State should not be enforcing religion

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Waterford, Alphonsus Cullinan, wants the State to continue to enforce his church ideals by retaining the ban on pub opening on the day generally known as Good Friday (Letters, January 25).

A visit to any supermarket or off-licence the day before Good Friday will show him that, far from enforcing abstinence for the day, the ban encourages trolley loads of booze that make the Christmas stock-up look positively abstemious and make it the best day of the year for off-licence sales.

Good Friday and other holidays may be sacred to the bishop and other believers but the State should have no function in enforcing religious rules of any kind.