My brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ

It is a pleasure to be here this evening in this beautiful Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Sligo. It is a great privilege to open this Parish Mission of Prayer and Reflection for the final week of Lent.

The theme of your parish Lenten Mission is ‘Hope in Challenging Times’.  This seems to me an excellent topic.  Our times, no doubt, are tough, very tough for some, tougher for some than others.  The hope of all of us is that they will improve.  Of course we know from past experience that they will improve, eventually.  But I suspect that there some among us who can remember equally tough times in the past.  I am thinking of the older ones.  Remember there are people who have come here from abroad – especially those who have come from countries where they once had to suffer for their faith.  The good news is that people survived those tough times.  We will do so again, please God.  The fact is that people survived recessions best in the past when their neighbours rallied round and shared with each and helped out.  I believe that the same spirit of generosity and compassion for those in need is still strong in Ireland.  I hope that it will come to the fore and make its presence felt powerfully in these tough times. 

Canon Hever suggested to me that since this is the Year of St. Paul, I should say something to you of what St. Paul had to say to us that will give us hope in these tough times.  Now he knows well that I am no expert on St. Paul.  But, like the rest of you, I have listened to and read him all my life and I know this much:  Paul had a lot of troubles in his life.  He suffered both physically and mentally.  He was detested by the Jews as the ultimate renegade – a turn-coat and a traitor.  For a long time he wasn’t even trusted by his fellow Christians either.  Could you blame them; after all he had been in the vanguard of those that persecuted them.

I am conscious I am in the Yeats County. Someone said to me recently it is as if we are witnessing what Yeats meant when he said: ‘Turning and turning in the widening gyre… things fall apart; the centre cannot hold!’

Yeats was referring of course to the period of social and economic turmoil which followed the First World War. Interestingly, he goes on to say in the same poem: ‘Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world… The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.’

I believe St. Paul is a model of hope for our time. St. Paul was a man of deep conviction. He was a man of passionate intensity about Christ and about the hope which his life, death and resurrection offer to the world. In the words of the famous preacher, Msgr Ronald Knox, during a Lenten retreat some years ago: ‘For St. Paul… the life of Christ was to him an energy that radiated all about him, was the very breath he drew with his lungs…he saw Christ in everyone, Christ in everything; nothing but Christ!’

It was this conviction about Christ which sustained St. Paul through the many sufferings and challenges he endured in his life. Suffering was not an academic subject with St. Paul. He was once scourged with 39 lashes. He was beaten three times with rods and once stoned by an angry mob. He suffered shipwreck three times and faced drowning adrift in the sea for a night and a day. Those Jews who wanted to kill him for being a traitor hounded him across the Roman Empire. He tells us that some of his fellow Christians betrayed him (2 Cor 11:24-28). In the second letter to the Corinthians he tells us that he endured, “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities” (2 Cor 12:10). In the end he suffered a martyr’s death.

Yet this man of passionate intensity about Christ never asked, “Why me?” He never attempted to explain to the suffering Christians of his time, “Why you?” Rather he focused on the mystery of Christ crucified. Rather than complain he could say with joy: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20).

It is this same mystery which St. John draws us to consider in this evening’s Gospel: ‘Unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.’

The grain is Christ. The rich harvest is the abundance of life which flows to the world from his death and resurrection. The grain did not die for the sake of dying. It died to become something even greater, something it was difficult to imagine a simple seed could ever become. It died to bring forth a great harvest of life.

This is why the paschal mystery we are preparing to celebrate in Holy Week is the greatest source of our hope. It is the mystery of our immersion into the death and resurrection of Christ in our baptism. For Saint Paul, it is a mystery being worked out in creation itself. In Romans 8 he says: ‘All creation is groaning in one great act of giving birth… and we ourselves, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.’ Then St. Paul goes on to say: ‘We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.’

This mystery is at the heart of our Lenten journey, the mystery which culminates in the dramatic liturgies of Holy Week.  The sufferings and challenges which face us, whether in our personal life or in the events of human history, are opportunities for transformation, opportunities to allow the grace of God to  bring forth in us and through us something better and something new. God’s plan is for our welfare. As St. Paul reminds us, in all things God is working for our good.

The temptation is to avoid the challenge, to turn away from the pain involved in transformation and renewal. That is why St. Paul is quick to remind us in the second reading that our Lord ‘learnt to obey through suffering’. Obedience is not a very popular concept today. What St Paul is referring to of course, is obedience to the things which God has taught us will bring us real life, real joy and real hope – a hope we can trust. Just as it is difficult for people to hear the good news offered by the Gospel in our day, so in St. Paul’s had to endure mockery, disinterest and rejection of life in Christ in his day.

Ten years ago it was my privilege to attend a Synod of European Bishops in Rome.  The subject for discussions was:  Jesus Christ, alive in His Church, the Source of Hope for Europe.  It was a terrific experience.  For me it did two things:

1.    It gave me the joy of a living encounter with Christ – who is the same yesterday, today and forever.
2.    It set before us the same Jesus Christ as the one unshaken foundation of authentic hope.

The theme chosen for that Synod showed that there is great need to announce this message of hope.   The reason is that Europe seems to have lost sight of it in recent times.  It was great to hear people from Eastern Europe – from the former communist countries.  They had suffered hard and long persecution on account of their faith. 
The end of the Synod came to this conclusion: 

Possibly the most urgent matter facing Europe, in both East and West, is a growing need for hope.  Yes, we need jobs and security and better health care and education but first of all, we need hope.  Not any old hope but a hope that will give meaning to life and history; A hope that will enable us to continue on our way together. 

The Synod recognised that today in Europe, even the Churches are often tempted by a dimming of hope.  Many people are bewildered – disoriented – uncertain, without hope. 

What are the signs that this is so you may ask.  Well the first sign is that Europe seems to be losing it Christian memory and heritage.  Many give the impression of living without spiritual roots.  They live as if God did not exist.  They are somewhat like heirs who have squandered an inheritance entrusted to them by history. 

Cut off from our roots, which give us hope, we are challenged by the twin temptation of despair and presumption.  There seems to be, in our society a certain despair for finding meaning, purpose and ultimate satisfaction in life.  This is exemplified in the abuse of drugs, for example, street violence and an alarming diminishing of respect for human life.

Christian hope requires that we meet this challenge by cultivating a creative imagination.  That imagination would be based on the larger vision of a future that is at once a gift and an invitation of God to genuine fullness of life.

Not alone despair but presumption also involves a big challenge to hope today.   Many proclaim confidence in one’s own achievements of wealth, status and power as the way to total happiness. This is contrary to Christian hope.  Christian hope is focussed on the Kingdom of God.  It recognises that we human being are essentially inter-dependent.  We depend on each other and because we depend on each other, we are called to love and care for one another.  We are to achieve our own personal happiness by looking beyond ourselves and thinking of others as well as ourselves.

That is why St. Paul is not afraid to tell us that the beginning of hope is facing reality.  The joyful reality is that sustained economic growth brought considerable gain to this country over the last 10 years.  It put an end to mass unemployment and emigration.  It created jobs for young people leaving school and college.  Economic growth gave employment to tens of thousands of migrants.  It brought new and improved programmes of health and social care.  Our economic prosperity gave us a new pride and confidence.  And yet the sad reality is that the fruits of that boom were very unequally divided.  They were often directed more towards individual consumption and gain rather than towards improving the overall infrastructure of public services. 

Ireland remained a country with a much more unequal distribution of income than many other European States.  40% of the wealth of the country was held by 5% of the population.  People met rising expectations regarding living standards by entering into high levels of personal debt.  Many times more houses were built for second, or holiday homes, or for investment, than were built for social housing.  Significant increases in public expenditure on health services failed to make up for the deficits of years of under investment.

A theme which runs through the life and writings of St. Paul is the need for solidarity, for individuals and communities to think and live with a sense of responsibility for others. This is a time for social solidarity, fairness and compassion.  We all need to see ourselves as interdependent citizens with a shared responsibility for the common good.  It would give immense hope to everybody if those who are better off showed that they are aware that there are others who have a greater moral claim to be insulated from the impact of recession. 

Everyone fears the effects of the down-turn and would prefer not to have to endure it.  The responses which are difficult and unpopular, but which are just and in the interest of the common good, are the only ones which will ultimately provide real hope.  It would be an immense source of hope if steps were taken to ensure that those who gained least from the boom will not be asked to pay most in the down-turn.  Those who are better off need to be aware that there are others who have a greater moral claim to be helped right now; otherwise the climate necessary for policy responses, which may be difficult and unpopular but which are just in the interest of the common good, will not exist. 

It appears to me that an immediate test of the country’s willingness to place solidarity and fairness top of the agenda will come with the forthcoming budget.  I think we should pray to the Holy Spirit for the gift of knowledge for those whose job it is to achieve the balance between national income and expenditure. 

Hard choices will have to be made.  Responsible choices will have to be made.  Well informed choices will have to be made.  We will have to choose as a country what it is we want and accept the fact that we will have to pay for what we want.  It is accepted that there will be tax increases.  The question is:  will they be direct or indirect?  Indirect taxes sometimes fall most heavily on those with low incomes.  So if more indirect taxes are to be introduced they should be put on non-essential goods and services. 

It will take courage to reverse the trend of the past ten years – to cut income tax.  But without the courage to make those serious choices to reverse that trend, there will be a reduction in real income of the poorest of the people. There will be cuts in services provided for those in need of care and support.  Unfortunately, that is already happening with some very worthy projects facing closure, postponement or reduction.  Which is better, health or wealth?

Choices will have to be made, sacrifices will have to made.  Those sacrifices will be more readily made by people of generosity, committed to the good of the community.  They will be made by people of hope for hope finds expression in fortitude in the face of risk and suffering.  Living by hope involves suffering.  We are all called to be people of hope, that is, people ready and willing to endure suffering patiently and cheerfully. We are called to be people of courage, ready to take risks.  We are meant to be people of generosity, willing to live lives more frugally and more simply for the sake of the common good and for the sake of others. 

It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the gift of knowledge, wisdom and courage to find reasons for hope in these challenging times. Only the Spirit can inspire people to pursue policies of fairness.  Only the Spirit can change hearts and move people to moderate their self-interest and to promote the common good and to protect the weakest instead of seeking their own selfish interests.

The good news we will celebrate on Easter Sunday is that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is working now in us to bring about a new creation. This is the ultimate source of our hope in challenging times. In the words of St. Paul – God can do do infinitely more in us than we can ever pray for or imagine.

Our challenge, during the final days of lent, is to open ourselves up to the full potential of God’s Spirit working within us, to become, like St Paul, people of deep conviction about Christ and passionate intensity about the Gospel. This would bring to our homes, our Parishes and our country, a real reason to hope for a better future.

At the request of Pope John Paul II, the Synod on Europe turned our attention to Mary – Mother of Hope.  It noted that, thanks to the countless Marian Shrines dotting the nations of Europe, devotion to Mary is very strong and widespread among the peoples of Europe.  Certainly one of the joys of my life is to come to Knock.  I always meet lots of Sligo people there. 

“The Church in Europe continue to contemplate Mary”, the Pope said – “in the knowledge that she is present as our mother.  Mary shares in the many problems which today beset us.  Mary, our Mother, is helping the Christian people in the constant struggle between good and evil, to ensure that it doesn’t fall or, if it has fallen, that it rises again”.

Here in Sligo I am reminded of the Late Bishop Dominic Conway.  He was our Spiritual Director in the Irish College in the 1960s.  I think he would want me to end this talk to you, his beloved people of his beloved Elphin, with this prayer of Pope John Paul II to Mary, Mother of Hope.

Mary, Mother of hope,
Accompany us on our journey!
Teach us to proclaim the living God;
Help us to bear witness to Jesus the one Saviour;
Make us kindly towards our neighbours,
Welcoming to the needy,
Concerned for justice
Impassioned builders of a more just world;
Intercede for us as we carry out our work in history,
Certain that the Father’s plan will be fulfilled.

Dawn of a new world,
Show yourself the Mother of hope
And watch over us!
Watch over the Church in Europe:
May she be transparently open to the Gospel;
May she be an authentic place of communion;
May she carry out fully her mission of proclaiming, celebrating and serving the Gospel of hope
For the peace and joy of all.

Queen of Peace,
Watch over all Christians
May they advance confidently on the path of unity,
As a leaven of harmony for the continent.
Watch over young people: the hope of the future,
May they respond with generosity to the call of Jesus.
Watch over the leaders of nations:
May they be committed to building a common housed which respects the dignity and rights of every person.

Mary give us Jesus!
Grant that we may follow him and love him!
He is the hope of the Church of Europe and of all humanity!
He lives with us, in our midst, in his Church!
With you we say:  “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20)
May the hope of glory which he has poured into our hearts bear fruits of justice and peace!

I am very pleased to celebrate this Mass of thanksgiving on the Solemnity of the Annunciation made to the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Angel Gabriel.  We offer this Mass in thanksgiving for the Movement and for the Statutes.

I am very pleased to welcome you here to Armagh during this week when we are celebrating a Parish Mission preached by Sr Briege McKenna and Fr Kevin Scallan.  I am very pleased to welcome you here to Armagh, to the City of St Patrick, the City which Patrick chose for the foundation of his Principal Church.  Last week we celebrated his Feast.  Then we read again, in his Confession, how privileged Patrick felt himself to be here because of the fact that God rescued him from his unbelief.  For already at the tender age of 16 years, Patrick recognised that he had been neglecting God by failing to keep the Commandments and by ignoring the advice and the counselling which the Church was offering to him.  Like the Prodigal Son, in the midst of his trials and tribulations, Patrick came to his senses.  He put his trust absolutely in the tender love and protection of God, his Father, in the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, his brother, and in the inspiration and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Today, on the Feast of the Annunciation, it is our joy to celebrate the decision by the Virgin Mary of Nazareth to put her trust in the words of the Angel Gabriel.  Mary believed in the promises which God, speaking through his messenger, Gabriel, was making to Mary.

Today we recall, with great joy, the sacred moment when, with the help of the Holy Spirit, Mary accepted her unique vocation in God’s plan for all men and women.  As a result she conceived in her womb God’s only son, the Saviour of the world. 

We pray today, in a special way, for the Church that she too may always accept the Will of the Father and that as a result Jesus may be conceived in the hearts and minds of all peoples. 

We pray for those elected to govern the nations of the world and as they make their decisions for the welfare of their people they may, like Mary, listen attentively to the Word of God and allow themselves to be guided by it. 

We pray for expectant mothers that they may accept the children they carry with love and joy.  Today we remember all women, that they may see in God’s graciousness to Mary, the dignity of womanhood and motherhood. 

Through all the readings there is a lot of emphasis on the Will of God.  In the first reading the Prophet Isaiah tells us that the Lord spoke to Ahaz.  God offered a sign to King Ahaz but he refused it, stating that he doesn’t want to tempt God.  Prophet Isaiah crystallises this because he is being less than honest, he didn’t want to change his own will, he didn’t want to submit to the Will of God.  In any case God gives, through the prophet, to him, a sign.  It is said that no educator has been able to decipher exactly the meaning of this sign, who is this maiden or virgin, as the word means both, and who is the child who will be call Emmanuel, God with us?  It was only later they began to speak clearly of the virgin.  It is only when the event took place in Nazareth that the final meaning of the prophecy became clear.  God reveals himself gradually.

In the second reading, in the Letter of the Hebrews, the author of the Letter of the Hebrews says the word Christ came to the world, he said, “God doesn’t want sacrifices and offerings but that He had come to do the Will of God.”  Christ himself said, “My meat is to do the Will of the one who sent me.”  Then, in the Gospel, we have Luke describing the beginning of our salvation.  The Virgin Mary, betrothed to a man of the House of David, was chosen by God to become the mother of God’s son.  When the Angel approaches Mary and says, “Hail full of grace the Lord is with you,”  Mary was greatly troubled at the saying.  She wonders what kind of greeting this might be.  It is natural and normal when God, in all his majesty and power, draws near to us, poor humans, that we are over-awed.  The Angel seeks to reassure Mary by saying, “Do not be afraid, no harm will come to you.”  How often Jesus had to say that to his disciples, “Do not be afraid”.  The Angel assures Mary that she has found favour with God, that she is God’s highly favoured one, that is what the word really means, full of grace, and the Angel outlines what God’s plan is, that she will conceive in her womb and bear a son.  His name will be Jesus, which means Saviour.  He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David.  Mary belonged to the House of David because Joseph was of the House of David.  This Son will reign over the House of Jacob for ever as the House of Israel.  There will be no end to his Kingdom and if Mary was fearful before, I am sure she is just bold over, but she retains her calm and she asks, “How shall this be since I have no husband?”  People sometimes compare that with what Zachariah said to the Angel when the Angel came to him and he asked, “How shall I know if this is so?  I am an old man and my wife is old also.”  But Gabriel said, “I am Gabriel, I stand in the presence of God who sent me to speak to you and tell you this good news but you have not believed my message which will come true at the right time.  Because you have not believed you will be unable to speak, you will remain silent until the day my promise to you comes true.”  So Zachariah is punished for his failure to believe.  Mary believed, but she wanted some clarification about how this would take place and when she went to see her cousin, Elizabeth, Elizabeth compliments her.  She said, “How happy you are to believe that the Lord’s Message to you will come true.”  Now remember at this stage Zachariah was still struck dumb.  Elizabeth had figured out, maybe it had been revealed to her, that her husband had been punished for his lack of belief, his lack of trust in the revelation made by God.  Mary believed that the promises would be fulfilled, the promises made to her by God.  Elizabeth compliments her on that, that’s her greatness because of her faith.  “She had conceived the Word in her mind before she had conceived it in her body.”  St Agustine said, I think.  And God’s revelation continues through his Word, I know the Neo-Catechumenal Movement has great veneration for the Word of God.  I have visited the Chapels of your Seminary in Warsaw and in Rome and saw how the Word of God is honoured and enthroned there, but you must also realise that God reveals himself through the Word and through tradition and I suppose these Statutes are, in a sense, a gift to you from the tradition of the Church and they are a sign of the Church’s approval but as the Movement goes forward it must remain constantly attentive to the instruction of the Church, the wisdom of the Church, which the Church wants to share with you. 

Anyway, when Mary had received the clarification she sought, that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and that the power of the Most High would overshadow her, that the child would be called Holy, Son of God, she said, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Let it be done to me according to your Word.” 

This Gospel, this Feast, calls each one of us to remember that we too are called to be handmaids of the Lord, to be the servant of the Lord.  And we ask for the grace to be more and more aware of what God wants us to do, to be more and more aware of God’s presence in our life.  St Paul says, “I live through love in His presence.”

Mary listened carefully. 
Hail full of grace – most highly favoured one.
Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

Mary is blessed, truly blessed, because she has found favour in the sight of God.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

The first time Mary had that greeting from the Angel Gabriel, she was afraid.  She has recovered from that fear and now she hears those words around the word in praise and honour of her name. 

Mary has found favour with God.  We too have found favour with God.  We are his beloved children.  God so loves us that He gave his Son.

Mary did conceive a child and bore a Son to whom she gave the name, Jesus.  He reigns in His Kingdom forever.  What difference does all of this make?

This Jesus, Son of Mary and Son of God enters into the depth of this world.  He comes down from his heavenly throne and takes on his human form.

The Church, which is His Body, continues his presence in the world.  God is still with us in His Church, in its Sacraments, in the Word.

The Holy Spirit was sent, by Jesus, to remind us, the Church, of what He, Jesus, said and did.

The Holy Spirit inspires the Church to examine the signs of the times.  In Confirmation the Spirit comes to make people more like Jesus.  Hence the Movement.

The pictures painted in today’s Gospel are really dramatic – driving out demons – speaking in new languages – lifting up snakes – healing sick people.  Someone said to me:  “Doesn’t seem to be much of that around today”.  Yet I am told that in some churches in the United States they actually do lift up snakes, but with great caution.  Today’s Gospel tells us a truth experienced by the early Church, something they wanted people to remember forever.  It is this: wonderful things happen when you believe in Jesus Christ.

Patrick certainly believed in Jesus Christ.  Not only that, but Patrick convinced our ancestors to put their faith in Jesus Christ.  That, in itself, was an extraordinary achievement.  Patrick brought us the good news of Jesus Christ. It is still Good News.  In fact, amidst all the doom and gloom it is very often the only good news in town.

Another extraordinary thing: around the world today, people celebrate.  Many wont have a clue what they are celebrating.  They will wear shamrock and crack jokes about snakes and yet, beneath all the banter, there lies a profound truth.  It is this:  when people put their trust in the life death and resurrection of Jesus and are baptized, they are set free from evil.  This freedom, from the grip of evil, is not just freedom from something, it is freedom for something.  When we are baptised – as the shamrock suggests, we are baptised into the life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  We are baptised into a community. 

• Why was Patrick so successful in his preaching?
• Was it because he touched upon a deep need that is in all of us, the need to belong?

By Baptism we belong to a community.  We are part of a family of faith – not warriors in a warring kingdom.

Today, we are very much aware that violence has tragically returned to our streets.  Unfortunately there are some who want to drag us back into the warring ways of bygone years.

Patrick made it quite clear what he thought of such people:  “fellow citizens of the demons”, he calls them, “They live in death” – he says – “I denounce them as blood-thirsty men”. 

These tragic events remind us that we must all work and pray for peace.  I ask you to support all who are trying to move away from the dark days of the past.  Violence is not the answer.  It never was the answer. 

We must work and pray unceasingly.  Patrick certainly knew how to pray.  He wrote:  ‘After I arrived in Ireland, I found myself pasturing flocks daily, and I prayed a number of times each day.  My faith grew until I was praying up to 100 times every day and in the night nearly as often.  So that I would even stay in the woods and on the mountains in snow, frost and rain, waking up to pray before first light but I felt no ill-effect, nor was I in any way sluggish – because, as I now realise, the Spirit was seething within me’.

The spirit of humility was certainly seething within Patrick.  For Patrick was a humble leader.  He humbly confesses his neglect of God and doesn’t deny his sins.  Too often in Irish society, at every level, leadership has been found wanting.  Like Patrick, we all need to acknowledge our mistakes and learn from them.   For my part, I apologise for my own failures in leadership.  In particular I want to say sorry to all those whom I have hurt in any way.

Today I believe Patrick is calling the Irish to reconsider some aspects of the culture and values upon which society has been built in recent years. 

• Like Patrick, can we not admit that we have been negligent in relegating God to the sidelines?
• Where is this pre-occupation with personal wealth and success leading us?
• What has the breakup of family and community done to our happiness?

Patrick brings his sinfulness before the healing touch of God’s merciful love.  As a result a great surge of joy welled up in his heart.  Praise and gratitude grew into a constant openness to God.  Wonderful things happen when you believe in Jesus Christ.

Patrick came back to Ireland in response to the voice of the Irish.  They cried out to him to come and walk once more among them.  As successor of Patrick, I often hear that same voice calling me to various parts of Ireland to tell the stories of Jesus and Mary, of Patrick and Brigid. 

At first sight it might appear that Patrick had very little to say.  Perhaps nothing at all to an Ireland rightly worried about recession and financial losses and cutbacks. 

But then possibly St Patrick would have something like this to say: “When I first came to Ireland I thought I had lost everything, family, education, future prospects, indeed I had lost a lot.  I, who thought I was on my way to a professional career, was now a shepherd. I, the son of a noble man, I was now a slave; instead of a villa, I lived in a hut.   But the reality is that before my captivity I had already lost something far more valuable .I was in danger of losing my faith altogether.  The reality is that in Ireland, on the slopes of the mountains, cut off from my usual surroundings, I was forced to find a new security.” 

Patrick saw the hand of a loving God at work in all of this. He came to know himself as someone loved and united to God more closely than ever.  This was his new security.   This was the source of all his hopes and joy.  This was the reason for his great gratitude to God.  Patrick never forgot it.  Wonderful things happen when you believe in Jesus Christ.

AMEN

I am very pleased and honoured to be asked to contribute to this Congress.  I congratulate the Association and the Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library and Archive on organising such an impressive Congress.  The theme is well chosen and timely.  In an age where individualism is rampant and volunteerism is on the decline, it is good to reflect on the benefits and advantages which working for the community brings to that community.  It is good to recognise the joys to which that type of work gives rise.  It is important not just to play lip-service to the value of community work.  It is also important to identify the things which threaten those ideals of amateurism and to oppose them.

I welcome you here to this hill and to this place and indeed I recall the first occasion I came here.  It wasn’t in the cause of religion.  It was way back in 1954 to the MacRory Cup Final.  We travelled from St. Patrick’s College in Cavan to play Abbey CBS, Newry by train.  Unfortunately the referee, Mr Gallagher from Omagh died during the match and it had to be, of course, called off.  We were winning at the time and unfortunately we lost the replay.

This morning gives me an opportunity to thank the GAA for the enjoyment I have derived from so many activities of the Association.  Not just from playing but from coaching, training, attending meetings.   I am very grateful also for: the friends I made in the Association, especially the friends who give and gave so generously of their time.

Yesterday you had here one of the greats of Cavan football, Mickey Vince.  He was admired for his exploits on the field of course having played in several All-Ireland finals, winning three All-Ireland medals but I admire him more for what he put into the Association after he retired from playing.  He managed teams, at County and Provincial levels; he refereed; he was yesterday, at the tea break, recalling, with Seán O’Neill, the battle of Ballinascreen in 1968 when he was refereeing Down and Derry in what would have been a day out for the yellow and the red flags now apparently.  I was struck be the fact that quite soon after he retired he was already involved. 

I remember, as a minor, being brought by him and by Victor Sherlock in their car to minor trials.  I wonder is that happening now?  Are young players, immediately after they retire, putting enough back into the Association? 

I am grateful for the friends I made and the opponents I met and learned to respect.  I am grateful too for the moments of nervousness and anxiety which I endured before matches and which I now realise were preparing me, possibly, for the other challenges and, indeed, for the defeats of life. 

One of the great things of taking part in games is that you know, you win some and you lose some and you realise that we have God-given gifts which enable us to win but we are also limited – very limited – and sometimes weaker and we will always meet people who are better and that is an important lesson.

After spending a lot of time as part of an organisation that lays such emphasises on the community and on the Club, it was a great consolation to me personally to discover that one of the basic principles of our faith is the principle of communion.  Our way to God and God’s way to us is a communal way.  What does that mean?

Our religion brings about an encounter between ourselves and our God.  It is a personal and individual meeting with our God.  But this encounter is made possible only with the help of a community of faith.

So I don’t really regret the many hours I spent, especially in the 1970s, attending meetings, coaching teams at club and college level. I know that is exactly why the GAA people are often the back bone of the parish.  It is good to be part of a team – that loses occasionally and reveals our limitations.

When I was preparing this talk, I had to go to Belfast on Thursday afternoon to a Press Conference.  It was hosted by six leaders of the main Christian churches here in Ireland: 

1.    The Church of Ireland
2.    Presbyterian
3.    Methodist
4.    Irish Council of Churches
5.    Evangelical and our own
6.    Catholic Church.

The purpose of that meeting was to express sympathy but, above all, it was to provide people with a means of expressing their rejection of violence and of the killings and the murders which took place last weekend. 

I want to repeat that call here this morning to you.  It was a call to pray – a call to pray in the privacy of your own heart or in your families or in your church or in the church of another community that the peace which we have been enjoying in this part of the world for the last number of years may not be disrupted. 

One of the initiatives that came out of that meeting was the suggestion that we would wear a piece of purple ribbon to express our rejection of violence.  Purple is the colour associated with Lent.  Lent is a time of prayer and a time of changing or change of heart.  I appeal to you to take this initiative seriously please and do what you can to promote it.  There is far too much at stake here at the moment we cannot just take the peace for granted.  We have to play our part in consolidating it and indeed, I want to pay tribute to the Association for its part in the building of that peace.

I notice there going back to GAA matters that note-speaking notes have a question mark after whether I played for Laragh or not.  That could mean did I play, did I play for Laragh and how much did I play for them?  Well, I played for Laragh and a couple of other clubs as well and that was due to a thing which is very much in vogue now called strategic planning.  It wasn’t strategic planning on my part but on the part of other people.  But it reveals a side of the GAA which is very real and, I think, after the profound examination of the Association and of its motivation and ideals, it is no harm to take a look at another side of it which, I know, you will appreciate.

In 1956 in Cavan there was a rule which allowed a parish – for minor purposes – to pick from any club parish that borders on the parish.  So the parish of Kilinkere, which is famous in the history of Cavan football because it was the birthplace of the late, great Jim Smith, who captained the first Cavan All-Ireland winning team, and holder of 30 Ulster championship medals.  I was glad to see his son Gereoid here yesterday evening.  Anyway, Kilinkere is surrounded by six parishes so a strategic planner in 1956 decided that this would be the team enter in the minor championships and then we could have seven parishes and those parishes included Bailieborough; Mullagh; Virginia and so it was that I was lucky enough to get my place on that team and to win the Cavan Minor Championship medal.

1n 1960 I was a member of the Laragh Sons of O’Connell.  By the time I came home from Maynooth the Laragh Sons of O’Connell were already out of the Junior Championship as was their wont. 

The strategic planners in the Laragh Sons of O’Connell realised that there was a danger that I might be poached, I suppose you would say, that I would go to Stradone.  You know how we GAA people love one another, especially our nearest neighbours.  Some strategic action had to be taken to ensure that that didn’t happen!  Somebody, who was economical with the truth, came and told me that Father Gargan, who was formally my Dean in the College and a priest in the diocese, wanted me to play for Cavan Gaels.  So, out of respect for my former Dean, I went in and said I would play for Cavan Gaels.  So I ended up being a member of Cavan Gaels, not for the very worthy motives but that is how it happened and these things do happen in our beloved Association.  I am afraid they used to happen but maybe now the era of the yellow cards and all of that they don’t happen now but I think they do.

Donal McAnallen told me to tell stories, stories, stories but not what stories not to tell and what stories to tell.  I like the story of Tomas Ó Fiaich one night.  He was sitting in the Irish College in Rome about the year 1985 I would say.  He was introduced to a man called Father Larry Hannan.  Tomas thought for a while and he said:  ‘Larry Hannan’ he said, ‘I marked you in a challenge match between St. Patrick’s Armagh and St Mary’s Dundalk in 1937 when you were playing left-half back and I was playing right-half forward’.  And Larry Hannan said:  ‘You are quite right’.  Just the kind of memories that people’s involvement in GAA evokes.

I grew up in Cavan in the 1940s and 1950s.  Living in a county that won eight Ulster Senior titles in the 30s and nine in the 40s it was a kind of hard not to be interested in the GAA.  I would attribute our knowledge of the GAA then principally to the Anglo Celt, the Cavan man’s bible. 

I can well remember when I got my first football.  My father and mother went to town I the horse and trap – my brother and I must have known what they intended to buy.  I clearly remember going out the lane as ar as my neighbour’s house to meet them on their return and my father throwing the football out to us as we passed.  It was the same neighbour house where we had gathered late one September evening for the broadcast of the Polo game.  The kitchen was jammed to the door.  The radio was on the window sill and the overflow was on the street.  I am sure Aoghin described this match in detail that night.  I recall that Bob Gawing was playing in the opening stages.  Obviously the Cavan defence decided some remedial action was called for and some time later it was proclaimed:  “Bill Garvey has gone down injured’.  One of my less charitable neighbours was heard to say:  “I hope to blazes be never gets up”.

‘Agreement on this issue is urgent and would signal that politics in Northern Ireland has come of age.’ – Cardinal Brady

The Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education (NICCE) today released its policy statement on Post-Primary Transfer for Catholic Schools. The following is the address of Cardinal Seán Brady at the press conference in St Patrick’s High School, Keady:

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education represents and speaks for the Trustees of the 550 Catholic Schools in Northern Ireland.  I am delighted to open this Press Conference on their behalf.

The Commission is a recently established body. It was formed to bring about greater coherence and unity to all Catholic managed schools, to manage change and to interface with government in terms of education policy.  On behalf of all the Trustees I would like to thank the members of the Commission for their leadership in seeking to build a constructive and united response to the vexed issue of Post-Primary Transfer.

I would also like to thank each of you, the members of the Press and guests for being here. I realise it is a bit of a journey for many of you to come to County Armagh! I am sure as you appreciate the surroundings of this excellent High School and the wonderful countryside you will agree that it was very worthwhile.

I would like to thank Mr McAleavey and all the staff of St Patrick’s High School for making their school available to us this morning. In my experience the excellent standards and warm hospitality we have witnessed here this morning have become by words for St. Patrick’s, High School in Keady. They are the hallmarks of any school committed to an ethos based on the Gospel. St. Patrick’s High School is but one example of the many outstanding all-ability post-primary schools in Northern Ireland providing an excellent standard of education and a full range of future gateways for children. It one significant model for the future and as the Commission will say – there will be a variety of models.

In the current debate about the future of Post-Primary transfer it is important that parents do not to buy into the idea that only one type of school provides a quality education. As they reflect on the policy to be announced by the Commission this morning it is important that parents play a part in critically examining any assumption they may have about which schools can provide an excellent education for their child.

The Church’s involvement in education goes back ultimately to the mission the Church received from Christ to go and teach all nations. Education has been central to the Church’s mission since the beginning. It has found different expression in different eras. As Bishop Leo O’Reilly, recently pointed out, ‘we had the monastic schools in the middle of the first millennium here in Ireland. We had the great scholastic centres of learning in Europe in the middle ages. Even today there are few countries in the world – outside of totalitarian states – where there is not a vibrant Catholic schools sector.’

Every education system operates out of a particular philosophy of education. The Catholic philosophy of education is rooted in an understanding of the human person as someone of enormous dignity and potential. This dignity and destiny are rooted in the belief that each person is created in the image of God. Each person has an infinite value and an eternal destiny. Each one is invited into fellowship with Christ who came ‘that we might have life and have it to the full’ (John 10:10).

As the 2008 pastoral letter Vision 08 of the Irish Bishops states: “What is entailed here is not only the fullest human flourishing in this world but a hope for the world to come.” We believe that human life is too precious to be reduced to purely material or merely present concerns. It is about the big picture and about a hope that gives meaning and purpose to all our human strivings.

Community is a key element in this vision of education. Indeed as the Pastoral continues ‘education can be carried out authentically only in a relational and community context’.

Research on the Catholic schools in the English speaking world, by Matthew Feheny, points to their academic success but stresses the key characteristic is the ‘atmosphere of pastoral care and a deliberate attempt to create community’. This research is corroborated by mainland European experience. Feheny’s research founds that Catholic schools “were especially successful in creating school communities out of educational institutions. This success is even more striking with children in deprived communities” (From Ideal to Action, pp. 211, 217).

Building community, acting in a spirit of interdependence and solidarity, these are defining characteristics of Catholic education which derive directly from Gospel values. They oblige everyone involved in the mission and provision of Catholic education to be part of a shared concern for all children irrespective of background or ability. It involves every Catholic school having a particular concern for those who are most disadvantaged in their area.

This responsibility on Catholic schools to work in a unified way in providing a Gospel based system of education was a core value recognised by the Working Group set up by the Commission in February. This Working Group was chaired by Mr Matthew Murray and represented Catholic secondary and grammar schools in Northern Ireland. It was set up to recommend principles for a united way forward for Catholic Schools in response to the potential for the disorder and chaos of an unregulated system of Post-Primary Transfer here in Northern Ireland.

On behalf of the Commission and the Trustees I would like to thank Mr Murray and the members of the Working Group for their excellent work and the speed with which they brought forward their agreed report. They did so in challenging circumstances and identified core principles as the basis for a united way forward. The report submitted by the Working Group to the Commission has provided an invaluable framework around which the Trustees, through the Commission, can now announce their policy on this issue.

Let me also say that I recognise the widespread concerns of parents about the uncertain and disruptive situation we face if a regulated system of transfer is not made available. I welcome the emphasis placed by the Working Group on a unified response from Catholic schools as a means of addressing these concerns. It is important that the family of Catholic Schools act in a spirit of interdependence and solidarity in responding to this and other educational issues.

In recent weeks I headed a delegation from the Commission at meetings with the four largest political parties in the Assembly and at a hearing of the Assembly Education Committee on the draft Education Bill. I was very impressed with the serious and constructive way in which every party and the Education Committee engaged with the important issues of concern we raised with them on this matter.

It was evidence to me of the value of having a local administration with locally elected representatives who have first hand knowledge of these issues. It is in that spirit that I make a particular appeal to all of the political parties in the Executive and Assembly to work to find an agreed legislative framework for post-primary transfer for all children in Northern Ireland as soon as possible. With good will and a spirit of compromise, keeping the interests of children and parents foremost in our considerations, an agreed way forward has to be possible. Such agreement would send a strong signal to the whole community that local politicians can bring principled and constructive solutions to fundamental issues of concern to our society.

And with that, I would now like to hand you over to Bishop Donal McKeown, Chair of the Commission, to outline the policy of the Commission.

Mr Chairman,

On behalf of the Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education I would like to thank the members of the Education Committee for their invitation to discuss our submission on the draft Education Bill. We are very happy to do so.

The Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education speaks for the Trustees of the entire family of Catholic schools. That network consists of some 550 nursery, primary and post-primary maintained and voluntary grammar schools in Northern Ireland. I am joined this morning by some of the members of our Commission: Bishop Patrick Walsh, former Bishop of Down & Connor, Sister Eithne Woulfe, a sister of the Order of St Louis, a Religious Order with schools across Ireland including in Kilkeel and Ballymena, and Bishop Donal McKeown, Chair of the Commission. We are also joined by Mr John Gordon, legal advisor to the Commission.

We are very happy to answer any questions you might have regarding our written submission to the Committee.

Before addressing that submission however, let me say how conscious I am that we meet in the aftermath of the brutal murders of Constable Stephen Carroll and Sappers Cengiz Azimkar and Mark Quinsey. I consider that these crimes were an attack on the whole community. They were an attack on the democratic will of people across this island and on their overwhelming support for the very institution in which we are gathered this morning. I am mindful therefore that we are engaging with you today as the democratically elected members of this Legislative Assembly. We are engaging in the privileged context of democracy, a privilege we can never take for granted. We do so with great respect for you and for your role as politicians. I am mindful too of our shared duty as elected and civic leaders to do all we can to consolidate progress already made towards a more secure, confident and reconciled future for everyone in our society, not least the young.

As the Trustees of Catholic schools we are fully committed to playing our part in building a more peaceful future for all in our society. As we said in our publication Building Peace: Shaping the Future, ‘Our society in Northern Ireland has been characterised by profound conflict and those charged with the education of our young people have an important role to play in breaking down barriers of ignorance, misunderstanding and suspicion. Our Schools cannot carry the full responsibility of reconciliation alone. However, we recognise that they have an important role to play.’

We also went on to say that tolerance and respect for difference is at the heart of all Christian and human education. And this brings me directly to our submission on the draft Bill.

Respect for diversity is one of the key values underpinning our submission on the draft Education Bill. We see respect for diversity as part of the contribution which Catholic Schools makes to our society. We also see respect for such diversity as part of the obligation of society to Catholic and indeed to other schools.

In Britain, in the Republic of Ireland, and in many other parts of the world the provision of publicly funded faith based schools, or other schools founded on a particular philosophical, cultural or linguistic ethos, is accepted as a normal part of society. I would hold that the provision of a diverse range of different schools is the mark of a mature, tolerant and reconciled society. And since this is, I believe, the type of society we aspire to in Northern Ireland, then it follows that we should provide for a variety of schools based on available resources from which parents may chose.

This principle of diverse provision is also recognised and protected in a number of international instruments on human rights. Notably, Protocol 1, Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights upholds the right of parents to have their children educated in a manner consistent with their religious and philosophical convictions.

As Trustees of Catholic Schools we have a duty to strive to ensure that this right of parents is adequately respected and provided for in the new Education Bill. As the current draft of the Bill stands, we remain unclear as to how certain key aspects of the proposed legislation will operate. We therefore have significant reservations about our ability to support key aspects of the Bill in its current form. It may be that the Committee will be able to address these concerns.

Before outlining some of these concerns, let me state very clearly that any right we seek to have respected, or any provision or resource we seek for Catholic schools we seek for each and every provider of education in Northern Ireland. We therefore support those elected representatives and others who uphold the principle of equality in education policy and provision in Northern Ireland.

In doing so we are conscious that some people may have the impression that the Catholic sector is somehow advantaged over other sectors in Northern Ireland. This is historically incorrect. As a matter of fact until relatively recently, the Catholic sector received less support from the State than any other sector.

It is true however that when other sectors transferred their ownership of schools to the State, the Catholic Community maintained ownership. This took place at considerable financial cost to the Catholic community and to our Catholic parishes in particular. However, this was a cost which generations of Catholics were willing to bear to guarantee the ethos of their schools and the right of parents to have such schools. As the Trustees of Catholic schools in Northern Ireland, responsibility for ensuring the continuation of that right now falls to us. It is a right which we will strive uphold in all circumstances.

However, one thing is becoming increasingly clear to us as Trustees. One of the consequences of the decision of the Transferors to hand their schools over to the State is that a situation exists today in which many parents from other Christian traditions, as well as from other cultural, ethnic or linguistic backgrounds, believe their rights to have schools with a particular ethos is not adequately provided for. On behalf of the Catholic Trustees, I want to make it clear that we would lend our wholehearted support to any legislative or policy change which would facilitate this right of parents from other religious, cultural, linguistic or ethnic backgrounds to be more adequately addressed.

To ensure adequate provision for parents who chose a Catholic education for their children, we have highlighted in our submission a number of key issues which need to be further clarified or addressed in the proposed Education Bill.

Critically, these include the following three areas. We are happy to elaborate further on these during the questions:

•    First, there is a need to clarify the role of the ESA as the ‘Employer’ and/or ‘Employing Authority’. The proposal in Clause 3 of the Bill that the ESA will be the employer of all staff in all schools is unacceptable. This is a fundamental impediment to the ability of owners/ Trustees to exercise their right and duty to promote and safeguard the ethos and defining character of a school. To exercise our duties as Trustees adequately we require that the Board of Governors of each school shall be the legal employer of all staff in the school. As it stands, the proposal in the draft Bill appears to run counter to the principle, which we support, of giving maximised autonomy to schools.  We suggest that further clarification is needed in respect of Clause 8.

•    We accept that the functions of each sectoral support body will be as agreed between DE and the owners/ Trustees as stated in Policy Paper 21. The functions of a sectoral support body will be complimentary and will not duplicate or overlap with the functions of the ESA. This should be reflected in the proposed legislation. The business plan submitted by the Catholic Trustees addresses any fears among members of the Committee about the proposed scale of such a body for the Catholic sector or indeed for any other sector. We are not trying to create a new CCMS! What we need however is adequate support to enable the discharge of functions which properly belong to owners/ Trustees. This will also avoid the necessity of the ESA having to effectively negotiate key decisions with every individual school in a given sector. These support bodies make sense in terms of value for money and good administration. They have already been shown to provide a key role in raising standards. Policy and/ or legislation provision needs to be made for their role in supporting schools in the appointment of teachers, particularly at leadership level, their role on behalf of school owners in the planning and provision of schools, their advocacy role on behalf of a given sector and their role in supporting and developing ethos.

Similarly, there is no point in having such support bodies if they can be ignored by the schools in that sector. It is therefore critical that legislation provides for a duty on Boards of Governors to co-operate with the support body in their respective sector.

•    Finally, maximised autonomy and ensuring the ethos of a school require strong and committed Boards of Governors. Clarification is required in regard to the appointment of community governors. It is essential that legislation reflects the importance of such appointments being made ‘in consultation with’ owners and Trustees.

This is a short overview of the main issues we would like to bring to the attention of the Education Committee. I thank you again for giving us the opportunity to explain these issues to you directly and we are now happy to take any questions.

The funeral Mass for the McDonagh brothers will take place today at 2:00pm in Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Drogheda.  The Chief Celebrants at the Mass will be Fr John McAlinden CC and Fr Seán Ryan of St Peter’s Parish Drogheda, and Fr Derek Farrell PP of the Travelling People.  Bishop Gerard Clifford, representing Cardinal Seán Brady and Canon James Carroll, Parish Priest of St Peter’s Parish, will preside at the Mass.

Bishop Clifford said “On behalf of Cardinal Seán Brady, and the priests of the Armagh diocese, I extend to the McDonagh family our sincere sympathies on the death of Martin, Tony and James.

“This is one of the most tragic happenings in our diocese for some time.  A sense of enormous loss is evident throughout the local community and among your extended family members and friends.  No father or mother ever expects to see a son or daughter die as young people but to lose three sons in this way is a tragedy beyond comprehension.  To the parents Kathleen and Anthony and son Eddie I extend to you our deepest sympathies.

“At a time like this we try to understand and make sense of this great tragedy.  All we can say is that God loves your sons greatly, that He cares for them and that He cares for you.  We try to grapple with this loss, to find some meaning in this tragedy.  At this time of loss we turn to God and we entrust your boys to His fatherly care.  May they rest in peace.”

Canon Carroll said “I have known the McDonagh family for many years and hold them in the highest regard.  The local faith community has embraced this tragedy in the spirit of prayerful support.  The many expressions of sympathy, which we have received from around the country, have given the local community a sense of comfort and strength.  I ask people to keep the McDonagh family in their prayers and also to remember the school friends of the boys who are naturally very upset at this difficult time.”