Irish Catholics Set To Snub Pope's Visit

Sky News ^ | Sept 11th 2010 | David Blevins

[Cardhu]

Irish Catholics appear set to snub Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Britain with fewer than 1,000 of them expected to make the pilgrimage.

Some 88% of the island's population is Catholic, but the Pope is not visiting Ireland.

Churchgoers from north and south of the Irish border have been invited to attend a papal mass in Britain, but only a third of the 2,500 tickets allocated to them have been sold.

"It will take much more than a papal visit to restore the credibility of the church in Ireland," said Patsy McGarry, the Irish Times' religious affairs correspondent.

"The institution is suffering gravely because of its own sins."

It is 31 years since Ireland had a papal visit, when more than one million people turned out to welcome Pope John Paul.

Much has changed since then, but there is still one tiny village where the Pontiff could be sure of a welcome - Kilfenora in County Clare.

The Father Ted sitcom was filmed in the village but it has a much greater claim to ecclesiastical fame.

A century ago, Rome resolved an unholy row in Ireland by declaring that whoever was Pope would also be Bishop of Kilfenora.

And parishioners would like to meet their bishop.

Local historian John Keane said: "No matter what the theological or moral questions of the day are, a visit from a Bishop of Rome, the successor of Saint Peter, would be a huge event for this small place - the smallest diocese and smallest cathedral town on the island of Ireland."

[Cardhu]

There is a video and 50 photographs at the link.

[rbmillerjr]

The Irish are always bitching about something.