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Cork bishop says Church will not reject people who use contraception, have premarital sex

“Church is a refuge for the weak, not a home for the perfect,” says Bishop

KERRY O'SHEA,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Saturday, January 5, 2013, 7:09 AM

Updated Saturday, January 5, 2013, 7:09 AM

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Cork Bishop John Buckley

Photo by Daragh Mc Sweeney / Provision

In an end of the year interview, Cork Bishop John Buckley explained how Church doctrines are meant to serve as ideals and not necessarily standards of membership. Those who do not follow the ideals are still encouraged to come attend Mass.

The Irish Examiner quotes Bishop Buckley’s comments that said, “These are all ideals that we must try to live up to. If you do not meet all these ideals, it does not mean that you cannot take your place at the table the Lord has prepared for you. The Church is a refuge for the weak, not a home for the perfect.”

“I welcome all to the Church and I would encourage everyone to welcome all. I will hear no condemnation or rejection of people. Jesus loves his people no less in their absence,” said Bishop Buckley.

The Cork Bishop went on to speak about the state of religion in Ireland today. He said, “Irish people have a religious instinct. I believe that firmly. People retain that instinct even though they are not regular Mass Goers. They may not attend regularly, but they still retain their affiliations. You will see them at funerals, at communions, even though they may have grown casual or careless.”

Bishop Buckley encouraged people to come to Mass, especially in such hard economic times as Mass and the Church are meant to serve as positive inspirations.

“For all the talk of Mass attendance falling, if the church was a political party,” said Bishop Buckley, “it would form a one-party government with an overwhelming majority in this country.”

“Jesus Christ is a message of hope, a message of joy, we must share it. As Pope Benedict said ‘many people now think the Church is a collection of prohibitions, but it is not. It’s positive, it’s totally different.”

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f-ergo | Jan 09, 2013, 09:35 AM EST

...if the church was a political party,” said Bishop Buckley blah blah My parents are church going Catholics. I don't think they'd be naive enough to confuse a secular entity with a theocratic one, an issue the Church were never too clear about in Ireland.

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mairint | Jan 07, 2013, 07:36 PM EST

Bishop Buckley is way off track on this - leaving one to guess he is past retirement age. Any Catholic knows that they cannot receive the Holy Eucharist when in the state of mortal sin. For a bishop to tell them otherwise is way off course and scandalous. All the nonsense about "the table" is the old V2 talk and goes with the destruction that brought on the Church. The Church was founded by Christ Himself. He sacrificed Himself on the cross to save us and we commemorate that in the Holy sacrifice of the Mass at the Altar. For a bishop to misguide by implying anyone in grievous sin can receive the Body of Christ is simply a tragedy. He should be calling all back to confession away from the sins of fornication and contraception and abortion as Jesus would do. The only real growth in the Church today, and thank God for it, is the Extraordinary Form of the Holy Mass and the traditional sacraments that accompany it. The good news today is a third Cistercian Monastery has reclaimed its rich heritage (Czech Republic this time). This rebirth is occurring across the world from the Americas to Europe to here in Australia (over 20 years here now). Ireland is still behind the times unfortunately as many of the clergy are still caught in the V2 trappings, lingo and Protestantized stage productions that previously were peaceful, reverend and holy Masses,vespers,Benediction etc. The Latin Mass Society in Ireland Mass listings still has too many gaps. Please God that will soon change.

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1950s catholic | Jan 07, 2013, 06:27 PM EST

Catholicism is not the man-made religion invented at Vatican II. It is a religion founded by Jesus Christ Who made the rules that cannot be changed.It is a voluntary religion, you can take it or leave it. Jesus left His Church in the hands of the Apostles and their descendents the bishops. In the sixteenth century many Catholics became Protestants, compromising on many of the tenets of Christ's commandments. At Vatican II many Catholics, including bishops became Protestants. The recent diatribe by Bishop Buckley is proof of that. In Christ's Catholicism, fornicators were guilty of breaking the seventh Commandment. Those who practiced contraception were also guilty of mortal sin. Christ loved the person, but hated the sin. He warned the sinner that without stopping the sin and repenting, they would go to Hell for all eternity. Not to go to Sunday Mass was another mortal sin according to the commandments of the Church. When Bishop Buckley says such sinners can 'take their place at the table the Lord has prepared for us' he says such mortal sinners can receive Holy Communion as. This, the Church teaches, is a worse mortal sin than contraception, fornication or adultry. But for a Bishop to advise mortal sinners - with no mention of regret, repentance or confession - that the Church invites them to receive the Eucharest, is the work of a heretic, not a Catholic bishop.

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stanJames | Jan 07, 2013, 02:30 AM EST

h'e desperate - tehre have been many reports on IC , Irish times, etc etc of how the church has collapsed in Ireland. A perfect example is how almost 75% of the people there support changing the constitution to allow gays to marry...............Sorrry bishop - much too late. if you expect to see someone at mass on sunday bring yourself a mirror.

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Gearoid4 | Jan 06, 2013, 08:37 PM EST

The good bishop has encapsulated the rasion d'etre of the Church which is to save sinners while acknowledging that we are all in need of God's grace. Jesus Himself stated that he was acting in the role of the physician to bring healing to those who were afflicted. We are all human and in need of supernatural grace to move beyond the internal conflicts in our lives.

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bunchesofun | Jan 06, 2013, 05:50 PM EST

That presupposes that the people involved are TRYING to change. Not just people who believe it is their right to do these things and continue to do them. You have to be trying to conform, not in active rebellion.

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Smyrnian | Jan 06, 2013, 03:38 PM EST

Jacers - very well said!

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Madeliene | Jan 06, 2013, 03:15 PM EST

Wonderful! Great and Good Priest!

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McNamara31 | Jan 06, 2013, 11:40 AM EST

“These are all ideals that we must try to live up to. If you do not meet all these ideals, it does not mean that you cannot take your place at the table the Lord has prepared for you. The Church is a refuge for the weak, not a home for the perfect.” Beautifully said and true, wish we had many more like him.

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stanchaz | Jan 06, 2013, 02:20 AM EST

How sooo very Christian of you Bishop. It's about time.

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PiperMac52 | Jan 06, 2013, 02:17 AM EST

It is the Church's job as Christ's appointed body on earth to teach and discern those immutable truths passed down from Christ via the Apostles, sacred tradition and the Scriptures. To reinforce them in changing and debased times throughout history as man is wont to appoint himself arbiter of truth, right and wrong. The church never rejects anyone, they however can reject the church and her teachings albeit with the knowledge that there are consequences if not in this life then in the next.

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jacersagain | Jan 05, 2013, 11:03 PM EST

If people who think the Roman Catholic Church is all about collecting money in baskets or plates in local parishes, they should stop to think of the enormity of freedom for all to enter St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, or any of the other great RCC cathedrals. There are millions of people who visit St. Peter’s and other RCC cathedrals year after year. Most of these visitors are not Catholics… for most, St. Peter’s and other great Cathedrals are just stop spots on the tourist trail, including camera-snapping Chinese, Japanese and durty knees people. Not one cent is charged to the millions visiting St. Peter’s… not one single cent. Imagine if there was a charge… but there isn’t. There is only one day in each year when the RCC asks for money from the faithful – it’s called the ‘Peter’s Pence’ collection day, when, on that one day, the billion-plus Catholics are asked to support the Catholic Church’s mission financially. On one day in each year - get that. Most of us actually donate cents and pennies … so no riches there either. Local parish collections pay for altar flowers, prayers candles, electricity, church heating and all the other things you would pay for in your own home. Get it right please and stop imagining the RCC and other Christian Churches are all about money.

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jacersagain | Jan 05, 2013, 10:34 PM EST

The why is that I remember a story about two ladies arriving for Mass arm-in-arm at Dublin's Gardner St. Church(“oul’ biddies” as we Dubliners would say) asking each other for coins for the money plate on the way in to the church. Neither had loose change and they fretted loudly over that between themselves. Per chance, a priest was outside the church door, welcoming people to Mass and he said to them “Nobody needs money to go into the house of God. Go on in with yourselves” and he ushered them inside. I was reminded of that many years later while queuing up outside St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome amongst the throngs of thousands of visitors like me. Although we went through a rigorous security check that day, not one person was asked to pay at or for the security checks or to enter the Basilica - there was no admission charge after the security checks. So I have to say to all who think the Bishop and the Church wants people back at Mass for money reasons… think again and you’ll see why. There is no monetary charge for Eucharistic celebration or for one’s self soul-searching or forgiveness.

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jacersagain | Jan 05, 2013, 10:28 PM EST

markday is utterly wrong. Leaving aside all the derogatory analytical comments I could make in response to this Bishop’s comments in his interview with The Irish Examiner newspaper, I have to say he’s hit the simple Christian message on the nail. Not only are the precincts of a Catholic Church a refuge for the weak but they are also sources of strength for the many. I know people who do not go to Mass but who often drop into a Catholic Church outside of Mass times “for a chat with God”, as one man who drops in daily, said to me. “It’s a place where you can pray and chat and be at peace with God without all that ceremonial dressy priest thing and the holier than thou shenanigans of the crowds at Mass” he added. I think he’s lost the real message of the Church regarding celebration of the Holy Eucharist, which is what the Mass is all about but he’s got a really good point that many would associate with. So has Bishop Buckley about urging people back to celebrating the Mass of the Holy Eucharist… and money has nothing to do with it. I’ll tell you why…

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markday | Jan 05, 2013, 10:15 PM EST

They've got no other choice. The pew pews are empty and so are the collection boxes. Othewise, it's "the last one out, please blow out the candles." the changes may be coming, but they are too little, too late. very sad.

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