THE VIRGIN IN THE TREE STUMP

Dear Editor,

The Virgin in the tree stump controversy that hit the headlines recently intrigues me. It has brought forth the predictable howls of ridicule to match the intense religious devotion of those who believe in the reality of a divine presence in the tree.

I disagree with the remark of the priest of the locality who said: “you can’t worship a tree”.

Why not? If you look at any of the objects of worship associated with religious creeds you don’t adhere to, you’ll possibly be tempted to make similar pronouncements.

Personally, I’m delighted that so many of the people in Rathkeale, Co Limerick are engaging in this gentle demonstration of faith in the supernatural.

It makes a pleasant change from the annual hare coursing savagery for which the town and district, including, in the not so distant past, its clergy; is also famous or infamous, depending on one’s view of blood sports.

Rathkeale hosts this barbaric festival of cruelty to animals masquerading as ‘sport’, a form of entertainment outlawed in Britain, Australia, and most other countries that once allowed it.

I attended one of these ‘sporting’ events up there one year and had to shield my ears from the child-like screams of the dying hares as the hounds pulled them asunder.

I didn’t see anyone counting on Rosary beads that day. I’m delighted to see that the locals have found a more sedate preoccupation, at least for the time being, because I’d prefer to have them worshipping or kissing a tree than setting up hares as live bait for greyhounds.

If the Blessed Virgin is appearing in the tree stump, I wonder if by any chance she might call for the disbandment of Rathkeale Coursing Club?

Saint Francis of Assisi was a lifelong opponent of cruelty to animals. I would like to see him appear too on the surface of that hallowed wood grain. He might put in a good word for the suffering hares of Rathkeale.

Thanking you,
John Fitzgerald,
Lower Coyne Street,
Callan,
Co Kilkenny.

WE CAN CHANGE FUTURE PRACTICE

Dear Editor,

The strong connection between the Australian Catholic Church and Ireland will be well known to your readers. Before World War II it was clearly an Irish-Catholic Church here as much as it was a Roman-Catholic Church.

We share in a colourful past, and it must be remembered that the Irish were the first ethnic minority in an Australia, which is now multi-cultural.

Sadly, another thing we have in common is that our colourful past is spoilt by the abjectly bleak and black spots of child abuse by priests, brothers and nuns. It is interesting that in societies where corporal punishment was used freely in schools, sexual abuse was also rampant. This was the case in both Ireland and Australia.

Without wanting to raise old issues, the use of corporal punishment characteristically followed the British Empire. Last year before World Youth Day in Australia I wrote to the Pope and sent him a copy of a book I wrote called Madigan Perry’s Luck.

My purpose was to provide strength to the lobbying for him to apologise, and to give him a more complete picture of what he would be apologising about. Madigan Perry’s Luck chronicles the experiences of boys and girls in Australian Catholic Schools in the 1950s and 1960s.

It covers the whole range of abuse, and incidentally is partly based on an Irish priest who came to us from Armagh. I also wrote to the Primate of Australia, Cardinal George Pell and to the Apostolic Nuncio. I received polite letters from both men, but nothing from the Vatican.

Which leads me to my main point. The Pope made his apology. He sounded sincere, even personally traumatised by the thought of what had been done by men and women entrusted with the care of children in the name of Christ.

Yet not one single aspect of Vatican or Church practice has changed as a result and I doubt it ever will while the Church is the enclave of unmarried men. It is worth noting that in all cases where abuse has been made public, the process has been driven by forces external to the Church.

Except for some individuals who spoke out, the secrecy, prevarication and denial that you have experienced in Ireland is typical of the experience in other countries and most certainly in Australia. The Church remains an organisation without transparency and bereft of mechanisms to repair itself.

My personal dealings with the Catholic Church in Australia, not in relation to abuse, but in matters to do with corporate probity and ethics, reveal a standard of practice much lower than what is expected of secular democracies.

Yet this is the organisation preaching to the same democracies about ethics and probity. We can’t change the past. We can be sad about it, and we can regret it, but we can’t change it. But we can change future practice, with a will to do so. I wonder if someone in the Vatican might read this and decide to reply to my letter.

Maybe it would say that, well, if not the Pope himself, one of his advisers decided to read Madigan Perry’s Luck to get some idea what it was like to be a child abused by the people of Christ. I’m not holding my breath waiting.

Robert Parsons,
Author/teacher,
P.O. Box 128,
Round Corner Dural,
NSW 2158, Aus.

RATIFYING THE LISBON TREATY WILL HELP THE IRISH ECONOMY

Dear Sir,

I believe that it is very important for the future development of the Irish economy that the Lisbon Treaty is ratified.

Companies around the world invest in Ireland because we are the gateway to the European Union marketplace of over 500 million people. Those who invest in our country and who create jobs in the Irish economy want to see Irish negotiators at the top decision making tables in Europe.

Ratifying the Lisbon Treaty will make decision making processes in Europe more effective and more efficient. This will make for better lawmaking, which is good news for the future development of both the Irish and European economies. The European Union has a number of programmes in place to support Irish economic recovery.

Irish companies are receiving over €1 million a week from the EU so that we can stay to the forefront in the research and technology sectors. The European Union is providing €375 million under the European Social Fund to help re-train our workforce and combat unemployment.

And that is on top of the very serious levels of financial assistance which Ireland has received from the European Central Bank over the past year to support both our banking sectors and our economy.

Moreover, I do believe that the legal guarantees agreed by EU Governments will give clarity to voters that the Lisbon Treaty will not affect the protections in the Irish constitution in relation to the right to life.

Nor does the treaty give any powers to the European Union to change our tax laws and the Lisbon Treaty will not affect Ireland’s traditional policy of neutrality.

Another change which has been agreed by EU leaders since the Lisbon Treaty referendum last year is the fact that Ireland will also retain the right to appoint one member to the European Commission.

Brian Crowley MEP,
European Parliament,
Constituency of South.