members of their clergy who may be in improper relationships, or who have offended morality in other ways, may not distribute Holy Communion to their flock or perform the other sacraments. Perhaps if insults and humiliations were publicly administered in a more even-handed way, this sinner would not have felt compelled to put pen to paper. - Yours, etc.,
Michael D. Peart, Stillorgan Grove, Blackrock, Co Dublin.