Madam, – It is time that the beleaguered citizens of this country stood up and re-enfranchised themselves both in the political and spiritual spheres.
It is time to re-claim control of the institutions that are supposedly there to serve us and not themselves.
From a spiritual perspective, I have come to the conclusion, that for those of us who find ourselves out in the wilderness but who still wish to actively participate in a compassionate, equitable and open Catholic Church, reflecting the true Christian message of Christ, we will need to completely sever ties with the Vatican. We first need to cast-off the superfluous baggage of doctrinal dictates gathered over many centuries that can be found nowhere in the message of Jesus. This baggage has left a myriad of Catholics marginalised – women, gays, the laity, many religious and most poignantly,those countless victims of sexual and physical abuse.
For me, the time has come to empower ourselves as “Irish Catholics” and re-define what it means to us. Does the church in Ireland continue to tie itself to the Roman Catholic Church and the many blatant non-Christian practices that permeate it, or does it now define itself as a true Christian church, holding all that is good and true within Catholicism by re-creating itself?
Is now the time to unburden ourselves from the man-made dictates and allow priests – male and female to marry or remain celibate as they feel their vocation dictates, open the doors to all, suspend moral judgment, be community-based allowing the laity to play a fuller role and abolish the hierarchical structure as we currently know it? Is this a schism? Yes! We need only look at the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches to know it has happened before and has worked.
One wonders, is there enough interest or will among the Irish Catholic laity and religious to even consider an alternative, or are we all so wearied and disenchanted with “Catholicism” as we have seen it practised, that apathy will win the day? – Yours, etc,