Madam, - At a time when the church in Ireland has been shaken to its foundations and priests in particular have been vilified by an avaricious media it is important to remember that the Catholic Church is our church and the priests are our priests.
In Ireland a very small percentage of priests have committed heinous crimes of sex abuse on innocent children. The law should rightly take its course against such people. But surely, it is totally unfair and unjust to paint all priests and religious with the same brush.
We are blessed and fortunate in our country to have dedicated, hard-working, caring and holy priests who are doing outstanding and selfless work in a very hostile climate. It is time that the Catholic population of Ireland stood shoulder to shoulder with these men and give them the support, encouragement and backing that they so richly deserve.
The Eucharist is a sign and a message of hope. It is at the core of our faith, giving us the capacity to look towards values that endure. But without priests we cannot have the Eucharist.
The vast majority of priests are men of great faith, compassion, dedication, integrity, wanting only to serve their people and their parish. This they do in a selfless and committed fashion serving an entire community of people spiritually, educationally, socially and in a variety of other ways, morning noon and night.
In poorer times our forefathers worked tirelessly and some even spilled their blood to protect our priests and support the Catholic Church in Ireland. Let us now stand shoulder to shoulder with our priests and religious and help give some balance to the biased anti-clerical coverage that regularly appear in some media areas.
As a Catholic community let us pray for all priests that they may continue their great work with faith hope and love knowing that their people are willing enthusiasts and ready to support them. Our country, our society, our parishes need priests and religious now more than ever and they in turn deserve and need our support. - Yours, etc,
JOHN HOWARD,
Navan,
Co Meath.