One of Ireland’s Largest Churches Will Be Demolished Due to Low Attendance

[Lion IRC]

Unsurprisingly, LIRC just makes shit up....

[h=1]Catholics' Church Attendance Resumes Downward Slide[/h]

https://news.gallup.com/poll/232226/church-attendance-among-catholics-resumes-downward-slide.aspx

This data is about the decline over the last DECADE.
That's exactly the (scandal-related) decline to which I was referring and which is now starting to reverse.

Catholic Church attendance is starting to grow again as parishioners regain confidence that the purge of atheist/pedophile fakers masquerading as priests has well and truly started to disinfect God's House.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

What does it mean, "now starting to reverse." Nothing has changed. The fundamental problem of senior priests recommending junior priests is what got the mess happening. That's what needs to change. Good junior priests are not free to rat out criminals because they will just fuck themselves. Nothing has changed.

The way the RCC is governed is the problem. Well, an addiction to woo is the actual fundamental problem but that will not go away anytime soon.

 

[atrib]

Atheists can be as obsessive as theists. Both sides can have a 'religious zeal'.

You appear to be saying that being zealous about something is a bad thing by necessity. I think it is good to be obsessed with changing the world for the better, to be an outspoken critic of the institutions that cause grave harm to society. The only way to get the Vatican to change its policies of sheltering criminal priests is by making it too expensive for them to keep doing business as usual. Expensive in terms of financial reparations paid to victims they often knowingly placed in harm's way, expensive in terms of bad publicity that drives people away from their churches, and expensive in terms of getting getting the criminal priests and their enablers prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Catholic Church is an enormously wealthy and influential institution that is run like a top-notch business. You are not going to change their criminal behavior by being polite and deferential, or by marginalizing the harm they have inflicted on innocent people.

 

[Lion IRC]

Catholic affiliation (self-professed), Catholic church attendance, and Catholic clergy numbers are all starting to increase again. And the systematic purge of closet atheists and/or pedophiles is finally beginning to feel like "Mission Accomplished".

How ironic that folks like Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennet were so prominent in the Out Campaign proudly declaring - boasting even - about how many closet atheists there were secretly (deceitfully) talking their pay cheque from parishioners in front of whom they pretended to be (what phands calls) True Christians. We owe a debt to Dawkins and Dennet and New Atheism.

 

[phands]

What does it mean, "now starting to reverse." Nothing has changed.

If anything, it's got deservedly worse in many more countries. The RCC needs to cease to exist.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

What does it mean, "now starting to reverse." Nothing has changed.

If anything, it's got deservedly worse in many more countries. The RCC needs to cease to exist.

Ceasing to exist would be the best thing no doubt. But there is a market for woo so someone is going to fill it, the RCC is one of those businesses.

The problem with the RCC at a fundamental level is that it's owners, the spook salesmen, aren't vetted and investigated like the lay employees. They're allowed to defer. What the fuck kind of double standard is that? That's why they have pedos running the company.

 

[bilby]

Being a closet atheist wouldn't invalidate communion. The liturgy is a correct form of words and actions where people commune with God in a sacrament that can't be prevented by the presence of someone whose participation in that act isn't sincere.
If the atheist came out and declared before Mass that they were a fake priest, then the participants would know in advance that the Mass wasn't valid and therefore they couldn't/wouldn't take part for the same reason they wouldn't take part if their own heart wasn't sincere.

Jesus fuck that has to be the funniest thing I have read in weeks. It's like a lesson in how to completely avoid thinking while formulating a response.

This blatant horseshit is supposed to pass as reasonable? Thanks for the belly laugh, Lion. I needed that.

 

[bilby]

Catholic affiliation (self-professed), Catholic church attendance, and Catholic clergy numbers are all starting to increase again. And the systematic purge of closet atheists and/or pedophiles is finally beginning to feel like "Mission Accomplished".

What, you mean a baseless claim made publicly despite the fact that the clusterfuck in question was still unfolding and getting steadily worse?



I think that this is one of those rare moments when we actually agree on something - although I suspect that is due to a gross error of judgement on your part.

 

[phands]

Catholic Church faces ominous decline

LIRC remains true to his lying-xtian form. This article from August 25th this year flat-out contradicts his asinine claim....

These scandals are hitting a Church that is already struggling with declining membership in nearly every country across Europe and the Americas.


A Pew survey found that, as of 2015, while 32% of Americans were raised Catholic, just 21% remained so. That drop off is more than twice the rate at which Americans left Protestantism. Church attendance also fell sharply.
Fewer young people consider themselves Catholic, according to Pew, which found that the median age for U.S. Catholics is 49, compared to 40 for members of other religions and 36 for America as a whole.

https://www.axios.com/catholic-chur...ine-5cc11529-860d-470d-a2e2-5fe12b89ad81.html

 

[atrib]

Catholic affiliation (self-professed), Catholic church attendance, and Catholic clergy numbers are all starting to increase again. And the systematic purge of closet atheists and/or pedophiles is finally beginning to feel like "Mission Accomplished".

What, you mean a baseless claim made publicly despite the fact that the clusterfuck in question was still unfolding and getting steadily worse?

View attachment 18123

I think that this is one of those rare moments when we actually agree on something - although I suspect that is due to a gross error of judgement on your part.

I think it's all an act. The claims that there is a conspiracy by atheists to infiltrate the Church as priests so they could molest children and perform fake rituals; that the Church is actually doing anything to clean up it's act; that the Church is still a beacon of hope for people all over the world and its membership is growing. Nobody is dense enough to actually believe this nonsense.

 

[bilby]

Catholic affiliation (self-professed), Catholic church attendance, and Catholic clergy numbers are all starting to increase again. And the systematic purge of closet atheists and/or pedophiles is finally beginning to feel like "Mission Accomplished".

What, you mean a baseless claim made publicly despite the fact that the clusterfuck in question was still unfolding and getting steadily worse?

View attachment 18123

I think that this is one of those rare moments when we actually agree on something - although I suspect that is due to a gross error of judgement on your part.

I think it's all an act. The claims that there is a conspiracy by atheists to infiltrate the Church as priests so they could molest children and perform fake rituals; that the Church is actually doing anything to clean up it's act; that the Church is still a beacon of hope for people all over the world and its membership is growing. Nobody is dense enough to actually believe this nonsense.

In my experience, claims that begin with the phrase "Nobody is dense enough to actually believe..." are invariably mistaken.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I think it's all an act. The claims that there is a conspiracy by atheists to infiltrate the Church as priests so they could molest children and perform fake rituals; that the Church is actually doing anything to clean up it's act; that the Church is still a beacon of hope for people all over the world and its membership is growing. Nobody is dense enough to actually believe this nonsense.

There are people who actually believe this nonsense to be true. I've met plenty. Doesn't mean Lion isn't acting here, certainly, but catholics get all gaga over their church and will defend it no matter what. The pope could stand on the balcony at St Peter's and flip the bird to the crowd and he would still be loved by his followers. Satan would be to blame or some other nonsense excuse.

It's fascinating to observe, personally speaking. It's like watching someone take poison, become very ill, recover, and then continue to take more poison because he is convinced of it's correctness. Elements of contrition, devaluing of self, penance, etc., all manner of cult attributes and behavior can be expressed.

They're out there, make no mistake.