Rediscovering the romance of Christianity

HALF-LISTENING to the radio some days ago I heard a young man say that he was a Christian. Later he said he did not believe in Christ. My ears popped when he said it. The God/ Christ question is a big one. Some days after the radio programme, an elderly lady recalled how her mother once said to her that Irish priests should be sent to the missions. Her mother argued it would teach them what it meant to do a day’s work. The previous day I was chatting with a 22-year-old student. I asked him did he believe in God. He wasn’t sure. I then asked him if he ever goes to Mass. He attends on big feasts.

Those encounters or experiences set me thinking about God, our relationship with God and the state of play of Christianity in Ireland today, with specific reference to the Catholic Church, the church into which I was born and am now a priest. What have been the issues that have energised the institutional church over the last few decades? Contraception, divorce, same sex marriage, abortion.

Okay, the church has also spoken about justice, migration, homelessness. But the real clashing of cymbals, the place where the big rows have happened have been with issues concerning sexuality. You’ll hear of the priest who will refuse Communion to an unmarried mother but I have never heard of a priest refusing Communion to a tax defaulter.

Is it that my theology is not up to speed, is it that I’m missing something? Is there any discussion, any intellectual or spiritual excitement about the presence of God in our lives? Why is it that the likes of the 22-year-old student, with whom I was speaking, is not interested in the God question?

Is it that the media concentrates on sensational stories and sex stories can be sensational? After all, in the current homeless crisis isn’t it Sister Stan, Peter McVerry and Brother Kevin who have put their shoulders to the wheel?

In the October 12 issue of ‘The Tablet’, an English weekly Catholic magazine, English Dominican Timothy Radcliffe says that there is a falling away of faith everywhere. ‘For millions of young people

Christianity - and perhaps especially Catholicism -means nothing at all.’ He admits that it is ‘as outmoded as a typewriter.’

When church leaders blame secularism I tend to scream in annoyance. Might it be that part of the current phenomenon has something to do with priesthood, the training of priests, the role of the priest, relationship between non-ordained and ordained? Pope Francis keeps criticising clericalism.

I have worked as a teacher, a journalist and also in the health sector. In all those jobs I have had a line manager, to whom I was answerable. Does it work like that in priesthood? It’s not been my experience. It seems a priest is fief in his fiefdom, that is of course unless he speaks on one of the taboo subjects. How often do we hear of zany rules made by priests in parishes? But if a priest opens discussion on one of the taboo subjects his bishop/provincial is on top of him before he is finished his breakfast.

Far too often there is no real communication between priests and their bosses. And now a revisionism is setting in, which wants to go back to ‘old ways’. What a shame. Being at the coal face, struggling with the mystery of God is exciting and challenging.

Radcliffe talks about rediscovering the ‘romance of Christianity’