Pope Francis has died (updated 21st April 2025)

Although brought up RC and well remembering the craziness of 1979 myself, I don't get it either. Surely Catholics are supposed to worship their god, not a man, even if he does claim occasionally to be speaking on behalf of that god…

I wish Francis well but it appears that the church he leads is irredeemable at this stage. Not only are vocations (and congregations) dwindling rapidly, the ones who are left are the most conservative and uncompromising. The idea of mass (as in big - not Mass as in sacrament) Catholic worship in Ireland like it used to be in my childhood is gone forever. There will be a much smaller and much more bitter church and they will be mostly left to get on with it, ignored by everyone else. They will blame the State, which was under the church's thumb for the whole 20th century and to some extent later, for their own failings and abuses and continue to evade legal and financial responsibility.

Under these circumstances It's clear that the "Catholic country" pretence that allows them retain control of 89% of taxpayer funded primary schools can't long continue. Maybe when the teachers who don't believe it and the parents who don't want it realise that they're no longer the minority things will change, but there will be a fight.

I think they own a lot of them is the trouble. Presumably the Government can dictate curriculum. There's an opt out from religious teaching in all schools I think. Albeit sitting at the back of the class or whatever.

If you are talking Catholic education then I would agree.

Teaching about religions is an important part of an inclusive society, as long as it gives each religion an equal footing. Teaching Paul and Mary why Satnam wears a Patka is just as important as teaching them why people daub ash on their foreheads at Lent.

Taxpayers pay the bills, but the "patron" sets the "patron's programme" - instruction in a specific religion as fact for a minimum of half an hour a day - often more. In the years of the RC sacraments, little else happens in the classroom for weeks or months on end

interesting article here which provides some balance. Interesting that our current mass attendance is similar to pre famine times. I just presumed we always had really high mass attendance

https://www.bostonirish.com/around-town/2024/catholicism-ireland-assessment

We have a high proportion of elderly. Can only see it declining though as the devoted pass on.

Twee diddly-aye plastic Paddy nonsense

This guy thinks the Angelus on RTE is somehow reflective of us as a country. It's not, it's reflective of how conservative and out of touch RTE is

Incidentally Radio Eireann was around for 30 years before there was any talk of putting a daily catholic call to prayer on the air. It was in the 1950s when it was introduced, when independent Ireland was at its lowest ebb - economy in the doldrums and the population rapidly shrinking, when young people's future was a one-way boat ticket. Not un-coincidentally, this is when all of those Marian shrines sprung up all over the place.

Attending single gender Catholic schools, reciting daily rosaries as a family, walking to town on ‘Mass paths’ (shortcuts through fields and townlands established by the people to get to Mass quickly) are part of the living memories of most Irish people over 50.

The schools yes, which we are still stuck with as a relic of the past

Daily family rosaries in the memory of most Irish people over 50, really? If he'd said 70, maybe. A lot of people who decades ago felt obliged to publicly go along with RC worship due to social, or even employment, reasons, were privately sceptical or didn't believe a word of it

Priests are more visible in Dublin than in Boston, accessible for the ‘Hello Father’ nod and wave. 

Now this is totally taking the píss. When was the last time anyone saw a priest walking in a Dublin street in clerical garb? They simply don't dare and haven't since the widespread abuse scandals came to light.

You'll know them by the complete lack of dress sense and extreme blackness of their socks though 😉

Priests are also frequently quoted in the newspapers or interviewed on TV in times of tragedy

They are just a phone call away and can be relied upon to supply the usual empty platitudes in a quotable format

In Ireland, with priests on the Six-one news and everyone sending PG and TG dappled texts to each other

This is quite simply bollocks.

I will not use this space to … engage in nostalgia for the old days of Holy Catholic Ireland.

After using half the article to do exactly that!

Without the structure and education provided by the church

The education which has been fully funded by taxpayers since the 19th century? That'll still be there. Priests and nuns in the classroom are long gone and not missed.

The sacraments sanctify weddings, welcome newborn babies, and commemorate final farewells to loved ones.  These rituals will not be simply deleted from the culture. The Irish have been marking them in ceremony for millennia. Many non-practicing “cultural Catholics” still celebrate the sacraments in the church.

Disingenuous of him to not mention the massive decline in church weddings over the last 20 years or so. Fewer than half of all marriages take place in any kind of church, never mind specifically an RC one. We are seeing this change in funerals too, secular funerals are no longer unusual.

The RCC don't reveal baptism stats for obvious reasons but the removal of the perceived requirement to baptise to get a school place has had to have had a large effect there.

The generation who felt the need to carry out RCC rituals to please their parents, especially where the grandchildren were concerned, are being replaced by a generation whose parents almost exclusively either don't give a fiddler's about the RCC or are actively hostile to it.

The Pope has past away

88 is a good age and I thought he was on the mend, but maybe the Easter celebrations took it out of him

RIP

AP report here.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis died Monday morning, Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, the Vatican camerlengo, announced.

“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,″ Farrell said in the announcement.

“He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalized.

“With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite, merciful love of God, One and Tribune.″

He was Pope since 2013 - it doesn't feel like 12 years since Benedict stepped down.

R.I.P.

Reakon they'll go with a more conservative guy this time. Not that anything really changed,more making nice statements rather than anything solid.

Condolences to his family, friends and the Roman Catholic community.

Rest in Peace.

Is Joe Duffy not available? You'd think he'd hotfoot it to studio

McAleese on the radio now… uh oh.

is there a time delay on live broadcasts?

How times have changed. The BBC and all other major channels changing schedule to report on the sad news. RTE floundering.

RiP Pope Francis