THE JOYS
Liturgy. 43 Comments
- Liturgy well celebrated, attending Mass (several mentions to daily Mass. Also “special” celebrations, life Easter, Christmas, 1st Holy Communions, Confirmations of families and friends)
- Sacraments (grace we receive, availability of sacraments)
- Availability of reconciliation and joy of being forgiven
- People still participating in matrimony and Baptism (while secular culture pushes them away)
- Rituals in the Church (Baptism, funerals, last rites, etc): they bring comfort and sense of belonging, they keep us rooted
- Good homilies relevant to today’s world that help me in life
- The Eucharist (Strength, Knowing I am receiving Jesus, encountering God, adoration) 12
- Music, hymns (participation of congregation, as way of prayer) 12
Parish Community. 40 Comments
- Being part of a community, a family, that is alive, on a journey, with shared values, sharing faith, and open expression of faith
- Inclusiveness, open to all, value of each person’s views
- Welcoming Church, friendly atmosphere, fellowship, meeting others at Church
- Sense of belonging, of “home”, having a place to feel safe, accepted
- Feeling connected to previous generations and people around the world. Faith being passed on.
- Depth of thought of so many parishioners
- Being conscious of God’s presence in all people
- Sharing gifts to support life of parish, working with others
- Praying together
- Generosity of community, volunteers
- We are a living body, united through the sacraments and prayer; different but united and we help and support each other. Sense of care for each other
God and the Gospel Message. 37 Comments
- God’s Love (to me, to all, among us)
- Knowing Jesus, that I am a child of God, loved unconditionally, to love him
- Forgiving, merciful, Church. The message of love rather than fear, of peace and mercy rather than hatred
- Gift of faith
- Sense of purpose for life
- Presence of the Lord in my life
- Church’s solidarity and reaching out to those on the margins, generosity of people, caring for each other, charity work
- Heaven that awaits us, resurrection
- Word of God (in the Bible): listening, reading studying the scripture
The Church. 15 Comments
- Belonging to local and universal Church
- Church as an anchor, and a gateway to the Lord
- A pathway where we can meet God, custodian of the message of Christ
- Church providing leadership, Pope Francis
- Participation of laity, including more women
- Synodal process – guidance of Holy Spirit
- Tradition
- That it is open to all, inclusive
Prayer. 13 Comments
- Knowing we can pray to a loving God
- Praying together
- Stillness to the Lord’s presence, his presence in the tabernacle
- Contemplation in the Church
- The power of prayer
- Lighting a candle
- Presence of the Lord
- Praying to saints
The Parish Church setting. 12 Comments
- Shrines (lighting a candle as prayer and reassurance)
- Prayerful setting of Church
- Beauty of the Church
- The calm, peace I experience
- Comfortable, warm, well lit
Events or groups. 6 Comments
- Being part of groups within Church, participating, invited to be active, encountering the Lord in these groups, variety of ministries
- Groups and activities such as (contemplative prayer group, experiences like Taizé, blessing of animals, retreats)
- Service – giving Christ to others
Youth. 6 Comments
- Involvement of young people
- Seeing families participating, joy of excitement of children at Mass, Family Mass
- Being listened to as a young person
Priests in the parish. 6 Comments
- Homilies (I learn and they talk to me)
- Enthusiasm and energy
Ecumenism – Interfaith Dialogue. 1 Comments
- Unity with other Christians
Parish’s response to Covid. 1 Comments
- Being visible to flock
- Other ways of reaching out (zoom, online Masses)
Teachings and example of Christ’s life. 1 Comments
- Writers that the Church has produced
- Way children are taught the basics of Christ message –to show love and not to be judgmental.
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THE SORROWS
Declining Church attendance (especially the youth). 30 Comments
- Youth lack of interest
- Nothing to attract young people
- Drop in numbers
- Lack of belief in God
- Society has become more secular -Loss of faith
- Participation only once or twice a year.
Scandal of child sex abuse. 21 Comments
- The cover up by the Church
- Caused exodus from church since ‘90s
- Lack of visible reforms
- Its negative impact on wanting to be part of the Church.
Slow change of involvement of women. 19 Comments
- So many women feeling unjustly treated and walk away.
- Women are marginalised.
- Women cannot become Priests or be Deacons.
- Women talents not used
Lack of vocation (priests). 16 Comments
- A 30-year plight of decline
- Very little encouragement for youth going into priest hood
- More use of African priests for mass
- Celibacy
Media’s negative view of the church. 10 Comments
- It’s influence and power over people
- On Church teachings, religion in schools and abortion
- Only seeing the scandals and not the good news
- Failure of Media and Society to recognise the contribution of the church to education, hospitals etc
Failure to uphold Christian values in society. 10 Comments
- Spirituality/Prayer not emphasised enough.
- Truth of faith not preached enough.
- Lack of belief of God
- Ignorance of what Church means
Non-involvement of LGBTQ. 9 Comments
- Not accepted in church
- They are marginalised
- They are not welcome
The Church is more interested in its rules than the plight of the excluded. 9 Comments
- Refusal of marriage after an annulment
- Non accepting of divorce
- Exclusion of believers from holy communion because of marriage breakdown
- Those who have drifted don’t feel welcome.
- Institution of church more important than word of God.
Lack of faith development. 7 Comments
- Lack of Adult faith development leaving adults with the lack of ability to discuss their faith in a meaningful way.
- Change of teaching of religion in schools
- Closure of colleges of theology.
- Lack of intellectual apologetics.
Lack of the involvement of lay people in the Church. 6 Comments
- Lack of engagement with laity
- Over reliance of a clerical led church
Message of Christ not presented in a way that meets the needs of 2022. 5 Comments
- Out of touch with reality
- Negative childhood memories
- Rules and regulation
- Sin and Hell
- Lack of warmth in the past.
Abuse of authority in all its forms. 4 Comments
- Lack of dialogue for change and progressive thinking.
- Power struggles within the Church “Curia”.
- Religious orders haven’t felt free to defend themselves.
The way Church personnel disrespect poor people. 2 Comments
- Tuam, Mother and baby homes etc
Re-ordering of sanctuaries without consultation. 2 Comments
- Too many changes in liturgy.
Poor liturgy music and preaching. 2 Comments
Church too concerned with wealth. 2 Comments
I only discovered spirituality in my 50s. 1 Comment
Stressed & over-worked Priests. 1 Comment
The concept of us as “sinners” is unacceptable. 1 Comment
General absolution without confession not offered. 1 Comment
Church does not acknowledge the good work being done in organisations not directly church related. 1 Comment
THE HOPES
Support for Synodal Pathway and Leadership of Pope Francis. 23 Comments
- The Synodal process gives hope; the Church listening to Holy Spirit and to the ‘sense of the people’ makes Christ’s message relevant and inclusive today.
- What gives hope is that the Universal Church, as a body, is involved in the Synodal Pathway. Every diocese in the world is involved including our parish. ‘We are all in the one boat’ and focusing on the poor and marginalised. This was always the essence of Christianity.
- The laity having a say and being listened to by the Church brings hope.
- The Church’s acceptance of the beliefs of others, and the reforming process of the Synodal Pathway.
- Leadership of Pope Francis; parishioners taking responsibility.
Personal Faith. 21 Comments
- The gift of Faith gives me hope.
- I hope that the Faith which was handed down to our generation will flower in the next generation.
- The Church preaching the message of Christ with joy brings hope.
- The powerful experience of Confession and holy Communion.
- Belief in the Holy Spirit and therefore, despite the state of the world, that ‘all will be well’.
- Sharing our Faith with others, not alone. Hope is a beautiful thing that conjures up images of trust and belief that God is always with us as Church
Good Example: from other Catholic Groups and individuals. 14 Comments
- The priests in the parish, the children participating in the Mass and the lay people who volunteer, all bring hope.
- The good example of religious Orders brings hope. Also, lay governance in the church/parish.
- Seeing people taking initiative for the common good (volunteers) brings hope.
- The Church today was never kinder; the priests and hierarchy now are the best we ever had. This brings hope.
- Following role models like Richard Rohr Sr. Stan and others brings hope.
- The Catholic media, like EWTN and the lrish Catholic paper, bring me hope.
- Despite the scandals in the Church, it still survives. This gives me hope.
Women in the Church. 4 Comments
- Pope Francis has more women engaged in the Church; this generates hope.
- That women are more involved in the Church brings hope.
- Active inclusion of all people in role of the Church, especially women, brings hope.
- Recognising the role of women in the affairs of the Church brings hope.
Education. 3 Comments
- The number of young adults doing Theology brings hope.
- The increasing emphasis of educating the laity.
- Bible studies, especially the Gospels and Lectio Divina.
Diverging responses, one-off comments. 3 Comments
These are more like ‘wishes’ than hopes, which should be based on personal experiences.
- The Church has been purged and now has the opportunity to put love back at its heart again, and be more humble and true to its teaching, thereby becoming more welcoming and attractive.
- lnter-Faith dialogue. Contemplative prayer.
- I Hope for a Church with more laughs and joyful music.
THE FEARS
The Church Hierarchy need to hear the Peoples’ call for urgent change through the Synod.
35 Comments.
- We need a listening leadership – Anxiety that the synod’s voice will not be listened to, and acted upon, urgently. The pace of change is too slow. Church should reflect the diversity of its membership, the decisions from the synod should not only be determined by a homogenous male hierarchy (14)
- Anxious that the aspirations of Pope Francis to reform the Church would succeed against opposition. Fear that opponents of Pope Francis might use their objection to reform as a means of achieving a schism between the more liberal v the conservative, or Vatican II supporters and traditionalists (11)
- We need to be open to change, and to change the system to facilitate change (2)
- Fearful of clericalism, that pride within the leadership would prevent change (2)
- Fearful of conservative seminaries and young priests trained there wanting a Pre – Vatican II Church (1)
- Bishops are far removed, consult themselves and ignore consultation on important matters with the laity their brothers and sisters in Christ (3)
- That politics might influence the bishops and their actions (1)
Urgent need to review the eligibility for ordained priesthood 23 Comments
- Fear of future lack of Priests to celebrate mass unless we change. (13)
- Fear Hierarchy are not urgently revising approaches to priestly vocations (1)
- Too much emphasis on WHO says Mass, rather than Mass is prayed in “memory of Him”.
Preaching the word of God should be an inclusive ministry, reflective of the community (3)
- Explore allowing priests to marry, or allow married men into ministry (5)
- Greater numbers of Deacons and the age- range expanded for Deacons (1)
- Explore the ordination of women, guided by the Spirit (2)
Lack of vocation to consecrated life (nuns) (1)
Fear the lack of relevance of the Church to modern society, fearing a loss of hope. 21 Comments
- Church is irrelevant for a great proportion of people, they avoid religion completely (6)
- That the Catholic Church will die out in Ireland, more will fall away (8)
- Because of the sins of the Church, and fear of further revelations (2)
- Who will maintain churches in the future? (2)
- The lack of religious guidelines results in more sinful lifestyles, society will lack guidance for good living (1)
- Fearful we have Lost hope in fighting for the message of Jesus (1)
- Fear the level of Ignorance of the content of our faith (1)
Concerns for youth in the Church. 18 Comments
- Fear for the next generation who lack belief, are not part of the church or are afraid to be open about their faith (10)
- Young people say they have no intention of getting married or baptising their children in a church in which they have no confidence (3)
- The lack of religious formation in schools and home breeds indifference (3)
- Fear of false accusations is discouraging engagement in ministry with youth (1)
- Dwindling numbers will place a heavy burden on the next generation of believers (1)
Church needs to change to meet people ‘where they are at ‘. 15 Comments
- Church has too much focus on liturgy and priests, is too academic, needs better awareness of real issues, need to see faith in action, good works (4)
- We need to present the message of Christ in a way that can be heard. Christ spoke to an agrarian society; we have a technological world and we need to communicate in a way that can be heard (2)
- Support faith formation for adults to equip them to answer young non- believers (3)
- Sacraments and liturgy need to connect with the joy of Christ’s message, they remain dull and lack joy. (1)
- Need to focus more on community, on meetings in person, a welcoming church, not one of rules (4)
Welcome diversity and inclusiveness, in the Church and in Leadership. 12 Comments
- Inclusion of gay Catholics (4)
- Welcome divorced people (2)
- Unmarried couples (1)
- Welcome inter-faith dialogue (1)
- Faith in action might help outreach to those we have lost (1)
- Church should reflect the diversity of its membership (1)
Women members of the Church 9 Comments
- That the feminine voice will continue to be excluded, a loss now and detrimental to the future generations (6)
- More women involved in active ministry (1)
- Explore the ordination of women, guided by the Spirit (2)
Fears of Change. 8 Comments
- Priests changing Mass to suit their personal theology differing from Church teaching (1)
- Willingness of Bishops, Cardinals to advocate ideas against Church teaching (1)
- Church conceding long held beliefs to be in step with fashionable opinion (1)
- Fear of the present ‘mania for change’ (1)
- We do not value what we have, the truth is not new and we must be consistent with the faith as expressed in the catechism (1)
- Fearful that the Gospel will be ‘watered down’ (1)
SOME SAID “I Do Not Fear”. 6 Comments
- Trust, God is holding us close, his assurance he will be with us (3)
- The Spirit dispels our fear (2)
- Let the Church choose love, not fear as the way forward in faith (Isaiah 41:10) (1)
Personal experience of Fear. 4 Comments
- Personal experience in the Church of of judgement and pain, excess of rules and not enough love (2)
- Feeling unworthy and fearful of misinterpreting scriptures and symbols of religion (1)
- If the faith community reduces, it is harder to live one’s faith (1)
Concern for the state of the world. 2 Comments
- Global unrest and wars associated with religion contribute to negative media pressure on people continuing their religious practice (1)
- Fear lack of vocations for the missions (1)
Persecution of Christians 1 Comment
- Conscious of the persecution of Christians – would we be ready to die for the faith?
That the ordination of women would be divisive 1 Comment
What Themes are emerging from the gatherings?
The need to increase awareness and visibility of the church’s plan to address a 20 year decline in vocations for Priesthood.
The need to increase awareness and visibility of the church’s plan to address the massive decline in members, attendance and loss of faith due to the church management of the scandals (Sex abuse, mother and baby homes etc).
The need to develop a plan that appeals to and meets the needs of young people.
Address those that feel excluded/marginalised in a way that demonstrates a “Christ like” inclusion for all. (The divorced, Separated and LGBTQ,.)
The need for faith development for new parents and young adults.
The Synod has been seen as a very positive process for the church however there is a need for the church to show and demonstrate visible change following the synod.
In this time of crises in the Church there is a great need for the Church to give serious consideration to women’s role in the Church such as Priest’s and or Deacon’s.
This may be the time for Church to question is celibacy a part of the issue of decline in vocations in the modern world.
What might the Holy Spirit be indicating in this?
The spirit may be calling us to appreciate the good that is in the Church but urging us to be courageous in making the changes that are needed for everyone to hear the Gospel message. We believe that the Spirit is inviting the Church to listen to the people, to hear their voices, their call for urgent visible change.
The Spirit may be indicating great value placed on community and inviting us to reflect of Christ’s great love of the diversity of the community in his time, so that we can seek a true honest inclusiveness within the Church, that welcomes and accepts all those who want to be there.
The Spirit seems to be telling us to seek a true community of love, acceptance, mercy, forgiveness, belonging and joy. A Church that seeks to respond to today’s people’s needs and those who are in the margins, emphasizing on a loving compassionate God.
The Spirit may be indicating the need of a more synodal and inclusive leadership style of the Church and future planning with community at its heart. We believe that the Spirit is telling us not to be afraid, that God will be with us until the end of time.