76: What the Bleep Happened to Ireland—John Waters

Ireland was once known and loved as the land of saints and scholars. Stout in its Catholicism and justly proud of its traditions of literature, of art and of Guinness—along with a veritable factory of holy missionaries to places like Africa—Ireland has taken a slow tumble into chaos. The Irish have fled the church pews like rats from the Titanic in the last 30 years; Catholic leadership on the old sod has been badly hobbled by scandal and tepid leadership; and, corporately, the Irish media have been crafting an aggressively secularist narrative about the nature of the country and its venerable past. Very few people understand the “before and after” better than John Waters, my guest this week. He’s an author, playwright, rock journalist, and social critic who has decades of observational experience of his homeland—the recent history of which is less than encouraging, with its historic redefinition of marriage in 2015, and now, with the May 25, 2018 Referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment to the Irish Constitution, which guarantees the rights of all Irish citizens, including “the right to life of the unborn.” If this Article is repealed, the Ireland of old, marked with the glories I mention above, is over. Done for. I’m airing this interview to make it available to as many Irish listeners before the Referendum. Pray for Ireland.   In this interview, you will learn: The recent cultural and historical forces that have gotten Ireland to where she is today The deep meaning in Gaelic of the English word “unborn” How Ireland developed its current existential nihilism Signs of hope that Ireland can come back to her former glory Strategies for engaging a post-Christian culture with a new way of speaking the truth How therapeutic deism has replaced the Catholic Faith   Resources mentioned in this episode: Lapsed Agnostic By John Waters Beyond Consolation: How We Became Too Clever for God and Our Own Good  by John Waters Persuasive Pro-life: How to Talk About Our Culture’s Toughest Issue  by Trent Horn John Waters in First Things magazine.   The Patrick Coffin Show is 100% listener supported. Help us keep our show independent and unfiltered. Consider supporting our work with a one-time or recurring donation HERE.   Tweet to Patrick HERE Follow Patrick on Facebook HERE Check out the store HERE Sign up for our Inside Scoop newsletter with the best of The Patrick Coffin Show each week.