Congratulations to Mark Gittins, son of the late Cath and Terry Gittins and grandson of the late Birdie and Patsy Ahern, Coole East who completed the London 26 mile Marathon in over 5 hours on 26th April 2015 raising over £1,000 for Macmillan Cancer.
He had mighty support from his uncles, aunts, and friends as well as his brother, sister, their families and of course Ray who cheered and encouraged him all the way. Well Done. Thank You to everybody for their huge support.
Church Gate Collection
Athea Coiste na nÓg Annual Church Gate collection will be taken up at all Masses this weekend. As always your support is greatly appreciated.
Intermediate Football Championship Round Two
We will play Cappamore in the second round of the Intermediate Football Championship this Saturday May 9 at 7pm in Feenagh. All support would be greatly appreciated.
Rehab Collection
A sincere thank you to all who contributed to our Church gate collection at the weekend. A total of €450 was raised.
Limerick Diocesan Synod 2016
The Limerick Diocesan Synod will take place in 2016 and will be the largest meeting ever held in the Limerick Diocese. It is important that everyone has the opportunity to shape this future and influence what the Church will look like in Limerick in the years ahead.
Questionnaire’s are available at the following outlets:
O’Riordan’s Pharmacy, Collins’ Shop, Rose’s Shop, Griffin’s Butchers, Post Office & Credit Union. There are collection boxes in all these outlets and you can put your completed questionnaire in a sealed envelope and drop it into the box or give it to any of the 4 Parish Delegates: Mary Ita Casey, John Redmond, Pat Higgins or Mike Hayes.
The Right to Marriage
Back in the ‘seventies, I did a lot of touring with Comhaltas groups, putting on shows in the UK, America and Canada. It was the custom at that time for the travelling artists to stay in the homes of Irish emigrants, many of whom were members of the local Comhaltas branches. It was not uncommon in those days for two men or two ladies to share a double bed and I often shared with other members of the group. On one tour I was paired with one of the dancers, a very nice young man from Dublin and we shared the same bed in many homes throughout the States and Canada for three weeks. We grew quite friendly and often shared a few pints after the concert.
When we arrived back in Dublin he said to me, “I need to tell you something: I’m gay” You could have knocked me down with a feather because I had no idea as he never made any inappropriate approach while we were on tour and didn’t in any way fit the description I had in my head of what a gay person was like. He said that just because he was gay didn’t mean that he fancied every man he came across and he asked me if I fancied every woman I met. I had to admit that he was right and it gave me food for thought.
Up to that point I had a very different idea of what gay people were like and was quite repelled by the idea. Now I knew somebody who was as normal as anybody else, a good friend and somebody who had great compassion. He told me about the difficulties of being gay in Ireland of the ‘seventies and I was horrified at the unfair and cruel way he had been treated for something he had no control over; he was born that way.
Thank God we have come a long way since then and there is widespread acceptance of gay people in the community. They have the right to civil partnership and to adopt children. Now they want to have the same right to marriage as heterosexual couples. We are led to believe by some people that this will destroy the family as we know it and will deprive children of a father and a mother. Allowing the right to marriage will not change a thing. They already have the right to adopt. The argument is made that a government in the future would not be able to reverse the situation if they wanted to because it would be enshrined in the Constitution. This does not hold water as that government could hold a referendum if they really wanted to make changes and leave the ultimate choice to the people. There are many good people of the same sex living together and bringing up families already. They are looking for equality and the security that marriage brings.
That is the position in law.
Religion, however has a different view. As far as the Catholic teaching is concerned there is only one recognisable union, that of a man and a woman. Whatever laws are changed or added to the statute book, the religious position will not be altered. Members of the Church should follow its rules and not have an “a-la-carte” approach to them. The Church should not try to influence civil law but instead inform their members of the rights and wrongs according to the Church’s teaching.
We need to govern for all the people in this modern multi-denominational Ireland. As Catholics we must look after ourselves whatever the government does. At the end of the day it is the people’s choice. Think before you vote.
Domhnall de Barra