It’s been quite a ten-day trip so far! Back in January I was invited to Italy to speak at a conference of Franciscans about evangelizing through social media (more on that next week). Given that Ireland is (sort of) on the way home, and there are friars that allow me to stay for free, I’ve decided to make a quick pilgrimage to my ancestral land (and film a video for next week.) For now, here’s a wrap-up of the past week or so.
It was a LONG Journey
A direct flight from Atlanta to Rome existed… for a few months salary. Instead, I took a flights from Macon to Baltimore to Reykjavik to Rome, totally about 19 hours. A bit grueling, but it left me time to answer some questions.
Let’s “Fix” the Church
Let’s be clear: the Catholic Church isn’t “broken” because Christ will always be its head. But that doesn’t mean that the humans that make it up are perfect or that we are always effective at preaching the Gospel. If we’re honest with ourselves, we could be doing better. In this video, I provide 5 ways to do so.
Angry With God? Tell Him
It amazes me how many people I meet who have anger in their life, at life in general or God specifically, and don’t bring that to prayer. I say, don’t make a bad situation worse by lying to God… he already knows how you’re feeling. All you can ever do in prayer is say exactly where you are.
This went REALLY Viral
If I make a video that gets more than 200,000 views, that’s extraordinary. This video got more than 200,000 likes. The response has blown me away—that so many people have loved it, and that so many people didn’t understand it. To be clear, this is parody, not of the mass but of reality shows. They praise human accomplishments all the time, but what they should be praising is Jesus Christ.
A PSA You Won’t Want to Miss
If you’re ever in Rome, keep this in mind…
Traveling Tomorrow
After two days in Dublin, I’m off to Killarney early tomorrow to visit the novices and take a day exploring Killarney National Park. This time in Ireland is a mix of vacation and retreat, so I’m looking forward to seeing the beautiful countryside, having a little more time for prayer, and getting some writing done. If you would, say a prayer for my time here!
Peace and good,
Fr. Casey, OFM
Breaking In The Habit 
Hi Fr. Casey,
Greetings from a joyous 84-year-old revert to our precious Faith – I would love to email you – You—and not Muhammed Ali—are the GREATEST! – Blessings – Jerry Caterino (Former Protestant Minister-25 years) – RevJ39@optimum.net.
Hello Father Casey,
Will you be able to inform the audience what happened with Father Tuttle?
Thanks
Pax et Bonum
Hello again!
Look forward to this newsletter every week and the many Youtubes.
Can I please request a prayer as I am going through a very difficult time in my marriage right now. Thank you and God bless.
May God help you and your husband calmly solve your troubles. 💖
Amen.
I pray you will draw closer to His will
Slainte,
Jed
Pax et Lux to you, Padre and safe travels!
Welcome home, Fr. Casey ! Delighted you could make it to our green and misty isle. God bless your time here, and thanks for coming.
Hello Father Casey! My husband and I are making a pilgrimage to Rome next year. Thanks for the heads up on crossing the street! Ireland is on our bucket list. Will you have a chance to see the Book of Kells during your stay?
Dear Father Casey,
I just watched your video reaction to the collapse in the Irish Church, which was very interesting. I could respond to it extensively, as it is something I have witnessed since early age. I agree absolutely that the Abuse Scandals were not the cause, but rather that they brought issues out which were underlying for decades. But it’s very easy to dismiss the pre-conciliar Irish Church. It’s simply not true to say the laity were absent. The Legion of Mary, one of the most significant lay initiatives in the universal Church in the 20th century, emerged in Ireland. There were other movements too – the Knights of Columbanus (based on the US Knights of Columbus), the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association (which dealt with a local problem of abuse of alcohol), the Society of St Vincent de Paul (which was, and is, a life line for many families struggling economically) as well as the Third Orders and countless confraternities. Much of this is reduced or even gone. The Church can be criticised for assuming many of the functions proper to secular authority, but there is a sorry record of state officials hiding behind the Church too – education and health care in Church hands saved the State a fortune and I think one reason the Irish state could afford to have an unarmed police force for so long was the hell fire and brimstone preaching which has a bad name nowadays. It is clear that there were more priests and religious than the church needed, many going to minister in mission territory and to the Irish abroad, but it’s also clear that many gravitated to holy orders or religious life who for a great many reasons were unfit for it. We certainly see the harm done by the abusers, but I suspect there are many other tragedies we will not know about where the individual misplaced in their vocation suffered in silence. In regard to clericalism, I think there is a tendency to look at the pre-conciliar clericalism which the imagery in your video represents very well, but ignores the fact that clericalism comes in many shapes and sizes and some of the worst examples of priests trying to prove themselves clever while talking down to “ignorant” laity are precisely the generation of the Second Vatican Council. In ways the Council was misunderstood and applied badly. Catechesis in Ireland since the Council has been abysmal and there has been no pick up here as in other English speaking countries (I’ve been through it and any well informed lay Catholic I know is so because they set aside a lot of time for home work as adults, as I did myself). I believe the treatment of the art and architecture of the Church before the Council in favour of a style which was, frankly, ugly and expensive (and more to the point – counter-evangelical; repelling people rather than drawing them in) is a point which silently alienated the parents of the lapsed without stopping them attending Mass – and the hidden problem here was never understood nor examined. I would not want a Church where the Bishops saw their models in the ancien regime aristocracy but I am even less enthusiastic about those who look to the corporate world and see themselves as business CEOs. On annecdote, I have heard the old Princes of the Church were more available and accessible than the current managerial/executive style “leaders”. As I hinted, there is a lot to say about this, I also want to emphasise I don’t believe a return to the old ways is desirable or even possible, but I do believe that the old style Catholic Ireland for all it’s faults was real (real enough to send priests and religious to bring the faith to the developing world and accept martyrdom and also to see others spend lifetimes teaching deprived youngsters in Ireland and overseas or nursing the sick and the handicapped) and that if we go a way that reacts against that without building on its strengths and genuinely learning from its failings, we will find we are going the wrong way very quickly.
I would welcome engaging further on this point; you should be able to access my email which I had to provide to post this comment.
Finally, let me offer you my prayers in what’s clearly your valuable ministry.
Pax et bonum,
Peadar Laighléis