‘Immature religion’ by Joe McVeigh

“Immature religion creates people who know what they are against, but have a very poor sense of what they are for. They are against sin, always as they narrowly define it; but they are seldom for love or actually for anything except the status quo where they think they are in control. This is indeed “the world” and will never get them very far if they are trapped within it—unless they recognize this same world as pervaded with heaven. For me, this is the genius of the Gospel. The world is good in its wholeness, but our little portion of separated parts is never the whole, so we must leave our addiction to the system to discover the Kingdom/Empire of God. We must always let go of full control over the parts to love and accept the whole.” I do not know where I came across this quote. I think it was written by Richard Rohr. I wish I had written it down.

Some people are obsessed with religion. They never grow up to appreciate the power and challenge of true religious belief. They sometimes give me a lecture about the Bible -like the young man I met yesterday who told me that Moabs in the Bible referred to the Mother of All Bombs. Many of these people were raised as Catholics but something has happened to turn them off the Catholic church. They now prefer ‘the happy clappy’ religion of some evangelical group or other. At a time when many younger people are giving up on the Catholic church it amazes me how some get caught up in some evangelical group or other.

There are others who were brought up as Catholics in the 1970s and 1980s who remain spiritually immature. They are still hankering after the Church as it was before Vatican II.  These are mostly middle aged people who like to have their own ‘devotions’ and religious activities, all with an agenda of keeping things ‘traditional.’ They would like to bring back some of that ‘old-time religion’. They have their own rules. Some of them practice some kind of ritual before receiving Communion often drawing attention to themselves. They hark back to a church before the Second Vatican council fifty years ago. Are these people lost souls or just head-bangers? They seem determined to do their own thing in small cliques. They definitely like to get their own way. They are like immature young people. They are narcissistic and they are encouraged in their narcissism within the church

This new religious right people are at it ‘hammer and tongs’ every day in  churches and at shrines all over Ireland. Some of these will curry favour with some priest in order to get their own way, to obtain the use of the church building and to get access to the Parish messenger and parish Notice Board to advertise their silly nonsense with silly publications like ‘Jesus Needs You’.

Their brand of reactionary Catholicism has no basis in Catholic teaching as expressed in Vatican II or in the Scriptures. They are certainly out of touch with the joyful and compassionate Church that is being led by Pope Francis. Theirs is a bogus Christianity. Its primary focus is on saving my soul. They show no concern for justice or for saving our planet.

These reactionary Catholics have grown in numbers over the last twenty years, and some have become more determined to propagate their brand of religion in parish churches throughout Ireland, often without consulting the local priests or the Parish council. They have a network of like-minded individuals. They promote propaganda newspapers like ‘Catholic Voice’ and ‘Alive’ and other right wing media like EWTN which promotes fundamentalist religious views around the world. These papers are dropped into all churches free gratis and for nothing -every week!

If the Catholic Church is going to appeal to the young people in Ireland, it needs to become a progressive church with the vision of Vatican II, a church that is the voice of the voiceless and a community that offers real hope to communities in times of fear, sorrow and anxiety. Pope Francis is pointing the people in the direction of Vatican II and to a more adult mature faith. He would want the baptised to be more aware of their role as care-takers of the earth and to be more aware of the cost of discipleship. He has challenged us all to be more aware of the connection between the way we care for the earth and the poverty that exists in many places.

Most Catholics who still ‘practice’ in the parish continue to live their baptismal calling by attending Mass once a week if possible.  Some are involved in ministry. Many are involved in reaching out to those in need. These people are trying to live out their Christian faith. Some may travel to Knock or Lough Derg to renew their faith once a year. They may attend a parish mission now and again. They are mostly conscientious people who try to live honest lives. They still have a sense of belonging to a faith community. Very few of the younger generation are attracted to this kind of church.

Most adult Catholics in Ireland have a poor understanding of their Christian faith and an inadequate appreciation of the mystical side of their faith. Many still live with an infantile understanding of the faith.  They have little appreciation of the meaning in the Scriptures. Perhaps this is the fault of the Church leadership which has lost contact with those adults who grew up in the Church. Those adults have received little ongoing catechesis. It is not their fault if they get caught up in some way out religious practice or beliefs.

The almost exclusive focus in the Catholic church on catechising children and young people needs to be questioned. Catechists involved with adult groups reading and reflecting on the Scriptures in parishes would contribute to a more vibrant faith community focussing more on justice than charity. That should be the focus of any renewal in the Irish Church. The results of such a strategy may not be seen for many years.