Madam, - I note that the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, has announced initiatives which, he hopes, will revitalise the faith in his diocese. One of these initiatives is the setting up of a pastoral council in every parish by Lent next year. I am not sure how that initiative will help revitalise the faith in Dublin.
A pastoral council, or its equivalent, exists already in many parishes. All too frequently parish councils are top-heavy with à la carte Catholics who go out of their way to make participation in the parish difficult for people who are attempting to remain orthodox.
I remember in a parish not far from here that on several occasions a certain pro-life organisation was refused permission to use the parish hall for a pro-life meeting. When the matter was raised with the parish priest, he washed his hands of it, saying it was up to the parish council to refuse or grant permission.
Efforts at renewal will continue to flounder as long as the clergy and Hierarchy themselves refuse to take Church teaching seriously. There was a lot of righteous indication from the usual suspects some months ago when a book on morality was censured for heterodoxy by the Irish Episcopal Conference. Relax, you à la carte Catholics! The Bishops were only kidding. The errant book was on sale in Veritas Bookshop in Lower Abbey Street, Dublin, several weeks after the censure, and was still on sale when I checked there recently.
The Hierarchy and clergy need to defend vigorously the Church's teaching on faith and morals, and not shy away from such controversial issues such as inter-communion, the non-ordination of women, priestly celibacy, just war theory, the sexual abuse of minors, birth control, and abortion.
The Annual Day for Life (October 3rd) was given over to suicide this year. Suicide is a very serious problem and deserves a special day, but the right to life of the unborn deserves a special day as well.
Also, the Hierarchy should resist the temptation to present their own personal opinions on economics or politics as authentic or definitive Church teaching. So many of the older clergy are of the "spirit of Vatican II" liberal brigade that there is little chance of them defending the Church's authentic teaching with vigour. Besides, many parish churches in Dublin Diocese now rely on "doddering old parish priests" (to quote one PP) and one or two parish chaplains.
Experience in other countries shows that there is vigorous renewal only when the Hierarchy and clergy take the Church's teaching on faith and morals seriously. Church authorities should stop patronising the à la carte Catholics. More talking shops won't change the Church's teaching on any of the controversial points of faith or morals.
The orthodox have a right not to be shouted down by the heterodox in their own church. - Yours, etc.,
SÉAMAS de BARRA, Rathfarnham Village, Dublin 14.