Dr Connell turns down St Patrick's Mass invitation

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, has turned down an invitation from the Dean of St Patrick's, the Very Rev Robert MacCarthy, to say Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.

In a reply received at St Patrick's yesterday, Dr Connell said he was unable to accept the invitation because recent publicity had indicated to him that this would be offensive to some members of the Church of Ireland.

In a separate letter received at St Patrick's yesterday, Dr Connell invited Dean MacCarthy to the opening ecumenical service of Christian Unity Week at the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin on Sunday, January 18th.

Responding to Dr Connell's decision not to say Mass at St Patrick's, Dean MacCarthy said he regretted "very much that the Archbishop has taken this decision - it is I think fair to say that all progress in ecumenism over the last 25 years has taken place against the opposition of a critical minority in all the churches".

He said he had made the offer "knowing no issue of principle is involved. Mass is said in houses." He believed "there is a minority in every church" and recalled that after he first mooted the idea in an Irish Times interview on November 25th he had the overwhelming support of those who had written to him, both Catholics and members of the Church of Ireland.

In that interview, Dean MacCarthy said he "was considering offering the Roman Catholic Church and one of the nonconformist churches the facility to have services of their own denomination on weekdays".

He said some of his Northern colleagues might be "a little sensitive about it" but he also saw Mass there as a way of broadening the cathedral's ministry for tourists, many of whom wouldn't be Anglicans. He said Dr Connell's rejection of his invitation meant "an opportunity for moving things on a bit" had been missed. He also said Dr Connell had declined an invitation to attend a carol service at St Patrick's this afternoon, which is to be televised by RTE. It will be attended by the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Walton Empey.

That invitation had been extended by the Dean shortly after his installation at St Patrick's last September. Dr Connell had said he would be too busy on the day.

Dr Connell usually visits priests, religious orders, and the sick on Christmas Eve. At the moment, however, he has a bad cold and was forced to call off appointments yesterday.

Dean MacCarthy said last night that "gestures are important". He considered it "sad" that his gestures had not been accepted. A spokesman for Dr Connell said the Archbishop felt he could not accept the invitation to say Mass at St Patrick's as there was "a risk of the Eucharist becoming a divisive issue and because of a divergence of views (on the invitation) within the Church of Ireland".

Letters to The Irish Times had shown "a wide difference of opinion" on the issue within the Church of Ireland, he said. As regards Mass at St Patrick's being part of an outreach to tourists, he said there were a number of Catholic churches quite close to St Patrick's, if people wished to attend Mass.

He agreed gestures were very important "but it is also important that they be thought through". Further discussion was needed on sharing churches between bishops, theologians, and ordinary people, he said. "Everybody in the Catholic Church is working quite hard at ecumenism . . . if it was easy, it would've been solved," he said.

He also said Church of Ireland opposition to Mass being said at St Patrick's "has to be worked out before the Archbishop can accept". Dean MacCarthy has also issued an invitation to the Methodist Church to have services at St Patrick's.