The fundamental reason for the drying up of vocations to the Irish Catholic priesthood is unfortunately too well illustrated by Brendan Hoban’s article (“On the edge of the abyss in Ireland”, 8 November). Focused solely on the clerical manpower issue, it contains no mention whatsoever of Ireland’s growing secular crisis – the sense that its political system has failed and may soon even lose its capacity to maintain social stability.If Ireland’s clergy cannot see the relevance of their faith to that secular crisis, how can they persuade Irish young men that the Catholic priesthood has any role in Ireland – other than presiding over the obsequies of a failed and redundant institution? Catholic Social Teaching has made no impact whatsoever on what mo