Sir, – To anyone tempted to be disheartened by the rebuke issued to Archbishop Charles Brown by the Association of Catholic Priests ("Papal nuncio 'out of sync' with Irish reality, says priests", August 19th), I would recommend that they listen to or read the recent lecture given by Archbishop Brown at the University of Notre Dame.It can be found very simply on Google.
In this lecture, the nuncio demonstrates a remarkable understanding of the reality of Irish Catholicism, both historically and today. His message is one of hope and joy, and this is reflected in his many references to Pope Francis's document Evangelii Gaudium. It is obvious that the nuncio is of one mind with Pope Francis, especially with regard to the universal call to holiness. He fully agrees with Pope Francis that the truth of Christ must be proposed rather than imposed, which was regrettably the approach for many years in Ireland.
The Association of Catholic Priests’ criticism that the nuncio’s choice of candidates “seem to be out of sync with the realities of life in Ireland today” is hard to fathom when one looks at the calibre of some of the men recently appointed. Among those most familiar to me are the bishops in the dioceses of Limerick, Cloyne, Waterford and Lismore, and Kerry.
What are these men to make of this indirect undermining of their positions?
Finally it must be pointed out that while of course the nuncio is a key player in the selection of bishops, the ultimate decision rests with Pope Francis. – Yours, etc,
DON CAHALANE,
Beaumont,
Cork.