Secular Café: Is Ireland still Catholic?

Secular Café Discuss atheism, religious apologetics, separation of church & state, theology, comparative religion and scripture.

Is Ireland still Catholic? Apr 14th 2012, 22:48 Depends on what meaning you attach to the word "Catholic" http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en...tolicos-14229/ Quote: Is Ireland still Catholic? That question is being asked following the publication in Dublin, April 12, of a major survey of the views of contemporary Irish Catholics. The survey reveals that a majority hold views on sexual morality, celibacy, the ordination of women, homosexuality and several other issues that are in contrast with current Catholic Church teaching. In response to the shortage of priests, 87% of Irish Catholics say priests should be allowed to marry, 77% support women’s ordination, 72% favor the ordination of mature married men. Even more significantly, 75% say the Catholic Church’s teaching on sexuality is not relevant to their own lives or to their families. The 25% that find such teachings relevant are frequent church -goers or people over 55. An overwhelming 87% think that Catholics who are separated or divorced and now living in a second stable relationship should be allowed to receive communion at Mass. There was considerable disagreement regarding the Catholic Church’s teaching that any sexual expression of love between gay couples is immoral: 61% disagree, 18% agree, while 21% do not have an opinion... ...Almost two thirds of Irish Catholics told researchers that they want a greater voice in the selection of bishops, while 55% think a bishop should serve for a fixed term. Some 57% say their Church is “subservient to Rome”, while 12% hold that is still has “some independence”. Asked whether the leaders of the Irish Catholic Church, including the bishops, understand the challenges faced by Irish Catholics, respondents divided evenly: 46% (those over 55% and weekly Mass goers) said ‘yes’, 45% said ‘no’. Some 42% support the idea that local Catholic Churches at a national level should be allowed to develop their own liturgies with certain guidelines from Rome, 23% oppose this suggestion, while 35% don’t know. Many are unsure about the language used in the new Missal, while 53% founder the older version of the Missal more “user-friendly”... ...A key factor in the survey related to mass attendance. Among the 1000 Catholics interviewed, 35% went to mass at least once per week; 36% went a few times a year; 27% less often (mainly for celebratory or religious occasions), while 5% never attended mass. Only those who defined themselves as Catholics were interviewed. The sample allows for a margin of error of +/- 3.1%. I wonder what the answers would have been if they had been asked about transubstantiation? :evil:

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