Sir, - Eric Luke's excellent front-page photograph in your edition of July 28th saddened me greatly. It showed the Tanaiste, Mary Harney, in jovial conversation with Father Sean Healy of The Conference of Religious in Ireland. While the latter was attired in a well-tailored civilian suit, shirt and tie, he wore no outward visible sign, emblem or indication of his rank or profession in life.
This type of creeping laicisation in the dress code among religious personnel seems to be gaining popularity, and it is not a healthy sign of the Church. Where will it stop? Will we next encounter priests saying Mass while dressed in jeans, jumper and runners in order to "identify with their flock"? Granted, the Church has taken a hammering in recent years, in part because of the reprehensible actions of a tiny minority of religious personnel. However, this is no excuse for abandoning clerical dress and hiding behind lay attire.
I would suggest that all clergy - whether nuns, brothers, or priests (of all ranks) - should return to their traditional mode of dress. Be proud of what you are and whom you represent. After all, any half-baked idiot can wear a shirt and tie, but it takes a special type of person to qualify for clerical garb! - Yours, etc.,
D.J. O`Gorman, PC, Oola, Co Limerick.