Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

Attacks on churches of all denominations are a growing problem. Over the past week to ten days the media have reported attacks at Glasnevin cemetery, at Leamlara, Dungourney and Inch churches in east Cork, at Mellifont, County Kildare, and at Fethard, Moyglass, Lisronagh and Mullinahone in Tipperary. This is a frightening list. Churches are still places of great importance to which the vast majority of community members are attached. What matters when a chalice which predates Catholic emancipation is stolen is not its monetary value, it is the emotion and history attached to it.

I visited the church in Mellifont within the past 12 months at the request of the Minister for Finance and I was distressed to see that extensive damage had been done to a building with fine stained glass windows and unusual stonework. Restoration has had to be undertaken because a fire was started there maliciously. As Archbishop Dr. Dermot Clifford said recently, the fact that nothing is sacred anymore is a reflection of the times in which we live. One is reminded of Belshazzar's feast for which he had brought before him all the gold and silver vessels from the temple in Jerusalem. That parable gives us the phrase "the writing is on the wall" and the idea of people being weighed in the balances and found wanting. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that those who have undertaken the recent attacks will undergo the sort of visitation experienced by Belshazzar.

Attention must be drawn to these matters because it is distressing to parish priests, clergymen and communities to wake up to find their church smashed or burnt. Insurance will not compensate them for the Sisyphusian feeling of having to roll the stone up the hill another time. The Garda should be available to communities or should actively advise the clergy with regard to the improvement of the security of religious premises. I appreciate that budgets are tight, but I hope the State develops a policy of co-funding or supports for community funding where necessary and appropriate to furnish security cameras and other measures.

While punishment is always a last resort, penalties should reflect the fact something of special value to many people in the community is being attacked. It is time we and some of the journalists who are never slow to write anti-clerical tracts showed more sympathy for the churches in the midst of their problems. They continue to occupy a special place in most of our hearts and we should recognise this problem and provide assistance.