News: Catholic Irish President Takes Communion In A Protestant Cathedral

[Barry Hardy]

Copyright 1997 International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France)

December 22, 1997, Monday

SECTION: News; Pg. 7

LENGTH: 423 words

HEADLINE: Irish President's Ecumenical Gesture Stirs Religious Furor;
A Catholic, She Took Communion in a Protestant Cathedral

BYLINE: By James F. Clarity; New York Times Service

DATELINE: DUBLIN

BODY:
Mary McAleese, elected president of Ireland in October after
promising
to ''build bridges'' to help end sectarian conflict, has set off a
religious
furor in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Irish Republic and in the
Protestant-dominated British province of Northern Ireland.

The issue erupted after the new president, who describes herself
as a devout Catholic, surprised the country Dec. 7 by receiving
Communion at a Protestant service here. She said that she felt
comfortable with her action at Christ Church, a cathedral of the
Church of Ireland, which is part of the Anglican Communion,
explaining that it was intended to improve Catholic - Protestant
relations.

Her action was Page 1 news here and in Northern Ireland, where
Mrs. McAleese was born and lived most of her life before her
election as president. But no one seemed particularly upset until
last week, as members of the clergy and several theologians
began to speak out in protest.

A prominent Catholic priest in Northern Ireland noted that
Mrs. McAleese had violated church law by receiving Communion in
a Protestant service. A Catholic archbishop agreed.

In response, the Protestant primate of Ireland, Dr. Robin Eames,
lashed out at the Catholics, saying their protests were derogatory.

The papal nuncio in Dublin was reported to have informed the
Vatican of the affair. Scores of people, many of them citing God as
their witness, called their opinions in to radio talk shows and wrote
righteous letters to newspapers.

Mrs. McAleese has had no more to say. But the uproar underlined
the importance of religious belief in Ireland, and the intolerance that
persists between many Catholics and Protestants.

Ecumenism has made little progress in the republic, and probably
even less in Northern Ireland. In Northern Ireland, most officials pay
lip service to nondenominational schools. The idea is that if Catholic
and Protestant children get to know each other, there will be less
impetus for sectarian warfare. But both the Catholic and Protestant
clergy in Northern Ireland oppose mixed schools.

The attitude of many Irish other than the theologians and clergy,
however, seemed reflected by Mary Holland in a column in The Irish
Times, when she quoted St. Paul - ''Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as
sounding brass.''

''What more challenging message could there be for the bishops
and the rest of us poor struggling mortals at the start of the
Christmas week?'' she asked.

Sincerely,
Barry L. Hardy
barry...@juno.com
Georgia State University
School of Law, 2L