In Ireland now in the early years of the 21st century the Catholic church is in deep crisis but that crisis could be a moment of opportunity for the Church. It is up to the bishops to take the lead and initiate a discussion and a listening to the faithful-those people who are faithful to the Second Vatican Council. They could then plan a way forward for the Catholic Church. As it is the church seems to be adrift like a boat with the engine broken down.
A big obstacle to discussion about our future is the lack of imagination at the top in the Irish church. The bishops are good men but they are afraid to imagine another kind of church. Fear rules the roost.
Surely, we need to discuss this and many other things in relation to the future of the Catholic Church in Ireland when very few are going forward for ordained ministry. But who will initiate this discussion so that it will bring about the necessary changes, new attitudes and new structures and new ways of being church?
I believe the responsibility for initiating a discussion about the future of the Catholic church lies with the Irish bishops and if they won’t do it then the people along with the priests ought to begin such discussions or intensify the discussion already begun. The situation is now too serious to be allowed to drift any further. We owe it to past generations who have suffered to preserve the faith and the sacraments, and we owe it to the future generations to hand on something we believe to be of vital importance for their happiness and well-being.
I think the Church needs to become much more engaged in the politics of everyday life, dare I say learn from the Church of England?
The Catholic Church needs to speak out against austerity, the food banks and the public spending cuts. Engage with young people and listen to them.
The Church in Ireland for several reasons are reluctant to place themselves in the spotlight but leadership demands that they do.
“past generations suffered to preserve the faith and the sacraments”,
did they know about child abuse? mother and baby homes? magdalen laundries?
did they want the theocratic republic they got until fairly recently?
What the catholic church in ireland does not seem/wish to understand is the deep-seated sense of betrayal and anger that the people feel
I think such people need to assess the role that Irish society played. It’s too easy to blame the Church for every facet of past wrong doings. The State paid the Church to run care homes and parents left their daughters and grandchildren in them of their own free will.
The contemporary attitudes of society as whole ranging from the guards to the media played their part.
Ireland’s past sins do not all lie at the door of the Church. The blame also lies at the door of our grandparents and great grandparents.
seeing you bring the subject of the church up.they could do the decent thing and disband.
The 2nd Vatican Council generation are dying off and so too thankfully is their vision of a church which was not the church that was handed down to them by their previous generations. Thankfully that is changing and Traditionalists are starting to return to prominence, the SSPX is about to return with a special role and the traditional orders cannot open enough seminaries to deal with the demands.