Dear Friend
Welcome to the January Ezine from Redemptorist Communications
A Reflection for the New Year
“Rebellion against your handicaps gets you nowhere. Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world - making the most of one’s best.”
HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK
Glimpses of “Reality”
In his January editorial, Fr Gerard Moloney reflects on “An anger that must be acknowledged”.
“Despite the scandals, it’s consoling, even amazing, that so many people continue to go to church. In spite of the long litany of sordid revelations, and the obvious failure of church leadership on so many levels, over 40 percent still go to Mass regularly.
But while this may be a relief, it does conceal a deeper reality – the very raw anger and disillusionment that many church-goers feel. It is largely unexpressed, but talk candidly to many Catholics about their attitude towards the church and that anger comes pouring out.
They may continue to go to Mass; they may continue to contribute to the collection plate and to support their local parish; they may even continue to sit on parish pastoral councils and take part in parish activities, but scratch beneath the surface and a deep sense of hurt and frustration comes gushing forth. Many are clinging on by their fingertips. It will take little more for them to walk away, too.
This sense of anger comes across in conversations with people who attend parish missions and novenas around the country. It comes across in casual conversations at the back of the church after Mass. It is reflected in a recent survey by the Iona Institute, which revealed that almost half of Irish people polled say they now have an unfavourable view of the church, with just eight percent saying they have a “very favourable” view of the church.
Irish Catholics, who have weathered the storms that have battered the church over the last 20 years even as others have walked away, are in a fragile state of mind. They need assurance that the scandals of the past are a thing of that past; they need encouragement and a sense that renewal and reform are happening and will take place. They need evidence that their sorely tested loyalty has not been in vain.
They also need to be convinced of the value and validity of the new translation of the liturgy that has been imposed on them. Many are nonplussed by the arcane and non-inclusive language, and by a theology designed to create a greater distance between priest and people. They wonder if the new missal will bring a single person back to church or keep a single person there.
Priests continue to have the support and affection of parishioners who do not blame them for the church’s problems. But the same cannot be said about people’s attitude to those in church authority. And it is how the church leadership responds to Catholics’ sense of anger and disillusionment that will be key.
If the report of the apostolic visitation is seen as merely trying to discipline the Irish church and bring it closer to Rome, and not about reform, then there will be more disappointment. If it is seen as trying to blame the problems of the Irish church on liberal clergy or on lax practices, rather than on a failure of leadership and of vision at home and in Rome, there will be more frustration.
If next June’s Eucharistic Congress adopts even the slightest air of triumphalism or of business as usual, as if there is no crisis in the church or any need for repentance or humility, it will be a PR disaster, and do more harm than good. If what we witness are serried ranks of men in mitres or princes of the church in silken cappa magnas, there will be an outcry and even greater disillusionment.
Now is make or break time for the church in Ireland. Those Catholics, barely clinging on, need reasons for hope. They need to feel they are being listened to and respected. They need to see evidence of change and of a leadership that cares. Hopefully, the recent audits of the six dioceses demonstrate real improvement in the church’s handling of clerical sexual abuse. Hopefully, the Vatican’s appointment of a non-traditional type nuncio to Ireland shows it wants to adopt a fresh approach to the problems confronting the church here. Hopefully, the report of the Apostolic Visitors will map a fresh way forward.
Irish Catholics need hope, solid evidence of a new spring for their church. Otherwise, in anger and frustration, having reached a tipping point, more and more will walk away.”
Also in the January issue of Reality:
SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS: WE’RE ALL A TWITTER
Twitter has been hailed as the new evangelistic frontier, and the Vatican and some local clergy are leading the way.
SACRED RELICS
There was consternation last October when a relic of the True Cross was stolen from Holy Cross Abbey in Co Tipperary. But why does the church have relics and why are they considered so important?
FINDING GOD IN REALITY
For the members of Communion and Liberation, reason leads to faith.
MY CLERICAL CAREER
It came to an end in my thirteenth year having reached the grand old rank of acolyte.
AN ACHE IN MY HEART
My granddaughter’s autism has been heartbreaking for all the family but it has also brought many blessings.
THE CHURCH ISN’T THE ONLY INSTITUTION IN THE DOCK
RTÉs colossal mistake in libelling Fr Kevin Reynolds marks an important watershed in Irish society – by revealing clearly that the media can also seriously abuse power.
A TALE OF TWO BAPTISMS
It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.
DO YOU KNOW JESUS?
It’s important to acknowledge his human side.
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Year of the Suffering Servant: Getting more out of Sunday Mass in the Year of Mark
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Redemptorist Pilgrimage
Visiting the sites associated with St. Alphonsus & St. Gerard in Southern Italy.
May 26th to June 2nd 2012.
Based at the Hotel Michelangelo, Sorrento (Half Board)
Cost: €879.00 per person sharing.
Places are limited so early booking is advised.
For further details contact
Joe Walsh Tours, 143 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2 (01) 2410816
or
Fr. Dan Baragry C.Ss.R. at dan.baragry@redemptorists.ie
To End With!
"The authentic self is the soul made visible."
SARAH BAN BREATHNACH