BishopAccountability.org

Poll: Do You Attend Mass?

By Stephen McNeice
The Newstalk
June 24, 2013

http://www.newstalk.ie/reader/47.305.359/5348/blog_list/---POLL:-Do-you-attend-mass?


A report released by the Association of Catholic Priests shows deep division among Church officials

The report claims “there seems to be a substantial number of bishops, and some priests, who believe that the problems we are facing are not due to any difficulties in the Church or with the priesthood, but are caused by a lack of faith in the people.”

Although acknowledging that many priests and bishops strongly disagree with the conclusion, others maintain that abuse allegations and the Church's policies themselves are no longer fundamental problems. Instead, the major issue facing Catholicism in Ireland is that the Irish people have “to all intents and purposes, become pagan... The people, they told us, have bought into the evils of materialism and consumerism, and don’t have time or interest in faith any more”

However, the short report - available on the ACP website - also states “apart from stating their understanding of the problem, there didn’t seem to us to be any practical ideas, or indeed energy, around how this evangelisation could be progressed… If there are such radically different understandings of the current situation, it is hard to see how we can make headway in working towards a solution”.

The group met with priests and bishops through regional priest councils to gauge their opinion of current clerical issues. They have also reported on responses to issues such as The New Missal, allegations against priests and the Year of the Faith. Although some topics divided opinion, there was consensus that the New Missal was largely unsatisfactory and the Year of the Faith was a “non-event”.

The authors of the report write that “the age, lack of energy, tiredness of priests was very obvious. Expecting these men to bring about any real change was clearly not living in the real world. Keeping the show on the road for another few years is the most that can be expected from most of them.”

The most in-depth section of the report addresses vocational issues. With the number of priests being ordained decreasing, the ACP believes “that the present paradigm of priesthood is no longer working”. They suggest significant reform for encouraging people to join or rejoin the priesthood, including welcoming former priests who have left the Church to get married.

Do you agree with any of the observations made in the report? Do you attend mass regularly, or have you lost faith in the Catholic Church? Are there any practical ways for the Catholic Church to maintain relevance, or is it fundamentally ill-equipped for modern Ireland? Vote in our poll and leave your comments below.




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