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Pope Francis Comes to Post-Catholic Ireland, a Land Changed Utterly
Back in Philadelphia in 2014, Ireland and Dublin city won the honor of hosting the World Meeting of Families, one of the largest Catholic events held every four years across the globe dealing with the family. As part of the benefits of hosting such an event, which attracts Catholics from all over the world, the host city also gets a special guest. The head of the Roman Catholic church, the successor to St. Peter, the Pope comes to town to close out the event. As such, Pope Francis will be coming to Ireland for a brief visit this weekend.
This would only be the second papal visit to Ireland. Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in 1979 very early on in his papacy. The Ireland of that time pulled out all the works for him. There was a huge government backing of the trip, massive crowds of up to a million people saw and heard him speak at various sites across the island and even some prisoners were amnestied (albeit only after it was over). As many commentators now say, it was the last real showing of Catholic Ireland. In fact Pope John Paul II predicted it to the crowd of thousands even then, when he said the youth of Ireland faced a choice between secularism and materialism, and a new kind re-awakening of the Catholic faith. Sadly we know now which the Irish chose.
The Ireland of 2018 that Pope Francis will visit is entirely different to the one his predecessor faced. It is moving very quickly to joining its secular European cousins, and to becoming a pagan, post-Christian rock of the coast of Europe. As many of you know, this year we became the first country in world history to legalise abortion on demand. Many of my countrymen and women did this with a smile on their face.
Unannounced during the abortion campaign, the supposedly conservative government also made it illegal for Catholic schools to choose Catholic students above non-Catholics. A ban which applies only to Catholics and no other religious groups.
In 2015, we legalised same-sex marriage. In 1995, we barely legalised divorce and now it looks certain that the government wants to reduce the time for it. The Ireland of 2018 now sees near 40 percent of its children born outside wedlock. We probably will legalise euthanasia before the end of the decade. We are joining the secular world all right.
Of course, this break from Catholic teaching was not simply the fault of the Irish choosing secularism by choice. In many cases, they were driven there by the appalling behaviour of the church in Catholic Ireland. The abuse of political and social power by the Catholic church in Ireland rivalled the mullahs in Iran. But it was the appalling sex abuse scandals and abuse in Irish institutional homes which ultimately destroyed the Catholic church in Ireland and reduced it to shell of itself. The widespread abuse of children sexually and physically by brothers, nuns, and priests has little parallel across the world. The apostasy of these clergy (a minority but a large one) created the apostasy in the Irish people today.
Pope Francis himself will have heard of this. His Irish Cardinals will no doubt have informed him of it. What’s deeply sad is the Irish church and its believers have had, for past two decades, lived in this shadow. They have seen their faith viciously destroyed from within and now the most awful groups are now trying to add to their torment.
Over the last two weeks, Ireland’s media have run scare story after scare story on his visit. They have launched countless negative stories against the papal visit. From blaming him for abuse, blaming him for increasing the hardship of homeless in Dublin, to blaming the Catholic crowd visiting Dublin for potentially unleashing chemical warfare on our streets, the bad news has not stopped.
Even one of Ireland’s ex-presidents has gotten in on the act, relentlessly urging the church to change all its major teachings to be more left wing and tolerant. Which, of course, Ireland’s liberal elite love and encourage. They are falling over themselves to write and pour as much negative press on the church as possible. Sadly, this is not helped by the scandals emerging in America.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to make out how ordinary Irish people feel. Many know if they say nice things about church they risk attack. But many are likely to attend his visit in Dublin. I will try myself. Not because I’m his biggest fan but it’ll give the best two-fingered salute to Ireland’s lying liberal press if there is a large crowd. That’s my reason.
Published in General
Fine post, but this is one of those cases where the content is hard to like.
you should go!
We do need to pray for the Pope for God to give him the strength and wisdom to deal with the serious problems in the church. I was speaking to my brother about this, that the problems in the church are the same problems in the world. Obviously the church is supposed to be the bulwark against this kind of moral rot, but the rot has made it’s way into the church. In an interview Dr Paul McCue, who was one of the charter members of the Dallas agreement which put in place protections and reforms for the Catholic church in the United States said that “Old Screwtape must be having a ball right now”.
The problem with the radical secularists in Ireland is that, they don’t understand that when you tear away at the foundations of civilization, that society will descend into chaos. What happens after chaos is usually authoritarianism, and that will be worse than what they discarded. God Bless and you should go if only to show support to the fellow faithful Catholics that are left in Ireland.
For those who want a brilliant description of what it’s like in Ireland now and how the church is facing abuse:
https://burkeanjournal.com/why-does-the-popes-arrival-provoke-such-bitterness/
Haters gotta hate. (I sniffed some of the initial odors of this on the radio when we were in Ireland a few days ago.)
Sorry about that man. Ireland’s media is notoriously all left. Very pc very anti Catholic very anti American right and hostile to anyone sceptic of pc culture. They are all the same.
This is a sample of kind of nonsense being shared by Irish liberals, who wouldnt dare say anything about Islam. This is how far they are stretching.
https://twitter.com/DrBSingleton/status/1031976273214693376
They are complaining about a cross being on a work visa. Its laughable.
Paddy- You should go onto ITunes and check out James Delingpole’s most recent podcast. If you listen to the last 20 minute or so, you will hear them discussing the stranglehold the EU has over the individual countries. Not just their financial policies but their social policies, and his guest notes that the journalists in Brussels are basically forbidden to publish anything that might be critical of the EU. Also those in charge of the EU are a bunch of immoral reprobates, and sleezebags as well. Like I said before, the people think they are gaining freedom but they are actually getting authoritarianism from the EU. I will pray for Ireland and for Europe.
Who are the conservatives (or the least crazy people) in Ireland today besides you?
Just curious…
Well, Ireland should leave the EU too.
Does Ireland hate the United Kingdom more than they love freedom?
“Freedom!” No William Wallace-types in Ireland for Mel Gibson to portray for inspiration?
Still praying, Paddy…And hoping you’ll attend. I had a chance to attend a mass at the Silverdome with Pope St. John Paul II, in 1987; a surprisingly prayerful experience.
I was at Pope John Paul II’s Youth Mass in 1979 and it was a tremendous occasion. Getting to Galway and waiting outdoors for the Pope to arrive were arduous but even leaving aside the spiritual and religious aspects, being part of a vast and united audience was thrilling. I wonder whether we will see the likes again?
I’m not travelling this time. I’m on vacation in the far west of the country and I just couldn’t get sufficiently motivated to take on the trip again. I’m not much of a Mass-goer but I have huge belief in the core principles of the Catholic Church.
The media coverage of the visit and most political commentary are beyond parody The abuse issue is every bit as appalling as Paddy has said and has blackened the standing of the Church irretrievably. It is right that there be extreme scrutiny of the behaviour of individuals within the Church and of the institution itself. But the ferocious determination of some to undermine the visit and those attending or supporting the events is painful to behold.
Also infuriating is the current narrative that every ill that ever befell Ireland in the 20th Century is the direct result of the influence of the Church and that the rooting out of the Church will turn the country into a secular Nirvana.
Personally I don’t see how any or all of the sins of the Catholic or any Church alter the moral arguments in relation to any life issue, notwithstanding the obvious wish of many that it would be so.
Charles- it does seem as though the church is the boogyman for all of Ireland’s problems. But to me, and I have this theory that we never actually leave high school, it’s how we are socialized so why wouldn’t it translate into the wider world. But Ireland does seem to have an inferiority complex when it comes to the rest of Europe. For years Ireland were the religious squares who didn’t even legalize divorce until the late 90’s (speaking from the Eurocentric point of view of course) and now that Ireland has been brought in to sit at the EU’s cool kid table, they are willing to toss aside their unique culture to fit in with the rest of Europe.
To me, as an American of Irish decent, it is a tragedy. This is the land of my ancestors. I’m Catholic because Ireland was Catholic, and that culture was brought to America. I inherited that, abeit from afar. The church has been through this type of corruption before and Ireland never abandoned the faith before. So in my humble opinion it isn’t necessarily the abuses of the church is the sole reason to why Ireland lost it’s faith. I think it is modernity and the allure of the EU. BUT, I could be wrong
Mate De, You’re not wrong at all. I have often said here that there are significant elements in Ireland who suffer from a post-colonial inferiority complex and who believe that we really are not capable of running our own country. Having previously looked to the U.K. for guidance and example they now look to Europe and the U.N. They are scornful of Irish culture- our music and our unique sports. They loathe our language with a passion.
Those elements are very much in the ascendancy now- permanently it seems. There isn’t a political party with legislative representation in Ireland that questions EU power or has any sympathy for Brexit. Instead our Government has gone out of its way to make that process difficult for the U.K.- the closest friend we have.
There was a strong anti-elite strain until quite recently. Referenda aimed at advancing EU integration and power were defeated and re-run to get the right result (maybe to be echoed in the U.K.?).Divorce was introduced on a margin of less than 1% on a day when there was torrential rain in the more conservative Western side of the country.
Abandonment of core Catholic/Christian principles would have happened fairly quickly anyway but Church crimes put the process on steroids.
In my previous comment I neglected to acknowledge that for decades the Irish Government and people looked to Rome for guidance and that didn’t work out terribly well either.