Madam, - I have just left Ireland after a visit from South Africa. I arrived on Easter Monday as reporting began on the so-called controversial Eucharist at Drogheda, and have followed the reports as well as the many letters to the Editor with great interest and sorrow.
I would like to commend your columnist G.L. on his very balanced and sensitive article, "Is the Church obstructing God's message?" (Thinking Anew, April 29th.) In the face of so much bigotry and intolerance, it was very refreshing to read. Writing as an Anglican priest, I find it sad and tragic to realise that the official churches in Ireland are still part of the problem and not really part of the solution.
It was encouraging, though, to read and hear about Christians in your country (especially the laity of all denominations) who are prepared to say "enough is enough", and be prepared to stand up and be counted as disciples of Jesus who are working and praying for the Church to move away from its legalism and become a community where "love, joy, peace, truth, justice and forgiveness" are found. Only in this way will be the church in Ireland become part of the solution, rather than perpetuating division.
Yes, I know that there is a tragic history of violence, injustice, oppression, discrimination, prejudice, hatred and division here (as there was in South Africa); but for God's sake, and the sake of the Gospel of Jesus, as well as for the sake of the people of this island, more of those in Christian/church leadership are going to have to lead from the front, even at the risk of censure from those higher up in the hierarchy.
So praise God for the clergy of Drogheda, for their obedience to their Christian consciences, and for being willing to take a risk. My prayer is that the little spark they have lit will spread like wildfire through this land, and so bring glory to God. May many more people stand up and "obey God rather than the manmade laws of the church", which in this island are continuing to keep people of faith apart instead of bringing them together.
This is not to say that the various denominations will disappear overnight, but at least the churches can be seen to be on the side of forgiveness and reconciliation, which after all is at the heart of the Gospel.
Jesus said: "If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples." Or, as G.L. reports Pope John Paul II as having said: "Our divisions prevent our neighbours from hearing the Gospel as they should." - Yours, etc,
Rev COLIN PEATTIE,
(former Archdeacon
of the North Coast,
Diocese of Natal),
Salt Rock,
South Africa.
Madam, - Anne Kennedy's comment (May 1st) that Anglicans do not believe in "one true church founded by Jesus Christ" is as ignorant as it is offensive.
Like our co-believers in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions, Anglicans most certainly do believe in Christ's church. So in the most important sense of the word (that is to say, "all encompassing"), all Christians - including Anglicans - are catholics. The chief difference, of course, is that Anglicans, unlike Roman Catholics, do not acknowledge the Bishop of Rome as the head of their church.
In no way would I claim any expertise on religious matters. I do believe, however, that the redundancy of focusing on denominational differences rather than intra- and inter-faith similarities is self-evident. Hence, I would suggest that Ms Kennedy and those of similar views might at least make the effort to understand the traditions of fellow Christians of different denominations.
It would appear to me, after hearing the televised responses of the participants at the recent concelebrated Mass in Drogheda, that those people are making such an effort. - Yours, etc,
STEPHEN JAMES MINTON,
Kilcarry,
Clonegal,
Co Wexford.
Madam, - Orla Halpenny and her two friends (April 27th) miss the point.
It is precisely the fact more and more Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, see their traditional doctrinal differences on, for example, transubstantiation as not relevant to their 21st-century Christian lives that helped create the spiritual environment for the Drogheda Mass to take place.
Perhaps this makes the participants not such "good Catholics" or "good Protestants". It certainly makes them better Christians. - Yours, etc,
ALAN BARWISE,
Ardeevin Terrace,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.