'Time to opt out of the charade that is communion and confirmation'

As the dust settles from the Pope’s visit and children head back to school, it's time for more parents to have the courage of their convictions and opt out of the charade that is communion and confirmation. Otherwise, we will never achieve a secular Ireland, suggests Susan O'Shea.

HANDS up if you were one of the thousands who felt deeply uncomfortable during the Pope's visit. Angry that the State was still doffing its cap to the leader of a Church rocked by clerical abuse scandals; that’s anti-women, anti-homosexual, medieval in its teachings.