The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, is urging lapsed Catholics to leave the church, reports the Irish Independent.
The last two decades has seen an increase of ‘a la carte’ Catholics who are selective in their practice of the faith, using the Church just for baptisms, marriages and funerals.
Martin is urging non-believers to have the maturity to walk away.
In the new documentary ‘Would You Believe,’ priests reveal they will expect a firmer commitment from church-goers.
“It requires maturity on those people who want their children to become members of the church community and maturity on those people who say ‘I don’t believe in God and I really shouldn’t be hanging on to the vestiges of faith when I don’t really believe in it,'” said Archbishop Martin.
The church believes that a la carte Catholics have picked and chosen which Catholic rituals to get involved with but Martin says the church will expect a far fuller commitment in the future.
The documentary shows how celebratory occasion such as weddings and baptisms attract huge numbers while regular mass attendance has dropped.
Fr Michael Drumm, from the Catholic Schools Partnership, also said the church would be getting stricter with requirements for parents who want their children baptized Catholic.
Archbishop Martin also said the church was anxious to start parting ways from some of its Catholic schools.
“It can’t be done overnight. There is still a very strong demand for Catholic education.”
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