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Post by hibernicus on Dec 2, 2023 0:38:16 GMT
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Post by hibernicus on Feb 15, 2024 23:51:02 GMT
The demise of the Veritas chain of bookshops is a significant loss - it's just been announced that they will close by the end of the year with the loss of 80 jobs. The bishops' conference say the financial situation is unsustainable. I suspect this reflects a declining readership for Catholic books, and for books in general, but also a loss of will to keep this tool for evangelisation going. BTW does anyone know when the old Catholic Truth Society of Ireland, of which Veritas is a remnant, declined into this vestigial state? In the early 20th century its annual conferences were major occasions addressed by prominent public figures. www.irishcatholic.com/veritas-a-huge-loss/
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Post by Devotus Immaculatae on Feb 16, 2024 14:39:13 GMT
Another sad and regressive move IMHO. Veritas required consolidation, reform and regeneration, not closure. Some of the shops were always busy and the busier shops must have been at least paying for themselves, and their online shop did well too, but Veritas overall has been losing money for quite a few years. Much of the money was perhaps misspent on HQ costs / publishing, or other initiatives etc. rather than the core business. There were many good and bad things about Veritas. It stocked some very questionable books and promoted some very questionable authors as well as good solid Catholic resources. I believe some of the shops also opened on Sunday and required to staff to work on Sunday. Apart from its faults, it was good to have some kind of Catholic presence on the main streets. Many people who were only nominally Catholic would still pop in for first communion gifts, confirmation gifts, Mass cards, Catholic jewellery, presents etc. Perhaps, God willing, some of the busier shops might be able to continue on in some fashion or form independently run, or run by that diocese. Some Independent Catholic shops do manage to continue to trade successfully in parts of the country.
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Post by Beinidict Ó Niaidh on Feb 16, 2024 17:32:44 GMT
The demise of the Veritas chain of bookshops is a significant loss - it's just been announced that they will close by the end of the year with the loss of 80 jobs. The bishops' conference say the financial situation is unsustainable. I suspect this reflects a declining readership for Catholic books, and for books in general, but also a loss of will to keep this tool for evangelisation going. BTW does anyone know when the old Catholic Truth Society of Ireland, of which Veritas is a remnant, declined into this vestigial state? In the early 20th century its annual conferences were major occasions addressed by prominent public figures. www.irishcatholic.com/veritas-a-huge-loss/Not in the least surprised, other than how long this took. I have quite a lot of inside information on Veritas over a few decades and I am aware of many difficulties. 1. Its business model. It's a private company with charitable status, nothing wrong with that. However, that's not how it was run. It was run more as if it was a semi-state body; management made decisions and expected the hierarchy to bail it out if it went wrong. One thing that was clear to me in its Abbey St shop, is that there were far too many employees and they did not necessarily have any interest in the business itself. Veritas also had a reputation of having a high mark up price. They also had a reputation of not honouring invoices unless they were compelled to do it. Ok, there is other stuff I will not post here but am well able to talk off the record; 2. Some employees spoke about a toxic atmosphere. I am talking about orthodox Catholics in the publishing wing (and publishing is, and was, part of the core business - it has been the Irish publishing house of the Holy See, and the bishops) who were deliberately worn down for their efforts. Veritas has been under the strangle hold of the catechetical establishment; 3. The bishops have been light touch in their supervision of the entity. However, I did hear at an earlier stage that at some point, the hierarchy issued a warning to Veritas to get their act together. However, I do believe that there could have been a more robust intervention at a much earlier stage. These problems are long standing and go back several decades; and 4. I know a former Veritas employee who got into serious trouble for alerting PPs (Veritas supplies parish churches with books too) to the fact they were in credit to the entity. That is just a flavour.
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Post by Devotus Immaculatae on Feb 16, 2024 18:06:15 GMT
Just goes to show we don't know what goes on behind the scenes. If that's the case, sounds like the rot was well set in for years, and if the Irish Bishops were unwilling or perhaps unable to clean house, it sounds like unfortunately closure was the best remaining option. I feel for the ordinary faithful Catholic shop assistants and customers.
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Post by hibernicus on Apr 17, 2024 21:38:01 GMT
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Post by Alaisdir Ua Séaghdha on Apr 26, 2024 16:06:01 GMT
Both fascinating. I am taken by Tom Holland's observation on the influence of 'Godless Protestantism' on Ireland. This was once a very ironic byword in Ireland for anything which was hostile to all that was good and decent. And people doubt the existence of Satan.
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Post by hibernicus on Apr 26, 2024 21:55:58 GMT
I would have thought the byword was "Godless Communism" rather than "Godless Protestantism". There were various epithets for Protestantism ("souper" and the like but I haven't come across "Godless") though it was often suggested that Protestantism led to unbelief in the long term.
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