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Mon, 12 Jun, 2023 - 01:57

While it is true that 69% of the population declared themselves to be Catholic (or were declared to be Catholic by others on their behalf) — according to the 2022 Census — one must ask how many of these are only nominally Catholic.

How many people declared themselves or others to be Catholic simply because they were baptised? If this is the bar, it is an extremely low one.

That would mean that a person would qualify as being Catholic irrespective of what they actually believe and solely on the basis of a ritual that was performed without their consent, before they could even talk.

If one looks at Mass attendance figures (estimated to be around 30%), the results of recent referenda, and if one were to survey people’s belief in the likes of transubstantiation, the resurrection, the ascension, the assumption, the virgin birth, papal infallibility, and the existence of hell, one might find the picture is not quite as clearcut as it might appear on the face of it.

In any event, freedom of religion should be protected. But there should be separation between Church and State and states themselves should be secular — not dogmatically secular, but politically secular.

This is not the case in Ireland. One need only look to our Constitution, the saying of prayers in the Dáil and Seanad, the requirement for anyone seeking high office to swear a religious oath, and our publicly funded but religiously dominated school system, to give but a few examples.

Political secularism protects religious minorities (including Christians in states where they are a minority) and individual freedoms and guards against the kind of ethnoreligious authoritarianism that has scourged, and continues to scourge, humanity.

If I can’t convince your readers, perhaps they might be convinced by Pope Francis, who in an interview with La Croix in 2016 stated as follows: “States must be more secular ... I believe that a version of secularism accompanied by a solid law guaranteeing religious freedom offers a framework for going forward.”

Rob Sadlier, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16

Burglaries down as policing issues rise

The news that there has been a reduction by up to 75% in residential burglaries [since 2015] across the country will be great news to all the citizens of this State, except those who have been burgled.

A 7% decrease for the 12-month period to March 2023 in burglaries is very welcome.

A burglary is an invasion into a person’s private domain and can, for some, have long-lasting effects on victims and families alike.

With the success of Operation Thor, which started in 2015, and targeted individuals and organised crime gangs alike, and the multiple arrests of suspects in the winter of 2022, frontline investigators using intelligence sources, forensics, technology, warrants, hard work, and at times individual initiative, deserve our praise that overcomes obstacles that at times hamper investigations.

Most people, unless they watch the fictional CSI television programmes, have some understanding of what it takes to investigate crime but have no understanding of the hours spent on interviews, statements to be taken and retaken, oh, and let’s not forget the constant updating on Pulse, and finally the compilation of a file and any charges or summons to be brought against offenders, which are very much a part of criminal investigations.

While this is all good news I can’t help but wonder if this is a smoke-screen for the ongoing issues regarding recruitment, retention, resignations, lack of foot patrols, low morale, opposition by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and other organisations for advancement of technology, and a hierarchy out of touch with those on the ground.

Maybe I’m being cynical, or am I?

Christy Galligan (retired garda sergeant), Letterkenny, Co Donegal

Praise for libraries, and pray for funds

A big and boisterous bualadh bos is currently and continuously due to our phenomenal countrywide public library system.

What a superlative delivery of such a creative kaleidoscope of possibilities across a wide spectrum of social interests, pursuits, activities, readings, launches, performances, and courses galore, while accommodating all sorts of queries, quandaries and research quests en route, to say nothing of the widest access to books, newspapers, archival material, etc, etc, ad nauseam.

The only challenge to such a cornucopia of riches in our lovely local library here in Lismore is the mounting pressure on physical space.

An architecturally-striking Carnegie Library built in 1910, it is managed by supremely kind and helpful staff, whose only frustration is the capacity issue. There are so many wonderful libraries founded, funded, and flourished via the munificent philanthropy of erstwhile industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

One has to only dream of another Carnegie ‘coming’ to assist the modern-day yearning for library extrapolation to accommodate this key social infrastructural development. This to meet the booming enthusiasm from all sections of the community to engage — from tiny toddler to golden-ager.

Should we pray to Andrew for a second coming?

Jim Cosgrove, Lismore, Co Waterford

Sport of golf selling out to big business

We have seen this happen over and over again — in the Premiership, in the US National Football League, and now it is golf. Money and television squeeze the life and romance out of the purist of things: Sport.

“Professional sport” is a contradiction in terms. Add large quantities of money, cook at 180 degrees on television — and you get a business. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I take my hat off to Rory McIlroy and others. They put their money where their mouth is. They tried to prevent this sporting travesty.

Despotic petro-dollars being used to acquire control of a beautiful game; this shameless surreptitious game-changing U-turn performed by the golf “authorities” is downright depressing.

If the North Koreans had offered enough money it seems we would all be watching golf’s best players hitting orange balls in the snow on Mount Paeku. Kim Jong Un would win every tournament. And firing squads during the ad break.

Once my Now TV Sky Sports subscription runs out, I am not watching this farce anymore. My son is 12. He doesn’t want to watch it either. That is his answer to Pádraig Harrington’s recent excursion into sophistry and whataboutery concerning Magdalene laundries.

From now on, when the golf is on, we should all go playing golf. It is still a beautiful game.

Michael Deasy, Bandon, Co Cork

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