Your views

THEY say the truth hurts.

Well, Father Frank spoke the truth on Sunday and a lot of people seem to be hurt by it.

We need more honesty and more people like Father Frank. By email

I am sure that mine will not be the only letter to reach your inbox this week.

The names on the memorial that was behind his back while he was delivering his sermon, represent the great sacrifices made by the people of Hinckley in upholding the values of freedom, including but not limited to, the right to hold and express personal opinion without fear of reprisal. In line with those values, Father Daly is rightly free to hold and express his opinions, about which he preached on Sunday.

However I, and I believe many others around the congregation present judging by the muted grumbling, feel that there is a time and place for preaching one’s opinions about political issues of the day but that the remembrance service at the war memorial on 11 November is most definitely not one of them!

I am not going to be party to reporting in any detail the political opinions that Father Daly expressed, as this is just adding fuel to the fire of those particular political views, but I hope that he acknowledges that it was inappropriate for him to air those views at what was otherwise a respectful and well supported service that the people of Hinckley should be proud of.

Paul Crankshaw, Hinckley

I was at the remembrance service on Sunday 11th it was so good to see the amount of people paying their respects to all that had made the ultimate sacrifice and those that had been injured in conflicts.

It’s a shame that some veterans and members of the public walked out of the service due to the appalling sermon by Father Frank Daly of St Peters.

This was not the time to go on a personal crusade and disrespect all those that fought in the Second World War or conflicts after that.

A member of the Cadet Forces.

This is a letter from my recently transplanted heart 23 days past, and an opportunity to express my thanks, peace and very best wishes to the donor’s family and friends. As well as a reminder to all to seriously consider signing on the organ donor list. You CAN be a lifesaver..

Well blow me down. At last an influential public figure with the guts to lay it down exactly as it is.

We wear our poppies every November and wring our hands, quite rightly remembering the fallen. Every week if you attend mass let’s not forget.

BUT our nation’s leaders would not hesitate to make the decision to sacrifice our men and women again.

I’ve just had a very powerful reminder how precious life is and how we must grasp it with both hands.

The issues need to be straightened BEFORE conflict and surely the whole world can see this by now. Its 2018 for heaven’s sake.

I’ll see Father Frank at mass this week and give my support to our excellent priest. Fran Middleton

TODAY I (along with four family members) attended the Remembrance Sunday service at Argents Mead to pay respect to all the fallen of the military conflicts over

the years. These include family member Pte.

Leslie Shilton 16th Bn Lancashire fusiliers KILLED in action 4th Nov 1918 alongside Lt. Wilfred Edward Salter Owen 5 th Bn Manchester regt and Lt. col. James Neville Marshall VC MC and bar (no doubt one of the brandy swilling cigar smoking generals Father Frank Daly was referring to) if you Google search you will find L Col Marshall died leading his men from the front

I took this part of Father Daly’s rant directly as an insult to the memory of the fallen millions. I was also there for my Aunt Pte Helen McGarry Hogg who Died 24th sept 1945 from TB while nursing soldiers.

My point is that I was there to pay respect and remember the fallen not to be forced a political speech about migrants/refugees, generals etc by someone who is supposed to be a church leader giving a SHORT address in a Remembrance Sunday service.

I am a member of the Ride to the Wall motorcycle group and attended again this year our event to pay our respects to those fallen since WW2 (there were no political speeches there).

I also attended the NMA with family last weekend to privately commemorate the centenary of Pte Leslie Shilton’s falling.

I hope there are some sort of sanctions against Father Daly even if he is only barred from public service speaking and it goes without saying if he is scheduled to speak next year I will not be attending the Hinckley service along with many others whom I heard complaining. The only reason I did not walk out of todays service was due to the children attending who are our future and fortunately did not understand why people were upset by his ranting. Ian Shilton

Views from social media Many readers have had their say on social media.

Liam Carpenter said: “There is nothing in this sermon that I find offensive. It is thought-provoking and challenging but isn’t that the point of a sermon?”

Matthew Green said: “Seems about right to me. Not really controversial.”

Emma Elaine Saunders said: “How can you not agree with everything he said?

“We are stomping all over the graves of the fallen through ignorance and greed.”

However, Gary Sanders said: “He may well have made some valid points, but that wasn’t the place to make them.”

Andrew Hill said: “It wasn’t the time or place. It’s nothing to do with troops today. It’s to remember those who died protecting our country.”

In a poll on the Leicestershire Live website, 54 per cent of readers Fr Daly was entitled to express an opinion; 46 per cent said it was not the right time or place to speak out.