Category Archives: Religion

Ireland’s warehouses become houses of worship

Fast-growing religious minorities in Ireland are using warehouses and other industrial buildings as worship space, according to a pair of stories by Colette Colfer in The Irish Times. The first story says,

Warehouses are used by migrant Pentecostal and Muslim groups as well as sometimes by Orthodox Christians and other religious denominations. Renting them is affordable, particularly during the economic downturn, and objections by the public on the basis of planning or parking are rare.

In a bit a contradiction, however, the second story says government officials soon might begin restricting such activity in Fingal, north of Dublin city center, which “has one of the highest population growth rates in the country and recorded the largest increase of non-Irish nationals in the 2011 census.”

The ruins of Doon Church near Ballybunion, County Kerry. My grandfather was baptized here in 1894. At my last visit in 2012 the building was being used to store turf and farm equipment.

The ruins of Doon Church near Ballybunion, County Kerry, where my grandfather was baptized in 1894. At my last visit in 2012 the building was being used to store turf and farm equipment.

While the number of Roman Catholics in Ireland reached a record 3.86 million, the proportion of population practicing the faith dropped to a 130-year low of 84.2 percent, down from the 1961 high of 94.9 percent. As noted in this press release for the 2011 census:

The twenty years between 1991 and 2011 has seen significant increases in the non-Catholic population driven by not only growing numbers with no religion but also large increases in the religions of immigrants from Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.

The use of warehouses or vacant retail space for religious practice is fairly common in the United States. In reporting about commercial real estate for the Tampa Bay Business Journal, I’ve met several landlords who were happy to get rental income from religious groups, even if they had to offer the space at below market rates.

Eventually, as once established congregations move on or die off, their church buildings come on the market like any other piece of real estate. Here’s a list of 13 church properties for sale in Tampa. The churches are either bought by new congregations, or the buildings are renovated for new uses such as art galleries, restaurants…even a turf shed.

Marching in Ireland

Two big marches occurred in Ireland over the weekend, one a political protest in the heart of Dublin, the other a Protestant parade in rural County Donegal.

  • Some 7,000 Orangemen paraded in Rossnowlagh, the only such July 12th parade in the Republic of Ireland. “The march was highlighted as a tourist attraction for the first time as it received the official backing of the Government’s tourism initiative aimed at attracting the Irish diaspora to the country during 2013,” The Irish Times reported.
  • An estimated 35,000 anti-abortion protesters packed the streets of Dublin ahead of a crucial vote this week. Some carried signs that said, “Kill the bill! Not the child!” The Washington Post reported that speakers demanded that the government put its bill to a national referendum.

July 12

Not Northern Ireland. RTE photo of Orange Order parade in the Republic of Ireland.

Pope John Paul II to be canonized 34 years after Ireland trip

News from the Vatican that Pope Francis has agreed to canonize Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII before the end of the year has prompted The Irish Times to republish several photos of JPII’s September 1979 visit to Ireland, including the image below at Clonmacnoise. CatholicIreland.net also posts a collection of quotations from JPII during the trip. This one covers the broad span of the Catholic church’s experience in Ireland:

I am thinking of how many times, across how many centuries, the Eucharist has been celebrated. How many and varied the places where the Masses have been offered, in stately mediaeval and in splendid modern cathedrals, in early monastic and in Modern Churches; at Mass rock in the glens and forests by hunted priests, in poor thatched-covered chapels, for a people poor in worldly goods but rich in the things of the Spirit., in “wake houses” or “station houses” or at great open-air hostings of the faithful – on top of Croagh Patrick and at Lough Derg.

Pope

What would Saint John Paul II have to say about the church’s problems in Ireland today, from child sexual abuse to declining Mass attendance? At least he might take some comfort in knowing that many Polish immigrants in Ireland are keeping the faith.

Authors interview: The Secret Gospel of Ireland

About a year ago brothers James Behan and Leo Behan published The Secret Gospel of Ireland: The Untold Story of How Science and Democracy Descended From a Remarkable Form of Christianity That Developed in Ancient Ireland.

In the process of converting from paganism to Christianity, the ancient Irish developed a remarkable approach to the Christian faith that would one day make science, democracy, and our modern world possible. …With their powerful brand of “Irish Christianity,” the monks of Ireland transformed Europe and produced the key to unlocking the awesome potential of the Christian faith.

The Behan brothers provided my Irish-American blog with two complimentary copies of the book, which is available at Amazon.com and other outlets. I found the book well-conceived and enjoyable to read. I shared both copies with two priest friends of mine who vouched for the theological presentation.

My short email interview with the Behan Brothers follows below the book image.

secretgospelireland01

MH: What was the most challenging part of the research and/or writing?

BB: Definitely deciding what to leave out. In writing a narrative history that spans more than a thousand years, we were confronted with a mountain of information, most of which wasn’t relevant to the story. Moreover, we realized that most events don’t lead to significant change. So we were looking for the ideas that moved civilization along toward our modern world, which required a great deal of discernment. In fact, when we started, we weren’t sure how Ireland fit into the story or where it would end. We truly followed a trail of ideas that generation after generation built upon and changed. What we ended up with was a narrative history that tells the story of how science and democracy developed out of Christianity and Ireland’s pivotal role in that process.

Continue reading →

Kenny echoes Kennedy

“I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me.”

Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in a September 1960 campaign speech to a group of Protestant ministers.

Kennedy

“I am proud to stand here as a public representative, as a Taoiseach who happens to be a Catholic, but not a Catholic Taoiseach.”

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny in a June 12 speech to the Dáil, or parliament, regarding his sponsorship of a proposed law changing Ireland’s abortion law.

Kenny

Pro-life supporters rally in Dublin, Washington, D.C.

Pro-life campaigners rallied over the weekend in Dublin and Washington, D.C. against the Irish government’s proposal to change the nation’s restrictive abortion law.

Estimates of the Merrion Square crowd range from at least 20,000 to more than 40,000. About two-dozen people gathered outside the Irish embassy in the U.S. capitol.

In Ireland, spokesperson Caroline Simmons of the Pro Life Campaign said:

The turnout today shows that the middle ground of Irish opinion is increasingly concerned about the Government’s abortion legislation. There are people here who never attended a pro-life event before. The message is getting through that this legislation is not restrictive or about saving women and children’s lives, despite the repeated claims by the Taoiseach and his Government.

picture of crowd vigil(1)

June 9 rally in Dublin. Image from Pro Life Campaign

At the core of the debate is when to allow exceptions to Ireland’s restrictive abortion law to save the life of the mother. The issue flared last fall when a woman having a miscarriage died for lack of the procedure. The government’s bill is perhaps most controversial because it allows for abortion when the woman says she is suicidal.

The government’s vote is expected later this month or July. Prime minister Enda Kenny has said he will not allow ministers of his Fine Gael government a “free vote” outside the party voting block, putting him further at odds with Catholic church leaders.

Kenny delivers BC commencement address

Irish PM Enda Kenny has delivered the Boston College commencement address, telling graduates: “Live long and deep and comfortably in your own skin.”

His appearance at the Catholic school drew extra attention due to Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s decision to boycott the annual rite, where he traditionally would give the benediction.

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Kenny at Boston College. Photo from stamfordadvocate.com

O’Malley has accused Kenny of “aggressively promoting abortion legislation” in Ireland. The cardinal and other church leaders say Ireland’s pending abortion legislation creates a slippery slope toward eliminating the country’s prohibition against the procedure.

A committee in Dublin is hearing testimony this week on the proposed bill. Supporters say it keeps the abortion prohibition in place while clarifying exceptions involving the life of the mother, including thoughts of suicide.

Kenny did not address the abortion controversy in his May 20 remarks at Boston College. The Irish Independent described the 26-minute speech as “rousing.” Here’s a link to the transcript.

During his weekend visit to Boston, the taoiseach also spoke at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, which is joining U.S. and Irish remembrances of JFK’s June 1963 trip to Ireland. Kenny also laid a wreath at the site of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Ireland divided by bitter debate on abortion law

A government committee will begin hearing testimony May 17 on proposed abortion legislation. The Irish Times reports on who will and who will not testify.

Debate over abortion began raging in the republic after the October death of a 31-year-old Indian woman refused the procedure during a miscarriage.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and other proponents of the law say it will maintain Ireland’s prohibition on abortion but clarify exceptions as to when the procedure can take place to protect the life of the pregnant woman, including if she has thoughts of suicide.

The Catholic Church and other opponents see the law as a slippery slope toward ending the nation’s prohibition against abortion. More than 5,000 people attended an anti-abortion rally at the Marian shrine in Knock, County Mayo, at the beginning of the month, but the church’s opposition seems to have only emboldened its critics, including Kenny.

The controversy has crossed the Atlantic to Boston College, where Kenny is invited to address graduates May 20, prompting Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s refusal to attend the event.

The Irish government has until the end of July to pass the law before its scheduled summer recess.

Fianna Fail to debate “church gate” collections

There’s been a lot of reporting about Ireland becoming a more secular country in general and Catholics “fleeing the church“ in particular.

But if fewer people are attending Mass and other religious services, Fianna Fail apparently hasn’t got the message. The republican party founded by Eamon De Valera and other opponents of the 1921 Free State Treaty continues to collect money outside of churches.

The Irish Independent reports:

The lucrative money-spinner outside mostly Catholic chapels across the country netted close to a quarter of a million euro for the party coffers last year alone. The cash has made a huge contribution towards halving Fianna Fail’s bank debts since being ejected from government [in 2011].

Now some party members want to stop so-called church gate collections.

“It’s about time political parties gave up church collections,” the Independent quoted Galway County Councillor Malachy Noone. “It is not the place to do it. It is not in the best of taste.”

Supporters of the practice said it doesn’t align the party solely with the Catholic church. “We are not fussy what church we collect outside, we will collect outside any church,” another party official told the newspaper.

Party leaders are set to debate the issue at a weekend conference in Dublin, just as they also prepare to begin their annual three-month church gate collection across the country.

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1998 FF ”church gate” ad from Irish Election Literature blog

Ireland joins world reaction to Pope Benedict’s abdication

Ireland joined the rest of the world in reacting to Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to step aside at the end of the month.

Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny had nothing but praise for the 85-year-old pontiff.

“Pope Benedict has given strong leadership and great service to the Church and her people for many decades,” Kenny said. “I know that all of their thoughts and prayers will be with the holy father at this time, and also with those who will shortly gather in conclave to choose his successor.”

That’s quite a change of tune from July 2011, when Kenny made headlines with his biting criticism of the Vatican’s handling of priest/child sex abuse scandal in Ireland. He accused the Holy See of “dysfunction, disconnection, elitism — the narcissism — that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day.”

Last September, Kenny drew criticism for checking his mobile phone during a meeting with the pope.

The Irish Times provided additional reaction from Irish leaders about the pope’s decision.

Benedict never visited Ireland, though it was rumored he might attend the 50th Eucharistic Congress in Dublin last June.

“It’s a pity he never made it to Ireland,” David Quinn, director of the Iona Institute writes in a thoughtful reflection on the pope’s legacy in Ireland. “Had he come here I am convinced that no matter how much controversy there might have been in the lead-up to his visit, he would have won most of us over once he arrived…”

There’s never been an Irish or Irish-American pope. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, at 25-to-1 odds, is considered to have the best chance of being elevated among cardinals from Ireland or of Irish descent.