The Deadly Heritage of Socialism in Ireland

What an odd thing happened in the Emerald Isle. While no one was paying attention, the vast majority of Irish have become die-hard socialists and many, communists. That such political positions are heresies seems to have missed the sensitivities of the voting public. Every single Irish man and woman with whom I have had interesting conversations here in the past ten weeks, every one has supported the political ideology of socialism. I am astounded.

Unlike the American Traditional Catholics, who hate socialism and tend to be GOP or Independents, the Traditional Catholics and Liberal Catholics here see nothing wrong with socialism. I have tried to point out the long history of condemnation of this sinister form of ideology over and over again in healthy and respectful discussions over coffee and tea. There is a total blindness concerning the evils of socialism and Marxism. Several Latin Mass Catholics have told me that all of the three main parties are socialist and one is especially Marxist, but these good people vote for such candidates despite this knowledge. No one tries for alternative parties.

Why? Why is there no grass roots party or Independent movement here in Eire, a party which would be blatantly pro-life, anti-socialist, anti-communist, and pro-family? Why is it that those in the pew are so meek and accepting of political activity which is so against the teaching of the Catholic Church? Why are there Catholic Marxists in Ireland?

One realizes that in many EU countries, the communist party is actually outlawed. But, Marxism can sneak in under different titles, such as labour unions, or social services. That the priests in the pulpit have ignored such teachings from the excellent Popes from 1846 on is a true scandal.

The Republic of Ireland is not a republic. It may be in the imaginations of those who remember the past in song and myth, but in reality, there is no republican government as an American would define the term.

That the heresies of socialism and Marxism run amok unchallenged show me that these will be the death of the Republic of Ireland. Some trad Catholics talk to me of the Republican desires for a united Ireland. Why? If the Republic is just as socialist as Great Britain, or even more so, what is the point of reunification? That Catholics believe in socialism, and thus have traded the God of the Catholic Church for the god of the State will call down a judgement on this lovely island. God is a Jealous God and His Justice will not stand aside for the injustice of socialism. And socialism is unjust, taking the individual and recreating him into a child of the all­-powerful State. Eire is a real
nanny state, and no one is standing up against this insidious entrenched political philosophy, so contrary to Church teaching.

False Ecumenism in Ireland

False ecumenism hounds the Church throughout the Western World. Those of us from America have seen the Protestantism of the Liturgy, Church architecture, music, and even family religious life. But, here is Ireland, an odd type of false ecumenism has taken shape, almost like a phantom out of the mists. This brand of false ecumenism is really odd, at it hides a deep hatred and resentment of the Protestants, still strong in the countryside among certain Catholics. Because Protestantism is associated with Great Britain and the past, those who are true Republicans hate the non-Catholic influences with a vehemence I had not thought still existed anywhere in the modern worldThe false ecumenism is a sick, over-reaction to the prejudice of Catholics against Protestants and Protestants against Catholics. This over-reaction is a politically correct version of the heresy of relativism, which not only states that everyone is entitled to his or her beliefs, but that one must go overboard to accommodate those beliefs on a daily basis within the Church itself.

How this looks is very much like the worst liturgical abuses in the Diocese of Los Angeles. Wreckovations of churches abound, and worse, the liturgies in some is so tacky, such a left-over of the worst of the seventies and eighties that I feel like I am back in university at some chaplaincy Mass. At one Stations of the Cross, a woman was Christ in the dramatization. I have not seen this since Notre Dame in the early eighties. At another Church, music is played on CD players after Communion with country-western style hymns which are so bad I wish I could hear the St. Louis Jesuits. At a third Church, (these are all Catholic), some sort of semi, or para-liturgical action involving praying for the dead meant that those in the congregation could place candles representing prayers on the main altar. Really, none of these things have any connection to the continuity of Tradition. I have been in many, many Churches and only one has had a Communion rail. But, what is a travesty of false ecumenism is the schedule for the Eucharistic Congress here in the summer. Here is the link for the main events, the theme, and the speakers. How the organizers could confuse unity in the Eucharist with some sort of outreach to non-Catholics is beyond understanding. That the Eucharist brings together Catholics is obvious, as we share, hopefully, in belief and practice. But, to pretend that inviting Protestants, who do not believe, or have the Real Presence, to speak at the Congress, which should be celebrating the Real Presence, reveals a callousness about the Catholic Faith and the ugly head of relativism.

Real ecumenism acknowledges differences in theology and practice. Real ecumenism calls for the unity of Christians in upholding the common morality of the Old and New Testaments, something which few Protestant denominations believe in at this time. The fake ecumenism is a false overture based on prejudice. Only true love in Christ and a commitment to the Gospel, and the belief that the Catholic Church is the one, true, Church could possibly change Ireland.

How sad that such an opportunity is being wasted on denial and lies. That the Catholic Church is in denial here about the status of most Protestant denominations shows a sad dismissive ignoring of the real practising Traditional Catholics in Ireland, who, frankly, feel left out of the Congress. How odd that the Pope's visit to Great Britain was the most ecumenical action of the Church in recent times, a visit which was the largest nod to the Truth of the Catholic Church at the State level in modern times. The Pope pulled no punches as he stood on the very spot in Westminster where St. Thomas More was condemned. Here, in the land of saints and scholars, no such triumphant blast of truth will be heard, as the ecumenical fallacies of compromise take centre stage.

And, this false ecumenism represents the shot in the head to the ailing Church here. What Irish Catholicism needs more than anything is unabashedly Catholic Teaching, loud and strong, from the pulpits and in catechesis. Instead, what is heard is the lukewarm teaching of a clergy and the leaders from among the laity who want to be nice, who want compromise over commitment, who desire a false unity, which is the heresy of eirenism, the forgotten heresy. Warned by several Popes, the Modernist heresies of immanentism and indifferentism, as well as eirenism, are alive and well in the sick man of Europe, Ireland. For definitions, see my several posts below on Modernism. I did not expect such a flood of falseness here in Eire. For proof, look at the new anthem, which is the official song of the Eucharistic Congress. See link above.