Letters to the Editor: Bishops are right to allow Communions and Confirmations

Parents need to act responsibly when it comes to parties for Communions and Confirmations.

I write to you with regard to the bishops letting Communions and Confirmations go ahead.

I agree with the bishops in this regard. When you consider that 50 people can attend a funeral, 100 a wedding, and 40,000 will be able to attend matches in Croke Park in the coming weeks, the bishops are being reasonable.

It has been said that it is the celebratory parties that follow Confirmations and Communions that are the trouble. 

But, surely, as we move forward in this pandemic, parents will have to take responsibility and behave in a careful manner for their children’s sake and for the bigger picture and the rest of the population. 

The Catholic faith in this country has taken a hammering during Covid-19 and I am of the opinion that it will never recover. 

If you look at the age profile of those attending mass, especially since the phased reopening began, no one is under 50 years of age. 

I am of the opinion that this will never recover, because when younger people, under 50, get out of the practice of doing something, they never go back.

Martha Sheehan

Fethard,

Co Tipperary

Bishops must follow health protocols, too

I saw the 2015 award-winning film Spotlight at the weekend. It chronicled the uncovering of child abuse perpetrated by approximately 6% of Boston’s 1,500 Catholic priests and led to a wave of revelations worldwide. 

I’m reminded of this statistic when you ask, in your editorial, “So what is Government going to do about bishops shunning Covid guidelines?”

If we have learned anything, surely it is that those in authority who flout guidelines and public-health advice should be dealt with in the present and not long after the event. 

One can only hope that the Taoiseach will not fall prostrate before some wayward bishops and endanger the great sacrifices that the vast majority of the population have made in this pandemic.

Tom McElligott

Listowel,

Co Kerry

Lack of real leadership

Tanaiste and Fine Gael leader, Leo Varadkar, is at last doing the State some valuable service: He is showing a complacent electorate just how unsuited he and his party are for office, even when just playing a prop-up role. 

I’m referring to the appointment of Katherine Zappone as Ireland’s UN special envoy on freedom of opinion and expression and Mr Varadkar’s subsequent statement that “mistakes were made in the manner in which Dr Zappone was appointed” and that he “regrets the controversy it’s caused”.

It is a tragedy that Fine Gael, a once proud and principled political party, appears not to have within its ranks one individual capable and courageous enough to rescue Irish politics from the destructive, self-promotional mentality that has governed this country for the last several years.

It should not be surprising, however, in a party that jettisoned principle and patriotism in favour of opportunism, that it has no one willing or able to do what is necessary.

Given another year or more, Leo will take Fine Gael to the oblivion it richly deserves.

Padraic Neary

Tubbercurry,

Co Sligo

‘Mistakes’ aplenty made in appointment

So, both Simon Coveney, the foreign affairs minister, and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar have conceded that ‘mistakes were made‘ in the appointment of Katherine Zappone as Ireland’s UN special envoy on freedom of opinion and expression. Pray, clarify what mistakes?

• Providing jobs for people in the inner circle?
• Not advertising the job as per normal procedure in the real world?
• No interviews held for said position?
• Handing the job on a gilded platter to one of their own?
• Taking the electorate for fools?

Where are the consequences for such arrogance and utter contempt for the Irish people?

Aileen Hooper,

Stoneybatter,

Dublin 7

Incompetent Cabinet has three years to go

When you have a Cabinet stuffed with incompetents, it becomes impossible to sack anyone.

And we still have another three years of this parody to come, with the same characters and script.

Liam Power

Dundalk,

Co Louth

Zappone party shows politicians’ priorities

The revelation that Katherine Zappone organised a party for political friends in the days leading up to her appointment as a UN advocate is hardly surprising. These people do not see themselves as servants of the people anymore. 

Jim O’Sullivan

Rathedmond,

Sligo

Farrell is speaking up for his ‘flock’

Congratulations to Archbishop Dermot Farrell for giving courageous leadership to his flock in the matter of First Communions and Confirmations.

How right he was, too, in his interview on RTÉ Radio One, to reference that, “It’s OK to have a bash in the Merrion Hotel with 50 people present.

“But, yet, it’s not possible for a parent to take their child along to receive the sacrament.”

The churches have shown themselves to be highly responsible in observing all the public-health guidelines and now that other sectors have been given the green light to open, it is hard to see what makes First Communions and Confirmations in churches so problematic.

Some politicians may see the Church as an easy target, but they should remember that the Church is still the primary focus for the spiritual lives of very many people in Ireland and it is their right to be able to worship and to practise their religion.

John Glennon

Hollywood,

Co Wicklow

Sex-education protest welcome

I am writing in relation to the article, Academics urge Government to halt Church’s new primary school sex-education resources
August 2.

I’m delighted to see this response from the academic community. Our educational system needs to reflect the society it serves and to foster diversity and inclusion.

Catherine O’Mahony

Boreenmanna Road

Let’s keep beauty spots beautiful

It’s crazy how people leave rubbish in public places, burn fires, and damage areas of beauty.

When I have gone fishing in Sandycove, I have seen fishing wire left behind on rocks, and even found a couple of hooks. These hooks could injure someone, or an animal.

If people have no respect for nature, I highly doubt they care about their own properties or any wildlife. The refuse I have seen left behind at beaches, lakes, and woods is disgusting.

Clean up after yourselves and keep Ireland beautiful.

Chris Barton

Dunmanway

Free speech is a victory for everyone

The Belarus Olympic sprinter Krystina Tsimanouskaya has said that her family at home told her they feared she would be sent to a psychiatric ward if she returned.

Since when has criticising a sports coach been a sign of mental illness? The 24-year-old’s criticism of how her nation’s Olympic team was being managed led to a backlash at home in the state-run media. In certain countries, speaking out means going to jail.

The right to free speech should be protected and used to support the truth.

History is filled with people who have stood up at great personal cost and whose voices changed the world.

Keep standing up, or kneeling down, for what is right.

Dennis Fitzgerald

Vic Melbourne,

Australia