Is Ireland the New Babylon?

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down

Yeah, we wept, when we remembered Zion"

I find Boney M's lyrics increasingly resonant since the loss of the Eighth Amendment last year, and more recently the introduction of abortion into Northern Ireland amid the impasse at Stormont. There is no doubt that for social conservatives like myself, we are living in what seems to be a foreign country where much like the Israelites in Babylon, we are looked down on with contempt by the supposedly civilised natives. The analogy is only strengthened when one considers what a shock it was to the Israelites initially that such a predicament was even thinkable, let alone that it happened. 

Similarly, nobody in Ireland, on either side, was prepared for the sheer margin of the defeat last May. In a matter of months, Ireland went from being a world leader in protecting both lives to providing abortion "services" on demand up to 12 weeks, up to 24 weeks on very liberal grounds and even up to birth in cases of disability (The implication of the use of the word "service" to describe abortion, of course, is to banalise it to the level to getting a tooth pulled). Up north, it is even worse, as abortion has now been decriminalised up to 28 weeks, the most extreme regime in Europe. Yet, despite the permissiveness of the law with respect to abortion, it seems that abortion advocates are still not satisfied, as the March for "Choice" (i.e. Abortion) continues unabated despite the Eighth's repeal and we will in the coming years probably see a push to have the law loosened  even further.

Likewise, Dublin has become a sea of rainbows every June as businesses make a point of displaying gay pride flags for the month (or in some cases, painting their buildings in those colours), and anyone who objects to this, or to the notion that homosexual activity is wrong, or that it is biologically impossible for somebody to change their gender is dismissed as a backward bigot at best, or worse the moral equivalent of a racist. In fact, I fear that the proposed tightening of hate speech laws, while understandable and even necessary in light of the harassment of the Ryan family by some users of social media to the point where they had to leave Ireland, might be used to deter the expression of the views I have just outlined. Even something that used to be taken for granted 30 years ago, that the idea that one should abstain from sexual relations outside of marriage, is now seen not only as eccentric but in some quarters even as an attempt at gaslighting those who do not.

I might add that I have so far only covered aspects that are not specifically Catholic or even religious. If we look at the rates of practice among Catholics of my age group, that is 15-34, a friend of mine once estimated that only 1% of Catholics in this age group practice their faith. If true, this would imply that there will be roughly 80,000 practicing Catholics in Ireland by 2070 if current trends continue. The fact that this would likely be a low watermark as higher birth rates among that population will lead to a natural increase is little comfort in light of these figures. The projections for vocations are surprisingly less stark, and I estimate that there will be 450 active priests in the same period, provided that the current rate of nine ordinations a year continues.

The implications of this are far-reaching, particularly for those in rural areas. It might mean that those used to going to Mass in their local village will in the future face going to the nearest market town instead, and will also face a more restricted choice of Masses due to fewer active priests, not to mention access to confession and other sacraments. The cities will probably fare a little better, due to the presence of religious orders and the higher densities that comes with city living, but will not escape the problems stemming from the ongoing mass apostasy completely.

Reading the above might tempt one to despair. It shouldn't: though winter is tough, spring will eventually come, and even now there are tentative signs of green shoots. In Dublin, there is a growing subculture of young college-educated Catholics centred around Newman University Church on St Stephen's Green, and to a lesser extent around the Opus Dei parish in Merrion Road. I believe that similar cliques exist in the other provincial cities on a smaller scale. A new generation of pro-lifers has cut their teeth during the last referendum and will have an increasing influence in the movement's direction in the coming years, much like the way the present leadership first emerged after the X case. There are signs that public attitudes towards pornography are beginning to change, especially in the wake of Ana Kriegel's horrific murder (though as the Government's new RSE plans suggest, this change in public opinion has not yet reached the political classes). Finally, I hope that this blog can act as a sounding board for potential arguments and tactics and therefore be of assistance to the cause of life and family in Ireland. Feel free to leave any respectful comments you might have, be they positive or negative, and most of all, as St. John Paul II might say: Be not afraid. For those of us with faith, God has already won the battle, and for those without, no matter what life throws at us now, there will always be better times over the horizon.