Sir, - Mary Stewart (February 26th) supports Cardinal Connell's position by citing the embarrassment she felt at being invited to receive communion at a Protestant service (February 26th). It seems not to occur to her that, had she heeded the advice of some of the Cardinal's like-minded predecessors, she wouldn't have attended the Protestant service in the first place.
Incidentally, what embarrasses me about Protestant services is how much better they are at singing hymns than we Catholics. Now, if Cardinal Connell could do something about that he really would be performing a useful function. - Yours, etc.,
Kevin O'Sullivan, Ballyraine Park, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
Sir, - Christians of all denominations should be grateful to Father Columba Nee (February 28th) for reminding readers that no one has a monopoly on "hurt". We are all guilty; we are all victims.
Would the pain lobby please now call a halt? Let he or she that is without sin cast the first wet hanky. - Yours, etc.,
Nick Lowry, Villarea Park, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
Sir, - In the Ireland of my youth I never heard of Church of Ireland Ministers welcoming all-comers to Holy Communion in their churches. Was this because of the narrowness of my upbringing or is it a new development in Church of Ireland thinking? If the latter, may I ask if it is the result of a deeper theological insight or a mere fashion?
Further, as a Christian priest myself, I cannot help thinking that it is not good for members of the various churches to score points off each other in public, especially as one may legitimately doubt the motives of those who would fan the controversy. If we persist, we may find that, far from searching for a real communion of hearts, we have merely supped with the devil. That would be a scandal too sinful to contemplate. - Yours, etc.,
Rev Val Farrell, Parish Priest, Links Road, Blackpool, England.
Sir, - Thank God for the technology that allows the "lettersed" of The Irish Times to reach Japan and bring back to us the healing message from Father Joseph O'Leary, former pupil of the younger Ratzinger (February 27th).
Marianne Eliot's volume The Catholics of Ulster is enlightening about the wandering roots of "30 years of sectarian murder". It is truly time to trust that "Christ provides".
For me, whatever misgivings I might have had melted away during shared Eucharists, using a shared language, with Christians from 30 countries. Every third year KELI, the Christian Esperanto League, and IKUE, the Catholic Esperanto Union, spend a week together - not discussing ecumenism. This year we meet in Zagreb. - Yours, etc.,
Maire Mullarney, Whitechurch Road, Dublin 14.
Sir, - If Archbishop Empey and Cardinal Connell were invited guests at the Last Supper, which one of them would Jesus ask to leave His table? - Yours, etc.,
Sylvia Evans, Delgany, Co Wicklow.