The Collapse of the Irish Church?

Maybe I’m wrong, I am wrong too often, but in my experience growing up Catholic, it was assumed we had faith. We weren’t fed for knowledge, not that the Eucharist isn’t spiritual food, but catechism and theology classes were useless as we never cracked a Bible or a catechism. We studied “relevance” and psychology. I didn’t hear of Aquinas or Augustine until I was much older. When a non-Catholic explained to me about Jesus’ death and resurrection, well, I knew the story but didn’t think it was personal. Then he quoted “Behold I stand at the door and knock…” and I realized what I’d been missing. I didn’t have that personal faith or relationship with Jesus. He didn’t say I couldn’t be Catholic or a single negative about the Church, just gave me a Bible to read and grow. I was astounded that many stories I had heard and the readings at Mass were really there and alive! My heart is broken for my grandparents native Ireland. I pray the Lord opens doors!

Greetings father I'm a mexican immigrant raised protestant however I wish you many blessings in your travels and continue to enjoy your content

I'm from Nigeria, and I completely agree with the sincere submissions here. There's a lot of lessons to take home if we must continue to be signs of the Kingdom of God in our local communities. The toxicity of power and clericalism may degenerate to a soulless Church identified with buildings and structures. This was not the kind intended by the Eternal groom. Pray also for the Church in Nigeria ❤❤❤

I’m also coming back to the faith of my childhood. I’m 59 and falling in love with the catholic faith 🙏🏻💚

An Irish priest told me large Irish familes tried to give "one son" at least to the church like a gift. When his brother dropped out, he went but it didn't seem like a "calling" more an obligation.

Hi guys I'm a Singaporean catholic married to an Irish woman living in Ireland for the last 5 years. I am 36 and when I attend mass, all you see are mostly people above 60 that attend mass often. It's sad that the majority of 16 - 50 year olds who are baptized catholic don't bother about going to church anymore. It's also more troubling that the mother and baby homes as well as the industrial schools in the past are thrown under the rug and barely any clergy was held responsible? It's crazy I don't know how to keep a strong faith when everything around me feels like fading away.

Thanks Fr Casey from Singapore. This video gives me hope, for my husband to return to the church..a man of Irish descent, living in Australia, and was hurt by the Church. Praying in gratitude for Ireland, and you and the team for this video and all your productions. ❤

I’m in the west of Ireland, Father, and my churches aren’t empty. Lunchtime mass during the week is busy, Sunday mass is busy. We do have a vocations problem. The sheer scale of Catholic control over Irish society for decades was extremely negative, as we had many clergy who did not live the Gospels. There was fear, horrific abuse, and misogyny, and the Church essentially had final say on many state decisions. Even in more recent times, the seminaries were exposed as abusive places rife with active homosexuality. There are many other factors relating to loss of faith in a modern, wealthy country as Ireland is now. But the church really missed a beat in Ireland and now there is a void for many where that should be. They attempt to fill it with ‘stuff’ which is never enough.

I hear people in the us say "churches are empty" but they haven't been to Mass in Spanish where it's always standing room only.

As a very catholic Irish teenager in Ireland I’d also like to say there became a very relaxed idea towards teaching Christianity from parents because you learn it school but unfortunately in our catholic ethos schools were taught close to nothing about Christianity but rather everything Islam because it gets more points in our state exams but asking my classmates and peers they also agree with me that they never even considered being religious because we’re not being taught it and not being taught the amazing things the church did for us and saved us from we’re only told about the tradgys committed by people who don’t represent God , the rise of secularism has also lead to lack of passion or care to preserving our own culture I can’t tell you how many times people have been confused when I mention our culture and Catholicism nurtured it and saved thousands of lives from just that alone

It is truly a shame to see all this happening not just there but also around the world this is not just limited to the Catholic faith but others as well. As a member of the clergy myself in the theologian, unfortunately people are being misguided and misled from entities of this world and not of this world this world. It is not just up to the clergy, it is up to the congregation to spread the good news of Jesus Christ throughout the land. God bless you my brother and thank you for this wonderful presentation. Yours in Christ. Minister Timothy Michael Chicago Illinois

Bro, that Dublin to NYC portal is wild

I began watching this with cynicism, I have to be honest. I thought 'Oh here we go, another American telling us how great they are and how bad we are'. But I was startled out of my negativity by the simple, powerful, sight of you walking in your habit along the streets of my childhood. What was once a common sight in Ireland is almost never seen now. I was also impressed by the calm and insightful way you spoke about what has been happening to us here. The Clericalism was appalling and it wasn't just the abuse of the position either. Clericalism effectively removed you from the community you were supposed to serve. In the 1980's I spent a few years as a Monk involved in education. As soon as I received my habit, everyone's attitude to me changed, including that of my parents. In so many ways real encounters stopped - you were treated with deference all the time. That's not real or healthy. But the reality of Clericalism gave many people the opportunity to walk away from the church - you referenced this in your - 'That was them, we're not like them, so it's not my fault or responsibility' ( I am paraphrasing there). But the truth was, that, in the case of the mother and baby homes, everyone knew they were there and now many people act like it was a big secret, which they knew nothing about. I am one of those who stayed, by choice and I am sure, through the guidance, protection and support of The Holy Spirit. Since I retired two years ago, my parish priest has asked me on a number of occasions to get more involved in the life of the parish. Within me, I find the biggest resistance to this are the thoughts and feelings which are the legacy of Clericalism. Becoming more active in my parish has brought me into more connected contact with the priests of my Diocese and what I encountered has amazed me. Without realising it, I had expected to meet men who were beaten, exhausted and dispirited. Instead the people I meet are filled with joy, energy, commitment and a deep seated desire to be a sign of the Love and Mercy of God in the world. There are two reactions within the Irish church to what has happened. On the one hand there are those who say that the only way forward is to go back to the old ways before Vatican II. On the other hand there are those who look to the leadership of Pope Francis who constantly talks about stuff on a human level and looks to the Gospels as a roadmap back to being authentic. Your reference to our troubled history and connecting it to the issue of Secularism intrigued me - being Catholic was seen as a way to be different to the British who weren't and once the Peace process took root in the 1990's, many people no longer had that reason to be in the Catholic church. I had never thought of that before and of course it takes an 'Outsider' (if you will forgive the use of the term please) to spot something that we might not see at all. Another issue is the standard of Catechesis we received in the schools. Many people say that this was the fault of Vatican II, but I don't agree. We were 'guided' in the Faith by both men and Women who didn't have faith themselves, but who didn't know that. They were Catholic because the world around them was, not because they had a personal commitment to a relationship with God. You can't pass on something which you don't possess. In my few years as monk, I met men and women who had spent a lifetime in the Consecrated Life because their parents sent them there, not because they had a vocation, but because there were too many children at home and sending some off to 'the Brothers or the Nuns' was the done thing. In most cases these men and women were deeply unhappy people. So, where is the Church in Ireland now? Well it is smaller, poorer and leaner than ever before, but despite appearances we are being led by priests who have a deep personal connection and understanding of the values of The Kingdom of God. We are not lost, even if we are still not fully sure of the way forward yet. Thank you for this post Father and for the time, energy and prayer you clearly brought to bear in compiling it.

The story of the catholic church in Quebec is almost the same, with the church collapsing almost overnight, please visit us someday.

I appreciate your reasonable thoughts on beautiful churches Communication /word of God will be the main priority for with present generation & & continue to coming generations for revival 🎉❤❤ From India 🎉🎉❤❤

My first cousin once removed fits the three sons trope. His eldest brother got the carpenters yard from his dad, the middle child got a mechanics apprenticeship financed by a field being sold and the youngest a then closeted gay man became a priest. He specialised in providing clerical support to those in hospice care. He eventually came out, left the priesthood and got married to his husband Patrice, a lovely Frenchman. But his priesthood did allow him to discover his vocation in life, giving care to the dying. He is now a therapist who specialises in counselling to the dying and their families.

Dear Fr. Casey, while I'm with you on clericalism, and also on priestly abuse, we must not leave out the institutional abuse of many Irish Catholic organizations against young women and their babies. While not difficult to understand when a mob organization is behind such terrible sins and the millions of lives affected, I tremble like the angels just to think why so many Catholics in positions of authority can rationalize these ills and not take ownership for them. Good point on how Irish hierarchy became the power behind the throne and really enjoyed it. However, this is a major problem throughout the world, as well as the Vatican, and explains why Pope Francis is being attacked from many places inside and outside the Church. I also believe that in discussing the Church's trust problems not only in Ireland, but also around the world, clericalism needs to be looked into much deeper to uncover the monstrosities caused by them. There's still much more evil to be uncovered under this topic. Please continue to pursue this topic, plus in your own humble way, to encourage fellow priests in various levels of authority, to walk the talk when it comes to taking ownership for past Church sins, instead of continuing to look down at the laity and expecting us to continue to seeing them as something special. Please remind them, especially bishops, that simply saying that the worst is way behind us, is an insult to our intelligence and an insult to our Lord and the power in Heaven. While God is merciful and wants all of us to repent, I firmly believe He was thinking about Church abuses and those responsible when He thundered against those responsible constant Pharisaism in His homeland.

I suspect the Irish Church got far too close to the Irish state, that never ends well.

The COVER UP of the sexual abuse played a huge part.

As usual great video, I'm an Irish Catholic from Dublin and I'd love to discuss this topic with you at any point. I've lived right through this development and I believe I have a grasp of the topic you might find interesting. Also as an aside , sorry I missed you visiting my hometown, I would have loved to show you around to try and repay what you have given me through your channel these last few years 🙂🙏