Well-schooled in church’s desire for power By Michael Clifford

STELLA Days is from another “world”. The movie, which is now in cinemas, is based in 1950s Ireland, a land that has long disappeared into the mists of history.

Its central character, played by Martin Sheen, is a priest who wants to build a cinema in a small town. His efforts are stymied by his bishop, who would prefer a church. The bishop lectures Sheen’s priest that the Catholic Church must win “the hearts and minds of the people”.

That was a time when the Church held sway over Ireland. It would be nice to believe that the institution’s influence was all about inculcating religion as a force for good in the populace. Subsequent events have shown that the driving force of the Church, at the time, was power, not spirituality.