A return to the Church and a thank you to Irish clergy and friends
Dear Editor, I converted to Catholicism at 21 years of age and for 39 years the Church was my rock and my shield. I’m indebted to the Church for the education it gave me which enabled me to have a mature and less judgemental vision of life and others, and I’ve always remained Catholic in essence. However, in 2020 I had a distressing personal experience which temporarily disrupted my relationship with the Church and led me to leave. During this time, I was supported by many good friends in Ireland, some of whom were members of the clergy. I was later ordained within the Independent Catholic Movement (ICM) but never envisaged my vocation to be that of a priest who said Mass and did not attempt to consecrate the eucharist. For me it was a confused act of rebellion during a very traumatic time. However, I do not wish to undermine women who feel called in this way.
My own personal vocation, since the death of my late husband, has been that of the religious widow – a celibate woman, a Catholic writer and a visitor to the sick. I’m grateful to those in the ICM who gave me a home during difficult times. However, I’ve not felt complete outside full communion with the Church and recently approached the Vatican about the issues I had in 2020. These have now been resolved. I’m very grateful to be back in full communion with the Church that I love and believe Pope Leo to have been chosen by God to lead the Church in extremely difficult times when humanity is threatened by both AI and fascism. I also wish to thank my Irish Catholic friends who supported me through very difficult times.
Yours etc,
Debra Marie Flint
Address with editor
Why aren’t we thinking about what God wants from the Church in Ireland?
Dear Editor, In the article ‘National Office for Women at Bishops’ Conference level among Synod proposals’ (The Irish Catholic, September 10) God was mentioned once, merely as part of the synodality mantra “What does God want from the Church in Ireland at this time?” In the editorial, ‘The future of the Irish Church’, God got no mention. Indeed, God doesn’t feature overtly in the latest list of Irish Synodal Priorities for the Church nor in Roisin Coll’s contribution (page 10).
Relevant to these omissions is a quotation in the editorial from a priest, to wit, “People have no interest in going to someone else’s church.” The editorial supports this mindset, perhaps not absolutely, by encouraging communities when their parish is without Mass on the sabbath to “stand alone rather than move itself sacramentally to the next parish.” This is the opposite of what God requires of any church at any time. It doesn’t concur with His understanding of the Sacrifice of the Mass. The early Church, and Irish Mass Rocks congregations would have regarded such sacramental avoidance as nonsense. Catholic faith is all about God, not secular social development.
Taken at face value these omissions of reference to God and the downgrading of sacramental life pose a question: what evidence exists that people are actually even thinking about or asking about what God Himself actually might want from the Church in Ireland at this time. How is God being consulted?
In fairness one should balance the above with a quotation from Stella O’Malley on page 4: “Respect for a person doesn’t oblige the Church to adopt that person’s account of sex, identity or the human body. Christian inclusion means that nobody is beyond the love of God; it doesn’t mean that every belief must be affirmed.”
Yours etc,
Neil Bray
Cappamore, Co. Limerick
Strengthening church participation with increased sense of responsibility
Dear Editor, I am very concerned by the lack of parishioners attending church.
I have read that this problem needs to be addressed and no one seems to have an answer where to start. I suggest we start at the beginning with the ten commandments which I think is a strong structure for everyday living and being a Catholic.
The first three commandments are necessary to being a Catholic. The next seven commandments are known as common law and everyone knows them but many are not aware of them.
Honour your father & mother; You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour; You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife; You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods.
In today’s world there is no sense of responsibility, hence, there is no ownership or guilt, only consequences, this is how we differentiate between humans – who are supposed to be responsible – and animals.
In my youth, I was taught, at home, there was no guilt in the animal kingdom – we are behaving more like animals every day and the law of the jungle prevails.
Another issue, I find, is the sound system is not adequate – there should be an all-round, updated sound system in all churches so that everyone can hear clearly and the priest wearing a body mic will also help.
Many people attending the church for different occasions ie; funerals, weddings, confirmations, communions etc. are unaware of the responses during the services and an overhead projector would aid the congregation to participate more in these services.
So let’s start at the beginning to strengthen our church participation again.
Yours etc,
Kieran Traynor
Castlebellingham, Co. Louth
‘Catholic’ politicians and those who vote for them
Dear Editor, In the article on September 10 by David Quinn on Trumpism, Mr Quinn mentions that he took part in the panel discussion at the Kennedy Summer School in New Ross, where the panel discussed President Trump.
Mr Quinn describes Trump as “the least Christian president America has ever had’’. He fails to mention the behaviour of other US presidents, including Biden and JFK, around Christian beliefs and commandments, especially those who call themselves ‘Catholics and Christians’. I think Trump has described himself as a non believer?
There is no mention of the abortion or pro-life battle that has continued in the USA and the western world now for decades, and how many ‘devout Catholic and Christian’ political leaders have backed, promoted and funded abortion, like Catholic President Biden, or our own Michael Martin, Simon Harris and many others.
There has been a sustained world wide war against the unborn over many decades, which has resulted in hundreds of millions of deaths of unborn children. Unfortunately, President Trump is one of only a few political leaders to try do do something, to limit the killing, while other ‘Catholic and Christian leaders’ cheer on and back more extreme abortion and killing, like our own Martin and Harris and the ‘Catholic’ Governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey, who recently backed, signed and cheered on abortion up to birth. Governor Healey had a friendly, happy meeting with Pope Francis in May 2024.
Maybe it is time to have a serious look at the ‘Catholic and Christian’ political leaders, (and voters!) who are so good at presenting themselves and their parties as the ‘good and great’, and pro-lifers as the ‘baddies’. Catholic people need to stop voting for politicians and parties who are happy to back, promote and fund the killing of innocent unborn babies, like Fine Gael, Sinn Fein and SDLP.
Yours etc,
Philip Norden
Bracken Crescent, Co. Limerick
Erasing baptismal records won’t change the reality of being baptised
Dear Editor, What a load of rubbish; Brussels court of appeal to decide if the Catholic Church is violating GDPR by refusing to erase names off the baptismal record. What sort of nonsense is it?
Does the person asking think that they are undoing the baptism? The fact is they were baptised, end of story. Might as well erase the birth record or scrub their father’s name because “I don’t want him as my father”.
Are they going the GDPR route as a means of ‘dechristianising’ themselves? All they are doing is trying to hide facts. Seems like “much ado about nothing” to me.
Perhaps if they are really serious about it, they should get a distinctive hair style or some other distinguishing sign to show ‘I have opted out/renounced’ my baptism. Erasing the record won’t change the reality of it having happened.
Yours etc,
Sean Creaney
Blackrock, Co. Dublin
Ireland’s political class must embrace wildlife protection
Dear Editor, Recently, Heritage Minister James Browne rubber-stamped the issuing of the 2026-2027 hare coursing licences.
These licences allow 87 coursing clubs to capture hares between August 7 2026 and February 28 2027, hold them in captivity, and on the day of the coursing meeting, force them to run for their lives in front of two greyhounds for gambling purposes.
Ignoring a cogent case against live hare coursing proves that, politically, Irish wildlife protection is nothing more than a political fig leaf soaking in a bath of greenwash.
When the abuse of a wild animal is believed to be a vital cog in protecting the environment and its wildlife, then it is time to fire up the barbecue for panda steaks.
If the political will does not exist, then the view of the vast majority of Irish people who want wildlife to exist without interference from those who wish to abuse and kill it, cannot be converted into legislative action.
For the hare, the fox, the badger, the mink, the otter, the deer, and birds of sky, shore and ditch, the only climate change they want is political.
Until Ireland’s political class embrace the view that wildlife protection is an integral part of the campaign to protect and enhance biodiversity, then Ireland can dismount from its climate justice soapbox and go to bed without any vegan supper.
Yours etc,
John Tierney
Dublin 1, Co. Dublin
