Church and state: three contrasting caricatures

YOU offered three contrasting caricatures on the evolving relationship between the Christian churches and Irish society (October 24).

The opinion of Ian Elliott, CEO of the National Board for Safeguarding Children, that the Catholic Church as a whole is finally getting its act together with respect to the protection of children is encouraging – if it proves to be sustainable.

Mr Elliott is on the payroll of the church, so he is not entirely independent of it. But the dogged persistence of his investigation of the child sex abuse issues in Cloyne during the tenure of Bishop John Magee means his opinions now have some stature.

The provision by religious congregations of adequate compensation to victims of sex abuse in their care in industrial schools and their acceptance of culpability would be further evidence to support Mr Elliott’s assertion.

The opinion of your columnist Ryle Dwyer that Donal Óg Cusack “need no longer fear a belt of the crozier” (October 24) has probably more to do with the widespread loss of influence and public esteem of bishops rather than an expression of either their attitude towards, tolerance, or understanding of homosexuality.

The protest by Right Rev Paul Colton, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, with respect to the decision of the Minister for Education to restrict funding for Protestant fee-paying schools is weakened somewhat by his admission that “in the history of this state, traditionally, Protestants have kept their heads down”. This observation could be construed as a gesture of lackadaisical indifference to the affairs of state and there have been many issues where a Protestant perspective would have been relevant and pertinent.

The strength and vigour of our society lies in its diversity, complexity and sophistication, not in the bland passivity of some of its more important components. The amount of money that is being lost to the 21 Protestant schools is €2.8 million. The ultimate beneficiaries are not wealthy people and many must inevitably be stricken by the consequences of the recession.

The total sum involved is less than three times the value of the pension and benefits afforded to Rody Molloy, former director-general of Fás.

The Protestant school grant makes a significant impact beyond its mere monetary value, especially in rural areas, in the maintenance of the healthy vitality and diversity of Irish society.

There is apparently €2m of unspent grant support available to at least some of the Protestant schools, so there ought to be scope to derive a pragmatic solution that is balanced and appropriate, in the same seamless and expedited fashion that the Molloy pension was dealt with. If this grant issue is really a matter of such crucial importance, should the national leadership of all the Christian churches not jointly express a harmonised view, or do they simply function as single-issue lobbyists catering to whatever it is that serves their directly vested interest?

Myles Duffy

Bellevue Avenue

Glenageary

Co Dublin