Im a believer

After a recent survey found that some Irish priests are disenchanted with the church, PAUL FLOOD set out to discover what alternative spiritual avenues are available to Catholic Dubliners today. His mother will be delighted.

efore starting out on a clear Sunday morning that will take me to the door of the Calvary Christian Centre and then on to a Hare Krishna meeting, I suppose I should declare an interest. Or lack thereof, for as far as all things spiritual are concerned an occasional bless-myself when a Hearse drives by is as far as I go. Call me shallow, but the closest Ive ever gotten to a communal, religious experience kicked off at 3pm on a Saturday in Old Trafford. What has me spending a day amongst the believers is a recent national survey of Irish priests from Newstalks Sean Moncrieff Show. The survey was sent out to 320 priests across Ireland, of which 114 replied. And although the answers that came back shouldnt surprise any of us in light of the turbulent events that have battered and bruised the church over the last number of years, they still make for arresting reading. Most priests feel their reputations have been damaged and that they have been victimised by the media, particularly in light of the RTE-Fr Kevin Reynolds libel case. They also feel that the Catholic Church hierarchy is out of touch with the challenges that they face. So if the priests themselves are having doubts about the direction the church is taking, how are the rest of us feeling? For the first time in the history of this little Catholic country, the flock is looking elsewhere for spiritual sustenance. For many, God is no longer at Mass. But where is He? My road to Damascus begins via the one to Naas in Kildare just opposite Bluebell in the Naas Road Business Park. Every Sunday a congregation of about 50 people gather to find Jesus above a Snap Printing outlet. I grew up in the Catholic Church, parents were Catholics, school was Catholic, so I ended up going to Mass that was just part of growing up, you didnt question it, Jimmy Dunne, pastor of the Calvary Christian Centre, tells me. Its a family-oriented church that was founded over 20 years ago in Dublin by missionaries from New Zealand and Singapore and has a diverse and multi-cultural flock. Jimmy, a native of Santry, Dublin, joined after drifting away from the Catholic Church and into a haze of alcoholism. He gave up drink two days after a prayer to God was answered and eventually found his way to the Calvary Christians door. I found people who were speaking about a relationship with Jesus Christ and that was something that shocked me, he says. And also they were very much into the Bible and thats something
HERALD DUBLINER

that shocked me because the Catholic Church gave me neither of those things. I was never introduced to the Bible as the word of God to read the word of God. And I was also never told that you could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It was more directed to the church and the hierarchy of the church than it was to the actual experience of God. He agrees with me that these are difficult times for Catholics. People are searching these days and seeking. Were living in a rough time. The world is pretty tough out there. I think people are going in different directions but they want hope, they want belief again. To me this is the answer. If youre looking for an experience of Jesus Christ you have to realise that its real, Jimmy continues. If its not then its what the Catholic Church offered: a religion. Religion is dead, theres no life in it. And if you stick around today youll see a bit of life and I dont just mean the music, I mean people who are seeking something that is real and they want it inside of them. Hes right, there is plenty of life, and spontaneous proclamations of love for JC during a lively set delivered by a tight band and Jimmys enraptured sermon. I didnt find the way they prayed in the Catholic Church very appealing; it was very formal, Brian McCann, a carpenter and worshipper from Baldoyle, tells me. And when I went to a Christian service I found it much easier to express myself through prayer and worship and singing and reading the Bible. I discovered a much deeper relationship with God. It is more powerful in a way here, adds Noel McGlone, a chef from Drogheda. With the Catholic Church you have no freedom at mass you cant get up and praise the lord. Its just powerful. Theres so much more of a community feel here. Are there many other Dubliners joining him? Theres more people coming through the door because of the downturn but hopefully theyre coming in too because theyre curious about their own faith and not just because of the recession. Theyre looking for other ways to build their faith away from the Catholic Church. Before making my way to the Hare Krishna Centre above Govindas vegetarian restaurant on Middle Abbey Street, I get Mary OCallaghan, founder of integrated health and therapy centre Oscailt, on the phone. For seven years now the centre has been offering mindfulness meditation, yoga, psychotherapy, massage and a variety of complementary therapies to a growing client list. We have a lot of priests coming to us, Mary tells me, which is kind of interesting. Weve had about five or six in the last year or two. Theyre looking to slow down, to connect up with themselves. Practice of mindfulness is very much about connecting up with your body and into the moment. I think theyre also very stressed. Theyre looking for a way to be in touch with their inner world. Mindfulness does that. The Christian tradition had at some point a very strong contemplative tradition but I think the pace of life makes that very difficult unless youre trained to do it. Has she noticed a keener search for spiritual fulfilment out there?

People are disenchanted by the political system, theyre disenchanted by the religious structures and I think generally theres a feeling of, What can I rely on? When you get into meditation you realise that you can rely on yourself. You have to. Although prescribing a different cure, Susan Duggan of the Atlantis Crystals shop in Temple Bar is also aware of the symptoms. There is a whole lot of negative stuff going on and were not sure what to do about it, she tells me. The church doesnt have the connection anymore; people have lost the sense of community. Theres just that emptiness and so people are looking for something that they can connect to. Crystals are natural, they come from different levels in the earth and they come through different processes in their creation. And depending on the level that they come from, they have different healing qualities. They hold an energetic memory and what you can do is you can actually programme a crystal in terms of the energy that its going to bring to a place or a person. People are coming into the shop and they are looking for protection and they are looking

There is a lot of negative stuff going on. The church just doesnt have the connection anymore
for clarity. Angelology, or the belief in and study of angels, is a growing phenomenon that continues to gain more bookshelf space, not least in Atlantis Crystals. Angels are part of the whole realm, as are, believe it or not, fairies theres just a different energy. We have a lot of books on angels and angelology here, Susan reveals. But is it not ironic that people are looking to angels rather than God for inspiration? The more you look into it the more you realise theres no separation there. Its not about, well God is over there and the angels are at either side and the archangels are up higher and the lower angels are down lower its not. Because were human we need to personify something. We cant fathom a universal energy, our brains wont take it, so we put a name on something. Its just about a representation of energy. When I arrive at the Hare Krishna Centre, thankfully monk Ananta Nitai tells me I can call him by his Christian name of Anthony. I wonder what response hes getting on the streets. Because of the recession people are poorer, he says. When I was first distributing books in Ireland four or five years ago people were a lot

happier because economically it was much better. They were very receptive to us. He continues: Some of us have come from a Catholic background but its not like weve rejected Catholicism because the central truths are still there God is one and our purpose in life is to resurrect our love for the Supreme. We present reincarnation as a fact, whereas in western Christianity its not presented like that you have one life and one life only. Thats one of the main differences. We head up to the temple on the top floor and are joined by at least 40 devotees of mostly Asian extraction as we chant for half an hour and then listen to an enlightening lecture on dharma from a visiting disciple of the movements founder AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Were then served a rather tasty ekadasi vegetarian meal and I manage a quick word with Gary Carney from Finglas, who is here today with his son Luke. Originally I lost faith in [the Catholic Church] and I lost trust in them due to the abuse and all that, he says of his journey. And that was basically it and I kind of left it. I wasnt searching for spiritual fulfilment, I just stumbled upon it. The Hare Krishnas had a restaurant on Dawson Lane and I used to go there from work and thats how I got into the philosophy I started reading the books and that. You get questions answered here that you dont get with Christianity, Gary adds. It would appear that people are increasingly finding answers in each other as well. The kindness that so many belief systems hold as a central tenet has now become a religion of sorts in its own right. A 2006 YouTube sensation first drew the worlds attention to the Free Hugs Campaign. This selfless act performed just to make others feel better was the perfect example of the random act of kindness phenomenon. Websites have sprung up all over the world asking people to offer selfless acts and even last month, starting February 13th, Ireland enjoyed its own Random Act of Kindness week. The LoveYourNeighbour.ie website in particular is dedicated to the recovery of community for the common good and suggests many ways in which we can fulfil that ambition. Mary OCallaghan of Oscailt also offers courses on loving kindness meditation. Its a very old practice that is developed in stages, she tells me. One of the difficulties many people feel is opening up to themselves or being kind to themselves. Its about generating an attitude of loving kindness, a way of having a more open and spacious heart and through that showing kindness to other people. If we love something we actually understand it more. My journey ends with a phone call to the Dublin Scientology office. Im interested to hear what they have to say on this new search for spirituality in Ireland and to learn if their numbers are increasing. I cant help but think of their famous devotees such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta as I wait for someone to pick up. In an era when the Oscars are treated like the second coming, it would seem that celebrities are gGods themselves now and Scientology is best placed to capitalise on this. But the call just goes to voicemail. I wonder if God has voicemail too...
HERALD DUBLINER

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