tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501239684776771639.post435587096832626141..comments2024-03-22T16:41:43.282+00:00Comments on Bangor to Bobbio: Pope Benedict's Pastoral Letter to Irish CatholicsFr Seán Coylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02287947090085700335noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501239684776771639.post-80034035442354000732010-03-26T20:47:38.880+00:002010-03-26T20:47:38.880+00:00Father, (sorry this is so late but my internet acc...Father, (sorry this is so late but my internet access has been impossible in the last week) I have read the complete letter too and your comments here and at Fr Ray Blake's as well. Please do wear your collar when you go home to Ireland! If there is one thing that still shocks me it is when religious priests or brothers eschew their robes for civvy clothing. It's like as if they are saying they are free to possibly have the kind of relationships they are supposed to have given up by entering the religious life.<br /><br />I think all practising catholics in Ireland (and Irish catholics in other parts of the world) should now wear some symbol of solidarity with holy priests - as part of the whole church's penitence for the wrong done to children both by religious and lay people. Considering that 96% of the abuse in Ireland was done by lay people and the population of Ireland still claims mainly to be "catholic" we can't just continue to point fingers at the clergy and religious.<br /><br />I would go even further and say we should combine this one-year symbolic “sackcloth and ashes” with drawing attention to the nothing-short-of-child-sexual-grooming that is modern-day sex “education” in all schools both catholic and state, certainly in the UK.<br /><br />And if it means we are ridiculed, spat upon or worse then it only means we are following in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour.epsilonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17785182500278281351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3501239684776771639.post-42104765900663892232010-03-21T09:20:00.569+00:002010-03-21T09:20:00.569+00:00It's a shame the innocent Priests have to take...It's a shame the innocent Priests have to take the flak for the guilty silent ones. <br />I suppose that's what Christ did on the Cross for us all, in reality.mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06962374096401238994noreply@blogger.com