Sir, – With regard to Mary McAleese’s recent utterances on the Baptism of children being an infringement of their human rights, I make the following observations:
If parents are infringing their children’s human rights to freedom of religious expression by having them baptised, this aspect cannot be treated in isolation, and the human rights of children must be looked at in a holistic manner.
What about parents choosing a school for their children? Does this infringe their educational rights?
What about parents choosing to have their children vaccinated, or giving consent for their children to have an elective or emergency medical procedure? Does this infringe their healthcare rights?
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I could go on, but using McAleese’s logic, parents would appear to be committing human rights violations every time they make a decision on behalf of their children.
I will finish with two more questions:
- Is it McAleese’s intention for her position on this topic to have an equivalent application regarding religious initiation ceremonies concerning children universally, or just those pertaining to the Christian faith?
- Why is McAleese focused only on the topic of children’s Baptism regarding alleged human rights infringements and not anything else?
I will leave you all to draw your own conclusions. – Yours, etc,
Revd CONOR O’REILLY,
The Rectory,
Athy,
Co Kildare.
