priests – Thought for the Week

A recent international study based in Lancaster University found that in nine-out-of-ten public fights bystanders intervened to help the victims of aggression and violence. The research was based on CCTV footage of 219 arguments and assaults in inner city Amsterdam, Lancaster and Cape Town. The greater the number of bystanders the more likely it was that someone would intervene to help. In 90% of situations bystanders intervened by physically gesturing for an aggressor to calm down, or by physically blocking the aggressor and pulling them away, and by consoling the victim.

One of the lead researchers said, “The results contradict the idea that we live in a ‘walk-on-by’ society in which people don’t like to get involved in the troubles and difficulties of others. They suggest that people naturally feel responsible for the needs of others – that if they see that somebody needs help, they provide it.” The researchers think that the international nature of the study suggests that human beings are programmed to help.

One of the greatest commandments God has given is, “You shall love your neighbour as you love yourself.” God created human beings in his own image with a natural desire to love and care for one another. Often our sinful nature distorts that natural love and instead we focus on our own needs rather than the needs of others.

Jesus told a parable about a man who was attacked on a lonely desert road. His attackers robbed him and savagely beat him, leaving him half dead. Two priests happened to come down the road, but when they saw the man they passed by on the other side. They didn’t want to get involved or to put their own lives at risk. Being religious doesn’t automatically make us kind.

Then a Samaritan came by. There had been a long-standing dispute between Jews and Samaritans, but this good Samaritan took pity on the man. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he gave the innkeeper enough money for the injured man to stay for several weeks and said, “Look after him and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” The good Samaritan loved and cared for a needy stranger in the same way he would have liked someone to care for him if he had been attacked. Jesus then challenged the people by saying, “Now go and do the same.”

The visit of Pope Francis to Ireland has revealed the depth of disillusionment many Catholic people in the country feel with their church. The Catholic Church has been rocked by revelations of paedophile priests, sexual abuse in Catholic-run orphanages, and the exploitation of women in mother-and-baby homes. When Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in 1979 more than a million people attended the mass at Phoenix Park in Dublin. Attendance at the mass celebrated by Pope Francis was estimated at 200,000.

According to the Irish Statistics Office, Ireland remains a predominantly Catholic country but the percentage of the population who identify as Catholics has fallen. In 1981, just 2 years after the papal visit, Catholics made up 93% of the population. By 2016 that number had fallen to 78%, of whom only 44% attended church weekly. The fall in church attendance is most marked amongst younger people. There has also been a sharp decline in the number of candidates for the priesthood. The average age of Catholic priests in Ireland is now 70.

What has happened to those who have turned away from the Catholic Church? Many of those under the age of 50 now describe themselves as having no religious faith. The increasing secularisation of Irish society has also been seen in recent referendums on same-sex marriage and abortion in which two-thirds of people rejected the teaching of the Catholic Church and voted for change.

The heart of Christianity is focussed not on any particular church but on the person of Jesus. All of us fall short of God’s standards and need to experience his forgiveness. Jesus didn’t come into the world for self-righteous people who feel no sense of need but for those who know their guilt and who want to change. Many people all over the world have listened to the words of Jesus and have found new life and hope in experiencing his love.

At one point in the ministry of Jesus people who had been following him turned away from him. Jesus asked his closest disciples, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” At times of crisis, when people have seriously let us down and it’s hard to find answers to our questions, the best thing to do is not to turn away from God but to draw near to his Son and to listen to what he says.