An Irish bishop has said his country’s political and media classes are trying to “eliminate” the Church from public life. In a homily at the ordination of nine seminarians to the diaconate at the national seminary in Maynooth last week, Bishop William Crean of Cloyne said: “Ireland through its political and media establishments seems determined to eliminate the engagement of the Catholic Church in the public sphere. “There are many in these systems who have developed a gratuitous cynicism towards the Catholic Church and desire its destruction, believing that it stands between the people and Ireland becoming a progressive society. Our response ought always to be positive.” Elsewhere, at a Corpus Christi Mass in Co Galway, Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam said Ireland’s greatest challenge was not atheism but the idolatrous worship of false gods. “The Church is no longer the dominant intellectual influence in society, can no longer count on cultural or political support and is frequently dismissed and disregarded,” he said. “Not surprisingly, in this situation greed overcomes gratitude while selfishness frequently displaces compassion.” The archbishop said there was a “huge temptation to assimilate, to accept the dominant values which are at variance so often with our faith.” Meanwhile, several thousand people attended a pro-life rally in Dublin on Sunday called “Celebrate the Eighth” – the constitutional amendment outlawing abortion. Organiser Cora Sherlock said they wanted “to reclaim the Eighth Amendment as something positive, humane and life-saving.”