A dispute has arisen between the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Connell, and the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Very Rev Robert MacCarthy, over the Dean's proposal that Mass be celebrated at the Cathedral.
Media reports suggesting that he personally had been invited to say Mass in the Cathedral were inaccurate and had caused confusion among Catholics, Dr Connell said in a statement yesterday.
"Contrary to reports on Christmas Eve in The Irish Times, RTE [and] TV3, the Dean did not invite me to celebrate Mass in his Cathedral. He made a very different proposal, namely, that Mass would be celebrated in the Cathedral on weekdays as a service to Catholic tourists.
"It is difficult to understand why this proposal was made and how it might be implemented.
"Tourists come to the Cathedral throughout the day with a view to visiting a historic building and its monuments and with very limited time at their disposal.
"Should they wish to participate in the Mass, ample opportunities are already available in the city Churches, even in the vicinity of the Cathedral.
"I declined the Dean's proposal out of consideration for these circumstances, for the importance of the reverence we observe towards the Mass, and for the sensitivities already expressed in comments by members of the Church of Ireland," he said.
Last night Dean MacCarthy agreed that his invitation was not for the Archbishop to celebrate Mass at the Cathedral. But he said he was disappointed that Dr Connell had not addressed the chief reason for his invitation: "to make a small start in sharing St Patrick's with the wider Christian community".
The other and less important reason for his invitation - which was addressed by Dr Connell - was to make the Cathedral available to Catholic tourists during weekdays for Mass.
"He is ignoring, in a sense, the nub of the thing," the Dean told The Irish Times.
Dean MacCarthy said he had sent the same letter to the Methodist Church and had received a "very enthusiastic" response. But he noted with surprise that Dr Connell had indicated to RTE on Christmas Eve that he intended to "revisit" the question in the New Year.
A spokesman for Dr Connell said the Archbishop had wished to clarify his position. It was "unfortunate" this issue had arisen at this time of year, he added.
