Madam, – I am a married Catholic priest and I agree with Cyril Daly (August 30th) that the Mass is indeed special for us Irish Catholics and that it is very helpful for us to celebrate the Lord’s Supper together in our parish communities. However, he makes no attempt to address the rationale for the proposed one-day Mass boycott on September 26th and shows no understanding of the absolute frustration felt by good Irish Catholics sickened by the Ferns, Ryan and Murphy reports and who do not wish to collude in the ongoing abuse of women in our Catholic Church by the Roman control group.
Many good Catholics have, quite understandably,walked away since Vatican II was hijacked by a Roman minority and Humanae Vitaefoisted on us against our will. The very large numbers who still attend parish Masses are in a terrible dilemma. They treasure the fundamental Good News and want to be active in the wonderful Catholic tradition of work for social justice, liberation and peace. However, they query aspects of the institutional structures and some sexual teaching as defined by a small group of clerics.
They do not want to collude with the Roman control group in regard to the exclusion of women, mandatory celibacy and outdated homophobic teaching.
Those who attend Mass every Sunday know that we are a dysfunctional family within which there is no open, honest communication and dialogue leading to consensus and change. Those Irish Catholics know that exclusion of women from ministry is a Roman teaching similar to the centuries- old teaching on slavery which ultimately had to be changed thanks to the Spirit speaking through non-believers as well as believers.
Those Irish Catholics very much appreciate the consoling ministry and service as provided by dedicated priests. However, they do want their priests to have the courage and initiative to provide ongoing open forums for communication, dialogue and healing in every parish. They want them to listen and to further the dialogue with the bishops and with Rome.
The cover-up bishops claimed that they were on a learning curve in regard to child abuse. Now, they are refusing to listen to Irish Catholics warning that discrimination against women is abusive and unjust. The proposed boycott is not anti-Mass. It is a distressed cry in the wilderness while the original “not an inch” merchants absolutely refuse to share power or concede justice for women. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Jennifer Sleeman and those advocating a boycott of the Mass would do well to remember that the invitation to the supreme sacrifice of Calvary – the Mass – did not come from the Vatican or the Irish hierarchy but directly from Christ himself at the Last Supper “do this in memory of me”.
To boycott participation in the Mass is to boycott Christ, and offending Christ is certainly not the way to emphasise displeasure with the state of the church, rather we should pray for those in error and go perhaps more frequently to Mass in reparation for the grievous injury already inflicted on the body of Christ. – Yours, etc,