Dear Editor, Brendan Butler congratulates Sarah Mullaly on her appointment as the first female supreme head of the Anglican Communion and goes on to refer to “women (in the Catholic Church) excluded not only from being ordained and forbidden from reading the Gospel at Mass.” This he claims “is an injustice against Catholic women and is crying out to heaven to be addressed.” He even hopes that “Pope Leo might follow the example and bring about a more equitable society within the Catholic Church.”
It is easy to understand how those outside the Church may agree with Mr Butler, but incomprehensible that a practising Catholic holds these views. The Church is a spiritual body, not a secular corporation, and seeks to follow the teaching of Jesus. He only called men to the priesthood, perhaps based on the sacrificial lamb always being male, even though very many women supported and looked after him in His ministry.
It is really surprising to hear calls to follow the changes in the Anglican Church when, in fact, instead of these resulting in that Church expanding it is losing far more members than the Catholic Church. Catholics are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, not to adapt to the changing customs of the world. I have never felt in any way that I am treated unjustly because I am a woman and recognise that God has a plan for all our lives, best followed in the teaching of the Church set up by Him.
Yours etc,
Mary Stewart
Ardeskin, Co. Donegal
The housing crisis is an EU crisis
Dear Editor, Danish EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen has stated at present that in the EU there are 1 million people homeless, 75 million living in overcrowded accommodation circumstances and 45 million cannot afford to heat their home. While the EU gives funding towards housing, as a rule it does not interfere with the housing market of member States. This will have to change given the social unrest the housing crisis is causing over the EU.
Short term and temporary renting by tourism is one of the main reasons for this crisis, immigration is another. In Ireland house prices are now passing the asking price of the Celtic Tiger years. Rents have increased in Ireland 98%; with one or two other EU countries exceeding this increase.
In 2023 nearly 9% of the EU population spent 40% of their disposable incomes on accommodation. In Denmark it is 15%, Germany 13%. One thing that favours some mainland European countries is co-operative housing, which has been in place for decades, which in Denmark there is universal access to.
In Ireland we seem to be going down the disgraced Tiger housing market path with developers talking of “starter homes” instead of 2/3/4 bedroom apartment complexes for families with lifetime secure tenancies with a stable effective management structure in place as in the tried and tested co-operative housing of some mainland European countries.
Yours etc,
Nuala Nolan
Bowling Green, Co. Galway
Celebrations of resilience and hope at Pro Life conference
Dear Editor, In characteristically resilient fashion, the Pro Life Campaign held its annual National Conference in Dublin’s Gresham Hotel on Saturday, October 18. The event was well attended by people from all over Ireland and beyond. One of its many inspiring speakers was Tina McManus, an engineer and strategy manager, who described her experience following a heartbreaking diagnosis of Edwards Syndrome (or Trisomy 18) for her “honeymoon baby”.
Despite the many challenges of this condition, Tina and her husband Eddie decided to continue with the pregnancy and do all in their power to support the life growing within her. Sadly, “Baby Jamie” passed away just before birth but the couple was greatly comforted in their grief by being able to hold him in their arms, take his little body home and give him a dignified burial as befits the end of every human life.
Tina showered praise on the organisation Féileacáin (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Support) which provides compassionate and practical help to anyone affected by the death of a baby around the time of birth. Among other things, grieving parents are helped to create a precious Memory Box to ensure that the short existence of their baby can be cherished forever.
In spite of recent legislative changes in Ireland since the Referendum of 2018, the Pro Life Campaign remains a beacon of hope for those who refuse to accept that abortion is the only solution to a challenging pregnancy.
Yours etc,
Sinéad Boland
Kilmacanogue, Co. Wicklow
Holy Family Hospital needs continued support
Dear Editor, I read with great interest Fr Martin Delaney’s article ‘Faith, Gaza and what we can do’ and if I may I would like to add a further suggestion.
The Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem, which is supported by the Order of Malta including the Irish members, provides a range of vital services, especially maternity and neonatal care, to the Palestinians of the ‘West Bank’. Since the beginning of the Gaza conflict the hospital has operated in very difficult circumstances. Essential outreach services to expectant mothers in isolated Bedouin settlements were hit particularly hard. Although
the situation has eased somewhat of late it still operates under very abnormal conditions. And of course the hospital struggles to fund its services. It very much relies on its supporters in Europe and America.
Those who wish to help should contact: Order of Malta Ireland, St John’s House, 32 Clyde Road, Dublin 4 or in Northern Ireland via Order of Malta Ireland Ulster (Northern Region) Hospitaller, Seán Alexander McGrath KM at sean.mcgrath@orderofmalta.ie.
Yours etc,
Charles Glenn
Deanfield, Co. Derry
Severance between Church of Nigeria and Church of England
Dear Editor, It may please Brendan Butler that the Supreme Governor of the Church of England has appointed the first female Archbishop of Canterbury (The Irish Catholic, October 16); it must be pointed out, however, that the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has broken its ties with the Church of England as it does not recognise the ordination of women to the priesthood or to the episcopate. Does not this contradict the Lord’s prayer “I pray that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, so that the world may believe that it was you who sent me?”
Yours etc,
Fr Oliver Skelly
Coole, Co. Westmeath
This week last year
Ireland is ‘Re-Paganising’
Traditional Christian faith is the resistance to despair, says priest
Fr Billy Swan spoke to The Irish Catholic about the rise in worship of “false gods”, reflecting the Pagan traditions of Ireland “before we [Ireland] accepted the Christian faith back in the 5th Century”.
“It leads to confusion about what is true and false, what is right and wrong and a bleaker future for our youth who are longing for hope,” said Fr Swan. “Movng away from the light of Christ and into darkness is inevitably leading to a breakdown of civilisation, the family and chaos in society in general.”
Prof. Patricia Casey, who teaches psychiatry at UCD, linked the growing trend of ‘re-Paganising’ to the upcoming holiday, Halloween: “Halloween is linked in with occult tendencies.” Prof. Casey noted that the occult tendencies arising from ‘re-Paganisation’ “would certainly lead to psychological problems like nightmares, very negative thoughts, confusion about right and wrong, [and] anxiety” in young people.
Eco-protection ‘central to Christian identity’ say priest
Upon the Columban Missionaries’ attendance at COP16, the UN Biodiversity Summit, The Irish Catholic spoke to Fr Sean McDonagh, Columban priest and ecologist. Fr McDonagh shared disappointment that the COP for biodiversity only takes place every two years while the COP for climate change is annual and receives widespread attention around the world.
He emphasised the importance of the Church’s involvement in biodiversity campaigns: “The Church is concerned about life. This is about life, the continuation of life. This is central to our Christian identity.”
Fr McDonagh continued: “And if the religious people are not involved in that, what are they involved in? It’s so important for us, this is God’s creation…When it comes to biodiversity, the reality of who is causing the destruction of biodiversity [is] only one creature: humans.”
Hate crime law is ‘radical gender politics’ in Statute book
After the Oireachtas’ passing of the Hate Crime Bill, which recognises “any form of gender expression” and categorises certain crimes as more serious based on “protected characteristics” of people, Senator Ronan Mullen expressed his concern over its adoption of “radical gender politics”.
“If people have committed crimes motivated by hatred against people on grounds of certain protected characteristics that those people have, then it turns it into a more serious kind of crime,” said Senator Mullen, summarising the Bill. “It suggests that you can have two different categories of victims for the same crime and that’s not a great idea where we’re all supposed to be equal before the law.”
According to Senator Mullen, the gender definition used in the Bill comes from “a very ideological place” and could threaten the traditional understanding of gender.
