Cool to be Catholic?

February 6, 2009

            Only fifty years ago there was a strong unity between all Irish people. Between speaking Irish and playing Gaelic sports, people were able to find a close bond even if they did not always speak the exact same. And although there were many different Irish jigs, the music all held a certain Irish sound that unified all Irish people. Being a good Catholic also came from this unity that Ireland had with each other. Because it can be “cool” to be Catholic, it can also become “not cool” to be a practicing Catholic. This is now happening in Ireland because of the globalization that has come over the country.

            Plays have been one of the changes in culture that Inglis talks about in this chapter. One of the playwrights that is mentioned in both the book and the interview is Samuel Beckett. After Michael Colgan met Samuel Beckett in 1986, he received a letter that changed Colgan’s life. In the letter Beckett told Colgan that he might be able to use one of his shows.

            Inglis makes a good point in this chapter about how trying to be different and making it so people want to have a unique way to be viewed and how that affects pop culture. It is sort of ironic that society tells everyone they need to be different, but then they are put into groups of people that are all the same. In today’s global culture it seems that people are so worried about being accepting of everyone that they lose who they are and what they believe in.

            Christianity definitely has a strong presence in Ireland because of St. Patrick. However, Inglis does not show the good that Christianity did for the people, but misinterprets what the Catholic Church teaches. Although he is accurate in what they do, he does not understand the fullness of the truth and why the Church does some of these things.

            He is definitely right, that as a Catholic, we are definitely supposed to show physical penance, such as fasting, in order to make up for the sinful things we have done. However, when he claims that the Catholic Church teaches that the body was a source of great temptation and evil, he is actually speaking heresy that was already combated by the Catholic Church in St. Augustine’s day. The same heresy that Inglis believes that Catholic Church taught can be dated all the way to the Manichaeans who taught the same thing in St. Augustine’s day. The Church, then and now, clearly comes out not saying that sex is bad, but that sex is holy and should be treated that way. The only way sex can be holy is through the sacrament of matrimony. So therefore, what Inglis is telling people is definitely a misunderstanding of what the Church really does teach.

            Thankfully, even though there is a definite change between the old Catholic ways and the newer ideas of self-realization, because of the impact that St. Patrick had on Ireland, the teachings of the church definitely still have roots in the hearts of the Irish. This way, there is still some strong Catholic tendencies alive in the heart of the Irish people. Although people are currently running to the idea of uniqueness, which really just means being the same as everyone else, and the idea of self-realization, which really just gives people and excuse to not have to worry about the consequences of their actions or how they affect others, my hope is that the roots of the Church which are held in their deepest parts of their heart will be able to grow past there and become apparent in the future.