I have a number of friends who are Irish-born priests and nuns. They have lived in the Sacramento area since they were in their early to mid-twenties. They are now between the ages of 60 and 80. The nuns did not go home until the late 1960s or early 1970s, but most go back to Ireland every year or two now.

I've asked several about growing up Catholic in Ireland, and they give me the impression it was not so universally dire as Jim says. They do not deny the problems, but I get the impression that most of my friends had a good experience of the Catholic Church in Ireland during their childhood. Mind you, these are people who have been priests and nuns all their lives, so you would think they would think well of the Church or would have left it by now. And most of my priest and nun friends are liberals who are not afraid to question the Catholic Church when there's a need for it.

I did know one Irish-born priest of French ancestry Father Tony Gurnell who was more critical. Tony was born in County Cork in 1929, was ordained in 1964, and died in Sacramento in 2007. He was a brilliant man, and quite a student of history. He came from a family that was associated with the IRA, and Tony was not quiet about the harm he thought the British brought to Ireland. Tony claimed it was the British who brought the heresy of Jansenism to Ireland, bringing severity and harshness to an Irish Catholicism that had once been far gentler. Tony said that once the British decided they could not defeat the Catholic Church in Ireland, they build the biggest Catholic seminary in the world in Ireland, and staffed it with Jansenist-influenced French priests. Jansenists were similar to Calvinists in some of their thinking, emphasizing predestination and the depravity of human nature. Tony said this seminary produced thousands of priests over the years, a significant percentage of the priest of Ireland - and these priests brought the harsh severity of their education to all of Ireland. Tony lived his whole life with passion; but during his last years, he seemed to be driven by a desire to bring a sense of joy to Catholic communities, wherever he was.

Tony was very critical of the Catholic Church in Ireland, and I think he studied the situation there much more closely than the other Irish priests and nuns I know. I wish Fr. Tony were alive to join in this discussion. I'm sure he'd have interesting insights.

I bought Tony's almost-new Honda Civic from his estate, and I think of him almost every time I drive the car. He was a brilliant, joyful, gentle man. His father and grandfather were famous stained-glass artisans, and the family was known in Ireland because of their artistry.

So, while I cannot deny what Jim says about the Irish Catholic Church, I also have good, honest priest and nun friends who had a positive experience growing up Catholic in Ireland.

-Joe-