NEGATIVITY around Irish Church Not the Norm Worldwide

By Breda O'Brien
Irish Times
August 6, 2016

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/breda-o-brien-negativity-around-irish-church-not-the-norm-worldwide-1.2746850?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fbreda-o-brien-negativity-around-irish-church-not-the-norm-worldwide-1.2746850

World Youth Day (WYD), an event instituted by St John Paul II as a regular gathering of young people, had about two million participants this year. In the US, more than one-third of seminarians in training cite attendance at a WYD as an influence on their vocation.

You could say it’s because anyone attending a World Youth Day (oddly named because the official programme is six days long) is likely to be open to the idea of a religious vocation, but pilgrims are a very varied bunch. They range from those who are at best not actively antagonistic to the church, to those who have a very deep Catholic commitment.

However, at WYD, vocations are sparked in part because they will see and interact with lots and lots of young religious and priests, the majority of whom seem very happy and fulfilled.

Most young people will be drawn to marriage rather than a religious or other vocation, but for the minority who have a different calling it must be so discouraging to come home from WYD to be greeted by another alleged scandal in Maynooth.

When Archbishop Diarmuid Martin gave Maynooth a vote of no confidence by withdrawing his three clerical students, presumably it was after trying to effect reforms along with his episcopal colleagues.

Ironically, the students will be going instead to the Pontifical College in Rome, which was itself the subject of a heavily critical report in 2012 after what is called an apostolic visitation, in this case headed by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.