Letters: Pope Francis's humane response to refugee crisis was a high point of his pontificate

Irish Independent

24-04-2025

I admire his humility and tireless commitment to making the world a better place for all, but one occasion in his pontificate really stands out for me.
It was his visit shortly after his election to the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, where, at an altar symbolically made up of a painted boat, he celebrated a mass for the countless people lost at sea in their failed search for refuge or a decent life elsewhere.
It set the tone for the remainder of his progressive and enlightened tenure in the Vatican. He spoke out many times on behalf of immigrants and refugees, castigating what he called the 'globalisation of indifference' to their plight.
He urged nations to respond to migration in a way that was 'always humane, just and fraternal'. I think of that principled and ethical stance, and I can't but contrast it with images of so-called concerned citizens gathered outside buildings housing vulnerable human beings and hollering slogans such as 'Get them out' or 'Ireland for the Irish'.
I think of scenes of bigotry and xenophobia that have played out across Ireland, and I wonder how many of the righteous ones went to mass as followers of the same church over which Francis presided.
I wonder how many of them considered, even for a fleeting moment, that their attitude and behaviour might be at odds with their professed religious belief.
Not that Francis was the first Christian to take such a stand. I'm not especially religious, but I recall Jesus is quoted as saying: 'Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.'
John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co Kilkenny
Catholic Church moves slowly, but liberal Francis showed the way forward
Pope Francis may be remembered less for the battles he fought than for the battlefield he redrew ('Francis's successor may be the greatest legacy he leaves us' – Editorial, April 23).
In appointing the vast majority of the cardinals who will now choose his successor, he quietly prepared the way for a papacy that may one day resolve the very issues he dared to raise: greater inclusion, reform of celibacy and even female priests.
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The conclave may yet gift the world its first African or Asian pontiff, or a more liberal successor to continue the delicate work of renewal. The church moves slowly, but Francis nudged it forward with humility, compassion and a sense of direction grounded in mercy.
As John Adams, second president of United States, said: 'I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.'
Francis carried the weight of old conflicts so that his successor might be free to build something new.
Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Co Armagh
Trump diplomatic while Irish petty secularism highlighted lack of tact
The Romans used the phrase 'De mortuis nil nisi bonum' – essentially, 'Do not speak ill of the dead'.
One was reminded of the appropri­ateness of this wisdom when listening to some of the comments on the death of Pope Francis.
It isn't without irony that Donald Trump, the non-Catholic US president, showed more discretion and diplomacy in his remarks than the Catholic Taoiseach, Micheál Martin. The latter brought up issues that were inappropriate in the circumstances and displayed a distinct lack of tact.
The contrast went further. Mr Trump announced that as a mark of respect, all government and state flags would be flying at half-mast. Sadly, it appears that a narrow-minded and petty secularism has become the 'go to' mode for the Irish establishment.
Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath
Housing crisis, like most things in politics, hasn't happened by accident
Peter Declan O'Halloran calls for an 'urgent approach' to dealing with the housing crisis ('We need the same urgent approach to housing that we had for the pandemic' – Letters, April 21).
But this crisis was years in the making and has continued for nearly two decades. It began in the late years of the Celtic Tiger economic boom, around 2007. This was a period when the then government significantly reduced its investment in social housing and shifted the responsibility of providing affordable homes to the private market.
This led to the arrival of vulture and cuckoo funds and other speculators whose only concern is increasing the bottom line. The vital social good that is housing was commoditised with the obvious disastrous outcome.
Can there really be any doubt at this stage that the crisis is the result of government housing policy?
It seems clear that successive governments have been wedded to the policy of maintaining high property values and refused to intervene dir­ectly to resolve the problem. Indeed, it seems the failed policies have had two main direct consequences: a few people have become very rich and homelessness has been normalised.
I leave Peter Declan with a great quote from former US president Franklin D Roosevelt, made as he grappled with the causes of the Great Depression and how to fix the crisis: 'In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.'
Jim O'Sullivan, Rathedmond, Co Sligo
Ignoring Leitrim's efforts against Mayo was a poor show by 'Sunday Game'
It was widely reported that Leitrim failed to field a team against Fermanagh in the league last month, something that greatly troubled many fans.
Leitrim's decision received a lot of air time, especially on shows such as RTÉ's The Sunday Game. They were then given very little hope in the Connacht SFC against Mayo on Saturday, but went out and gave them a brilliant game to restore faith in the Leitrim colours.
However, on The Sunday Game there was scarcely a sentence uttered about how well Leitrim played. Most of the coverage was about how Mayo played.
It's clear analysts have no problem hitting a team when it's down. That's a lot easier than doing the groundwork of examining the statistics in relation to population size in comparison with other counties.
Leitrim are routinely overlooked, even when they give a valiant performance. This again demonstrates the regard analysts have for smaller counties.