Sir, - Your columnist Breda O'Brien states truly (Opinion, February 24th): "A generation or two ago, it would have been unthinkable that Catholics would have been unable to see any substantive difference between the teaching of their church on the Eucharist and that of any other church."
The changed circumstance in regard to today's generation is surely one of the things troubling Dr Connell, for if a Catholic of some prominence in any walk of life is seen to receive Communion in a church of another denomination, the notion that this is a matter of little consequence and the acceptance of a totally erroneous idea of the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist could become widespread.
But there is a more fundamental problem which may be expressed, I hope, without offence to any church. In Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice Shylock, the Jew, is physically forced to kiss the crucifix several times. To those inflicting this spiritual and intellectual torture, this was a triumphant humiliation of the Jew. It did not occur to these Christians that to force a non-Christian to give a mock reverential salute to the most significant symbol of their Christianity was, at its very least, a grievous offence to the crucifix itself.
For a Catholic who believes the Catholic doctrine that the consecrated host is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, it would be unthinkable to administer Communion to anyone who did not share this belief.
In the same issue your correspondent Desmond Graham compares Dr Connell with Dr Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster, who, he tells us, sets out his determination to speak on behalf of his flock to lead them in "a world of miasma and confusion". Is this not precisely Dr Connell's objective also? - Yours, etc.,
Gerald Perry, Langan Farm, Rathfeigh, Tara, Co Meath.
Sir, - It is hard not to have sympathy for Cardinal Connell over the inter-church communion controversy. He spoke his mind diplomatically. He could easily have hit out much harder.
By inviting all those "who are baptised in the Holy Trinity" to take Holy Communion at its Eucharistic services, the Church of Ireland lays itself open to the charge of aiding and abetting Catholics to defy a significant law of their church.
But perhaps the time has come for the Catholic Church leaders to consider changing that law. It is, after all, an earthly law, not a divine one.
The Church of Ireland primate, Archbishop Eames, points out that the invitation to other Christians is, for his church, "a sincere principle" (The Irish Times, February 20th). As such, does it not deserve the sympathetic understanding of the Catholic Church leaders?
The Declaration on Religious Freedom of Vatican II teachers that "the private and public acts of religion by which men direct themselves to God according to their convictions transcend of their very nature the earthly and temporal order of things". This would indicate that the "invitation" deserves to be accepted as an expression of love of God; and so to be respected. - Yours, etc.,
James McGeever, Dublin Road, Kingscourt, Co Cavan.
Sir, - The recent barrage of criticism against the truths spoken by His Eminence Cardinal Connell brings to mind the statement by another distinguished exponent of the truths of the Catholic Faith - the late, great Archbishop Fulton Sheen - when he wrote: "Broadmindedness, which sacrifices principles to whims, dissolves entities into environment, and reduces truth to opinion, is an unmistakable sign of the decay of the logical faculty." (From Moods and Truths, 1932.) - Yours, etc.,
Mrs Olivia Connolly, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.
Sir, - Have I got it wrong all these years? I was sure Christianity was about love. I understood that Jesus' teaching was to move us from "an eye for an eye" to "walking the extra mile" - not just the minimum of tolerance, but reverence for the sacredness and divinity of each person, no matter what their creed.
Many who are supposed to be learned may have studied philosophy, theology and sacred scripture, but as St Paul says, "all these talents are nothing without love."
Perhaps Father David O'Hanlon (March 2nd) has forgotten Jesus' teaching about the Pharisee who was proud enough to pray "Oh God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of men" while the true meaning of life was understood by the ordinary person who was aware of his lack of love, the real sin. - Yours, etc.,
Monica Byrne, Stillorgan, Co Dublin.