Decades of good done by the Catholic Church in Ireland are being “almost obliterated by a revised and narrow narrative that religious ethos cannot be good for democracy,” the Archbishop of Armagh has said.
Speaking at the University of East Anglia on Monday night, the archbishop said Irish society was being “hugely impacted by secularisation and is evidenced by a steady decline in church attendance and in vocations to the priesthood and religious life.”
“What began as a gradual drift of people away from Mass and the sacraments became a stronger current,” Archbishop Martin said. “Like other parts of Europe and the western world, more people in Ireland are living their lives without reference to God or to religious belief.”
