Not even the GAA can outdo the Catholic Church when it comes to membership in Ireland, according to the Bishop of Limerick.
Commenting on the Census figures during an Easter ceremony in St John’s Cathedral in Limerick, Bishop Brendan Leahy said: “Despite everything, we have discovered that 78% of our population still declare themselves Catholic.
“It’s a striking statistic. On the one hand, it is good news to hear that in the privacy of their own homes, 78% of our population have affirmed their Catholic belief. I doubt even the GAA has such a level of affiliation.”
Bishop Leahy said people still come to the “big matches, as it were” – Christmas Mass, funerals, and major events.
He said with 78% associating themselves with the Faith, “it is clear that, while we have in many ways failed them, the door is still open to engagement around the Catholic faith that still is recognised as part of personal identity”.