Madam, – Many thousands of words have been said and written over the past week about the resignation of Fr Seán McKenna from the priesthood. Not a great deal has been said about the feeling of sadness and indeed desperation experienced by the parishioners of Holy Family Church where Fr Seán McKenna had ministered with such dedication and expertise during his stay in the parish.
Of all the statements I have read or heard during the week, I think the most pertinent was made by Fr Brian D’Arcy, who suggested that the whole question of priestly celibacy should be examined by the Catholic Church. The anomaly created by the reception of (former Anglican) married priests into our church was, I thought, particularly relevant. These priests, I presume, can not only receive but administer the Sacraments.
What a far cry from the not-too-distant days when Catholics were forbidden to attend ceremonies in non-Catholic churches! I think our local and indeed national media should mount a campaign to have the celibacy issue discussed and, hopefully changed radically at the highest level, not only in Ireland but in Rome and throughout the world. To me, and, I am sure, to thousands of others, the handball incident, which has been so prominent in the news, paled to insignificance compared with the loss to this parish of our beloved Fr Seán McKenna, an outstanding priest who was an ideal role model for any young person contemplating the priesthood as a career. – Yours, etc,