Letters to the Editor: What right do we have to judge faith of others?
Have we forgotten the lessons on faith and humility taught by Rashers Tierney in 'Strumpet City'?
Are we ignoring, or have we forgotten, the lessons on faith, humility, hope, human dignity, true piety, and peopleâs religion that the life and death of David Kellyâs Rashers Tierney in taught a young priest, whose well-meant but patronising, paternalistic attempts to help his parishioners were met with contempt?Â
Have we forgotten the memory of his neighbours gathered to bear witness, a tenement community deemed ungrateful and irreligious by their âbettersâ, the type of people, some would say, who âwant others to do their religion for themâ, waiting expectantly for their priest to honour the dead?
Do they no longer hear Rashersâ neighboursâ hopeful rosary rise up the stairs of a crumbling mansion as this pious young man remembers to lead them in prayer before placing his genteel motherâs Galway rosary beads in the hands of a man once considered dirty, lazy, irreverent, and unworthy?
The young priest needed to let Gospel values inspire him to show some humility in his ministry by treating people with decency, dignity, and respect, using the skills of listening and obedience while working in solidarity with them.
In recent years, both the PBP TD Mick Barry, an atheist, and the Catholic Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy have applied those skills, learned in a Catholic classroom in Rathfarnham long ago.
Two people who seem very different can practise the art of questioning, giving ear to others, discernment and obedience, and understand that Catholic action happens when people use empathy, reason, and restorative practice to work in solidarity with others â such as with the residents of a hostel in Dublinâs North inner city â after time is taken for quiet contemplation, hopeful prayer, or for kicking a ball around a school hall. Surely the rest of us can have the grace to do the same.
We may have diverse world views, may wonder at peopleâs actions, and question them. We may well call others out on things when we need to allow for progress in a pluralist society.
But, when it comes to expressions of culture and of faith, what right do any of us have to look down our noses on others?
My brother Kevin Shyne and I will be visiting the Cork area in June and would love to meet some of our âlong lostâ Irish relatives. My email address is cshyne@msn.com.
Apparently we may be related to people with the surname Shyne and also âShineâ, as they were used interchangeably to some degree, we have been told.
We will be arriving in Dublin on June 10 and staying there for a few days. We then take the train to Cork on Thursday, June 13. We will be in the Cork area until June 17.
It would be great to meet some fellow Shynes/Shines, to learn about our ârootsâ and what is fun to see and do in your area.
As school librarians, ourselves and many of our colleagues eagerly awaited the release of the Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy 2024-2033.
Education Minister Norma Foley launched the strategy last Thursday with the declaration that âa collective effort is required from teachers, school leaders, learners, parents, communities, and policymakersâ.
We were extremely disappointed, then, to see that neither the strategy document, nor the separately- published implementation plan to 2028, makes even a solitary passing reference to school libraries.
The strategy makes numerous references to libraries, but always in the context of public libraries, for instance citing âincreased usage of the library service by primary and post-primary learners, teachers and schoolsâ as an indicator of success.
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the department is determined to focus exclusively on links between schools and public libraries, and intends to quietly backtrack on its 2005 commitment to extend the Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP) Demonstration Library Project to all Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (Deis) schools, which serve communities at risk of disadvantage and social exclusion.
Currently only 30 out of 235 Deis schools enjoy the enormous benefits that a school library with a qualified school librarian can deliver. So when we see the new strategy cite âimproved performance by learners in Deis schools in mathematics and reading literacyâ as another of its indicators of success, we can only regard it as a sham.
If the Department of Education is serious about achieving success on this front, it must make good on its commitment to deliver a school library with a qualified librarian in each Deis school, an objective that recent Joint Oireachtas Committee reports have identified as âan urgent national priorityâ.
While I support the ongoing encampment and protests calling for University College Corkâs divestment from Israel, I cannot but wonder why the university, its staff, and students do not want to see similar action taken in relation to China.
The Chinese government has been accused by many international organisations of subjecting Uyghurs living in Xinjiang to widespread persecution, including forced sterilisation and forced labour.Â
Various scholars, human rights organisations, and governments consider abuses perpetrated against the Uyghurs to amount to crimes against humanity and even genocide.
Despite this, UCC maintains strong relationships with several Chinese universities, and one must ask, why? Why is there so much outrage over the genocide of Palestinians, but not the Uyghurs?
It is good to see people who are able to attend Cork cityâs marches on Saturdays from 1pm, in support of the people of Gaza going through a desolate war and for a resolution for peace from both sides. The gardaĂ provide a low-key presence. Senator Frances Black recently gave a speech at the end of a march.
Mainstream media has a vital role in reporting the news. I also find YouTube to be a helpful source. It was there I learned of âHealthcare Workers for Palestineâ, who âstand in solidarity with the Palestinian peopleâ and record the experiences of doctors and medics in the war in Gaza.
Hamas crossing the border into Israel in October 2023, killing more than 1,000 people, and taking hostages was horrific. Israelâs response of all-out war has been equally horrific in their mission to eliminate Hamas in Gaza.
Some 35,100 people including 13,000 children have now been killed in Gaza, an estimated 70,000 injured. Israel told the population to move to safe areas. They were not all able to. Humanitarian aid workers were killed, many of them Palestinians. Palestinian journalists were also killed.
There is an moral imperative to ensure no man-made famines in Gaza; for Israel to ensure safe and well-equipped facilities for operations on Gazaâs injured civilians and children to be done quickly and humanely. Doctors reported doing operations and amputations with little anaesthetic available to them, months into the war. Many community hospitals are evacuated and ruined. Some doctors, nurses, and patients also died from missile attacks.
Israel has, for years, ignored UN resolutions to stop illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank and to protect Palestinian people there from attacks. The West Bank, like Gaza, is a Palestinian territory.
Every country has a right to defend itself but what Israel has done to Gaza is horrendous. A population enduring homelessness, fear, hunger, poverty, and desperation. No education for the children since the war began. Senior citizens into their 80s and older have suffered immensely, many, of all ages, killed under tonnes of rubble.
I hope the war will end soon and for Hamas to release the remaining hostages who have also suffered immensely since October 7, 2023. There are no winners in this war of attrition on a population.
Why can a tried-and-tested online permit renewal system which works completely fine for Dublin and surrounding areas not be rolled out nationwide?Â
Paying the highest fees in Europe for a permit renewal at âŹ300 every single year, international ex-patsâ IRP (Irish Residence Permit) renewal has become a cash-cow for the Irish system, where the Government knows it can exploit the ex-pats as they will have to renew and pay fees or leave the country.Â
All major European economies have an average price of âŹ50 per year to renew their permits, which takes no longer than a month. Itâs an absolute shame that we are paying the highest and waiting the longest to get our permits renewed.
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