Hoping to get the sensus fidei of this forum on the following letter. If you thought this a worthwhile letter to send and wished to sign it maybe you could say so in private message (and also indicating what county you wanted to be named under): _________________________________________________________ From the undersigned concerned Catholics of Ireland To their Lordships, the members of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference. A Thiarnaí Easpaig Many and varied have been the words spoken in this country in the months after last years disastrous abortion referendum, not a few of which have touched on the modern standing and purpose of the Catholic Church in Ireland. While not at all ignoring the good letters emanating from you that have consistently condemned the practice of abortion, nor the good work by some Irish religious figures on the subject, the question has been bluntly asked by many, does your at times overly nuanced leadership on this and on similar issues show a lack of conviction in the doctrine of your own Church? And does this lack of conviction transmit itself to Catholic schools teaching a “watered down Christianity” and Catholic priests preaching what “is little more than sentimental pseudo therapeutic drivel, from our altars Sunday after Sunday”, to quote the priest editor of an Irish Catholic newspaper commenting after the vote? Does this in turn explain why many of the undersigned were shocked to speak to even daily mass goers who cheerfully and unashamedly opted for abortion in that referendum? These are strong words but what are people to make of your great welcome to Irish politicians who championed that vote, and similar ones, even to be Ministers of the Word or Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist? Or of the fact that Catholic hospitals, built with funds raised by ordinary lay Catholics – our ancestors – to create institutions that follow their belief in what constitutes the law of God, like the National Maternity Hospital whose chairman is the Archbishop of Dublin, are raising no visible objection, known to the undersigned at least, to the now widespread practice of abortion within their walls. You can see how the impression is created that in some respects you don’t seem to really believe in the doctrine of the Church you lead? Another example could come from Catholic schools, which all over Ireland teach a curriculum on human relations completely divorced from virtually any reasonable interpretation of Christian doctrine, and have done so for as long as living memory can stretch for the majority of people who live on the island. The enormous popularity of parades in Dublin and elsewhere that flaunt the very opposite ideology to a Christian one on these matters, seem the outcome of false teaching in Catholic schools, a total absence of critical sermons by Irish clerics outside schools, and a very visible tolerance of this harmful ideology within the ranks of the Church, as much as any other factor. There is clearly something very wrong here, and while it is absolutely our duty as Catholics to heed your instructions on these matters, and against nature to question our shepherds too closely, we ask for the space, very respectfully, to question the path you have followed in the last few decades in Ireland, in one respect in particular. The Eucharist is the daily miracle of the Catholic Church, but in our opinion practices have grown up in Ireland in recent decades that have served to detract from the sense of awe and great respect that its Presence should, and traditionally did, evoke. The Church lays down in its current and unchangeable ordinances: – that the Eucharist should not be administered to those who clearly are not in a state of grace, free from mortal sin, a state that could be presumed if the recipients were known not to have received absolution in a reasonably short space of time before receiving or if their sins were public ones not recanted of; – that only consecrated hands can touch the host except in very exceptional circumstances, the exceptional nature of these circumstances captured by the phrase ‘extraordinary’ in the title of lay Ministers of the Eucharist; – that at mass and in Church, where the Eucharist resides in the tabernacle, great silence is to be observed at all times, which seems to forbid applause and other commotions very common now in Irish masses and Churches; – it is at the very least strongly recommended that the recipient of the Eucharist receives on the tongue, kneeling, surely the only reasonable stance when experiencing such an intimate presence of God, as noted recently by Cardinal Sarah the current head of the relevant department of the Holy See: “Let us come as children and humbly receive the Body of Christ on our knees and on our tongue. The saints give us the example. They are the models to be imitated that God offers us!” That in short is our remedy, our petition that we hope you will answer. We ask that you publicise and give practical assistance so that these strictures in the handling of the Eucharist, which were never abrogated by Vatican II or by any other Council of the Church, are now obeyed in Irish Churches because clearly that is not the case currently. The vast majority of Irish Catholics are not informed of the necessity for confession, and absolution obviously which of course would not be given in the case of a very public mortal sin without the penitent been instructed to recant of the sin publicly, before they seek Holy Communion. Lay Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist are used very widely in Ireland, clearly in circumstances where they are not strictly needed and therefore contrary to the law of the Church. Only a tiny minority of Irish Catholics are aware of the great dangers and abuses inherent in receiving Holy Communion standing and from the hand, articulated by the aforementioned Cardinal Sarah among many others including recent Popes, so that even in the Churches that retain altar railings they are in many cases not used by the priests. We think that great spiritual graces can flow into the Irish Church through this heightened, though traditional, respect for the Eucharist. Notice that the lack of vocations to the priesthood, a sad feature of the modern Irish Church, is completely absent in the case of the traditionalist orders in Ireland (for example the Society of St. Pius the X., the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, and Silverstream Priory), where they almost cannot cope with the numbers seeking the religious life and where tremendous efforts are made to respect and cherish the Eucharist. We also feel that this step would be, and be seen to be, a bold reaffirmation of the faith you have in the fundamental doctrines and laws of the Church you lead in Ireland, an affirmation that at this juncture, is sorely needed. Although we naturally have concerns about many other issues we felt it more respectful to make only this single request, but on a matter we feel is very central to the spiritual health of the Church in Ireland. Also, conscious as we are of the duty we owe to our spiritual shepherds, and anxious not to add to the familiar uninformed chorus of abuse that ritualistically descends on the Catholic Church in Ireland, we hope our comments here will be read in the constructive and respectful manner that we sincerely intend them to import. Asking Your Lordships’ and Graces’ blessing, is sinne le meas
I had to edit the request for a blessing because apparently Excellency, as a greeting for a Bishop, is only in America. So an Irish priest was correcting me today anyway, well what do the rest of ye think, should I send it off?
A good charitable and to the point letter. The following sentence does strike me as a bit cumbersome: That in short is our remedy, our petition that we hope you will answer. We ask that you publicise and give practical assistance so that these strictures in the handling of the Eucharist, which were never abrogated by Vatican II or by any other Council of the Church, are now obeyed in Irish Churches because clearly that is not the case currently. I suggest changing it to the following: That in short is our remedy, our petition that we hope you will answer. We ask that you publicize and give practical assistance so that these strictures in the handling of the Eucharist, which were never abrogated by Vatican II or by any other Council of the Church, will now be obeyed in Irish Churches because clearly that is not the case currently. Lord have mercy on Ireland!
Yes I think it is a good letter but unfortunately I don't expect much from the Bishops. Still one never knows.
Mario I think "publicize" is the American spelling, and "publicise" the English and Irish one? I am usually vulnerable to the charge of being long winded -)) but I think your sentense is slightly longer and maybe "are now obeyed" is reasonably clear as it stands? Some people have also said its a bit long but its only 2 A4 pages and I don't know what I can really drop from the letter without removing some important points or being less polite. Its important I think that a letter like that be very respectful of our religious shepherds who deal with a lot of thoughtless abuse these days...
