To say President Higgins snubbed the Armagh centenary service is to give him an importance he does not have

A letter from WA Miller:
Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

To say that President Higgins “snubbed” the liturgy of “reflection” in St Patrick’s Cathedral Church, Armagh, is to give an importance to President Higgins that he does not have. It is unlikely that he did not read his invitation, if so that puts him amongst those whom John Cushnahan reprimands (‘Those who misrepresented service should be ashamed’, Oct 23, see link below).

As for Archbishop Eamon Martin (noted on the opposite page by Ben Lowry, see link below) his reference to the pain his community suffered by partition is, apart from him ignoring that there were Roman Catholic unionists, an understatement – the bishops only recognised the new ministry of education (whose Permanent Secretary was a Roman Catholic) when the administration in Dublin failed to pay the salaries of the teachers in the schools the bishops controlled.

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The symbolism in the young people carrying aloft the storm lantern to the sanctuary of the cathedral and then back out into the dark world may have been missed by some (the hurricane lantern is no longer familiar). The young people might be helped if the church pressed for something of the history of these islands and the role of institutionalised Christianity, warts and all, to be taught through a common curriculum in the schools.

WA Miller, Belfast BT13

• Other reaction to the service below and beneath that information on how to subscribe to the News Letter

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