From Malachi: Growing Up a Catholic in Liverpool

Nearby the house where I am staying is a park with a small outdoor café. A few retired men and women gather daily to chat over a brew. I was able to befriend them and quickly learned that they were open to conversation. While I find most of their history interesting, I am intrigued about the religious history in Liverpool. I could go read books or articles, but I am more interested to know how the city’s history has shaped the religious perception of the men and women. Bill, one of the older gentlemen, was open to talking about his own upbringing and allowed me to interview him with all sorts of questions. I will try to summarize his account here. Being this is only his account, and it is based on how he remembers things, it may contain inaccuracy. It is nevertheless his understanding of the history of Liverpool in light of his religious upbringing. I attempted to interleave his account with information from the web.

Bill is Irish, and Irish immigrants have left a profound impact on Liverpool. The city is a port city which for centuries was firmly footed in international trade. It was easily accessible by immigrants who were seeking occupational stability. In the 1850s the Irish potato crops were destroyed by a widespread blight. This crippled the economy of Ireland, and the country was plunged into poverty. Wikipedia estimates that around a quarter of the population of Ireland died in the famine or immigrated to other places. Many Irish immigrated to England and America during this period. Another blight struck the potato crops later in the 19^th century.

Another impetus for immigration was the establishment of the Irish Free State in the 1920s. The unrest sparked in Ireland propelled many to seek stability elsewhere. As a result of the potato famine and the civil unrest many Irish came to England in extreme poverty. In Liverpool they would live in cellars of houses or other meager accommodations. There were portions of the city known for being predominately Irish. Irish immigrants were often very hearty workers, but they were considered unskilled laborers. Because of the enormous shipping traffic that would pass through the Liverpool port many Irish were employed with loading and unloading cargo from the ships. Therefore, the “docks” was known as an area where many Irish lived in very poor living conditions. This is seen in a song from the city’s history.

I was born in Liverpool, down by the docks

Me Religion was catholic, occupation hard knocks

At stealing from lorries I was adept,

And under an overcoat each night we slept

There’s a place in dis city were the nits de wear clogs (wooden shoes)

They’ve six million kids and ten million dogs

De play tick with hatchets and I’ll tell you no lie

a man’s a coward if he has more than one eye.

The Green and the Orange have battled for years (relating to the unrest in Ireland)

They’ve given us some laughs and they’ve given us some tears

But Scousers don’t want a heavenly reward

They just want the Green Card to get into Fords (I think this is a wealthier portion of the city)

In my Liverpool Home, In my Liverpool Home

We speak with an accent exceedingly rare,

Meet under a statue exceedingly bare,

And if you want a Cathedral, we’ve got one to spare

In my Liverpool Home

“What’s your religion?’ a feller once said

so I climbed in me ‘wellies’ and I Kung Fooed his head

“Oy! hold on!” he said, “I’m not starting a nark”

“Do you worship at Anfield or Goodison Park?” (Liverpool FC or Everton FC)

 

With a little of the historical context in place we can step into the time when my friend Bill was born. Bill’s father was an Irishman who served in both world wars. Bill was born shortly after the end of the Second World War. At that point there were already many Irish living in Liverpool. They were often considered unskilled but hard-working. Many of them worked at the docks. Nearby Scotland Road was an area of the city known for having a large Irish populus. Bill recalls that those who lived on Scotland Road were very poor and sometimes couldn’t afford shoes (there are hints to that in the above song). Bill’s family was not as bad off as others. They did not live on Scotland Road. Both of his parents worked long hours on different shifts and when they came home, they were often very tired. During the week Bill wouldn’t see much of his parents in the home. They were often sleeping.

Bill’s family was Roman Catholic and Bill would attend church and the Roman Catholic school until he was fourteen. Nevertheless, he grew to resent religion as he saw it. The Irish in the city were some of the poorest people and were largely Roman Catholic. In the years leading up to World War II the Catholic church embarked on building a cathedral that would have been the second largest in the world were it finished. According to Wikipedia the cost was paid for by mostly the contributions of working-class Catholics in the city. I saw a model of the design which remains in the Museum of Liverpool, and I wondered what motivation lay behind the desire to build such an ostentatious building. The costs for the cathedral skyrocketed such that they would near two billion of today’s dollars. Funds quickly ran out and construction ceased. The diocese would end up settling for a portion of the original design which is nonetheless still stunning. But as Bill noted and as is also noted in the Museum of Liverpool, the religious leaders in the city would manipulate and harangue Catholics for funds to build the cathedral. This is an experience he remembers firsthand. He recalls a priest who would visit the house and always sit a certain way such that it was obvious that his shoe had a gaping hole in the sole. The priest would make it a point to lament that he was “too poor” to replace his shoes. He recalls at times the priests being nasty if they were not given any money. A family’s lament that they had nothing to give would go unheard. When the scenario was inverted, and families would go to the church needing help they would be turned away. But Bill could see through the façade as he recalls priests sending out schoolboys to purchase cigarettes and magazines. In his eyes they were thieves that took from the poor to give to the rich. Hearing all that, one could imagine the sort of resentment which would develop from a young age.

Another point over which Bill has stumbled is the violent history of the Catholics in Ireland and the Protestants in England. Religion was always a theme in the conflict, but the history is complex. In the centuries following the Protestant Reformation religious turmoil and conflict was a regular fixture in England. Skipping forward to the beginning of the 19^th century Ireland was incorporated into the United Kingdom despite much division. Ireland was largely Roman Catholic whereas England was influenced by the British monarchy with its established Church of England. Protestants were viewed as loyal to the crown and Catholics were viewed as loyal to Ireland. The history is messy because Irish Protestants, which were a minority, were motivated to remain under British rule whereas Irish Catholics were motivated by nationalist desires. The tension between these sides swelled and spilled into a civil war where 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland established an autonomous “dominion” while nevertheless connected to the British Empire. During World War II they took further steps to liberate themselves from Britian and formed the entirely autonomous republic of Ireland. During the next century there would be periods of violent terrorist activity between Northern Ireland which remains a part of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Throughout these periods of unrest and violence it was impossible to separate one’s religious identity from their national identity.

In Liverpool there are two towering cathedrals on the same street in sight of each other. Liverpool Cathedral belongs to the Church of England, whereas Metropolitan Cathedral belongs to the Catholic church. Both were built in the 20^th century. These cathedrals are towering monuments. Nothing around them is close to their height. But for someone living in poverty in Liverpool it would feel as though there is a tremendous disconnect between the lavish architecture of the cathedrals and the needs of the people. According to Wikipedia Liverpool Cathedral is “the largest cathedral and religious building in Britain.” Funds for this cathedral apparently came from wealthy merchants in Liverpool. One can imagine what the 20^th century was like as two competing cathedrals of religions in conflict were built within sight of each other. For the average citizen these cathedrals would likely remind them of the “religious” unrest in Ireland. Just last week I visited the cathedrals and it as a breathtaking experience. According to Wikipedia the Anglican cathedral is 100 meters tall and the inside is 150 meters long. To put that in perspective that is about the length and a half of an American football field and it is the fourth tallest building in the city.

Yet, while all this was taking place many in Liverpool struggled to maintain a normal life. Many lost their jobs due to changes in the markets and in foreign trade. Many in the city had little desire for the cathedrals and their construction illustrated the disconnect between working-class Catholics and the denomination. These feelings persist to this day, and it is the lens that distorts every conversation I have with Bill about religion. Many of them see religion as a means to abuse, an unnecessary source of division (because of the troubles in Ireland), and something which is unintelligent and routine. For many of them there seems to be no concept in their mind of “knowing the Lord” in the sense of communing with Christ and being joined to him. I think many of them have a theology and a worship which resembles deism with a god that is far off and beyond reach.

In the final analysis Bill is an atheist. While his history has produced some stumbling blocks that nevertheless does not excuse the unbelief in his heart. As regards Scripture he insists that he never believed the accounts in the Bible. He specifically referenced Moses, but I imagine he would lump in all the supernatural interventions of God in human experience. When he questioned these things, the response was that he simply had to accept them as fact. This may reflect the perceived disconnect between religion as he saw it and the immediate acts of God revealed in Scripture. It may be that he never has known a Christian who lived their life in such a manner that’s God’s presence was evident, and that God was near at hand to supernaturally intervene and bless.