Mass at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral. Photo: Archdiocese of Dublin Catholics need to move from inherited or “cultural” faith towards a deeper personal commitment to Christ, foreign-born priests ministering in Ireland have told The Irish Catholic.
Fr Anselm Emechebe MSP, a Nigerian priest who has served in Ireland since 2009, said the challenge is for Catholics to take greater personal responsibility for a faith often received through family and sacramental practice.
“They have to own the faith,” he said. “There’s need for owning the faith and taking personal responsibility and commitment towards it.”
Fr Anselm said Catholicism could not remain simply something inherited or practised on major occasions. “Faith is a relationship. It’s not just theory or culture,” he said. “The thing is, how to move from cultural to the real depth of faith.”
Comparing deeper formation to St Paul’s image of moving from milk to solid food, he added that the “solid food” of faith ultimately “requires commitment”.
Fr Jonas Rebamontan, a Filipino priest serving in Boyle, said that gap can become particularly visible around sacramental occasions involving people who are not regular Massgoers.
He said some Baptisms and weddings can be approached “for compliance” or “for the show”, with participants sometimes unsure of the responses at Mass or when to stand or kneel. At some Baptisms, he said, younger participants need to be given the responses but can still be unsure what to say. “The heart is not there,” he said.
Chinese-born Fr Paul Yongde Yang SVD offered a more nuanced view, saying Ireland’s long Catholic history has meant faith has become closely intertwined with “culture or custom”. People may still come to church for Baptisms and funerals because these have become part of that inherited Catholic culture, he said.
Kenyan-born Fr Amos Ruto, serving in Castletownbere, pointed to the way faith formation is structured, noting that catechism in Ireland is largely school-based, while in Kenya it is normally taught in parishes by trained lay catechists working alongside priests.
He said the Irish model can “thrive” where teachers are dedicated and “love their faith”, but warned that difficulties arise when those entrusted with teaching the faith are not themselves practising.
For Fr Anselm, the continued presence of Catholic faith remains a foundation on which to build. “There is hope,” he said.