Sir, - Liz O'Donnell's statement in defence of Bertie Ahern's right to his chosen lifestyle, regardless of Church approval, has restored the balance in the debate about right and wrong at the highest political level in Ireland. Her public reminder that the Church should concern itself more with putting its own house in order by rooting out the paedophiles who prey on the young and vulnerable, than lecturing the laity about marriage, encourages the belief that to gain political power does not necessarily mean the abandonment of integrity. Ms O'Donnell has done a great service to the cause of democracy and fair play, but why has the Labour Party remained silent?
If Ireland has indeed changed and become more secular, no politician or political party should fear to speak out on such occasions, and the attempt by the clergy to snub the State and its representatives should be condemned as clearly as Ms O'Donnell did. The Labour Party in particular has a duty to its constituency to defend it against the rich and powerful, whether they appear in clerical or lay attire.
The issue at the heart of the matter is, of course, that of values. Cardinal Connell needed reminding that few have forgotten the record of its priests, brothers and nuns in Ireland, even as he was lecturing us about marriage, sex and the family. The Catholic Church has always had a preoccupation with sex which it sees as an evil peculiar to the laity. Yet the revelations over recent years have shown that it is a problem more associated with the religious than with any other professional body.
It should be noted also that the actions of Catholic prelates in Dublin do not go unnoticed in the North. No amount of talk about the rights of minorities in any future united Ireland can convince a unionist that he could survive in such a society with his culture and values intact, when he observes the treatment of individuals such as Celia Larkin. If the Taoiseach's partner can be treated in such a despicable manner before the whole country, what hope has an Ulster Unionist of justice and fair play? - Yours, etc.,
Sean Kearney, Glantane Drive, Belfast.