It used to be that Irish newspapers respected the Catholic religion. But no more. It has been evident for some time now that the cultural winds that engulfed this country in the 1960s are blowing wildly in the land of St. Patrick. Worse, many of the Irish who have emigrated here display an antipathy to their religion that is scandalous. Consider theIrish Voice, an ethnic newspaper of notoriety.
Mike Farragher recently wrote a piece that managed to mock the Church’s teachings and sacraments while explaining his interfaith family. He boasted that he did not have a crucifix at his wedding because he did not want to offend the Jewish attendees. He also said that at the wedding ceremony he did not want images of Jesus “suffering and dying all over the place.”
Farragher’s contempt for the sacrament of matrimony began at the pre-Cana classes that he and his fiancee attended. He confesses to lying to the priest when asked if the children would be raised Catholic: “We did what any other rational being would do…[we] lied through our teeth so that he’d sign whatever diocesan release forms that were needed for the papal green light.”
In an attempt at humor, Farragher said that the Catholic Church needs “drive-thru windows” so that Catholics with children can “receive McSacraments.” Which is about as funny as a rubber crutch.
The Irish in Ireland, it is said, have come to tolerate yesterdays immoralities with aplomb. It is not hard to understand why. Far too many Irishmen have divorced themselves from their religion, making possible—if not inevitable—a sick tolerance of those who are intolerant of Catholicism. But it is one thing to rap Catholicism in Ireland, quite another to do so in the U.S. Which is why we let the Irish Voice have it.
