As I write this, I am preparing to celebrate – as the Pope, the Catholic Church and World Federation of Lutheran Churches have urged – the 500th anniversary of the Reformation on Reformation Sunday, the last Sunday in October. And I am doing so at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC
I was prompted to write this letter by reading this: “Last November, a spokesperson for then first minister Arlene Foster said she would meet the Pope in his capacity as ‘head of state’ if he came north.” (‘DUP MP welcomes prospect of papal visit to north’ October 27).
That is some dog whistle by Mrs Foster. In other words, she loudly proclaims the non-ecumenical message that she will meet with the Pope as the head of a tiny, unimportant state [in secular terms] but not as visible head (Christ being the invisible Head) of the universal Catholic Church, the largest Church in the world.
Can one imagine any other politician in any part of the world making such a point – that they would not meet with the Pope as head of the Catholic Church?
How utterly sad is that. What lack of leadership.
What an awful example to set just days before the entire Christian world – in repentance and reconciliation –is commemorating the Reformation.
The Catholic Church and the World Federation of Lutheran Churches have reached the historic agreement on the Doctrine of Justification (commonly seen as the issue that caused the Reformation).
The Anglican/Episcopal Church and World Methodist Council also welcomed and approved the Joint Declaration on Justification. And the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) formalised its assent to the statement at an ecumenical prayer service in Wittenberg, Germany on July 5.
The WCRC is the largest association of Reformed churches in the world and the third largest Christian communion in the world after the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church (which also welcomed the Joint Declaration on Justification).
But Arlene – of whom I had been proud as a fellow Fermanagh person for her becoming First Minister – still appears to be fighting the religious wars of the 16th Century.
FR SEAN McMANUS
President Irish National Caucus,
Washington DC
Concocted nonsense shows disdain for legitimate cultural identity
Trevor Ringland parrots the British as Finchley line even though I recently wrote that this was not the case culturally or demographically. Can he explain in what way this part of Ulster is Cumbrian Brythonic, Cornish Brythonic or Welsh Brythonic? Barring the culture and ethnicity of the diaspora there is little to nothing Brythonic about central and east Ulster. This was followed by a shameless promotion of a fabricated and divisive identity. Instead of choosing to be inclusive and unifying in stating the fact most of us are Ulster people and that we all live in the beautiful province of Ulster Trevor opted instead for divisive rhetoric.
I can understand why unionists and loyalists identify with their Brythonic identity and many unionists and loyalists can understand why republicans and nationalists identify with Irish identity. I cannot understand why anyone would identify with concocted nonsense when it causes disagreement and shows disdain for legitimate cultural identity.
Also Trevor has to give up his fantastic delusion that those in favour of the Good Friday Agreement won the argument. Like Sunningdale before it the Good Friday Agreement has failed and miserably so. Two decades of excuses later Stormont still isn’t functioning, economic instability and societal turmoil still persists. The absence of violence is not an end in itself especially when the root cause of said violence has not been addressed. In his conclusion it never dawns on Trevor that dividing a province and country on the basis of a sectarian headcount coupled with separate development simply does not work.
EAMONN MacGRIANNA
Belfast BT11
Toeing EU line without question
Simon Coveney, a minister in my government, has hastily and arrogantly opined that “Ireland does not recognise the Catalan independence declaration”.
It must follow that our government will condone all and every draconian measures taken against the Catalan majority who seek to break away from Spain.
The EU instructions to member states is clear: ‘There can be no breaking within EU ranks, no matter what the details of the democratic wishes of voters in the various countries and regions’. The ballot box has been made illegitimate, apparently.
Our foreign affairs minister is not for a minute speaking for the Irish people, rather he is repeating parrot-like, the orders coming from
Brussels, Berlin and Paris. If ever there is the ‘understanding’ of dictatorship it is embodied within the EU. The EU expects and demands the Catalan ‘rebellion’ be crushed, militarily if desired by Spain, and not a whisper of urgent discontent will come from Merkel, Macron, Claude Juncker, or Varadkar. Individual countries are expected to toe the EU line, without question.
We need not be surprised if, in the near future the EU Pandora’s box explodes into chaos, through political ignorance and the diktat of about a dozen people.
ROBERT SULLIVAN
Bantry, Co Cork
Disparity in behaviour
In relation to The Irish News article (October 30) re Peadar Heffron and how he was snubbed by the GAA when he joined the PSNI and how his local club didn’t even make contact with him after he was injured in a car bomb.
In 2008 after Tyrone won their third All-Ireland I followed the cavalcade on the Monday back up the road to Tyrone. We stopped in Monaghan as the people of that town and county very kindly organised a reception for our team. To a man the Gardaí were dressed in false beards in a fun gesture towards the fad our lads had that year for beards. We left there and crossed over into our own county and no beards on the PSNI.
In fact no positive gesture from them whatsoever. To the contrary. They were using this gathering as an opportunity to check vehicles for road tax.
When I approached them and pointed out the disparity between their behaviour and that of the Gardaí I was threatened with arrest.
TONY DONNELLY
Augher, Co Tyrone
