text: I'm really not sure that there will be a future. Ireland could be considered a microcosm of the Catholic Church. As such it was probably the most "Roman Catholic" country in the world in terms of practice, devotion and obedience to Rome of the 90% of the population . It was selected as a safe bet for JP2's first foreign papal trip in 1979. It took over the country completely for the few days.  Francis' reception will be more muted and considered next year for the World Family Conference. It will be a very different Ireland that he will come to; in terms of the Church. Coupled with the credibility loss; are the closures of many seminaries. There are few vocations and they are now being shipped out to Rome. There has been a major decline in church attendances coupled with ageing clergy and devotees.
  Perhaps there will be more of an amalgamation of Christian churches ; once the current Vatican Curia members go to their eternal reward and there is a re-positioning of the deck chairs.