What missionaries noticed about the Irish Church

“It is sad that the Irish church is only now admitting that it failed to draw on the experience of our missionaries and on those Irish priests who were leading international orders – Msgr Denis O’Callaghan in Putting Hand to the Plough, Veritas, 2007.

But a little bit of our foreign based missionary background might be useful here. Remember I’m coming from a parish background rather than a friary community background. I, therefore, like all missionaries, come from a parish community which is traditionally laity driven.

When the advent of parish based catechetics was punted in Ireland by the last Archbishop of Dublin there was instant consternation in the Catholic press. It was amusing for missionaries. We could have told the Irish Church eighty years ago that this was the way to go in building a vibrant church community.

Generally speaking, catechetics is centralised in the parish and not the Catholic school if by mere chance there is one in the area. Of course, when I was working in the South African townships all the schools were state run, so it was normal for kids to gravitate towards the parish church for catechism.

Missionaries have always been struck by the way the Irish church sees and conducts itself. For one thing, the Irish church is renowned for its lack of interaction with its own missionaries constantly visiting with evangelisation success stories from all corners of the globe. We feel Catholic Ireland didn’t want to know. Missionaries noticed this when on holidays. Ask any retired missionary.  But they didn’t say it too loudly for fear of being ‘cancelled’ by the home clergy.

An Irish based priest remarks that the Irish Church wrongly felt ‘one size fits all’ And a further church commentator added that “leaders in the Irish Church failed to be objective and make comparisons with the universal Church. We failed to understand the value of experiencing the universal Church from priests from outside Ireland.”

Glimmer

Recently, a saddened Irish bishop, Michael Duignan shared a glimmer of hope with his elderly clergy, “Most of all, I think we need to be missionary in our approach, seeking not solely to service the converted but rather to gain new believers – new faith filled Christians in the pews.” He could have mentioned the migrants.

And new missionaries poached from developing countries where the church is vibrant soon learned to conform to traditional Irish standards of local parish ministry.

Irish Church people have to be convinced that God works in other cultures and peoples and have to be open to being evangelised by them. This process calls the church to a deeper faith and a greater sense of discernment. We need to learn when to let go of out failed so-called certainties.

Indeed, what about a dash of humility!

Attention

Pope Francis is bringing this way of thinking to the attention of the western World – and is getting a hard time for his efforts! May he rest in peace.

A final gentle whisper to our brothers and sisters in the Northern West. Try not to be obsessed with gender ideology, women priests, power, LGBTQ matters and priestly celibacy. These are so important nowadays. But they are not ‘hot buttons’ for most Catholics in the world especially the majority Catholic world. The Catholic Church is no longer the West. This fact is slow to filter through to activist Catholics in the Catholic minority North. The majority South tends to be more worried about justice building, corruption, peace-making, martyrdom of Christians, violence, lay ministry, natural disasters, Islam and wars.

My anger with the church must not be set on a pedestal.

All are agreed that we must seek after holiness like Catholic super feminists, thought leaders and life coaches Catherine of Sienna, Hildegard of Bingen and Clare of Assisi and, yes, stay firmly in the church of the Blessed Eucharist as our Lord and saviour.

Enough!

Fr Patrick Noonan OFM is an Irish Franciscan missionary, author, and community activist who has ministered in South Africa since 1970, working for justice, reconciliation, and healing during and after apartheid.