We are no longer living in Holy Catholic Ireland. That country is dead and gone, and it’s with McQuaid in the grave.
Although almost ninety percent of Irish identify themselves as ‘Catholic’ on the most recent census, only a fraction of that number attend Mass each Sunday. Even less are heavily involved in the Church. Despite having control of most of the schools in Ireland, knowledge of the faith is at an all-time low, religious education having been gutted, a shadow of its former self that serves only to inoculate against Catholicism and taught by those who neither know God nor His Church. First Holy Communion and Confirmation are rites of passage performed by students who do not understand them for the benefit of parents who see it all as a big day out and will never darken the church doors again.
Almost all of the seminaries have closed, and the one remaining on the island is unfit for mission if the accounts of seminarians past and present are to be believed. Priests are dying off and not being replaced, and those who remain are overwhelmed by the demand for weddings and funerals, many for practical unbelievers who want the atmosphere and trappings of the Church without truly believing or understanding.
Our social ills have only become worse; homelessness, alcoholism, drug addiction and promiscuity are taken for granted. Politically, we face a gay marriage referendum in May, which almost no elected politicians oppose and the entirety of our mainstream media supports. The situation as regards abortion is almost equally bad. Catholics have not held the initiative politically since the 1983 pro-life amendment; on the contrary, they have remained embattled as both secular media and the elite classes have tried to erode the Church’s influence on society.
The local hierarchy has dithered for many years, doing nothing about seminaries or education as they presided over horrific child abuse scandals which many did not handle competently or compassionately. They are divided, and have failed in many instances to provide real leadership. Without true leadership, many false prophets have arisen, whether they be doctrinal liberals like certain members of the Association of Catholic Priests who seem to only grow louder as they are ‘silenced’ or false visionaries like Christina Gallagher or Maria Divine Mercy.
And yet there is Hope. Jesus Christ does not abandon his children. It is always darkest before the dawn, and it is for the dawn that we must pray and work.
I hope to address several questions on this blog. I am uncertain as to how far I will get in answering them. Questions such as:
- How did this happen?
- Why did this happen?
- How did we get to where we are?
- How can the Church be rebuilt?
- In what way should it be rebuilt?
Some points I shall touch on, using specific case studies where possible:
- The history of how we got here (strengths, weaknesses, reasons for collapse)
- Our current situation
- Possible solutions and paths for the future
Constructive comments are welcome.
By Grace and Banners Fallen, and Irish Catholic Blog.
By Grace and Banners Fallen 