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Catholics abandon Mass in their droves according to new opinion poll

Church teachings also under threat in survey

PATRICK COUNIHAN,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, June 5, 2012, 7:34 AM

Updated Tuesday, June 5, 2012, 7:34 AM

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New survey shows Catholic Church in Ireland is in dire straits

Photo by Google Images

The Irish people have given up on the basic principles of Catholicism according to a new survey.

The latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion poll shows that the majority of Catholics in Ireland no longer attend Mass.

The survey also says that significant numbers ‘do not believe’ in key elements of the church’s teachings.

The poll results have been published by the newspaper to coincide with the 50th Eucharistic Congress of the Catholic Church in Dublin this week.

The paper says the results show belief in the church is strongest in rural areas but falls off significantly in urban areas.

However, despite the fallout from clerical sex abuse scandals, it also says that a significant proportion of the country, including non-Catholics, believe the church has had a broadly positive influence on Ireland.

A total of 1,000 voters aged 18 and over took part in the survey with 89 per cent of respondents Catholic. Non-religious accounted for six per cent with Protestants at three per cent.

Less than a third of Catholics, 31 per cent, said they attended Mass at least once a week but more than two-thirds attended services far less frequently.

Some 39 per cent told the survey that they either never or very occasionally went to Mass while 20 per cent said they attended every two to three months and 8 per cent went once a fortnight.

The paper also reports that: “When it comes to the church’s teachings, many Catholics do not subscribe to key tenets such as transubstantiation. Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) believe the blessing of bread and wine during Mass only represents the body and blood of Christ.

“Just over a quarter believe it is transformed (26 per cent).”

The Irish Times also says there is division on the issue of the church’s role in education with Labor Party supporters more likely to support Government moves to loosen the church’s control of primary schools.

Nster.com

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33 Comments

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peterson | Jun 10, 2012, 09:07 PM EDT

Persecution of the Christians has been predicted in the Bible clearing the way to the second coming !!

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eiriamach | Jun 09, 2012, 09:01 AM EDT

hermitTalker gives us a crackpot metaphor, not quite biblical: "VESSELS of CLAY Paul says, so cracked pots are accepted." The prophet Jeremiah heard differently from God (18:4-10): "So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.... [The Lord] said, 'Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does? Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.'" The cracked vessels of clay are being broken down and tossed again onto the wheel. If the Roman Church survives, it will need to be reshaped from raw clay, its officials will learn justice at the hands of the potter, the sovereign maker and re-maker, and they will learn that their Pharisaical rules and judgments are not God's. For as Paul actually wrote, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us" (2Cor:4:7).

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Gearoid4 | Jun 06, 2012, 04:55 PM EDT

@ByTheBay, Your prognostications concerning the global Church are so wide of the mark in terms of accuracy, that I wouldn't know where to start to correct them. You talk of US Catholics leaving the Church in "droves". I will not disagree with you, as there appears to have been heavy losses in terms of defections. But this is far from the complete picture. The Catholic Church by Her nature is both holy and universal, and encompasses the whole globe. The Faith has grown exponentially in Africa, Asia, and has remained stable in Central and Southern America. It just seems that only the western nations are experiencing a severe drought in terms of the Christian harvest. The seeds may need to be replanted in old territory where generations of bumper spiritual crops grew before. Pope Benedict XV11, later this year, will launch the New Evangelization Project, which will be launched across Europe and further afield. Let us hope that the crops of field will sprout successfully again where formerly there were just weeds and stones.

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hermitTalker | Jun 06, 2012, 03:05 PM EDT

Is it me or are the dominantly negative comments on everything Irish and Catholic on IC coming from sour-disillusioned people who do not know the Bible - Jesus picked 12 who sold, denied and abandoned Him except for John at the Cross but once the Holy Spirit came they did well. HE and Paul and the other NT writers made it clear that SIN was sick and dead in the midst of the Church that was very alive and well then and has been since. Grow up and get over your father complexes, stop blaming and exaggerating. I hear birds singing outside my window all day long and come on here to read supposedly mature adults running off at the mouth about God's plan to allow weak humans to carry the precious Treasure of His Love. VESSELS of CLAY Paul says, so cracked pots are accepted. Argue with God, Father Son and Holy Spirit. HE decided it that way. AND get your actual facts straight and do not rely on the general media for "truth, justice or facts" until you do your own research as well whether about Church attendance, the bishops of the US and immigration or Enda Kenny's Vaticanology or who should be archbishop of Armagh. I told them Sean Brady was cleaning up the Church's Sxxx -which is not as stinky as is reported- while they could start with fixing the mess with the rural septic tanks ( and the budget, and the Croke Park accord, made four years ago when the Celtic Tiger was a tiny kitten pretending to roar and take the heaviest burden off the most vulnerable, stop re-hiring retired civil servants to bust the budget and £200 K a year consultants when they were elected to do the job.

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Bythebay | Jun 06, 2012, 12:18 PM EDT

Catholics in the US have abandoned the Church in their droves. The Catholic Church is on its last legs and the boys in Rome in denial.

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seamus60 | Jun 06, 2012, 09:04 AM EDT

PJOSHEA. Seems more like the church has abandoned Christ himself.

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Lew | Jun 06, 2012, 08:12 AM EDT

We're finally waking from the nightmare that snake pit of an institution inflicted on us for centuries. Ireland, despite its economic woes (which are small potatoes in comparison to what we've dealt with in our recent past) is fresher, more outward looking, better educated and altogether a more positive place to be than ever before. I salute Enda Kenny wholeheartedly for his stance on the Catholic Church. What we need now is to scrub all reference to religion from our Constitution to reflect the society we have become.

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GeorgeDillon | Jun 06, 2012, 02:34 AM EDT

mairint: " A million people.". Good point. There are only two world religions which could attract a million people. The Catholic Church and Islam. And both are increasing in numbers throughout the world.

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GeorgeDillon | Jun 06, 2012, 02:33 AM EDT

Jcmolloy: "even though I do not attend Mass, I am and always will be Catholic". No, you're not. You're a hypocrite.

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Seanmor | Jun 05, 2012, 10:14 PM EDT

mopic: It is my understanding that illegal aliens are entitled to free health care in emergency rooms, but it is my responsibility to pay my own bills at the V.A. hospital. Many Bishops, politicians and journalists call Illegal aliens immigrants and make no distinction betweeen them and those of us who entered the U.S. with permanent visas. Before I left Ireland as a teenager, I learned in the Catechism that "We must obey the temporal rulers and all those who are in high station, that we may lead quiet and peaceful lives. Now the R.C. bishops in the U.S. seem to be rewarding those who flagrantly violate our immigration laws.

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KatieMurphy | Jun 05, 2012, 08:07 PM EDT

there is little to add here re the insanity of the hierarchu and Benedict that is destroying the church. I think Nostradamous predicted this would happen in this time. Soemone made a good point here which I will expand. ...............Lets have freedom from the den of the molesters and money/power grubbers in the Vatican. Independent churches in each country, even independent churches like the good people of the old order catholic church................And send the vatican a message - put a sign over its gates - For sale, bankruptcy court. Buyer must agree to erect additional sewer plants on this property.

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brianmack | Jun 05, 2012, 07:11 PM EDT

It all started when the Church went from Latin to native languages. Maybe I'm alone but the entire church structure, especially the spiritual aspect, came to a halt. Sad, I miss the ritual but can no longer fathom the political posture and business like operation.

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mopickelly | Jun 05, 2012, 06:46 PM EDT

If I ever leave the Catholic Church her in the U.S., it will probably be over illegal immigration. The church continues to pander to, support and therefore, encourage people to come here illegally. We are losing our national sovereignty. At the very least, 11 million people are in this country illegally. That does not include millions of American born children of illegal aliens or legal immigrants.

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mairint | Jun 05, 2012, 06:39 PM EDT

The Irish Times historically has been anti Catholic. I wonder if the writer attends Mass? Come with me to the 10.30 Missa Cantata this Sunday and I will show you a living, breathing church with predominantly young people. By the way, did you see the photo taken at the Mass in Milan with our Holy Father this past week? A million people. I suppose that news is too Catholic positive?

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phinsman | Jun 05, 2012, 06:03 PM EDT

The Roman Catholic Church is super archaic... very sexist (women can't be priests, bishops, cardinals or the pope), homophobic (even though a significant percentage of the priests are homosexual), requires all priests and nun to not be married, anti-contraception (Who has enough money these days to send 8-14 children to college?), and anti-choice even if the mother's life is at stake in having a baby. I am hoping that some day in the near future, each country that has a Roman Catholic religion will break away and become their own Catholic religion... no longer Roman. Instead... Irish Catholic, American Catholic, Mexican Catholic, French Catholic, etc. They will get to set their own rules for their country's Catholic religion rather than have the dictatorial pope force rules upon everyone.

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