CONTEXT, LETTERKENNY GENERAL HOSPITAL HAD A ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHAPEL. IT WAS CLOSED DOWN FOLLOWING THE FLOOD JULY 2013 DUE TO DAMAGE.
A COMMON ROOM FOR PEOPLE TO GO TO REFLECT AND PRAY IF THEY WANT IS TO BE
SUBSTITUTED FOR IT. THIS IS IN RECOGNITION THAT THE ROMAN CATHOLIC FAITH IS NOT
THE ONLY FAITH IN IRELAND AND THE ROOM WILL BE OPEN TO EVERYONE NO MATTER WHAT
RELIGION OR SYSTEM THEY FOLLOW. A HOSPITAL CHAPEL RETENTION COMMITTEE WAS FORMED
TO RE-OPEN THE SECTARIAN CHAPEL.
FAO: Hospital Chapel Retention Committee
Can a Catholic parish or hospital treat a same sex couple
as married? No. Catholic hospitals discriminate and letting the
Church have any benefit in a hospital such as a chapel is unnacceptable!
With regard to the Roman Catholic Chapel in the Hospital, replacing it with a
Prayer Room is the right decision.
The Hospital is funded by the state and not the Catholic Church. Therefore there
is no right for Catholics to get special treatment and privileges such as
chapels with the tax payers money. The state is to be neutral on religious
affairs. We have to be neutral most of the time so why not be neutral about this
chapel issue? Neutrality is necessary for the sake of fair play and religious
equality. It is the Catholic Church’s job to promote the faith not the state or
the hospital.
Not all Catholics or patients in the hospital care deeply about the Blessed
Sacrament being there. More people walked past that chapel than who used it.
Not all Catholics or patients in the hospital feel comfortable about being
exposed to the Catholic faith.
If I had a relative who committed suicide I would not want the services of a God
or religion that would suggest the possibility that she or he is in Hell for all
eternity. You have no right to suggest or imagine such possibilities in the
absence of proper evidence for the possibility of Hell.
It is insensitive when people are angry at God or whatever to be exposed to
religion. Do all women that have had abortions and feel guilty want to see holy
statues and chapels in hospitals of all places? It is the height of ignorance to
be in your face about a religion that would ban abortion even if a quarter of
women were to need it to save their lives. It is the principle.
The prayer room will bring atheists - who will use it for reflection and not
prayer, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses together and
treat them for the equals they are. That is exactly the message we need to get
out in a world troubled by religious strife. And before you say religion is
about peace please read the Old Testament which Jesus said was the word of God.
God commands that people be stoned to death and everything. He commanded Jesus
to undergo torture or so we are told.
And as for the dramatics about “Removing the Chapel is an insult to our faith,”
may I remind you that your own Bible says you have full access to God anywhere.
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of
Jesus” Hebrews 10:19
Acts 17:24 AMP - The God Who produced and formed the world and all things in it,
being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in handmade shrines.
You are demanding that the Blessed Sacrament has to be there for people to be
close to God - that is what is an insult to the faith and God’s alleged desire
to be close to us always. And think about the insult you are offering to people
who don’t take the Catholic religion as seriously as you do and who want to
share with other religions as a gesture of good will. Think about Catholics who
agree with secular values and these Catholics are in the majority. Think about
Born Again Christians and Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses who would find the
teachings about the Blessed Sacrament very upsetting if they understood them.
And there are Muslim staff in the hospital. Their religion teaches that blessed
sacraments and holy statues are offensive to God regardless of how well meaning
the users of these things may be. They believe that God dictated the Koran their
holy book. You will claim that you do not intend to see them offended. But have
you asked them all? The question is not "Are they offended?" but, "Should they
be if they understand and follow their religion correctly?" Unless that question
is dealt with people will only make a hypocritical dog’s dinner of inter
religious respect. They will exude the following message: "If you are not
offended good and if you are I do not care. Christ is god and if that offends
you then tough".
The Koran condemns They do blaspheme who say: "Allah is Christ the son of Mary."
But said Christ: "O Children of Israel! worship Allah my Lord and your Lord."
Whoever joins other gods with Allah - Allah will forbid him the garden and the
Fire will be his abode. There will for the wrong-doers be no one to help..
-- Sura 5:72
The Koran condemns the veneration of saints so there should be no images of the
saints in the hospital or in the chapel.
010:018 DENIES SAINTS INTERCEDE FOR YOU
“They serve, besides God, things that hurt them not nor profit them, and they
say: "These are our intercessors with God." Say: "Do ye indeed inform God of
something He knows not, in the heavens or on earth? Glory to Him! and far is He
above the partners they ascribe (to Him)!"”
016.020-21 BANS ASKING SAINTS TO PRAY FOR YOU
“Those whom they invoke besides God create nothing and are themselves created.
(They are things) dead, lifeless: nor do they know when they will be raised up”
018:102
THE FOLLOWING SHOWS THAT THE MATTER IS OF ETERNAL IMPORTANCE TO GOD AND ISLAM
“Do the Unbelievers think that they can take My servants as protectors besides
Me? Verily We have prepared Hell for the Unbelievers for (their) entertainment”
009:031 - SAYS THAT AS JESUS IS NOT GOD IT IS IDOLATRY TO WORSHIP HIM
“They have taken as lords beside God their Rabbis and their Monks
and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One God.
There is no God save Him. Be He Glorified from all that they ascribe as partner
(unto Him)!
Your ultimate goal is to have people conditioned into the Catholic faith and to
get special treatment for that faith to help maintain that conditioning.
Religious error and refusal to see the truth gets validation from the public
presence of religion and seeing others congregating in its name.
There are more important things for you to do than worry about the chapel. Where
were the petitions and protests when Martin Ridge documented how the priests and
bishops of Raphoe protected clerical child abusers and when Columba Nee
suggested that the files incriminating them were burned?
It is right to be careful with matters of religious freedom for the last thing
the Hospital needs is to be put at risk of litigation over religious favouritism
and discrimination just to please the few who care about the chapel.