Rome’s Dominion Diminished in Ireland
Hardly any country has been so devoted to Roman Catholicism as Ireland has been for centuries. That devotion has been severely tested in recent decades, with the result, states The Belfast Telegraph, that most “Catholics in the Republic of Ireland do not go to weekly mass, and crucial beliefs of the faith are not believed. Less than a third (31%) attend mass at least once a week . . . [and] when it comes to the Church’s teachings, many Catholics do not subscribe to key tenets such as transubstantiation.” Especially surprising is the report that almost two-thirds of Roman Catholics in the Republic believe that the bread and wine, after being blessed during mass, do not become the body and blood of Christ, but only represent them. Another indicator of the decline is that only 4% of Roman Catholics intend to be present at the fiftieth Eucharistic Congress in Dublin (in 1932, for example, more than a quarter of the population attended).
The decline is largely due, of course, to the abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church – a scandal that is still very much alive. In the last year alone, says The Belfast Telegraph, “more than 230 allegations of clerical abuse have been made to the Catholic Church watchdog” in Ireland, (the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church).
We should pray that those in Ireland whose bondage to Rome has been, or is being broken, be brought to know the full, blessed freedom offered by Christ. “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. . . . If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (Jn 8:36;32). NMR