The subtitle of The Best Catholics in the World: The Irish, the Church and the End of a Special Relationship alludes to the fawning attitude that a vast majority of the Irish at least tolerated many embraced this obsequiousness as their tribal loyalty. He’s a “grappling” member of the Church: unsure about its doctrine “and uneasy about its effect on my life, yet better now to appreciate the beauty, and see how many of the toxic elements I remember were as much Irish as Catholic.” This astute phrasing demonstrates this veteran journalist’s skillful means of inquiry. How one of the most Catholic nations under the eye of Rome imploded during the intervening years spurs Derek Scally to return from Berlin to his native city after two decades abroad. Despite the population since having grown by at least a million, only around 250,000 tickets were sold. Almost 40 years later, Francis arrived from the Vatican to convene similarly. Back then, he faced an enthusiastic throng totaling about one out of four citizens in the Republic of Ireland. In 1979, a million folks witnessed a Papal Mass in Dublin celebrated by John Paul II.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |