Sir, - Now we are coming to the close of the Christian Jubilee year, it is time to examine the conscience of the Church, particularly in relation to its flock in modern Irish society. Recent surveys published in your paper imply that the Roman Catholic Church enjoys strong public support for its clergy at diocesan level. However, it is my experience in Dublin's north-west inner city that the flock has abandoned its shepherds.
In the markets area alone, the Capuchin order has disposed of its priory and has the Father Mathew Hall up for sale, while the archdiocese is waiting for the highest bid for St Paul's Church, Arran Quay. All in all, the church in this area is in crisis with falling attendances. Prayer books are abandoned for Playstations and "pay to pray" campaigns are deceased. The difficulties faced by the Church in this single parish are symptomatic of the problems, particularly in urban areas.
The future is bleak, with big pension rolls and compensation claims for child abuse flying in the face of God's chosen people. The scramble for souls will make way for temporal tactics in the mouth of the body corporate Celtic tiger.
In fiscal terms, a solution may be found in the German experience, where Church taxes are raised by deduction at source by means of a Government agency. This type of arrangement would facilitate the rescue of the Church and salve the collective conscience of its defaulting congregation, who claim all the benefits of the sacraments without confirmed commitment. - Yours, etc.,
Ken McCue, Coleraine Street, Dublin 7.