Madam, - In an otherwise excellent article on the anniversary of the papal encyclical on contraception, your Religious Affairs Correspondent, Patsy McGarry, (July 25th) has a serious error about myself which I am sure you will be happy to correct.
He writes: ". . .almost immediately there was dissent from prominent theologians of the day, including Fr James Good here in Ireland who was exiled to the Turkana desert in Kenya by his bishop, Dr Cornelius Lucey of Cork, for publicly expressing dissent at the encyclical's content."
This is entirely untrue. I left for Turkana entirely of my own free will and without pressure of any kind whatever. May I point out as evidence of this the fact that I continued to lecture in several areas at University College Cork for more than seven full years after the appearance of Humanae Vitae. In fact, my last lecture at UCC was on the subject of medical ethics in September 1975, where I continued to express my views on Humanae Vitae without interference.
Why Bishop Lucey joined me in Turkana in 1980 (at the age of 78 and in failing health) is a question never explained. Perhaps he too shared the myth that his action forced me to leave Cork. After the passage of 40 years, I would be happy if this myth could be finally buried. - Yours, etc,
Fr JAMES GOOD, Church Street, Douglas, Cork.