The interior of St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Diliff. Ireland is increasingly becoming a meeting point of global Catholicism rather than simply a country shaped by its past, a leading theologian has said.
Speaking at the Loyola Institute Trinity College Dublin, Prof. Massimo Faggioli argued that the centre of the Catholic Church is shifting away from Europe, with profound implications for Ireland.
“Catholicism was for many centuries a European thing. It is less and less,” he said, pointing to rapid growth in Africa and other parts of the Global South.
While Europe becomes “more and more marginal”, Ireland is experiencing a different dynamic. “There is not just a global Ireland, there is a global in Ireland,” he said, noting the growing presence of diverse Christian communities and other religions within Irish society.
Prof. Faggioli also suggested that the long-standing cultural and religious ties between Ireland and the United States are weakening. “That bridge that was Catholicism is much thinner and much weaker than it used to be,” he said, adding that both countries are becoming more secular and more diverse.
Despite this, he offered a measured assessment of the Church’s position in Ireland. “The Church in Ireland is doing better than the rest of Europe, but it’s much weaker than it used to be,” he said.
He pointed to signs of renewal, including rising numbers of adult baptisms, but warned of a widening disconnect between people and institutions. “There is a huge gap between spiritual forces and ecclesial forms,” he said.
Nevertheless, he insisted the Church retains a role in public life: “It has become harder to ignore that voice.”