‘Irish Bishops Want Stable Government’        by Joe McVeigh

I read this headline in the English Tablet magazine (14th Dec 2024). It was the Irish Catholic bishops’ response to the 2024 Election in the 26 counties. This headline says a lot about the politics of the Irish Catholic hierarchy. They always favour more of the same which they call ‘stability’.  It would seem that they wanted FF and FG to form a coalition government as soon as possible. It is clear from their utterances over the years that they never want to see Sinn Fein in government in the 26 counties. 

They would not like to see Sinn Fein in government in the 26 counties for that would spell the end of the cosy relationship they have with the two right wing parties FF and FG.

In a blog I wrote for the JC site before the 26 county Election last December (btw JC stands for Jude Collins), I stated that I thought there was a slight change in the bishops’ stance. Now, after reading this post-Election statement, I am not so sure. Then I am not sure who writes or issues the statements for the Irish bishops.  In my blog ‘The Times they are a changin’ on Nov 26, 2024, I stated:

“…In their recent pre-Election statement “To Be a People of Hope” I detect a slight shift in their (the Irish bishops) politics. Their recent statement is more nuanced, more realistic and less dogmatic. They highlight the failure of the established political parties, FF and FG, to deal with homelessness and the many issues that affect the poor and the working class. The only people who have been highlighting these serious failures by government are Sinn Fein and parties on the left.

I think a majority of the Irish Catholic bishops now realise that they have been out of step with the young generation who have, in the last decade or two, become politicised and radicalised. Many now support Sinn Fein or another left of centre party.

It is clear to me that the young (aged 16-30 years) have been politicised as a result of the issue of  homeless, the cost of living, the Climate change debate, and they have moved away from the more conservative politics of their parents and established political parties to the more radical politics of left -leaning parties.

Some bishops have witnessed this trend and are now catching up –for they know that the stakes are high. The Church could lose another generation of people if they are seen to be out of touch with the reality of life on this island. Already it is evident that a large section of the working class in the six counties has opted out of the Church. Many are spiritual people who believe in the God of Justice and Love. They just do not believe that the Church into which they were baptised is interested in their concerns about the social, cultural and political future of this country.”

I was hoping that the pre-Election statement from the Irish Catholic bishops was the beginning of a new approach to the grave social issues facing the Irish people.  Now I’m not sure if it is a real change. 

I am also puzzled by remarks made by the Archbishop of Armagh in an interview with the Irish Catholic newspaper. In that interview the Archbishop repeated the line of the two political leaders Micheál Martin and Simon Harris that the time was not right for a border poll.

I still hope that, in spite of these remarks, I’m right in thinking that things are changing in the Catholic Church in Ireland.