25-04-2025
Letters to the Editor: Pope Francis took on the challenge we all face — striving to be better
Pope Francis did his duties to the end. He gave his final Easter Sunday blessing from the balcony in St Peter's Square and was driven around the packed square, greeting many thousands of pilgrims.
It was touching to see his kind assistant who sat behind him, sometimes massage pressure points on the back of his neck, to relieve tension and possible pain.
It was symbolic as he returned to the courtyard to see his assistant remove the papal cap from his head — like a weight removed from his shoulders.
I did not really warm to this Pope, but I was moved to learn he did a video call on his phone daily to the priest of the only Catholic church in Gaza since the current invasion of Gaza began. He enquired on how the Christian and Muslim people in that location were coping.
A veteran astrologer who looked at Pope Francis' chart for the day he died, said that his chart was 'stunning' in that it showed to him the Pope's mission was complete and he was now called home. He said he was not a fan of the Catholic Church, but he felt Pope Francis was a decent guy. He hoped he would rest in peace and believed he had a good death, the same as Queen Elizabeth II, who also did her duties to the end.
Pope Francis didn't abdicate, even though he was frail in health, because he may have felt it could harm the tradition of the papacy when most popes die in office. He decided not to be buried with other popes in St Peter's Basilica but in the ground of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore where some six popes are buried. He had simplified the rites for papal funerals.
He was the first pope to choose not to live in the papal apartments and to live in the Vatican hotel for visiting cardinals, priests, and religious. He did not want to lose contact with people. He was the first Jesuit pope and the first pope from South America. He was a Pope of many firsts.
He wasn't perfect, made mistakes, and strived to be better. It is the eternal challenge for us all of being a human being.
Mary Sullivan, College Rd, Cork
Conclave candidate
As a Catholic (somewhat lapsed, but Catholic all the same) and male (last time I checked), I wish to make it known that I'm putting myself forward to be the next pope.
I want to Make the Papacy Great Again. Bigger than Jesus.
Brendan Corrigan, Colombia
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Pope's opposition to abortion
As the worldwide Catholic family mourns the death of its spiritual leader, Pope Francis, it is important to examine his legacy on current issues. He is rightly remembered for his 2015 landmark encyclical Laudato Si' which focused on care for the environment, justice for the marginalised, and activism to save the planet. Included in his criticism of our modern 'throwaway' society was his firm opposition to the practice of abortion.
'Since everything is interrelated,' he wrote in the encyclical, 'concern for the protection of nature is… incompatible with the justification of abortion.'
He believed it is hypocritical to talk about concern for 'other vulnerable beings… if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties'.
As recently as May 2024, Pope Francis openly contended that governments and civil society have a fundamental duty to protect and promote the dignity of every human being, 'offering women, the bearers of life, the necessary conditions to be able to accept the gift of life and ensure a dignified existence for their children.'
As we mourn his passing and recall this pontiff's great compassion, humility, and concern for the Earth and its people, it is appropriate to reflect on his unwavering respect for the dignity of every human life, born or unborn.
Sinéad Boland, Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow
Francis was one of the great popes
With the death of Pope Francis, we think back on his visit to Ireland in August 2018. Francis's visit was in marked contrast to that of Pope John Paul II 39 years earlier. The visit of the Polish pontiff had marked a high point for the Catholic Church in Ireland.
By contrast with the confident and even triumphant image of John Paul's visit, Pope Francis came to a very different Ireland, and to an Irish Church which had been rocked to its foundations by the clerical child sex abuse scandals. The crowds that gathered to greet him were way down on those that had greeted the Polish pope. The face of the Church presented by Francis was a much chastened and penitent one.
On his visit to the Capuchin Day Centre in Dublin's inner city, Francis met homeless people and said he saw in them the face of Jesus.
Throughout his pontificate, Francis remained a champion of the poor and downtrodden. As Pope, he had to carry the heavy burden of sins committed by others in the Church he inherited. In recent months, he had to bear the cross of his own serious illness. In my opinion, he has carried all these burdens with great dignity and grace.
It was entirely fitting that this humble man lived to survive the privations of his own Lenten passion to give his blessing to the faithful on Easter Sunday. In my opinion, history will recognise Francis as one of the truly great popes who have sat in the chair of Peter over the past two millennia.
John Glennon, Hollywood, Co Wicklow
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Cities are built on social cohesion
From Scandinavia to Greece, you find solid examples of cultures developed around social imperatives and cohesion.
Why do we struggle with the idea that, while culture is an expression today of what came in the past, it is also a ward of the future? That means plans that build cohesion, identity, and pride.
Oslo's new opera house is a wonderful example of an altruistic act benefitting the people and their past by building for the future.
Yes, it was a tax write-down, but so what? I have a fondness for the vaulted Lutheran churches of Northern Germany. Grand red-brick statement buildings redolent of the theological imperative of their time. In contrast, Dublin, the capital of a country that wore its religiosity as a badge of both State piety and individual identity has no Roman Catholic cathedral.
Cue the 'ah, but...'.
Of course, Dublin also does not have an opera house. And, when it comes to our grand national theatre building... In a world where we are shutting down post offices and bank branches, we have two of the grandest buildings in Europe acting as the very thing our betters no longer seem to value.
There is a cohesiveness missing. It reminds me of the misplaced argument rolled out ad nauseum whenever there is a spate of urban antisocial behaviour. The call is always for more gardaí on the streets. It is rarely interrogated. Within a European context, our cities have become depopulated of families invested in the ideas of community, childhood, neighbourhood, connection, participation, generation.
The blight of antisocial behaviour is hard to sustain in neighbourhoods bustling with life rather than our unfulfilled alternative of endless battalions of gardaí patrolling empty streets.
Granted there are hopes of a metro to Dublin Airport at a potential cost of €23bn. Interestingly, Germany and Denmark are investing in their future with a tunnel under the Baltic sea. Cost? €10bn.
We deserve better, but we don't demand more. Until we do, or until public voices invigorate debate, we will remain in this status quo.
Ciaran Byrnes, Ballybrown, Limerick
Connacht GAA should take a bow
Last Sunday, I attended the Connacht GAA Football Senior Championship match between Roscommon and Galway.
I feel compelled to express my appreciation for what was a thoroughly enjoyable day.
From the outset, the atmosphere was welcoming. The stewards were friendly and helpful, proudly displaying Connacht GAA on their bibs, a small but striking symbol of pride and professionalism. The entire event was organised with a sense of warmth and efficiency that reflected very well on both the host county and the provincial body.
What stood out most, however, was the quality of the public address system. All too often at GAA grounds, announcements are muffled or inaudible. Not so on this occasion. The announcer was clear and confident, switching effortlessly between Irish and English. His tone and delivery added greatly to the occasion, and his use of our national language was particularly heartening to hear — natural, respectful, and skilful.
If I had one minor complaint, it would be that the hooter was perhaps a little too loud, but even that felt part of the drama of championship football. All told, it was a pleasure to be in Galway. With the quality both sides showed, I have no doubt we'll be seeing more of Galway and Roscommon as the championship season progresses.
Seán Loftus, Dublin 9
