Madam, - Recent decades have seen a decline in the popularity of Catholicism in Ireland, whether this be because of the Church's conservative stance on issues such as homosexuality, contraception and religious celibacy, or the perceived redundancy of practising religion in an modern, secular society.
This decline has produced a derogatory assumption that the golden age of the Church is purely past tense, and that the future can only spell further abandonment for this age-old institution.
However, the aftermath of Pope John Paul's illness and death has left me encouraged. Through the public display of mass grief and mourning, individuals, both Irish and otherwise, have not been afraid to stand up and proclaim their faith.
Perhaps now is the time for us Catholics, both lapsed and practising, to forget our grievances with the institution and reconnect with the real power of the Church, its ability to unify believers, at a very human level, into functioning communities of faith. - Yours, etc.,
DANIELLE McGARRY, Marley Rise, Dublin 16.
Madam, - John Waters's columns of April 4th and 11th will surely have had a profound effect on many readers - and, I hope, on both print and electronic journalism.
In the first article Mr Waters writes that "John Paul's core philosophical offering centred on the reinvigoration of the mystery of the human body as expressed in the uniqueness of the human person and the dignity of the union of masculine and feminine in an unselfish conjugal love, the crucible of 'the grandeur of procreation' ".
In the second, he tellingly points out that "the possibility that, rather than the Pope falling into line, it might be worthwhile for modern society to look at its value system, consider that selfishness may not be the ideal solution to everything, admit the damage it may be causing to itself, and change where appropriate, is rarely admitted to the mainstream discourse, and certainly never in a neutral fashion that leaves the question open".
This, unfortunately, has also been the case in many institutions which profess a Catholic/Christian ethos. Hopefully those of us privileged to work in environments which aspire to cultivate such an ethos will be encouraged to remove the beam from our eyes and make a new beginning. Mr Waters has written out of humility and honesty and attained great truth. - Yours, etc.,
CIARÁN Ó COIGLIGH, St Patrick's College, Dublin 9.
Madam, - I make every allowance for the probable fact that most of the photographers and cameramen were male, but I think it very significant that recent pictures and TV images indicate that a substantial majority of those pouring out love and respect for John Paul II are female. It gives the lie to all those commentators, purportedly knowledgeable, perceptive and wise, who proclaim the need for the next Pope to have a changed attitude to contraception, marriage and, by extension, to homosexual practices and various sanctity-of-life issues.
I know, of course, that the women who love the Pope so much do not always do what he told them. But isn't that typical? Could a man ever have fancied that he was loved by a woman if the proof he required was that she did what he told her?
The issue, however, for both men and women and, indeed, for the Pope, is whether that is the test that Jesus applies. - Yours, etc.,
FRANK FARRELL, Stillorgan, Co Dublin.
Madam, - Many people must have been struck by the beauty of the music at the Pope's obsequies and how perfectly it reflected and enriched the solemnity and dignity of the liturgy. How sad it is that the timeless and universal Gregorian Chant and the sacred polyphony of the great masters - such an integral part of the Christian heritage and so cherished by the late Holy Father - is now heard so rarely in our Catholic churches. - Yours, etc.,
ADRIAN P. GEBRUERS, Springfield, Cobh, Co Cork.