Not Hating The Catholic Church As Much As That

The clerical abuse crisis in Ireland has put many a Catholic off their religion.

They're not so disgusted, however, as to turn to Scientology as a substitute.

The Church of L. Ron Hubbard in Dublin is not exactly drawing crowds. No one has any solid numbers, or so says Gerard Ryan, the non-executive director.

His reticence is to be expected. When you're looking at what he claims to be "several hundred" in a country of several million, you'd not be crowing about a grand success in recruiting.

With few parishioners in the pews (so to speak), it's not a surprise to hear that the Dublin branch is drowning in red ink. After all, if no one signs up for expensive seminars, there's no income, and without income, there's no profit. If it weren't for the generosity of the main office, Mr. Ryan would have been forced to shut the doors long ago.

No one should be surprised that Ireland isn't embracing Scientology. It isn't just that the nation is so thoroughly imbued with Roman Catholicism that they won't take a look elsewhere. Any literary agent can tell you that science fiction is a very tight market and demand just isn't there.