While the “apparent power” of the Church in Ireland has gone, this does not mean that the Church should retreat from the world and its structures and its cultures, the retired Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has said.
In his homily this week to mark the 25th anniversary of his episcopal ordination by Pope John Paul in St Peter’s Basilica on the Feast of the Epiphany in 1999, Archbishop Martin said the Church must rediscover its proper place within Irish culture in all its forms – “not in a way of domination or control or condemnation, but through courageously being that star which awakens and stirs open the hearts of men and women to be truly the people who God created them to be”.
Speaking in St Mary’s Pro Cathedral, Dublin he said the Church must never be a reflection of a society that seeks power and prestige but must bring the light of Christ to permeate the world in its concrete situations and not be closed in on itself.
He noted that there are many people today in countries of long Christian tradition who have not just lost contact with the Church as an institution, but with the message of Jesus.
Citing a reflection of Pope Benedict on the Epiphany, he said the wise men proceeded in a state of “pilgrimage”, that is, in a movement of seeking, often somewhat confused, whose point of arrival is Christ, even if the star is sometimes hidden.
Separately, the diocese of Kerry will host its online mission between 21-24 January. This is the fourth year of the initiative and the theme of this year’s mission is “hope alive”.
“We live in a fear filled time: hope in the presence of Jesus Christ is our response to all fear and worry,” said Bishop of Kerry Ray Browne.
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