tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160415.post6118747514049186000..comments2024-03-15T08:55:29.800-04:00Comments on The Musical Priest: The End of Catholic Ireland?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01087811856300842855noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160415.post-49398628908971293342012-09-05T14:27:03.147-04:002012-09-05T14:27:03.147-04:00I am a 30 year old Irishman. I attended a Jesuit h...I am a 30 year old Irishman. I attended a Jesuit hgh school here in Dublin. I would wager that most of my contemporaries from the Class of 2000 have abandoned their faith, or at least suspended it. The media pillories the church at every available opportunity here and given the past behaviour of some of the priests and an alarming number of more senior clerics, perhaps this is justified. Sadly, the open attitudes of the Jesuits I have met is not always reciprocated amongst other presiding Catholic figures. For my own part, I have not attended mass regularly since high school and I have exhibited some fairly major moral delinquency in the years since. At the moment, I am attempting a comeback, having attended confession a few times in the hope of getting to a mass. From reading the likes of Anthony de Mello, this blog and other Jesuit offerings, I aim to dip a toe back into spiritual waters. I am attempting this new initiative as I simultaneously build a new other yet significant <br />faith - in Glasgow Celtic Football Club. The rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone" at Paradise/aka Celtic Park/Parkhead is as near to a religious experience as you will get. Keep the faith...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160415.post-38186389614325970142012-08-15T13:51:31.042-04:002012-08-15T13:51:31.042-04:00Years ago CBS did a report about laundries operate...Years ago CBS did a report about laundries operated by the church in Ireland. Particularly appalling was the story of a woman turned over to the laundry as a teen after her parents thought she might become unmanageable. After decades of near involuntary servitude was given a couple of hundred dollars for her service. Apparently the laundries were no longer profitable to operate.<br /><br />As a "lapsed" U.S. Catholic I was unaware of the "Pay Pray, Obey" enviroment in Ireland. Most of my life I believed, perhaps naively, that participation in any Christian religeon was completely voluntary and unrestrained. As an adult I now see that is not the case for nearly all the major faiths. Oddly enough the same seems to apply to the nonsecular institutions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160415.post-87223156948077303612012-08-10T18:22:18.328-04:002012-08-10T18:22:18.328-04:00This has really upset my Irish parents. There is a...This has really upset my Irish parents. There is a lot of people interested in hammering away the Church. Just read the Irish Voice! Every week you can count on articles about: U2, colin Farrell, latest celeb to visit Ireland and the evils of the church. They(the media) want to keep the scandals alive. Sometimes it's news worthy; othertimes they are searching for a story.<br /><br />A big issue as to why I think the church has declined has to do with Catholic colleges marginalizing the message. I went to a Catholic college in NY. So many religious and lay taught that the church was disconnected and out of touch or wrong. People (myself included) began to question everything. Why fast during Lent? Is confession necessary? Along with other issues. What was an attempt to connect made people disconnected from their faith. At least for me for a long time. <br /><br />Yes, abuse has hurt the church but it's not the only reason. We need to get back to the beauty of Catholicism. Thanks for posting About this.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16259034452910805928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160415.post-21486838941851698042012-08-10T07:51:50.138-04:002012-08-10T07:51:50.138-04:00I think you're right. We, however, must be the...I think you're right. We, however, must be the news we want to see. Part of evangelization must be equipping people with a language of faith, a way of talking about experiences that enables people to express their hearts' motivations.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01087811856300842855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8160415.post-65312794793359549382012-08-10T07:13:21.529-04:002012-08-10T07:13:21.529-04:00Somehow we need to do a better job in the media. A...Somehow we need to do a better job in the media. All that is ever written these days about the catholic church is something scandalous - there is never a counterbalance of the good that is done. I can see how one could become easily disillusioned. This has happened to someone in my own family. We continue to "keep the faith" but a little positive media coverage would certainly be helpfulAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com