Dawn of a new papacy

Sir, – John Gleeson (March 15th) opining on the selection of the new Pope, offers the last words of Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind . Well, Mr Gleeson obviously gives sufficient of a damn that he feels compelled to proclaim the news of his indifference to the rest of us.

As regards Anthony O’Leary’s complaint about the level of coverage of the Papal election on RTÉ (March 15th), I’m sorry Mr O’Leary, but this was major global news event, as evidenced by the extent of coverage on inter alia BBC and Sky news, in several instances exceeding that on RTÉ. – Yours, etc,

CIARÁN CONNOLLY,

St Assam’s Avenue,

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Raheny

Dublin 5.

Sir,– “We are about to begin a journey together, the bishop and his people... a journey of brotherhood, fraternity and trust . . .” (Paddy Agnew, News Agenda, March 14th). So the boys will take care of the girls in their fraternity?And big brother would ask that the girls “trust” him! Foolish girls if they do.

Amazingly, having presented such a sexist model for his church, Pope Francis makes a beeline to the Madonna for help and guidance! – Yours, etc,

DECLAN KELLY,

Whitechurch Road,

Rathfarnham,

Dublin 14.

A chara, – Patsy McGarry reported on the first homily of Pope Francis (News, March 15th), and quoted: “If we do not confess Jesus Christ, nothing will avail. We will become a pitiful NGO, but not the church, not the bride of Christ.” In English, this sounds demeaning of an NGO.

Be wary of translations, even if provided by the Vatican News Service. The Pope spoke in Italian, without notes. His spoken words were " una ong pietosa ". This could be translated "a pitiful NGO", in the sense of an NGO which shows pity in the sense of compassion; certainly not the negative sense of "pitiful". Even the Vatican News Service (www.news.va) in Italian does not print the word " pietosa ", but instead prints " filantropica " – philanthropic, where in English it prints "pitiful".

A pithy Italian saying warns: " traduttore, traditore ": "a translator (can be) a betrayer". It is good to refer to the original for true meaning.

Yesterday, RTÉ News reported on the motto Pope Francis had as archbishop: " miserando atque eligendo ", and translated it as "lowly and chosen". But the Latin verbs mean someone who is active, not acted upon. The motto actually means "By showing compassion and by choosing/selecting". – Is mise,

PÁDRAIG McCARTHY,

Blackthorn Court,

Sandyford,

Dublin 16.