MANY people are being insulted when religious symbols like crucifixes are removed from the walls of hospitals and other public buildings, a Killarney politician has claimed.
Cllr John Joe Culloty said it is almost reaching a stage where people are having to apologise for their religion and change is needed to rectify the situation.
A proposal from the Fianna Fail councillor that a crucifix be erected on the wall of the revamped county council chambers in Tralee has been passed on a 6-3 vote.
“It’s part of my religion and the religion of the majority of people in this country. Four million people here are of Christian faith.,” he said.
Cllr Culloty said when catholics do anything to promote their faith it is deemed to be controversial but that doesn’t mean that they should be reluctant to express their views.
“We’re almost coming to a stage where we are apologising for it but an awful lot of people were insulted when religious symbols were taken off in hospitals,” he said.
Cllr Culloty said when he attends health forum meetings in the local authority chambers in Cork he notices there is a crucifix on the wall and there is no reason there shouldn’t be one placed on the wall in the chambers in Tralee.
“A lot of things in this country go from one extreme to the other and we have gone too far the other way,” he said.
Concerned that erecting a crucifix may be in breach of equality or employment regulations, Kerry County Council officials said they will have to obtain legal advice on the matter before the new-look council chambers opens in June.
There was uproar in Killarney four years ago when a statue of the sacred heart, which had been in place over the main entrance to the local community hospital for decades, was removed by the HSE.
The reason given was that it was on health and safety grounds but there was an angry backlash from the local community with claims that the HSE was deliberately attempting to remove all religious artifacts.
The then Bishop of Kerry, Bill Murphy, publicly questioned the health and safety reasons put forward by the hospital managers and there was an ongoing confrontation between the town council and the HSE on the matter.
Built by the Mercy nuns for the people of the town, the hospital opened in September 1939 and the large statue was later placed on a flat roof over the main entrance.
