Irish Primate cynical of modern Ireland

Sean Brady - The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, says Ireland is now better described as "the land of stocks and shares" rather than saints and scholars. Archbishop Brady made the remark in a speech at a Mass celebrated at the Irish national shrine of Our Lady of Knock. The Primate says that the traditional Christian values of Ireland are vanishing amid the economic miracle over the last 15 years.

Modern Ireland has seen a sharp rise in the number of what can be described as new age beliefs and sciences. The services of clairvoyants, to tarot card readings, to homeopathic and acupuncture cure all healing sessions can be engaged in the smallest of rural Irish towns. Services unknown just a generation ago, are all now reserved in a window of opportunity in the feng shui perfect apartments of modern Ireland. At the same time Christian church attendances are down and so the Primate is up in arms and both feet about this state of affairs.

During his sermon at a Mass celebrated at the Irish national shrine of Our Lady of Knock, Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh insisted that "God is still active in people's hearts" despite signs of decline in Catholic practice.
The archbishop acknowledged that the Catholic faith now faces "an increasingly secular, sometimes hostile culture" in Ireland. Once known as land of "saints and scholars," Ireland today is becoming "the land of stocks and shares, of financial success and security," he said.
Nevertheless, Archbishop Brady continued, the need for religious faith is manifest in the insecurity that so many affluent Irish people feel. The signs of that insecurity, he added, are evident in the rising incidence of substance abuse and "a fear of the future" among people who are afraid of losing control over their lives.
The fundamental problem facing Ireland, the archbishop said, is "the failure of a life without God to address the deepest needs of the human spirit." He went on: "For all its human imperfections, it is the Church which still holds the answer to these questions."

Archbishop Brady, the Primate of All Ireland, was celebrating Mass on the feast of the Queenship of Mary to close an annual novena at the Knock sanctuary. The Marian shrine is Ireland's most favored site for pilgrimages, drawing over 1.5 million visitors every year.

Register

The Irish Community have posted
20 REPLIES TO THIS TOPIC
for logged in members to view.

Irish Forums Message Discussion :: Irish Primate cynical of modern Ireland

Irish Primate cynical of modern Ireland