Sir, - Kevin Myers is becoming repetitive in his rantings (October 26th) about the Catholic Church's destruction (as he sees it) of its musical and architectural heritage. While everyone accepts that in an age of transition mistakes are made, the simple truth is that we have left far behind the Michael Row the Boat Ashore repertoire of some years back. The music and song in our churches is now, in the main, of a much higher order than the terrible Kumbya he so rightly caricatures, or indeed the dreary Sweet Heart of Jesus syndrome which he so indiscriminately lauds.
While the Church's concern is for the highest standard of music and song in the Liturgy, we have to remember that its first duty is to worship God, not to live up to the expectations of marginal esoteric groups who seem to think its function is akin to that of a heritage society. Evelyn Waugh wrote somewhere: Pray always for all the learned, the oblique, the delicate. Let them not be forgotten at the throne of God when the simple come into their kingdom. - Yours, etc.
The Pastoral Centre,
Ballina, Co Mayo.