Opinion

Mary Kelly: Some people do more to spread the message of Christianity by the example of their lives than a thousand sermons

The late Fr Alec Reid was an example of someone who showed the message of Christianity in his actions. The Redemptorist, who died in 2013, is pictured here in March 1988 on the day after he administered the Last Rites to murdered British Army corporals Derek Wood and David Howes. Picture by Pacemaker
The late Fr Alec Reid was an example of someone who showed the message of Christianity in his actions. The Redemptorist, who died in 2013, is pictured here in March 1988 on the day after he administered the Last Rites to murdered British Army corporals De The late Fr Alec Reid was an example of someone who showed the message of Christianity in his actions. The Redemptorist, who died in 2013, is pictured here in March 1988 on the day after he administered the Last Rites to murdered British Army corporals Derek Wood and David Howes. Picture by Pacemaker

I wonder if the family who have won the right to challenge the law that requires faith-based Christian education and collective worship in Northern Ireland schools aren't missing out on some of the cultural connections, especially at this time of year.

Who doesn't love a nativity play? There are some hilarious ones on YouTube, including one where a young child from the audience rushes onstage to grab the doll representing the baby Jesus out of the manger while being batted back by an outraged Mary, verging on violence rather than sanctity.

There was some dubious research, a few years ago, suggesting children who got picked to be Joseph and Mary were more successful in life. Fortunately most parents are savvy enough to know it's nonsense, otherwise teachers would be lynched for their choices.

I remember our eldest, who was third donkey from the back, coming home to announce the Wise Men had brought Jesus gifts of gold, Frankenstein, and a mirror.

More than a decade of 'enforced' religion in the classroom left little mark on my children, though their lesser roles in the school's annual Bethlehem story hasn't noticeably held them back in life.

My generation is probably more marked by traditional religious education than theirs. I still wince to recall that I stood up on the first day on my journalism course to make the sign of the cross and start the Hail Mary when the teacher came into the room.

Fortunately for me, it was only the other Catholic on the course who spotted my proof of indoctrination. He laughed his leg off, while the course tutor probably thought I was just excessively deferential to authority.

There was no missing the Catholic iconography at my secondary school. There were statues of the Virgin Mary everywhere. I once had a fright when I thought I'd seen an apparition, only for it to be a statue reflected on the back window of the assembly hall. Mockery ensued: "Just because your second name's Bernadette, you're getting carried away."

In the medical room used for the dreaded visits by the nit nurse (does that still happen?) the floor had a mat with Pope Pius XII on it, although the picture of President Kennedy mysteriously disappeared from the wall after lurid headlines about his private life made the papers.

December 8 was a holiday of obligation, so that was the day we visited Santa in Robbs, one of Belfast's department stores. The queues were smaller because it was only the Catholic kids who had the day off.

Those were innocent times, before anyone thought you should say "Happy Holidays" in case the word "Christmas" caused offence. As if you can't equally say 'Happy Hanukkah' or 'Happy Diwali'.

In later years, the appalling stories of cruelty in religious institutions from laundries to industrial schools and the hierarchy's betrayal of victims of paedophile clergy has often obscured the good elements in the Catholic Church.

One shining example was displayed in a recent Panorama documentary where Good Shepherd nuns at a convent in the Democratic Republic of Congo are fighting against child labour and inhumane conditions among miners digging for cobalt, a precious metal used in batteries for the electric car industry.

The nuns actually became shareholders in electric car manufacturer Tesla, so they could raise concerns about human rights at its AGM.

And few of us will forget the contribution to peace made by priests like Redemptorist Fr Alec Reid, highlighted in a TG4 doc last week, Sagairt na Siochána.

As a newspaper reporter, I covered the Corporals' murder trial, after two British soldiers drove into an IRA funeral, just days after Michael Stone had killed three local men during the Gibraltar Three funerals.

The two men were captured by the angry crowd who initially believed it was another loyalist attack. They were stripped, beaten and shot dead.

At least 15 minutes of horrific footage shot from an army helicopter was played in the courtroom which showed every stage of the incident.

Fr Reid is visible trying to break through the mob surrounding the two soldiers several times, before being pushed roughly away.

He didn't leave. He was there to administer the Last Rites to the dead men. The image is captured in an unforgettable photograph of the priest kneeling by the bloodied body of one, lying with arms outstretched like a crucifix.

Some individuals do more to spread the message of what Christianity means by the example of their lives than a thousand sermons from pulpits.