CHRISTOPHER HANAFIN,
Sir, - I read Emmet Moorehouse's letter of February 4th in which he states that large sections of Irish youth reject the legitimacy of the Catholic Church as a moral teacher and "withdraw their consent to be morally governed by them."
He also states that "many Irish people have judged the Church and have concluded that it is of no real significance in our lives."
A somewhat similar opinion appears in the current edition of The Furrow in an article by Brendan Cooney entitled "What Crisis?"
Father Cooney is a member of St Patrick's Missionary Society, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow and is at present based in a Dublin inner-city parish. This priest has credentials. He is a member of the executive of the National Conference of Priests of Ireland, of the Irish Missionary Union and of CORI. He has consulted with bishops, priests, religious and laity in all 26 diocese.
He says those consulted expressed concern about the waning influence of the Catholic Church in people's lives and its "seeming inability to communicate with huge numbers of its flock". He tells how, in his own inner city parish, fewer than 5 per cent of parishioners are attending Sunday Mass. An even lower number of children, from the parish schools, primary and secondary, attend church. He predicts that the poor Mass attendance figures in Dublin and other cities will spread to rural areas.
He states: "Many eminent churchmen and others here will tell you that there is no crisis in the Church in Ireland or in Dublin. . In the eyes of many priests (as well as moderate middle-of-the-road Catholic laity), Vatican officials and the Church leaders appear to be in denial of the Church's own data".
Regarding the decline in vocations, he asks what is the point of bringing in priests from Africa and the Philippines in the future when there may be no congregations in the churches. He speaks of vibrant, dynamic Catholic churches in Africa, the Philippines, South America and areas of the US where lay leaders organise and run the parishes for many weeks at a time without a priest. So Father Cooney's answer to the crisis is to get the laity involved.
Cardinal Connell and other Church leaders will read his article in The Furrow, but they are no doubt, in denial that there is a crisis. I think, myself, that the efforts of feminists and liberals since the 1960s have led to the passing of much legislation which has greatly relieved the sufferings of women and children; but, just as there can be bigoted Catholics, there can also be bigoted liberals and feminists who would wish society to slide into anarchy.
So at least one function of a revitalised, reformed Church would be to act as a bulwark against the worst excesses of liberalism and feminism by preaching the basic message of Christ.
The experts tell us we are all spiritual beings, so maybe religion will survive after all, but someone urgently needs to go after the "lost sheep". - Yours, etc.,
CHRISTOPHER HANAFIN, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare.