From the prosperous-appearing church of 1979 to the disappearing church of 2016, the Irish experience elicits responses on countless grounds.
CHR Comment: Martin Marty describes the decline of Irish Catholicism, how older Irish priests suffer from isolation and feelings of irrelevance in their changing nation.
In February 2013, as she prepared to re-open a Wichita women’s health clinic shuttered since the 2009 shooting death of Dr. George Tiller, Julie Burkhart looked out the window of her home and saw protesters.
CHR Comment: The article opens by referring to the shooting of Tiller, an abortion provider, who was an active member of his church. The latest violence against Planned Parenthood was not purely religious but seems to have come in part from the shooter’s mental illness. Christians differ on whether abortion is about health care for women (liberal view) or a violation of the commandment, “You shall not kill/murder” (conservative view). Conservatives Christians condemn violent acts against abortion providers, though the article lists some exceptional cases where people with religious motives have attacked.
Source: Threat of violence ever-present at abortion clinics, advocates say
church history review 