St Catherine’s College, Armagh
Mass
St Patrick’s Cathedral
Address by
Most Reverend Seán Brady
16 October 2007

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to you at this Mass for the opening of your school. I hope that this is going to be a very good year, a very happy year, for each and every one of you.

I hope that you enjoy coming and praying in this beautiful Cathedral. Just look at the sheer magnificence of it. You have to admit that your ancestors of the 19th century had class. They had taste, they had style. It is indeed cool, real cool. No wonder the people of Armagh are very proud of their Cathedral. I see it first and foremost as a proof of their faith in God, a sign of their belief that the Cathedral is a place of prayer and that the highest and best thing that anybody can do on earth was to give praise and glory to God. This is the Faith we have received, we cherish, we live and we hand on.

So I hope that as you admire the sheer beauty of this Cathedral, your minds will turn to the all-important question. Where does beauty come from? What is the source and origin of such beauty.

I am sure that during the coming year you are going to study and learn a lot of new facts but whatever else you do I hope that you will continue to grow in beauty and wisdom, as Jesus did when he went down from the temple with his parents when he was twelve years of age. I hope that whatever else you learn you will, over the next year, come to know Jesus a bit better and that you will learn to put your trust in Him, to share your faith in Him. We declare our faith in God when we say the Creed. ‘I believe in God the Father and mighty creator of heaven and earth.’ It has been well said that the Creed is a wonderful gallery of the marvellous works of art, which God has made for our benefit. Let me emphasise that fact. God has created the world and all its beauty, for our benefit, for our use, for our advantage. God has sent His Son into the world to show His love for us. That Son, Jesus Christ, loved each one of us so much that He died for us. And so it is one marvellous work after another for our benefit. God raised Jesus from the dead, for our sake. He sent the Holy Spirit for us. He founded the Church for us. That is the profession of faith. That Creed, that profession, is like a tablet. It only fizzles, sparkles, bubbles when it is dissolved in the water of life and I hope that you will definitely immerse your faith in the Water of Life in your parish, in your home and in your Church at Sunday Mass using your talents, the great talents within you. If you don’t do this you don’t know what your are missing. I hope that this year you will discover the joy of following Christ. That is what the Pope said to us Bishops last year. Help your people to discover the joy of following Christ. Each one of us is on this earth to do some good, to carry out some definite service. God has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. You and I have our mission. We may never know it in this life but we will be told it in the next. We are links in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He hasn’t created us for nothing. I hope that during the coming year you will discover what that good is and that you will carry it out and choose your career wisely.

The good that you and I are here to do is to know Jesus and to embody in our lives the values which he has. I want to assure you, that is where you will find real joy. I invite you to join me in a crusade to find the joy of following Jesus and to pass it on to others.

Next year World Youth Day is being held in Sydney. The theme will be one of witness: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses. (Acts 1:8).

This morning the Holy Father announced my appointment as Cardinal. I ask your prayers and the prayers of your parent.

Sermon for the Mass of Remembrance
for the Deceased & Living Members
of the
Industrial Schools in Ireland

Given by
ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY
Archbishop of Armagh & Primate of All Ireland

At St. Finbar’s Cathedral, Cork, Saturday 27th October 2007

My dear friends in Jesus Christ,

I would like to begin by saying what an honour it is for me to be here today. Although the invitation from Right Of Place came some time before I knew the Holy Father intended to make me a Cardinal, I am glad that in God’s providence one of my first responsibilities is to celebrate this Mass of Remembrance for the deceased and living members of the Industrial Schools in Ireland. No issue has dominated the Church in Ireland in recent years more than the painful legacy of the sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children. That this occurred amidst our efforts to provide so many children with hope and care makes it even more perplexing. It could not be more appropriate therefore, that as I take on my new responsibilities within the Universal Church, I am confronted today with the painful, often devastating truth that the community of faith can be a place of hurt as well as of healing. I am confronted with the truth that amidst the most sincere efforts to do good, evil too can grow. In your presence I am reminded that without the absolute determination to remain vigilant, without the willingness to face the whole truth about our lives and about our human institutions, terrible harm can be done to those who most deserve our care.

In our first reading, Moses tells the people that God lead his people through the confusion and trauma of the desert to humble them, to test their inmost heart. If I have any hope for the Church in Ireland at this time, it is that in remembering the pain of those who have been so hurt in recent years, we too will be humbled, that we too will be brought back to our inmost heart as a Church. It is here we will discover the things of which Pope Benedict speaks so frequently, the basic and beautiful truths of our faith: That God is love, that our faith is not a list of do’s and don’t but an encounter with a person, that there is joy in following Christ.

A reporter asked me the other day whether I thought the worst of the child abuse scandal for the Church was over. My answer is that as a Church we can not even begin to think in these terms. Indeed, it can the Church can never think in these terms. The threat of evil, in any of its forms will always be present. What we can do however, is justice to those who have been hurt. What we can do is everything in our power to ensure that it does not happen again. I believe this is what we are now trying to do. In establishing the National Board for the Safeguarding of Children in the Church, by training thousands of volunteers at Parish level, by liaising closely with the statutory authorities North and South we are earnestly trying to do all in our power to create a Church in which children will always cherished and safe. Jesus asks no less of us.

Many will think it is too little to late. As a Church leader, I cannot ever adequately or sufficiently apologise to all those who have been hurt while they were entrusted to the Church’s care. Nothing can ever make up for the terrible wrongs that have been done. But I can assure you of my absolute determination to try to change things for the better, whether here in Ireland or in my new role within the Universal Church. Doing all in my power to make the Church a life-giving, joyful and safe place for children is my deepest desire and a key priority. As an uncle, as someone who cherishes the spontaneous affection, joy and trust of the children I meet at confirmation, in youth clubs, in schools I am still bewildered that anyone could deliberately harm a child. I still find it difficult to understand and feel great shame that some of those who should have been most trusted, some of those who should have been most like Christ to children, committed such horrific evil and crimes against them. The tears that well up within me when I think of what some children have gone through, what some of you have gone through, compel to continue, to the best of my human ability, albeit an always imperfect ability, to understand why these things happened and to work with others to put them right.

This includes asking hard questions. The Catholic Church has an outstanding record of care for children across the world – in education, in orphanages, in youth facilities, in outreach to street children and to children in need generally. So many heroic Irish men and women like Nano Nagle, Edmund Rice, Mary Aikenhead and others to give up all they had to give children every possible chance. How did heroic generosity, this sincere care for the well being of children become so entwined, so tolerant of such great evil in our midst? What was it in our culture as a Church, as a society which contributed to our blindness as the learned and clever to what the children among could more clearly see? Did our desire to serve those in need become an unwitting vehicle to earthly prominence and pride in a country struggling with independence? These are only some of the hard questions that we still have to ask. The journey towards healing for us all will be a long one. In the words of Pope Benedict to the Irish Bishops at the Ad Limina visit last year:

The wounds caused by such acts run deep, and it is
an urgent task to rebuild confidence and trust where these have been damaged. In
your continuing efforts to deal effectively with this problem, it is important to
establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, to ensure that the principles of justice are fully respected and, above all, to bring healing to the victims and to all those
affected by these egregious crimes. In this way, the Church in Ireland will grow
stronger and be ever more capable of giving witness to the redemptive power of the Cross of Christ.

The redemptive power of the Cross of Christ is the place where all of us meet in our individual brokenness. It is here and often here alone that we meet a love which is totally selfless and healing. ‘Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest.’ For those whose minds are tormented, often constantly, with the memory of innocence lost, of abuse suffered, of dignity denied, the Lord offers these words of hope. Hope that at least someone, my own Creator, the suffering servant, the oil of gladness, knows and understands my pain.

My prayer is that all those who have suffered abuse, of whatever kind, will find peace in the love of Christ. I am aware that for some of those abused, part of the pain of what they suffered is a loss of trust in God, a loss of a sense of faith or an ability to participate in the life of the Church. I cannot tell you how much this troubles me, how deeply I wish I knew how to help those to rediscover the love and peace of Christ which is their right to enjoy and to know. Perhaps some of you will be able to help me in this regard. Certainly there is need for a deeper and more humble listening on our part as Church leaders as to how we can help the process of healing.

In our second reading, St. Paul captures that beautiful truth that brings all of us together here around the source of our healing – the paschal mystery, the redemptive love of Jesus made present in the Eucharist. He utters those compelling words – ‘Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.’ Your presence here bears testimony to the truth of those words. For those who have suffered abuse from those who should have been the most manifest face of Christ in their lives as children, to trust again, to participate in any way in the life of the Church must be a complex, if not an insurmountable challenge. I feel humble before your faith, your courage. Pray for me. Pray for all those who try to be good and gentle shepherds of the Lord’s flock that they will be worthy ministers of his love. Pray that together will be able to find the way to forgiveness and understanding, to a new memory cleansed by the truth and justice of Jesus Christ. In organising this Mass, you have shown us this importance of not forgetting. Perhaps it is a model which deserves to be replicated in other parts of the country? Perhaps there needs to be a discussion about the value of having such events of remembering at a national level?

The most important thing of all, however, is to change the culture of what we do. Humility implies a willingness to listen to others. It recognises that no one individual or office in the Church possesses all of the gifts God gives to the Church. We are a family, God’s family. It is only as a family, caring for every child as any good and loving parent would that children will be safeguarded and flourish. This means that as we go forward, every member of the Catholic community must see it as their fundamental duty to care for and safeguard children. As leaders of the Church, we as Bishops and Religious Superiors must do all in our power to facilitate the structures that will support this culture of safeguarding. But every person, in every Parish has a role to play. The future lies in creating communities which safeguard our children, not just those who are specially trained. Such safeguarding communities, acting as good parents will provide the greatest protection for children within the Church. It will also provide the most supportive and caring environment for priests and others who have a vital contribution to make to the formation of children within their particular calling. With the assistance of the new Chief Executive Officer of our National Board, Mr Ian Elliott, former director of the NSPCC in Northern Ireland, and the whole Catholic community working as a family together, this is the task which the Bishops, CORI and the IMU seek to take forward in the coming months.

We are compelled to do so by the memory of those for whom this Mass is being offered.

May God’s mercy heal us all.
May God’s love, set us free.
May God’s peace, dwell in our hearts
And may our most painful memories, find rest in the gentleness of God.

Amen.

RTÉ Christmas Reflection 2007

Good afternoon. I hope you are already enjoying a restful and pleasant Christmas day. I am delighted to be joined today by Archbishop Alan Harper. Last January Archbishop Alan was appointed Church of Ireland Primate and Archbishop of Armagh. Archbishop, I welcome you and wish you well. We would both like to pay tribute to Archbishop Eames who presented this Christmas Day message for many years. We send our good wishes and gratitude to him and to his family at this special time.

I would also like to thank RTE for giving us the opportunity to share our faith with you today. It is our faith in God made visible in the child of the manger, a God with open arms, a God yearning to embrace the world and each one of us in his love.

Christmas speaks to us of love. Love of God for us. God is love and God so loved the world that he sent his only Son. The new born baby speaks to us of the self-giving of God, the self-emptying of God to become one of us. The carols remind us that God choose to be born in simplicity, in the poverty of the manger. One day the wood of the manger would be exchanged for the wood of the Cross – the price of love.

I realise that for some, Christmas is not an easy time. The loss of someone we love, financial set backs, strained relationships, ill health, loneliness, these can all leave us feeling isolated or out of sorts with the celebrations at this time of the year. Yet the key message of Christmas is that God wants to be with us in all our needs. Putting on our flesh, dwelling among us, God has entered into all our anxieties and suffering. He did so that we might find new heart and new hope in the experience of his love. My prayer is that all those who know pain of any kind at this time will find peace and healing and new hope in the Christ-Child, in the friend who knows all our needs.

As 2007 comes to an end, there are many reasons to be hopeful. The past year saw further economic growth and prosperity across our island. We continue to have one of the strongest and most robust economies in the world. We should be very grateful for that. Peace in Northern Ireland has really taken hold for the first time in many years. People who, only last year, were suspicious and distrustful of one another are making a real effort to build a better future together and for the common good. At an international level, we have seen the first peace talks between the leaders of Israel and Palestine in seven years. Let us pray that they will continue and bear fruit.

Yet new challenges to our hope also emerge. We have new forms of substance abuse which now take their place alongside our regrettable reputation for the abuse of alcohol. Cocaine and other illegal drugs have become a real threat to our happiness and our cohesion as a society. They offer a false hope and a false escape from the pressures of life. We also have the increasing stress on families and others affected by the instability in international banking and finance. We have the ongoing challenge of poverty. It is shocking to think that 51 homeless people in Belfast and Dublin have died over the last eighteen months. What does this say about our priorities as a society of unprecedented wealth? We have the ongoing concern over global violence and terrorism.

Then there is the challenge of global warming and climate change. The future of the children born in Bethlehem, Belfast, Dublin or Dubai this day is by no means certain unless we alter our behaviour towards the environment as a matter of urgency. The simplicity of the stable into which the Son of God was born should challenge us all to a lifestyle which is more sustainable.

And yet for all these challenges to our hope, there is a more fundamental truth which Christmas offers us. God is with us. We do not face today or the future on our own. The child of Bethlehem was victorious even over death. His love prevailed, just as the goodness and hope that is within each of us can prevail with the help of God. This is the truth we celebrate today. It is why we celebrate with confidence and with joy.

Christmas is not a relic of the past, but a task for the future. As the poet Howard Thurman tells us in his Christmas Prayer:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star of the sky is gone,
when the kings and the princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flock,
the work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among others,
to make music in the heart.

I hope there will be lots of good music in your hearts and in your homes today and in the year to come.

ROAD SAFETY SERVICE OF PRAYER

ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL, ARMAGH

ADDRESS BY

ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY

SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER 2007

I welcome you all here this afternoon.

We come to place, before the Lord, our love, our concern and our worry for the safety of all who travel the roads:

For our own safety and the safety of those who are dear to us,
For the safety of our neighbours and of our companions and of our friends,
For the safety of those who must go out, in all sorts of weather, on very difficult roads, to work and to maintain essential and emergency services;
For the safety of visitors to our country who may be strangers to our ways and our highways and our byways.

I welcome in particular

v Archbishop Harper,
v Dr. John Dunlop,
v Rev Tony Davidson and
v The Reverend David Clements

They are leading us this afternoon in this Service of Prayer for the well being of all who travel on our roads, and for greater care and caution and prudence and respect and courtesy.
I welcome the presence of so many Mayors of towns and Chairs of Councils, Those notified to me were:
o The Mayor of Coleraine, Councillor Maurice Bradley
o The Mayor of Ards, Councillor Robin Drysdale
o The Mayor of Antrim, Councillor Adrian Cochrane-Watson

The Chairs of

o Fermanagh Council – Councillor Alex Baird
o Omagh District Council – Councillor Wilson
o Down District Council – Councillor Eddie Rea and his wife, Mrs Brenda Rea

I welcome also
v The Area Commander of the PSNI, Inspector Ken Mawhinney,
v The President of the Road Safety Council for Northern Ireland, Mr Reggie Semple,
v The Senior Road Safety Officer in Armagh, Mr Cathal McKeever

We salute the work of Road Safety and the fact that you are here is a sign that this concern is felt and shared by so many people.

We applaud the fidelity and generosity and courage of all the emergency services –The Medical Services; The Ambulance Service; The Fire and Rescue Service.

I welcome too the
v Ladies from Girl Guiding Ulster
v The Camlough Brass and Reed Band and the Soloist Trumpeter – Mr Christy Hughes.
v The pupils from Armagh Royal Preparatory School, St. Malachy’s Primary School, Armagh and Armagh Christian Brothers Primary School, are most warmly welcomed. They have specially composed and have read poems for this service and I thank you for all of those poems.
v I welcome Waringstown Handbell ringers and thank them for their performance
v I welcome the Order of Malta
v And all who have made a special effort to be here.

We may be here for a variety of reasons. Some have come out of a sense of duty. You are representing your town or your organisation, and thank you for that.

Others may have come out of a sense of gratitude. You are here to say thanks for the fact that you and your families travel the roads every day safely and, no doubt, you are praying that they will continue to do so.

Others may be here because you, or someone you know, has been involved in an accident and has survived. Perhaps people you love have lost their lives in a road accident – and you are here to remember all of that, and to give thanks for the help you received on that occasion. I suppose we are all here because we know we have to travel the roads, every day, every week, and we want to ask for protection and prudence and guidance and good sense.
I thank the Road Safety Council of Northern Ireland for organising this family service. I am glad that the emphasis is on family. For our families can indeed help us in ensuring that we travel safely on the roads. They can get us up on time. They can make sure that we leave plenty of time for the journey and we don’t have to rush or speed. But I think they can do more than that – they can help to shape our attitudes. They can teach us that we have a right to get respect, not just for our life, but respect for our safety – for our safety of mind and body respect for our health. Of course this is one of the fundamental rights of every human person. Parents and teachers are well aware that they are to educate their children and their pupils about these rights. It is their duty.

All of us have duties in this regard. All of us have the duty to respect the health and life, not just of ourselves, but of others. We all must think of the rights of other road users. Our bodies and our souls are created in the image of God. We are to respect our bodies, neither hating them nor idolising them.

Today we thank God for the gift of all life – our own life and the life of others. We are grateful to all who are trying to save lives and to reduce injuries. We rejoice in the successes achieved and the reduction in the number of accidents. We pray for support and encouragement for all who are working to prevent accidents taking place – the Road Safety Council; the services of security services. We applaud the efforts of all who are making safety training available more widely. We pledge our support for all who are enforcing the Highway Code.

ü We ask pardon for the times we have been impatient on the roads and have ignored the speed limits.
ü We ask pardon for our own impatience with road checks carried out by the security service to ensure safer driving. We recognise that they are introduced for the good of security and safety of all.
ü We ask pardon for the times we were vain and arrogant and yielding to the temptation to show off to other road users.

The passage from the Book of Leviticus which we have just heard, reminds us of Yahweh’s command: To love our neighbour as we love ourselves and it spells out what that involves. That begs the question: How do we love ourselves? How well do we appreciate the gift of life? Something freely given by God, who is the source of all life.

I think that we must begin with an adequate and proper appreciation of the gift of all life. We live in an era where there is thankfully a growing awareness of the preciousness of plant life. People are acutely aware of the threats to plant life by the changes in climate. We also live in an age where we are well aware that certain species of animal life are under threat. The efforts to preserve them are to be highly commended. But we also live at a time when the reverence and respect for animal and plant life sometimes does not appear to be matched by appropriate respect for human life.

On an occasion like this we remind ourselves of the duty of respecting and protecting our lives first and foremost. The Gospel passage that we have just heard tells us not to judge others so that God will not judge us. But we can, and should, judge ourselves. We can, and should, ask ourselves how well do we appreciate the gift of our lives and the gift of good health.

Do we thank God sufficiently for all the miles we have travelled safely?
Have we enough honesty and courage to admit that, at times, we have taken chances which could have put at risk our own lives and the lives of others by driving recklessly, at too high a speed, by driving when we were tired or not in a fit condition to do so?

The Road Safety Council asks us to raise our awareness of the dimensions of this urgent problem. It hopes for a greater sense of responsibility on the part of all who use the roads. This demands of us that we try to understand the root causes of this problem and that we do all in our power to eliminate them.

We are talking here about human lives – a most precious gift – a gift that is to be welcomed with love, tended with care and guarded with devotion. We need to pass those values on by our words but, above all, by our example.

From Pastoral Care to Public Policy – Journeying with the Migrant
21 – 23 November, 2007
Dunboyne Castle Hotel

OPENING ADDRESS
BY ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY
PRESIDENT OF THE IRISH BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE

Introduction Save

Your Excellency, my brother Bishops, Sister Joan, Minister Lenihan, Reverend Fathers, Sisters, ladies and gentlemen.

It gives me great pleasure to attend this Conference entitled ‘From Pastoral Care to Public Policy – Journeying with the Migrant’. Speaking to the Irish Bishops at the close of their Ad Limina visit last year, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, made the point that ‘after centuries of emigration, which involved the pain of separation for so many families, Ireland is experiencing for the first time a wave of immigration. Traditional Irish hospitality,’ he said, ‘is finding unexpected new outlets.’

This sets out very well the context and motivation of this Conference. I congratulate Bishop Seamus Hegarty, Fr Alan Hilliard and the staff of the Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants for organising this timely initiative. The land of welcomes and hospitality is experiencing a new situation. It is a rapidly changing situation. Both Church and State, within their respective roles, share a concern and a responsibility to respond to that situation through appropriate Pastoral Care and Public Policy.

The Conference seeks to reflect on how these twin tracks might progress most effectively into the future. It will do so through the help of the insights and, no doubt, the challenges of a comprehensive range of speakers with recognised expertise in this field.

I therefore want to welcome and thank, on your behalf, and on behalf of the Irish Bishops’ Conference;
· Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio from the U. S. Bishops’ Conference,
· Professor Desmond Cahill from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
· Mr. Francis Davis from the Von Hugel Institute, Dr. Patricia Kennedy, from the Department of Social Policy, UCD
· Mr Peter Sutherland who will address us on Friday.

I also extend a very warm welcome to Minister Conor Lenihan, Minister of State with special responsibility for Integration Policy at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. We are delighted that you could be with us Minister and I take this opportunity to thank you for the support given, by the Irish Government to the IECE, over the years. I also wish you every success in this important area of your responsibility to which the Irish Government has demonstrated a very high level of commitment and responsiveness to the work of NGO’s.

I also extend a very warm welcome to all of you attending this Conference. It is a mark of your concern for this vital issue that you have given so generously of your time to be here. I am delighted we have representatives from the public, voluntary and private sectors. We have many who are involved in the Church’s mission to migrants. We also have representative of the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas.

The Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas is a related Commission of the Bishops’ Conference. It was established in 1980 when the Commission for Emigrants identified emigrant prisoners and their families as a group that were in need of specific support and specialised care. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the ICPO for their outstanding work over the years. While the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four were among the more high profile cases, their work is normally that of quiet but effective practical and pastoral support for those Irish prisoners overseas and their families.

This work has culminated in the recently published ‘Report on Irish Prisoners Abroad’ prepared by Mr Chris Flood. I commend that Report to all those with interest and influence in this area. In particular I appeal to the Government to give urgent consideration to the recommendations made by the Report in the interests of human dignity and the care of some of its most vulnerable people abroad.

I commend our chaplains and others charged with the care of migrants and we encourage them to continue to identify and serve these vulnerable groups.

Irish Chaplaincy in Britain.

This Conference also marks fifty years of ministry to Irish emigrants in Britain. The words ‘Irish’ and ‘emigration’ are particularly synonymous. Regardless of where you are in the world, the reputation of our Diaspora evokes sentiments of respect and affection and admiration.
Since the 1950’s the pastoral care of the Church has never been far behind those who migrated from this island. Today I pay tribute to those who served with the chaplaincy in particular. Those women and men who ministered in the chaplaincy over these last fifty years provided invaluable and prophetic service to our people at a time when there were few opportunities in Ireland.

I also pay tribute to the many people who opened their homes and hearts to newly arriving neighbours, family members and friends as they stepped off the boat and faced their first days in a new and unfamiliar environment. The informal supportive welcome expressed in neighbourliness and simple acts of kindness are invaluable. Indeed I am sure that we all have memories of journeys where we met such kindness and goodness. It is telling that these are memories which stay with us for ever.

For many who left our shores, emigration was the gateway to great success and a settled future, For others, the pain of emigration was overwhelming. The casual, piecemeal structures often meant insecurity, and insecurity sometimes became the norm with destructive personal and social consequences.

I wish to acknowledge today the efforts of many Irish community groups and our Chaplaincy in Britain. Every day they seek to serve those arriving from our country that are in greatest need.

I wish to express my particular gratitude for the contributions made to the SIA (Supporting Irish Abroad) campaign between 2004–2006. The funds raised through this campaign allowed us to develop strategic outreaches to the most vulnerable Irish people abroad.

On behalf of the IECE I also wish to acknowledge the increased resources provided by the Irish Government in support of those who care for our communities abroad. It is much appreciated.

Pastoral Care of Migrants

Any transition to a new land is filled with many unknowns. I know the feeling myself. It can leave a person vulnerable. The quality of the welcome received by the migrant helps ease their fears and addresses their anxieties. Among the most important forms of welcome are the formal supports that a country has in place. The ability to access information regarding one’s rights and services is vital in easing transition and integration. These structures are proving not only helpful but necessary here in Ireland.

Also critical to the successful integration of the migrant is the provision of adequate access to, and support for, the right to family life. We all know that to have those we love by our side, when circumstances weaken the body or soul, is invaluable.

In January this year Pope Benedict XVI made reference to the importance of the migrant family on the occasion of the 93rd World Day of Migrants and Refugees. ‘The Family of Nazareth’, he said, ‘reflects the image of God, safeguarded in the heart of every human family, even if disfigured and weakened by emigration.’ He continued ‘If the migrant family is not guaranteed a real possibility of inclusion and participation, it is difficult to expect its harmonious development.’

Any law or policy therefore that establishes divisions between family members is a serious threat to integration and undermines a very basic human right – the right to family life. As a country which upholds the value of the family as the basic unit of society in its Constitution, it is imperative that we respect this value in all reasonable circumstances. The growing global trend of introducing laws which have the consequence of separating children from their parents, or spouses from each other for long or indefinite periods, has to be a matter of the utmost concern.

Global Migration.

The vulnerable footstep that seeks a foothold in a country which may eventually become home is a sound that increasingly is heard across our globe. At least 175 million men, women and children are estimated to be living outside their country of origin. This figure includes economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.

More than ever migration has become a structural phenomenon in our world and unfortunately, an often bitter reality of the human condition. In the light of this reality it is imperative that we have policies in place that educate not just the migrant but also educate the citizens of the host nation. This Conference provides an opportunity for us, as a host nation, to reflect on the dynamic of migration and to develop those strategies that will make this new era in Irish society a time of enrichment and of harmony.

This gathering, and others like it, provide an occasion to move in a direction that encourages healthy integration and social cohesion. The President of the Pontifical Commission for Migrants and Itinerant People; Cardinal Renato Martino, alluded to this point at a meeting for the European National Directors for the Pastoral Care of Migrants when he said:

‘It is the task of Governments to regulate the magnitude and form of migration flows. They should however take the common good into consideration, so that immigrants will be worthily welcomed, and the population of the receiving countries not put in a position that would lead them to reject the newcomers’.

Immigrants

The duty to protect the common good falls on all, including the immigrant. Education, language courses and programmes of welcome are necessary so that the immigrant can understand the cultural values and practices of the host nation. Whereas one has the right to observe the customs and practises of one’s country of origin, the migrant is asked to commit to the building of a harmonious civil society in their new homeland. It was in this spirit that Pope Benedict said in a recent Angelus address:

‘My desire is that relations among migrant populations and local populations would develop in that spirit of high moral civility that is the fruit of the spiritual and cultural values of every people and country. May those who are in favour of security and hospitality know how to use appropriate means to guarantee the rights and duties that are the foundation of all true common life and encounters among people.’

For my part, I wish to pay tribute to the immigrants who now bless our shores and who avail of the opportunities offered to them to work for a better future for their families. I commend those who have actively sought to sow the seeds of a secure and hospitable society in their local communities. I am conscious also of the many Catholic Parishes which have benefited from the enthusiasm and commitment of those migrants, often with a deep and vibrant faith, who have come to us from other lands. As President McAleese recently commented, we have a good record in this country in welcoming the immigrant. This is something we should be proud of, but about which we should never become complacent.
Ireland –Challenges Today.

I wish therefore to acknowledge those who are actively involved in working with immigrants in Ireland. In fostering good relations between migrant and local populations you are offering a service that has the common good as its goal.

Worthy of particular mention in this regard is the work that goes on within our schools. It is often schools which are at the front line in the work of supporting immigrants. They experience, on a daily basis, the challenge and opportunities of integration. I am delighted that these issues will be explored in this meeting. I am glad that the challenge faced by schools, and indeed in society at large, will be addressed by Professor Des Cahill later today;

‘What we need are reflective inter-religious identities with a global view who are fully committed to their faith tradition, able to clarify and defend its values and attitudes but able to reflect on the essential nature of religious activity and expression and wish to dialogue with and participate with members of other faith groups.’

As an Irishman and as a Churchman, I am proud of the welcome provided by so many communities of faith throughout this island. You have responded concretely and generously to the biblical imperative to ‘welcome the stranger’. Or as St. Paul says, ‘make hospitality your special care’!

This goodness and kindness, which is so characteristic of Irish people. It is the Gospel alive among us. It is intimately linked to our Christian faith and its influence on our culture. It is the Church actively becoming the ‘sign and instrument’ of God’s love among us and of the unity of humankind, a theme echoed in the Gospel of today’s feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – ‘Look here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, my sister and my mother.’ Mt12:50.

Conclusion

I want to commend the energy and commitment of Bishop Seamus Hegarty, Chair of IECE and of his predecessor Archbishop Neary. The last number of years have seen the work of the IECE go from strength to strength. An incredible number of diverse and effective initiatives have been developed – they all have the aim of providing practical Christian support to those in need. I thank the staff for their invaluable support in bringing these initiatives into place and keeping them alive.

I hope however that Bishop Seamus, Archbishop Neary and the staff of IECE will forgive me if I single out one particular person for mention on this occasion.

For the last four and half years Fr Alan Hilliard has been the face of IECE for most of you here today. He has also been the man whose incredible energy and drive has ensured its continued development and success. I want, on behalf of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, to thank Fr Alan for his outstanding work during this time. As Executive Director he has given of himself generously and selflessly on so many fronts, not least in building up the sense of unity between those working in the different countries of the Commission’s achievements.. As the Lord now calls Fr Alan to another chapter of his ministery, I hope and pray that his example and energy will continue to inspire those who work in this field. On my own behalf, I thank him for his unfailing courtesy and enthusiasm and I am sure I speak for us all, when I say that we wish you, Fr Alan, every blessing, success and happiness in your new responsibilities.

Finally, may I wish all of you well in your deliberations over the next few days. I pray that the outcomes of this event will help to inform public policy on migration as suggested by the theme of our conference.

Perhaps I could conclude on this Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, with the prayer offered to us in the document Erga Migrates Caritas Christi. This document provides an excellent road map for all those committed to protect the human dignity of the migrant and the good of both sending and receiving societies:

May the Virgin Mother, who together with her Blessed Son knew the pain of emigration and exile, help us to understand the experience, and very often the drama, of those who are compelled to live far from their homeland. May she teach us to serve them in their necessities, truly accepting them as brothers and sisters, so that today’s migrations may be considered a call, albeit a mysterious one, to the Kingdom of God, which is already present in His Church, its beginning (cf. LG 9), and an instrument of Providence to further the unity and peace of the human family and peace. Amen.

ENDS.