Today, in 1,300 Catholic parishes across the entire island of Ireland, a pastoral letter from the Irish Bishops will be read out at all Masses. Entitled Why Sunday Matters, it is an attempt by the Church to get practising Catholics back into the habit of Mass after a significant drop-off post-Covid.
And while Mass attendance is an issue primarily for the Church, Covid is a topic that for Eamon Martin, Primate of All-Ireland and President of the Irish Bishops Conference, is a good example of the need for a greater, more mature, engagement between the Catholic Church and the Irish State.
