The Catholic primate Archbishop Seán Brady has accused those who claim to have "set Ireland free from the shackles of religious faith" of now being "silent in the face of the real captivities of the 'new' Ireland".
The land of saints and scholars had become "the land of stocks and shares", where horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, and tarot cards were the "new Irish superstition", he said.
The "captivities" included "the increase in alcohol and drug abuse; the pressure to work and consume; the pressure to look good and have the right image; the increase in suicide and violence; the constant worry about finance and future security".
"It is not religious faith which is leading people to stress and despair; it is those elements of the 'new' Ireland which are increasingly empty of meaning."
In a sermon at Knock shrine yesterday, the final day of the national novena there, he said "the land of saints and scholars has become better known as the land of stocks and shares, of financial success and security. Tragically it has also become a land of increasing stress and substance abuse. And all of this has occurred as the external practice of faith has declined."
He believed "many Irish people have not so much rejected their faith as become distracted from their faith. People are seeking to control their future rather than entrust their future to God's promise and plan."
The result, he said, was "an increasing culture of insecurity and fear. What often appears on the outside to be a culture of confidence and certainty in Ireland is in reality a façade. More and more Irish people are becoming stressed out trying to bring a security to their lives that only trust in God can give. They are trying to control a future that is ultimately in God's hands".
This was "an empty pursuit", he said. "You see it in our fascination with property and wealth. Yet look at the dramatic shifts in the international financial markets in the space of a week. Look at the uncertainty of house prices, the potential for credit to dry up within days, even for the banks," he said.
"One of the most subtle but disturbing signs of this underlying fear in Irish life is the increasing reliance of people on practices which claim to 'unveil' the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, tarot cards, recourse to clairvoyance and mediums conceal a desire for power over time and a lack of trust in God's providence.
"They are the new Irish superstition," he said. "The truth is that more and more Irish people are becoming trapped by the illusion of being able to control their future completely."