Is there a place for lapsed or lukewarm Catholics?
I agree you cannot coerce people into being good or mediocre Catholics, but the same applies to most faiths. As for Bishop Murphy of Kerry, he was pointing out that if parents do not practise their faith, and only use Catholic schools as a means of educating their children, then the only reason the children receive the sacraments is because they happen to attend a Catholic school.
I know of children who were baptised, received first communion, were confirmed, and one or two married and that was the only time they were inside a church, except maybe for a funeral.
If they are so many non-practising parents, why don't they lobby for secular schools. Parish priests put a lot of work into their local schools, and it might lighten their load.
While some clergy have behaved badly that is not be an excuse for loss of faith in God.
If we can't look beyond the faults of some clergy we should wonder if we ever had faith in the first place.
Betty Harrington,
36, Ashleigh Gardens,
Skehard Road,
Cork.
I WELCOME the stance taken by Bishop Bill Murphy of Kerry in relation to abuse of the sacraments (Irish Examiner, April 7). The 'a la carte' Catholics to whom he refers are now predictably seething at being found out.
If Bishop Murphy's stance were to be implemented and regular Mass-goers were the only ones eligible to partake of the sacraments at first communions, confirmations, weddings and even ordinations it would no longer be necessary for priests to endure the dreaded 'Mexican wave' from those miscreants who don't know whether to stand, sit or kneel during mass and various ceremonies.
On a more serious note, I would like to be the first to offer an olive branch to those who find themselves offside. Please come back to the House of God. You may stand, sit, or kneel and pray with the rest of us on Sundays.
After all, for most Catholics the mass is the very centre, the core of everything we believe in. Do it for your own sake, and for the sake of the generations to follow you.
Noel O'Shaughnessy,
9, Boyne Crescent,
Mayfield,
Cork.
THE city and county of Swansea are now offering a 'naming day' ceremony to celebrate the birth of a baby. It can be tailored to meet parents' requirements and they do not have to be married. It is strictly secular.
Maybe this is the way forward in an increasingly secular Irish society?
Nesta Kelly,
Swansea SA4 8JE,
Wales
TO deny the sacraments to the children of non-practising parents seems to penalise the children.
The parents certainly have some faith or they would not present the children for baptism and the sacraments. What little faith they have should be encouraged. We never know how God will enter the lives of others.
Perhaps as the parents help the children with their lessons, they, too, will learn more about the church and the sacraments.
Instead of refusing the sacraments to them, they should be encouraged to return to the church. How do we know what is in the hearts of those who do not attend church regularly? We should open our hearts and pray that the faith that brings them and their children to the sacraments will be strengthened.
I firmly believe in 'judge not lest you be judged.'
Dolores R Dwyer,
7311W Island Lake Road,
Hurley,
Wisconsin 54534,
USA.
I READ with great interest the report by Donal Hickey (Irish Examiner, April 7) regarding the 'lie,' in the opinion of the Bishop of Kerry, Bill Murphy, of non-practising Catholics holding marriages, baptisms, etc., in churches.
I'm not a Catholic, but I get upset nonetheless when friends and acquaintances who get married in Catholic churches hold christenings for their children and fully intend to send them to first communion and confirmation when they themselves clearly have no devotion to, and presumably no respect for, the doctrines of the church.
Surely no self-respecting religion wants part-time members. No true Catholic can be entirely comfortable with friends or neighbours who live by rules and moral codes at odds with those of the church, yet still consider themselves Catholic.
Most of us know people who get married in churches seemingly without holding seriously any of the Catholic beliefs on relationships, sexual activity, contraception, religious duties, etc.
Surely Bishop Murphy is correct when he states that this type of behaviour is 'a lie, a charade and an abuse.' He may well have added 'hypocritical.'
However, I don't believe that too many churches would be booked out this summer if the Catholic Church was somehow to vet the scruples of the intending couples, parents and relatives before agreeing to any proposed ceremony. Read your bible if you consider yourself a Christian. Take your religion seriously.
It's not some cultural inheritance that you can draw on when it suits you; it should matter all the time, or not at all.
Rónán Ó Tómhnair,
36, Monksfield Walk,
Clondalkin,
Dublin 22.
ALL of a sudden the Bishop of Kerry addresses the problem that the hierarchy of whom he's a member has created.
Why has it taken so long for him to realise that his church is full of baptised pagans and hypocrites?
All this charade of religion was tolerated and encouraged by the hierarchy as long as there were plenty of punters and the coffers were full. However, all is not lost. There will always be people who prefer priestcraft and showcase religion over personal faith in God.
Joseph Lowe,
37, New Road,
Thomondgate,
Limerick.
