Sir, - I am a passionate believer in the cause of greater Eucharistic sharing between separated Christians. However, it troubled me greatly to see printed yet again in The Irish Times of September 10th the picture of President McAleese receiving Holy Communion in Christ Church Cathedral. It was even sadder to learn that this particular photograph had received an award from the Religious Press Association.
In my humble opinion the original publication of this picture led directly to a long and unfortunate controversy which generated more heat than light. The President was quite entitled to do what she did, and members of the public were entitled to discuss her behaviour afterwards, but the photograph itself was intrusive in the extreme and cynically turned something sacred into something sensational.
On her visit to Christ Church Cathedral, Mrs McAleese freely, responsibly and I believe graciously chose to accept the Eucharistic hospitality which the Church of Ireland offers members of other Christian churches. She then, it would seem, found that her host church permitted her action to be turned into a kind of media circus. To this day I cannot understand why the authorities of Christ Church Cathedral allowed such a photograph to be taken during the Eucharist. It was a great relief when the editor of The Irish Times finally closed the ensuing correspondence and I for one trust that your decision to reprint the offending photograph after quite a number of months will not (this contribution of course, excepted!) re-open it. - Yours, etc., Rev Michael Burrows,
The Rectory, Bandon, Co Cork.