Church is right not to pander to the masses on tacky weddings

THE timing may be coincidental, coming so near the historical lifting of the so called ‘baptism barrier’ in schools, but recent attempts by two priests to exercise more control on religious occasions suggest that the clock may be ticking on doas-you-wish à la carte Catholicism. Last week a Wicklow priest threatened to ruin a couple’s big day when he ordered the removal of the fake cherry blossom trees their wedding planner had placed along the aisle along with some batteryoperated lanterns. The priest also replaced the fancy chairs for the bride and groom with ordinary church furniture. According to the wedding planner the priest defended his actions on health and safety grounds, although he may have hinted at his feelings when he said that the ceremony was ‘not a fashion show’. Good for him. If I was in his shoes, which alas would never be possible given my gender’s lowly position in Mother Church, I’d be railing against the happy couple treating a place of worship as a decorative backdrop for their nuptials. The couple are naturally annoyed by the row but sensitivity is a two-way street. They can’t expect everyone to dance to their tune, even on the biggest day of their lives, if they can’t acknowledge that priests might have a problem with churches getting the glitzy Hello magazine treatment. Lack of reverence and respect was also at the root of the plan in Askea, Co. Carlow to scrap the traditional Holy Communion ceremony in favour of allowing children take the sacrament on any Sunday in May. The ensuing uproar forced the parish priest to reinstate the big occasion, while a colleague explained that priests were fed up having to behave like bouncers during the ceremony. Portlaoise-based Fr Paddy Byrne told our newspaper: ‘We have about 300 children a year making first Communion and we’re lucky if we get 5% back as regular massgoers. Usually, the next time we see them is for Confirmation, then for their wedding and then probably their death.’ The decline in religious belief is a fact of modern life, but it seems that the Church’s patience may also be exhausted by swathes of the population who want to have their cake, or rather their communion bread, and eat it too.