I write regarding your recent article ("Glasgow Archdiocese to halve parishes and close 24 churches", The Herald, October 7).
Watching from afar, the decline in numbers of vocations to the priesthood has been slow, steady and sombre. I fear that our utility-centred social norms have clashed with the sacred priesthood's demands of celibacy and obedience to one's Bishop.
Does that mean we relax the laws on celibacy for example? No. Instead, there needs to be a major rethink of how the dignity of the priesthood is promoted.
What the church and society is failing to communicate to an adequate degree is the eschatological and theological significance of the priest. As the rise of short form videos emerge, and the instant access to all sorts of content continues, attention spans for deep theology will struggle.
The Church (in particular within Catholic schools) needs to articulate to the younger generations about the priesthood; about its dignity, but in a way which preserves and maintains their attention.
While the profile of the psychology of today's youth is beyond my expertise, what I can say for certain is that they (in particular the Catholic cohorts) are not accessing, for whatever reasons, the good, true and beautiful nature of the priesthood and religious life.
The priest is set apart from the world, but for the good of it; he acts ‘in the person of Christ’ when offering up the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass, and embodies the maternity of the church when he gives birth to Christ in the Eucharist. The characteristics of the priesthood go far beyond celibacy (which I think is the primary concern of today's youth).
The spiritual characteristics of the vocation transcend far beyond the material, the fruits of which are only realised in Heaven.
To get there, we need the Eucharist, and for the Eucharist we need the priest.
Cormac O'Hara, formerly of Glasgow, now Theology MA, St. Mary's, Twickenham.
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Dodging dogma
James Hardy (Letters, October 7) appears to believe that rationalists and humanists cannot truly understand Immanuel Kant’s famous awe regarding the "starry heavens above me and the moral law within me".
Let me reassure Mr. Hardy that non-believers appreciate this deeply, but they also fully appreciate the grim implications of Christian exclusivism.
According to Christ's ‘Principle of Exclusive Salvation’ - as explicitly outlined in John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5, and John 8:24 - Christianity is a strictly exclusivist faith.
It was fundamentally designed to foreclose devotion to all other deities. Throughout history, this rigid intolerance has caused untold suffering, directly fuelling everything from brutal blasphemy and heresy laws to centuries of devastating religious wars.
Rationalists do not lack a sense of wonder; rather, they refuse to blind themselves to the historical cost of dogma.
Doug Clark, Currie.
Shine a light for arthritis sufferers
Today, landmarks including the Kelpies, the Falkirk Wheel and Glasgow Science Centre will shine blue for World Arthritis Day.
But once the lights go out, the daily pain and fatigue faced by people with arthritis will remain.
Across Scotland 1.7 million people - around one in three - live with a musculoskeletal (MSK) condition. Arthritis is too often dismissed as an inevitable part of ageing, but that's not the case. Scotland alone has 48,000 children and young people living with arthritis. It affects people of all ages, disrupting careers, family life and independence.
Awareness matters, but it must lead to action. Thousands have backed Arthritis UK’s call for the First Minister to introduce a dedicated national MSK Action Plan.
That means earlier diagnosis, timely treatment, better access to rehabilitation and support to help people manage their conditions and remain active.
As Arthritis UK marks its 90th anniversary, we are asking the Scottish Government to make a lasting commitment to those living with arthritis and to make MSK conditions a clinical priority.
Scotland’s landmarks are lighting up. It’s time for the Government to step up.
Lauren Bennie, Head of Scotland, Arthritis UK, Glasgow.
Cry freedom
I read with interest Roz Foyer's article on the Nelson Mandela statue (“New statue of Nelson Mandela spotlights Glasgow’s proud history of fighting injustice”, The Herald, October 5).
There can be few people who would not wholeheartedly concur with her account of the political storm that granting the Freedom of the City to him caused in the early and mid-1980s. Moreover, it’s worth mentioning the process by which the Freedom was granted, and to give full credit to those behind it.
The Freedom of the City was in the power of the then Glasgow District Council, and those who deserve much of the credit in the City's Labour administration of the time should receive due recognition.
They were Councillor Danny Crawford; Leader of the Council Jean McFadden; and Lord Provost Michael Kelly.
There were many others involved, both within and beyond the Council, notably in the Scottish Anti-Apartheid Movement. But without those individuals it wouldn’t have happened, and their vital role should not be forgotten.
Peter A. Russell, Jordanhill.
Excellent employment opportunity
The following spoof could well be an advert for job vacancies in the civil service and public sector.
‘We are looking for people to increase our headcount and thus exceed our budgeted expenditure. You will be expected to come to the office for one day a week.
There is a generous sick leave allowance which everyone takes as extra holiday entitlement. Naturally both sick leave and holiday entitlement are far, far better than in the private sector.
The civil service and public sector still have an excellent gold-plated final salary pension scheme and the employer's contribution is funded by general taxation.
Early retirement with a huge lump sum is available, and will obviously be paid before the statutory pension age.’
Wait… did I say spoof?
Clark Cross, Linlithgow.
Money matters
NJ Hunter (Letters, September 29) mentions the absurd price often charged nowadays for a cup of coffee.
This prompts the observation that ink (ordinary ink, not just calligrapher's writing fluid) now costs more, centilitre for centilitre, than ten-year-old malt whisky. Even that of a health-enhancing 11% proof.
This would seem to merit consideration by an inveterate scribe. Does fiscal sagacity suggest penning another lengthy missive, or just pouring oneself another small refreshment?
Robin Dow, Rothesay.
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