An update from Ireland

Ireland apparently had a spiritual renewal after Saint Pope John Paull II's visit in 1979.  However,  

• In 1983, weekly Mass attendance was at 80%,
• Around 2008, weekly Mass attendance was close to 50%,
• In 2018, weekly Mass attendance is at 18% (cf, Lepanto Institute, 6/2/18)

Rather than recognize this terrible situation, many seem to be shuffling the proverbial chairs on the deck of the Titanic, talking of increased opportunities for "lay ministry" instead of reminding Catholic lay people of their call to the apostolate - What John Paul II called the "clericalization of the laity and the laicization of the clergy"

Ireland needs to be transformed, as of course does the USA.  It is just so painful to see how far she has fallen in such a short time!

Among those with little appreciation for reality, the Republic of Ireland is often portrayed as just emerging from backwardness, because contraceptives were illegal until 1979, divorce was illegal until 1996, marriage was recognized as only between individuals of the opposite sex till 2015, and Ireland's constitution offered protections for preborn children till 2018.  In this supposed emergence from backwardness, a blind eye has been turned to certain recent developments in Ireland:

• "Since 2003..the number of sexual offences recorded in the Republic has almost doubled" (Irish Times, 5/26/18)
• "Rates of HIV, Syphilis, Gonorrhea, Herpes and Chlamydia are now soaring despite repeated sexual health education campaigns" (Irish Independent, 1/8/18)
• There has been a "sixfold increase in marital breakdown since 1986....[and a] huge increase in cohabitation....A third figure worth highlighting is the number of children being raised outside marriage.  In 1986 this was 12.8pc of all children.  By 2011 it had increased to over 28.1 percent....as 'family 'diversity' in Ireland increases overwhelmingly it will be the result of marriage and relationship breakdown and will go hand-in-hand with a rise in families without active, present fathers" (Iona Institute, 10/31/2013).