Sir, – As an atheist, I find myself in the unusual position of writing to you to defend an arm of the church, but here goes.It was reported that Atheist Ireland revealed that university and college chaplains cost the exchequer €1.5 million a year and yet very few students ever attend their religious services ("Very few students attend campus religious services, figures show", April 11th).
As a lecturer in an Irish college, I’m uncomfortable with this blunt instrument being used to value the chaplaincy system and to give it a failing grade. My own experience in the Institute of Technology Carlow is that the chaplain fulfils a very valuable role which would be hard to mimic by anyone less values-driven and not available 24/7.
Here Fr Martin Smith officiates at memorial services (people of all faiths and none are respected), runs programmes such as meditation sessions (a great start to the day), counsels staff and students and is a sleeves-up person for the students’ union and student services. His role and presence are intrinsic to the good vibe we have here in the college.
If we are going to judge the chaplain system in Irish colleges, we need to look at a more interpretive way of doing so to capture the true value of this service, otherwise we may end up losing a good resource we are already lucky to have. – Yours, etc,
Dr IRENE McCORMICK,
Institute of Technology,
Carlow.
A chara, – Atheist Ireland thinks we should do away with third-level chaplains because mid-week Masses on campus are poorly attended. This argument, of course, ignores the fact that such services make up only a tiny fraction of the work that chaplains do, and that they provide excellent and very necessary pastoral care to those at third level.
But then, given that Atheist Ireland exists to promote atheism and a secular state, it is perhaps not surprising it would try to spin this story to fit its agenda.
I can only imagine that if the figures had shown that college services were regularly full to capacity they might well have argued that chaplaincies should be abolished as they are proving to be too great a distraction for students from their studies! – Is mise,
Rev PATRICK G BURKE,
Castlecomer,
Co Kilkenny.
Sir, – I have no problem with colleges having chaplains at a cost of €1.5 million per annum, nor the Defence Forces having chaplains at a cost of €3.5 million per annum or even the Education and Training Boards (former VECs) having chaplains at a cost of €9.5 million per annum.
Where I do have a problem is that these chaplaincy services are funded in full by the taxpayers of the State. When the cost of hospital and prison chaplains are included, I suspect the State gets very little change from €20 million per year, a wealth transfer to the Catholic Church if there ever was one.
It is time for either the Catholic Church or Catholic participants to pay for Catholic chaplaincy services. – Yours, etc,
GAVIN TOBIN,
Celbridge.
Co Kildare.