CRISIS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
A few weeks ago the Catholic Bishop of Cork called a crisis meeting for his Diocese of Cork and Ross. This is in response to the crisis in vocations the Catholic church is having. In other words, they are finding it almost impossible to attract in young men to the priesthood. On the ground in Cork it is having a very real effect on the day to day running of the local Catholic parish churches. A number of my older relatives have been talking about various Masses being cancelled because there aren't enough priests to go around, not to mention how numbers attending Mass are falling constantly.
There are now plans to amalgamate some parishes and give more power to the lay committees who are increasingly being asked to take over much of the priest's non-sacramental role. Most of the priests in the Diocese of Cork and Ross are now over 55 with almost no younger men coming in to fill their shoes. The congregations at most Masses are also mainly older people, especially within the City and commuting belt. The only exception to this very strong trend is among the large Polish immigrant community, who still take their Catholicism very seriously, with many being very willing to walk for quite a long time in all weathers in order to attend Mass. However they tend to go to their own Polish language Masses and so not really have as much of an impact as their numbers would otherwise allow.
How should we as local Christians respond to this situation? Especially those of us who have originally come from a Catholic background and are now involved in the non-denominational fellowships often known as the New Irish Church Movement. Well, the temptation for some may be to gloat and say "I told you so!" How many of us saw the writing on the wall years ago and began to make plans to ensure a spiritual future for ourselves and our children. But...this attitude gets nobody nowhere. It's hurtful to those within the Catholic church and brings a harsh & cold atmosphere and attitude into our own gatherings. How much better to approach this situation another way.
Rejoice at the number of younger, and older, men and women who are both able and willing to get involved in the running of our local fellowships. Thank God regularly that we are seeing continued growth in spiritual terms and in numerical terms, not least the many young people who are coming to personal faith in Jesus Christ! And recognise, that most of those who are now committed to their local Catholic church take their faith seriously. Gone are the many who once went to Mass only because they wanted to keep in with society around them. This in effect means two things.
1. The religious "hold" that kept many from even listening to the Gospel is now largely gone. At times this hold seemed to have a dark spiritual force behind it resulting in many young Irish Christians being fairly badly persecuted in the 70's and 80's.
2. Those who remain within the Catholic church are now a lot more sincere, and humble, and willing to respect those from a different faith, even those, who like me have "turned". It seems to me we are no longer regarded as lepers, though some older people still cling on to this attitude.
This all means that from an Evangelistic point of view it is now a lot easier to "out" yourself as a Believer in Cork, and we have a far better chance of showing some a more excellent way and leading them to a personal relationship with Jesus. It also means that in many different forums we now have a voice that is accepted, whether that is with local Government, NGO's, Media, or simply renting a hall.
I don't rejoice in any faith community's crises, but I very much welcome the positive changes it brings to my life, to the lives of our community at Grace, and to our children's lives, as we follow Jesus as Christians in Cork during 2008 and beyond!
There are now plans to amalgamate some parishes and give more power to the lay committees who are increasingly being asked to take over much of the priest's non-sacramental role. Most of the priests in the Diocese of Cork and Ross are now over 55 with almost no younger men coming in to fill their shoes. The congregations at most Masses are also mainly older people, especially within the City and commuting belt. The only exception to this very strong trend is among the large Polish immigrant community, who still take their Catholicism very seriously, with many being very willing to walk for quite a long time in all weathers in order to attend Mass. However they tend to go to their own Polish language Masses and so not really have as much of an impact as their numbers would otherwise allow.
How should we as local Christians respond to this situation? Especially those of us who have originally come from a Catholic background and are now involved in the non-denominational fellowships often known as the New Irish Church Movement. Well, the temptation for some may be to gloat and say "I told you so!" How many of us saw the writing on the wall years ago and began to make plans to ensure a spiritual future for ourselves and our children. But...this attitude gets nobody nowhere. It's hurtful to those within the Catholic church and brings a harsh & cold atmosphere and attitude into our own gatherings. How much better to approach this situation another way.
Rejoice at the number of younger, and older, men and women who are both able and willing to get involved in the running of our local fellowships. Thank God regularly that we are seeing continued growth in spiritual terms and in numerical terms, not least the many young people who are coming to personal faith in Jesus Christ! And recognise, that most of those who are now committed to their local Catholic church take their faith seriously. Gone are the many who once went to Mass only because they wanted to keep in with society around them. This in effect means two things.
1. The religious "hold" that kept many from even listening to the Gospel is now largely gone. At times this hold seemed to have a dark spiritual force behind it resulting in many young Irish Christians being fairly badly persecuted in the 70's and 80's.
2. Those who remain within the Catholic church are now a lot more sincere, and humble, and willing to respect those from a different faith, even those, who like me have "turned". It seems to me we are no longer regarded as lepers, though some older people still cling on to this attitude.
This all means that from an Evangelistic point of view it is now a lot easier to "out" yourself as a Believer in Cork, and we have a far better chance of showing some a more excellent way and leading them to a personal relationship with Jesus. It also means that in many different forums we now have a voice that is accepted, whether that is with local Government, NGO's, Media, or simply renting a hall.
I don't rejoice in any faith community's crises, but I very much welcome the positive changes it brings to my life, to the lives of our community at Grace, and to our children's lives, as we follow Jesus as Christians in Cork during 2008 and beyond!
posted by Tom Burke(Tomás De Búrca) at
Friday, February 29, 2008
2 Comments:
Dear Brother, I do agree with you in your thoughts about the "Church" but we must remember that we are the "Church" the body of Christ while we may not worship in the same pew we are after all the same family. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Eph 4:4-7
Interesting to know.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home