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Post by shane on Apr 30, 2013 15:38:16 GMT
Does anything believe there's a need for a new lay Catholic association in Ireland? I mean one which would not be primarily concerned with charity or piety, but on harnessing collective resources and talents. It seems to me that Catholics here are very badly organised in comparison to, say, the far-left (who have a multiplicity of groups and are always holding meetings). Such an organisation would, I propose, invite guest speakers, share experiences/gather reminiscences, attempt to work on the modern history of Irish Catholicism, organise theological study groups, publish a bulletin or magazine with notices, lectures or articles of interest, etc. Perhaps it's main function would be to serve as a kind of meeting point and allow other Catholics to develop helpful contacts. Does anyone see any use in such an idea and would you be interested if it was developed?
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Post by Young Ireland on Apr 30, 2013 17:05:55 GMT
I think that it would be a good idea in theory, however I don't think it will work due to the bipartite nature of Irish Catholicism, since any such organisation will probably be seen by both groups as biased towards the other.
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Post by hibernicus on Apr 30, 2013 17:32:57 GMT
I don't think the divisions in Irish Catholicism are merely bipartite. An umbrella organisation is a pipedream IMHO (not least because it would rapidly be invaded by cranks, who are guaranteed to wreck anything that they get involved with). Better to aim for a combination of a vague "network" to enhance communications between different groups, and smaller self-selecting organisations trying to develop particular works.
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Post by shane on Apr 30, 2013 18:14:57 GMT
It was not my intention to propose anything compassing the mass of the Irish Catholic laity, certainly nothing as pretentious as the Association of Catholics in Ireland (the lay front of the ACP). Just merely a small association, and not a representative body. It could allow exchange of ideas, and provide something of an institutional network for orthodox Catholicism.
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