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.

Irish Bishops’ Drugs and Alcohol Initiative (IBDI) DVD launch:
“Find the Balance: Dare to Dream”

Address by
Archbishop Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh

Tallaght Community School, Dublin
Thursday 15th November 2007

Mr Coffey, distinguished guests, members of staff and pupils of Tallaght Community School,
First of all I would like to thank Archbishop Martin for his warm words of support and welcome. I would also like to thank Bishop Éamonn Walsh for inviting me to launch this exciting and provocative DVD entitled: “Find the balance – Dare to Dream”. It is an initiative of the Irish Bishops’ Conference.

I wish to acknowledge here today the presence of Mayor Billy Gogarty, [Minister Conor Lenihan], Deputy Charlie O’Connor, Deputy Pat Rabbitte [and Deputy Brian Hayes]. As public representatives you have the heavy responsibility of dealing with the consequences of the abuse of alcohol in society both at a constituency level and at a legislative level. I know that each one of you share the concern of the Bishops and others in society about this matter. I thank you for your support here today and for the work that each of you has done to address this issue in policy and legislation. I assure you that the Church will continue to pastorally support those in need of help with problems – either directly or indirectly – arising from alcohol abuse. I believe that the best way to address this issue is through people working together with public representatives, church community leaders, Health Workers, Social Workers, teachers, parents, families and young people.
The context for today’s launch can be traced back to the work of the Irish Bishops’ Drugs and Alcohol Initiative. This committee, carried out pilot projects and consultations with various interest groups. It then spearheaded the drafting of the Bishops’ Conference pastoral letter entitled: Alcohol: The Challenge of Moderation. It was launched by Archbishop Martin last February to coincide with the beginning of Lent.

This pastoral letter was launched under the statue of Fr Theobald Mathew (1790–1856) on O’Connell Street. I reckon that Father Matthew, the famous ‘Apostle of Temperance’, who lived from 1790 to 1856, would have approved of this launch being held outside. He himself was fairly adept at organising and arranging and managing many mass rallies throughout Ireland calling on people to abstain from alcohol abuse. He used the famous slogan “Here goes in the name of God!” or “Ar aghaigh linn in ainm Dé” to launch his national campaign in 1838, from Cork, against the omnipresence of alcohol in Irish society.

Father Mathew was very successful. At one point he had encouraged up to 60,000 people to take the pledge – committing themselves to abstaining from alcohol. This would be an impressive achievement even today but let us remember the environment in which Fr Mathew’s worked: Bad roads, no mobile phones few jobs outside farming. Travel itself was a slow, expensive and dangerous undertaking – and this scene was chillingly set against the backdrop of the Great Famine.

But he did it. Fr Mathew set out to change behaviour and attitudes towards alcohol, with all the odds stacked against him, but he succeeded. Why? Because he had the courage of his convictions. He was committed to challenging the prevailing social norm which was to indulge in alcohol to the detriment of family life and livelihoods. What mattered to Fr Mathew wasn’t popularity or ‘going with the flow’ but rather his concern was to do the right thing and to stand up for what he believed in.

To the young people of Tallaght Community School and elsewhere I want to say, first of all, that this DVD is about you. You are all young, bright individuals whose unique gifts are going to be of great benefit to yourselves and to society at large. This DVD is about your right to dream. To dream about the exciting, positive opportunities that lie ahead for you and your friends. It is about your right to live a happy and healthy life. Yes, a life full of fun and excitement but also a life full of meaning and purpose. This is the balance which protects your dreams and keeps you free from slavery of addiction.

One of the great myths in our culture today is the belief that you can only be happy when you can do what you want, when you want, as you want. This is simply not true. The message of this DVD, is also the message of Jesus and His Church.

The message of this DVD is that to be happy in life – we need a balance in life. To be really happy we need self-control as well as self-determination. Above all, you need self respect. You need a sense of your own dignity and of your own worth. We cannot believe in a God who loves, if we don’t, first of all, love ourselves. Every human being is a child of God – Jesus came to tell us that. This sense of our own dignity – of our own worth – is one of our most precious possessions.

In this DVD you will see people who are living their dreams – a footballer, a sea-rescue pilot, a rally driver. They are in control of their lives. They are certainly in control of their enjoyment of alcohol. They control alcohol – alcohol does not control them.

In this DVD you will hear the complaint -“drink is too easy. It is too easy to access, too easy to turn to, too easy to rely on when things are getting you down”. I would like to ask this question: Here in Ireland, have we made alcohol too easy to access? Have we made it too easy to become what the world says we are – a nation of heavy drinkers. And, if we have, is it something of which we should be proud? In fact we should be embarrassed that this is indeed part of our reputation. Unfortunately, statistics indicate that this is, in fact, the case.

My hope is that this DVD will play some part in ridding us of this rather embarrassing reputation. I invite the young Irish people today to be THE generation to set Ireland free from this rather doubtful distinction. How often in this era has it been our young people who have become the agents for significant social change? Change with regard to smoking, caring for the environment or concern for the global poor?
I have heard of the Young Social Innovators Programme in Tallaght Community School. I am told it is very successful. It has already set a new standard in helping young people address the issue of drugs and other forms of substance abuse. I congratulate you on that success.

So, what about this for a challenge to the young people of today, show us the way to make our country a country to be really proud of in terms of our attitude to alcohol. Hopefully some of you will get the grace to live a life completely free from alcohol. Perhaps, like that great Dublin man, Matt Talbot, you will discover that real happiness is found in faith in God and helping others deal with the problems of abuse of alcohol. Maybe some of you will become pioneers.

For those who do decide to have a drink, I ask you to help Ireland become a place where alcohol is enjoyed responsibly, with balance and moderation.

Could I respectfully suggest the following should become priorities for us all:

· Building supportive caring communities. Churches have a key role in helping to bring this about. Supportive communities offer the best bulwark against social isolation and many of the other problems which flow from, or contribute to, the abuse of alcohol.

· Making heavy drinking and drunkenness as anti-social as we have made many other things which destroy our health and environment like smoking, drink-driving. We need to invest similar amounts of money and energy, and have the same types of advertising campaigns as we had about the effects of smoking and the effects of not eating properly, and the dangers of speeding and drink-driving. Our culture of heavy drinking is the elephant in the room which we need to confront with collective and concerted action. The health and reputation of our country is at stake. Our young people deserve nothing less.

· We need to break, once and for all, the link between sport and advertising alcohol. We need to do it with the same vigour and determination as the effort to remove advertising for tobacco from sports. The stakes are high. The quality of life of whole families and communities is what is at risk.

I thank Mr Pat Coffey, School Principal and Father Paul Hampson, the School Chaplain and all the teachers and students of this Community School for their support.

It is with great pleasure and great hope that I now present a copy of this DVD to one of the many wonderful and talented young people of this country.

Thank you.

LAUNCH OF

CATHOLIC REVIVAL IN THE NORTH OF IRELAND – 1603-1641

BY REV BRIAN MacCUARTA

ADDRESS BY

ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY

O FIAICH LIBRARY & ARCHIVE

SATURDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2007

About thirty years ago I was an active member of Cumann Seanchais ni Brefini and made many friends. In fact, at one stage, I was Editor of its journal Breffini. Not a very efficient editor I may add, partly because I was distracted by many other things – football being one of them I would say. But I remember at one stage being exercised with extracting from Seamus O Morála of St. Pat’s, an article on Primate Hugh O’Reilly. It took quite a while to do so partly, as I say, because I wasn’t giving it my full attention. But I realise now that possibly I would have been better employed if I had paid more attention to Primate Hugh and his life as it would have been a better preparation for the situation I find myself in now.

I am delighted to be here today to launch this fine volume entitled Catholic Revival in the North of Ireland – 1603-1641. I congratulate most heartily its author: Father Brian MacCuarta on this splendid volume. I congratulate Four Courts Press on the very elegant format and layout and indeed on the many other publications of historical interest which they publish.

I have enjoyed reading this book but I have to confess that it is challenging reading. I dig into and out of it much like the way you would take up spiritual exercises of St Ignatius. I find it gives me much food for thought, inspiration reflection and hope. I gives dealing with the past a mew meaning and a new prospect.

Father Brian has been studying this topic for years. He has discussed it with the leading experts on the subject and so it is magnificent fruit of years of serious study, research and reflection. It has its inspiration, he says, on the value in which the Society of Jesus places on learned ministry. Sources which he has consulted are immense and impressive – two pages of manuscript sources alone and fourteen pages of printed sources. That is a lot of serious work and I congratulate him on it.

His conclusion is most interesting. Resurgence, and not merely survival, was the experience of the Catholic Church between the end of the Nine Years War and the outbreak of hostilities in 1641. The Nine Years War had been a traumatic period but by 1641 he says the “condition of the Church was vigorous. Weakness, confusion and lack of leadership characterised the Church in the opening years of the 17th century. But, by the early 1620s the revival was underway. Lough Derg, for example, was re-established as the place of major pilgrimage”.

In the Introduction, the author says that “the persistence of Catholicism is a striking feature of early modern Ireland”. He believes that not enough attention has been paid to the evolution of Catholicism in this period. Thing did look pretty bleak in 1606. Ulster in particular was exhausted.
At recent celebrations to mark the Flight of the Earls, I asked a question: What is there to celebrate about an event that left a lot of people landless and leaderless? Well this book identifies much that is to be celebrated.

Here in Ulster the renewal was built on what Father Brian calls: ‘the reform impulse among sections of the clergy which were already emerging by the end of the 16th century. He tells us that priests, trained on the continent, secular and religious, contributed much, especially the Franciscans, the Jesuits the Capuchins, the Dominicans, the Cistercians and the Carmelites. But they faced considerable opposition. Change is always difficult.

I have to say that this book at once consoles me and disturbs me. I am disturbed to realise that Archbishop Peter Lombard, who was Archbishop from 1601-1625, was never able to set foot in the diocese. Neither did his successor, Archbishop Adolf McCowall who only lasted a year.

Nonetheless, reform did take place. You could draw different conclusions. The show goes on without the bishop. It is the vicars who do the work. No-one is indispensible. But I do take some pride in the fact that for the last thirteen years of this period, the bishop was Hugh O’Reilly and he was in the country. In 1637 he was imprisoned in Dublin Castle and it is suspected that his arrest was due to a row over a clerical appointment because in that year tensions over clerical discipline erupted and court case were frequently brought by disgruntled clerics against their bishops.

I think that this era, which Father Brian has studied so diligently, has much to teach us. We too are now emerging from the trauma of the Troubles and the scandals in the Church and this book tells us that any genuine renewal comes from listening to God’s word, being read or preached. It comes from prayer that is made in response to the Word of God and penance being done for sins repented often and confessed.

That preaching came in the form of missionaries and religious orders, trained abroad. Buildings can help all of that but they are not essential. Neither or high titles or offices at the heart of the matter. Help will always be available to do the work of the Lord. In the 17th century it came from religious orders and the schools and colleges on the continent. It came from landed gentry living in the Pale and perhaps we too have overcome our traditional resistance to change and look to new movements life the Focolare Movement and neo-catechumnate. Or from new offices like the Permanent Diaconate to ensure the survival of the Church.

This book gives me great hope. Winston Churchill was once asked if a General Election was imminent. “No” he said, “A General Election is not imminent but it is impending”. Those who see the demise that the Church is imminent are, in my opinion, and on the evidence of this book, seriously mistaken. But, of course, the demise of the Church is impending in the sense that it will take place, at the end of time, at the end of everything else.

So, I congratulate Father Brian on this serious study. It is worthy of our careful reading. It is especially relevant to this diocese contrasting as it does, the northern part, the Gaelic part, with the Pale. It underlines the importance of Drogheda, Dundalk and Newry as points of contact with the Continent. It convinces me that the Spirit of God is always with the Church.
This is the story of triumph of courage in the face of adversities. It is the Triumph of faith, of substance over image and has a lot to offer us.

I wish this book great success.

Thank you

HOLY TRINITY COLLEGE, COOKSTOWN

ADVENT CAROL SERVICE

ADDRESS GIVEN BY

CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

THURSDAY 6 DECEMBER 2007

I am delighted to be here in Holy Trinity College this morning for this Advent Carol Service. I thank all those responsible for inviting me – Mr Rafferty, Principal – Mrs Gilvarry, Father Campbell and those many people involved in making the preparations.

I am very pleased that one of the first visits in the diocese, since my return from Rome, is to a school that bears the noble name ‘Holy Trinity College’. For that name reminds us of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – a God who a family of persons and who made each one of us to share in that life of the divine family.

The name Holy Trinity College reminds each one of us to begin everything that we say or do In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. That name reminds me why I am here on this earth – to give praise to God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I am glad to be in a College which has, as its aim, to promote care and concern for pupils within the community as though each one of those pupils is made in the image and likeness of God and therefore deserves our respect and our care.

I am glad to be here in a College that has, its aim, the centrality of Christian values to a Catholic ethos of education.

That, for me, means getting to know Jesus Christ and the values which he held and lived in his life. Otherwise they are not Christian values. I see that as obvious in the lovely Advent Carol Service you have prepared. In this school you are trying to get to know Jesus Christ. You are trying to get to know how he came into the world as one of us but we also seek to know God the Father, the source of all creation, and God the Holy Spirit, who is our helper and our guide.

I am very pleased to be here in a school which has, as one of its main aims, to foster respect for other people. This is all important. This is to be done by developing a spirit of consideration for all. I see this as an invitation to think, for a moment, who the other person is, regardless of whether that person is rich or poor, old or young, strong or weak, it doesn’t matter. Every other person is like you and me – made in the image and likeness of God. What is God like? Well, we see the face of God in Jesus Christ.

It is nice to be here in Holy Trinity College in this season of Advent once again. We are preparing to celebrate the coming of the Son of God into our midst. He came as one of us. He pitched his tent among us the Gospels tell us. By becoming one of us, Jesus gave each and everyone of us a lift. He raised us up. He enhanced our dignity and we need to respect that dignity in ourselves and in others.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity of meeting so many people here today. It gives me an opportunity of paying my respect to the Principal, Mr Rafferty and the staff and to congratulate them on the excellent work of education which takes place here in Holy Trinity College.

What is that work? It is the work of preparing young women and men to be the best possible citizens which they can become in this life and in the next. It is a place where people are made aware of who they are and why they are here and who they belong to and the fact that we are here on this earth to give praise and glory to God.

It allows me to pay my respect to the Board of Governors, to thank them for the work they do in protecting and promoting the ethos of this school. It gives me an opportunity to pay my respect of the Principals of feeder Primary Schools and to meet them and their pupils and that is a joy.

It also gives me an opportunity to meet and pay respects to the priests of Ministers of Religion of this area. I am delighted to see so many old friends because I am well aware of the good relations which exist here and which have been pioneered down through the years by people of courage and of vision and saw the way forward and had the courage to take bold steps. I am delighted to meet them here.

I also delighted to meet the Chief Executive of Cookstown District Council, Mr McGuckin and his colleagues and to pay my respects to them for the excellent work which they do in promoting the common good.

As you know, just last week I came back from Rome where the Holy Father conferred on me the great honour of being a Cardinal of our Church, when we met on three or four days. On the first day we were at a meeting with the Holy Father and the other Cardinals where we discussed the work of ecumenism, the work of inter-faith dialogue which something that is on the agenda and will not go off it. Great progress has been made, more work needs to be done.
I was happy to bring to the Holy Father, the greetings and good wishes of many people here in Ireland, including many of other Christian denominations and other faiths and the Holy Father, in turn, asked me to bring his blessings and his good wishes to the people of Ireland and of course I am glad to have the opportunity to do that here, to you, the people of Cookstown.

Finally, I am very pleased to have the opportunity of praying with you. That is what every Carol Service is – a time to pray. It is said that whoever sings, prays twice.

In Advent we pray that Christ may come once more to each one of us, into our minds and hearts. We remember that Christ came long ago – born in a stable – no place in the Inn. We recall that Christ said he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

But, right now, here and now, Christ also comes, in a hidden way but in a real way. He comes in his word, calling us to turn around and change our ways and repent of our sins and come back to Him. He comes in the sacraments to strengthen us. That is why we are always being told ‘Stay awake’.

St Patrick’s College
Maynooth
Conferral of Degrees
Saturday, 13 October 2007

Address by
Most Reverend Seán Brady
Archbishop of Armagh

Dear graduates of the class of 2007, it is good to be with you today as your Chancellor to share this proud moment for you and your families and friends. I congratulate all of you most heartily. I am delighted to know that there are over 160 of you at this graduation ceremony receiving 16 different degrees, diplomas and awards. This is surely a sign, if ever one were needed, of the health and vibrancy of the Pontifical University Maynooth. May this moment of graduation be a time of great joy, first of all, but also a time of commitment to truth and of compassionate service to those who are struggling and in need. May it be a time of gifted articulation of God’s plan and purposes and the human understanding which must underpin the daily lives of all who seek to live out our catholic faith.

Cardinal Newman once famously wrote:

“I want a laity … who know their religion and enter into it,
who know just where they stand,
who know what they hold and what they do not,
who know their creed so well that they can give an account of it,
who know so much of history that they can defend it.
I want an intelligent, well-instructed laity.

I wish you to enlarge your knowledge, to cultivate your reason, and
to get an insight into the relation of truth,
to learn things as they are,
to understand how faith and reason stand to each other,
to understand what are the bases and principles of Catholic tradition.”

I believe this quotation is apposite not only for this graduation day but indeed for the studies which you, our graduates, have undertaken at Maynooth these past years. Newman’s word’s have also found a more recent echo in a powerful homily delivered by the Cardinal who has now gone on to become our Pope. The then Cardinal Ratzinger said, “An adult faith is not a faith that follows the trends of fashion and the latest novelty. A mature adult faith is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ. It is this friendship that opens us up to all that is good and gives us a criterion by which to distinguish the true from the false.”

Following the lead of Pope Benedict, Cardinal Newman and the II Vatican Council, you, as active and involved lay persons, have sought to open both heart and mind to the coherence, truth, beauty, and goodness of the faith as it comes to us through the Church. You have made your own the conviction that the living Tradition of the Church, summarised by the Creed, contains and transmits the truth. It is a truth defined not merely as correspondence between an idea and reality but indeed as the life-giving and life-changing assurance that “Jesus is Lord!” It is a truth embraced by faith but also by reason enlightened by faith. For you have accepted the conviction that in the power of the Holy Spirit, you are consecrated in the truth. Consequently the eyes of your mind are opened to the depth and beauty of the faith, and to

worlds seen and unseen. Proclaimed in season and out of season, the faith leads us to the truth that unlocks the meaning of human existence. It is vitally important in a world today where so many people fail to see any meaning or hope.

I know your MAYNOOTH courses challenged you in the way Newman envisioned. As you grappled with the richness of the Tradition you had to come to terms with a faith which seeks to understand at least something of the glory of God. For we believe that ‘God’s glory shining on the face of Christ’ tells us who we really are in God’s eyes. It tells us who we are, both as individuals and as a communion of faith. Further, you have been challenged to see how, even in the revelation of God’s love, human reason and human nature are not absorbed or wiped out. Rather they are freed for those new vistas, those infinite horizons for which we were all created. You have been given the chance to see the Plan of God who used human instruments to speak His Word to us. You have seem how his Word continues to shed its light on the possibilities, problems, and challenges of our contemporary scene. I hope you have come to see morality – not as a set of arbitrary rules nor as a mere calculated approach to obligation. I hope you see morality as a wholehearted but reasonable response to God’s infinite love, a way of life in which his agape takes root in our every-day lives and helps to shape a just and peaceful society.

Some of you have studied the worship of the Liturgy of the Church. Yes, you have seen it as a human ritual, to be sure. But you also saw it as a ritual taken up to become a work of the Trinity. There we are made one with God and one another in a communion of life and love. And all this you have seen

through the lens of history, a lens that does not hide the drama of a Church that travels through time filled with the holiness of Christ but weak in its members. It is a Church whose task is to make saints of sinners, surely a messy business but a vital business nevertheless. You will have seen, in a privileged way, how important worship is as part of that business and how much those miss who never worship.

Truly being a student in the Pontifical University is much more than abstract lessons in theology or philosophy. You have been on an adventure, a journey, spiritually and intellectually. Now it is time to go forth to share what you have been given, to share your informed and enriched faith with others and as you do so I hope you will remember the words of Christ, “This is eternal life – to know the One True God and to know Jesus Christ”.. St. Paul lays down this challenge in his letter to the Romans when he says: “Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.” And so your voices are to join those deathless voices which have gone forth to the corners of the world proclaiming Christ and bearing witness to Christ. It is not enough to talk the talk, you must also walk the walk. And this all of you will do through the various forms of parish service and ministry which you will be undertaking or perhaps are already undertaking. You will do so in the schools in which you will teach, the places of employment where you will work, the further studies you will undertake, the new families which you will become.

Let me thank on your behalf the President, Registrar, Deans, your dedicated faculties, the staff of Theology Office; especially Margaret Tyrell, Colette Scully, Sandra Norgrove, and all who make possible Education for Parish

Service and I wish to extend our congratulations and very best wishes for the future to the new President, the new Vice-President and the new lecturers in Moral Theology. I know the Faculty of Theology is engaged in a major quality assurance of you and are working towards a strategic plan for the future and I wish this a very successful outcome. It would be very remiss were I not to place on record my, and your, profound appreciation of the outgoing president Monsignor Dermot Farrell. He was at the helm during your time and has left an extraordinary legacy of achievement to the College! Only last evening, the scaffolding was removed from the College Chapel, signalling the end of the major refurbishment of this beautiful Chapel and that has been carried out by Monsignor Farrell.

Finally let me say a word of thanks to the loved ones, especially your parents, spouses, and, yes, even the children of our graduates, for your support, and encouragement most of all. We quoted Cardinal Newman already – a man who was himself no stranger to University life or Academia.

Let us make his prayer our own:

A Prayer of Trust in God

“God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me, which He has not committed to another. I have my mission – I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I hall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be a preacher of truth in y own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.

Therefore, my God, I will put myself without reserve into your hands. What have I in heaven, and apart from you what do I want upon earth? My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the God of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Thank you.

CONFERRAL OF FREEDOM OF THE CITY

ON

ARCHBISHOP AND LADY EAMES

SATURDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2007

ADDRESS BY

ARCHBISHOP SEÁN BRADY

When John Briggs first suggested I should speak here today, my immediate reaction was to think, yes, I know Archbishop Robin and Christine. I have known them for many years, but there are people here who know them much better than I and who could do justice to this illustrious and historic occasion better than I can. But then, on further reflection, I said, yes, I definitely want to speak and I will be delighted to do so. I want to congratulate today’s honourees, that is, I want to express my joy at their being honoured, in this way, in this place, at this time.

Two weeks ago there was a great assembly of the Followers of Christ in Eastern Europe. It took place in Sibiu in Romania – with an attendance of over 2,000 delegates drawn from the Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox traditions. The leader of the delegation from our Church was Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is from Germany. He made reference to a document which was published this year and which caused offence to some. Referring to the publication of that document, Cardinal Kasper said: “Anything that hurts my friends hurts me”. I yield to the temptation to alter those words slightly and to make them my own saying: ‘Anything that delights and honours my friends delights and honours me’ and so it is a joy for me to be here

I would like to compliment the Armagh City and District Council on this initiative. Naturally I rejoice very much that Archbishop Robin and Christine are being honoured in this way.

When I came to Armagh in 1995 one of the first ceremonies I attended was a Prayer Service for Christian Unity Week in the Church of Ireland Cathedral and the social that followed. There I met Archbishop Robin and Christine Eames for the first time and they welcomed me warmly and in a most friendly manner. I appreciated their courtesy and graciousness more than they know. They probably recognised in me the appearance of someone faced with a daunting task, finding themselves in a very new situation and really not knowing what to do or say at the time. Although I am an Ulsterman, and proud of it, I had then very little experience of life in Northern Ireland and no experience at all of that complicated area of Church/State – both secular and ecclesiastical interface and interaction. So, at that stage, the hand of friendship, the word of advice, and, above all, the example of a man who had already been a bishop for twenty years and Archbishop for almost ten, that kind of experience was invaluable.

I am reluctant to mention rugby today, but let me put it this way. With Robin in the lineout or the scrum, losing against the head was unthinkable. Well, of course, we had to line out together on many and very different occasions. There were the tough ones – like down the line interviews to London from the BBC studio in Belfast and the memorable encounters with the Prime Minister and Secretaries of State in Stormont and Hillsborough in the wake of terrible tragedies and political events of the last thirty years and, of course, there was Omagh, etched out forever in the memory of everyone.

There were, however, far more numerous pleasant occasions like the Christmas and New Year messages on RTE and UTV. There were also visits of a pastoral nature to hospitals and prisons as well as the times we went to Dublin and London together to lobby ministers and Prime Ministers and to Brussels to acquaint ourselves more closely with the workings of the European Union. Of course the Moderators of the Presbyterian Church and the Presidents of the Methodist Church were also involved.

Last Sunday I was in Paris and I saw there a statue of a man, who like Robin Eames, spent some time in Bangor before moving on to France and Italy to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. His name is Columbanus. On the statue were five Latin words, taken from the writings of Columbanus. If you remove freedom – you remove dignity. That is, if you removed someone’s freedom you take away a person’s sense of self-esteem, their sense of self-worth.

That prompted for me the question, but if you confer freedom, as is being done today, what are you doing? I believe it is not a question of conferring a dignity, a worth that is there already, rather it is a matter of recognising the worth and the value of the two people being honoured here today. It is a clear statement that Armagh has been a much better place because of their presence and their outstanding activities here among us over the last twenty years.

I am told that the Freedom of Dublin city confers the right to graze sheep on Stephen’s Green. I don’t know what the equivalent is in the City of Armagh. In any case, I don’t imagine that there will be an influx of livestock from Hillsborough to the Mall. But then, let us not forget we have here the grandson of the man who revolutionized farming on this island with the importation of Massey Ferguson tractors.
I congratulate Archbishop Robin but I also want to congratulate Lady Christine on the honour that is being conferred on her today. They say that moving house is one of the most stressful events in life. She and Robin have moved house many, many times – from Gilnahirk to St. Mark’s to Derry to Down to Armagh. She is on record as saying that they were both fortunate enough to have come from extremely happy homes and that they were at all times very happy themselves. I am sure that that fundamental happiness enabled them to cope with the stress of change and moving very well. But she also found time to become involved with the Mother’s Union and, of course, became World President of the Union. This is testimony to her devotion and fidelity and goodness.

In recent times it has been my happiness to get to know Niall and Michael and their wives and families. I am sure they too are basking in the reflected glory today. I hear many eloquent testimonies from their fortunate ex-patients who speak in glowing praise of their care and proficiency in their professional life.

There is just one serious lacuna in Robin’s CV, in my opinion. He has lived and worked in Antrim and Armagh, Down and Dromore, even Derry, Tyrone and Raphoe, in Donegal, he has sailed in Carlingford, admired the Mournes and the Sperrins but the most beautiful part of Ulster is still to come – Lough Erne and Fermanagh, Cavan and Cuilcagh, Monaghan and the Drumlins. They all beckon for fishing, golf or boating.

Archbishop Robin has courageously agreed to head up an attempt to deal with the past. I wish him well in that attempt and I hope the outcome will be a healing of the hurts that have taken place in the past and we know that past events continue to affect life in Ireland today. Because conflict leaves a deep mark on many, the healing of memory has a critical role in healing the past.
I wish the Commission well in its work. I know that they will do their best to help people appropriately and sensitively. I pray that their work will help to set people free from hatred, revenge and suspicion.

St Augustine believed that people did not desire happiness enough. I certainly desire every happiness for Archbishop Robin and Christine now and in the years to come. I hope that the conferral of this Freedom will be accompanied by the conferral of a far greater freedom – freedom from fear and worry of every kind.

Launch of CGCE Website
St Mary’s University College, Belfast
21 September 2007

Address by Most Reverend Seán Brady

It is an excellent day on which to launch a website promoting Catholic Education. It is the Feast of St Matthew – Apostle and Evangelist. There are churches called after him in this city.

An Apostle is someone sent. By Baptism we believe that we all share in the Mission given by the Father to his son, Jesus. Jesus, in turn, sent his Chosen Twelve when he said, “Go make disciples of all nations. Teaching them.”

Matthew is also an Evangelist, i.e., the bearer of good news, the author of the Gospel, which announces good news. Today, almost 2000 years later, the Good News according to Matthew continues to be read and heard and reflected upon around the world. In every Catholic Church, in which Mass is offered today, there will be a segment of St Matthew’s Gospel read. But before becoming a communicator, Matthew had a few matters to tidy up. He was a tax collector, not exactly the most popular position in the Israel of its day. Then he decided to take a career break and was seconded to the staff of the man from Nazareth. Of course he eventually opted for a total change of career and tradition has it that he preached the faith in the East. So I think the Feast of St Matthew is an excellent choice of day on which to launch a new website. That website promotes an education in which whole lives may be inspired by the Spirit of Christ. So what does this mean for school communities? It means that they need to inspire the lives of their pupils. They need to inspire them with Gospel values, especially the values of faith, hope and charity. For those are the kind of values which Matthew taught, and his teaching has been handed down, that is the value of truth and love, justice and forgiveness, peace and equality.

Jesus did not demand respect, but he got respect, because he taught with authority. The authority of someone who ensured, who insisted, that respect was shown to others, no matter what their race or their religion, their age or their gender or their state of health. Jesus got respect because he recognised the self-worth of everyone he met and he respected that self-worth.

This website will promote the Catholic School, which prides itself on trying to develop the self-esteem of every pupil. At the same time this website will serve to promote a type of school where discipline is highly prized. This is usually done by recognising and rewarding patterns of positive behaviour. It supports both student and staff. It monitors the individual self-discipline.

I attended a recent In-service day facilitates by someone from an Inner City School in London. The School insists strongly on respect, esteem and discipline and core values and in the process has turned around its own prospects considerably. A story was told to me, which has haunted me ever since, of a young man on death row who sent a last message to his parents. It contained, among other things, this question: “Why did nobody think it worth their while to tell me the difference between right and wrong?”

There are many wonderful developments in the technology of communication. The website is one example. But the supreme agent in education, I believe, remains the teacher. The extent to which the Christian Message is passed on in education depends on the teacher. For the integration of faith and culture in the pupil is made possible by other prior and all important integration, the integration of faith and life in the person of the teacher. The teacher must ‘walk the walk’ as well as ‘talk the talk’. If not, the pupils will be the first to notice.

I like this quote, which I saw recently, ‘Teaching has an extraordinary moral depth. It is one of humanities most excellent and creative activities.’ I am told the teacher rarely writes on the blackboard any more – but every teacher continues to write on the very spirit of human beings.

The curriculum can, and should, offer technical and professional training for future employment but we believe it cannot, and should not, be shaped solely by the needs of the consumer economy of the West. It should serve society by forming human individuals who, in turn, will change society for the better. To do so, the Catholic School must be itself a true community of persons. Of course it borrows good business models and practices for secular society but it is not itself just a business which delivers an educational product. Life every society it exists for its members. It is a place of formation, not just for the students, but for parents and even teachers.

This is a time of huge change in Northern Ireland – political, economic, social and educational. In that rapidly changing environment, the 547 Catholic schools here teach about 45% of all pupils and we take very seriously our role in both maintaining high standards, and contributing to a new society. I thank all those who dedicate so much of their energy and love to providing a high quality education for all young people, whatever their talents and needs.
Our schools have always been active in developing cross community and international links. They welcome people from all national backgrounds and people from various faith traditions or none. Catholic schools are not an obstacle on the road to reconciliation.
I hope that this website will help visitors to be aware of the exciting enterprise that is Catholic education in the 21st century.

Catholic Education and the Culture of Peace

As trustees of a sector that caters for 45% of the school-going population – we try to be aware of our responsibilities, especially of the responsibility to consolidate peace.

I believe that working for a culture of peace has to be part of the programme of all schools, in all parts of the world today. Education for peace is an expression of a vision which has to colour all education. The struggle for peace, and its partner, justice, are central signs of Christian life. We would hold that education, which does not have peace as a major focus is not Christian education at all. Because if we are to see Christ in our neighbours, love them as ourselves, and grow together towards the Kingdom of God, then we have to have Christian values by which to live our lives. Those values challenge the secular values of today. Violent solutions to conflict, a pride in possessions, consumerism, ruthless exploitation of the world’s resources are all signs of contemporary culture. Our vision of education warns us against creating ‘carbon copy people’ formed in the values of the contemporary world. We hope to have our pupils grow into a different culture, one of peace, justice, respect, forgiveness, reconciliation, service and non-violence. Of course it will be necessary to move from statements of vision and principles to strategies for action and implementation. The task for this century is to move the world from a culture of violence and war to a culture of peace. UNESCO has taken a lead in promoting a culture of peace which consists of promoting values, attitudes and behaviours, reflecting and inspiring social interaction and sharing, based on the principles of freedom, justice, democracy, human rights, tolerance and solidarity.

The Press Release emphasizes that the new website has been designed to cater for the inter-connectedness and diversity of the Catholic Education family. It reminds us of what Cardinal Newman once said: “I am a link in a change – a bond of connection between persons” Some chains serve only to shackle and to enslave but other, such as the links in the chain of a bicycle, serve to strengthen and empower.

May this new website strengthen the links between us and lead us to a greater understanding that we are indeed bonds of connection with each other and with our Creator.

ADDRESS TO THE MEDIA

By

Cardinal Seán Brady,
Archbishop of Armagh

On the occasion of his being
Created a Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI

Saturday 24th November 2007

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today has been a very joyful day – a day of many graces and much happiness – one of the happiest days of my life. I am very honoured and humbled that Pope Benedict XVI has created me a Cardinal. I hope that people will see in it an expression of our Holy Father’s particular regard and affection for them, the people and the Church in Ireland.

I am delighted to be joined here in Rome, a City I love so much, by so many of my family and friends at this very special time.
I am also particularly grateful for all the prayers and good wishes which have accompanied me through these last few days. These good wishes come from literally thousands of people. People who are glad for the Church and for Ireland itself, at this joyful event. I wish to acknowledge in particular those many expressions of support and encouragement I have received from members of other Christian Churches and other faiths in Ireland, including some from people who are also members of the Loyal Orders. Their sentiments have been a real encouragement to me. They are one of the many reasons why I have great hope for our future. It is a hope, rooted in mutual respect and dignity. All of this leads me to believe that we are indeed in a new place – in a new era – an era of great promise right now.
I am also very grateful to the President, Mary McAleese, the Secretary of State, Mr Shaun Woodward, Mr Dermot Ahern, Minister Paul Goggins and all the other representatives of Government, North and South, who have joined us for this occasion. I am particularly pleased that we are able to have present members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, including Deputy First Minister, Mr Martin McGuinness and the leader of the SDLP, Mr Mark Durkan. Their presence too is another symbol of confidence for our future. I take this opportunity to ask people to pray that our peace process in Northern Ireland will continue to be a source of pride and joy and inspiration to peace-makers across the world.

A great number of priests have come to Rome this weekend from Armagh, Kilmore, USA and many other parts. I would also like to take the opportunity today to pay tribute to the priests and religious of Ireland, including those who work abroad on the missions. I would like to think that today is also about them and for them. I am thrilled that so many priests have come to Rome this weekend from the dioceses of Armagh and Kilmore and from the Maynooth and Roman classes of 1964 and many others besides.

These have been difficult, at times traumatic years for the Church in Ireland. Yet in the midst of these challenges, the overwhelming majority of priests and religious have continued to serve their people, in humble patience, with quiet devotion and outstanding generosity.

That is why I believe that today is, in some way, about them. It is about the quiet acts of kindness, the supportive, prayerful presence in times of tragedy and disaster, the efforts to build community and bring dignity, comfort and hope to those in need.
These are the things which have been the hallmark of generations of Irish priests and religious at home and across the world. It is a legacy of which, I believe, Ireland can be proud. Their generosity and commitment are recognised and celebrated in many parts of the world.

Being created a Cardinal is about strengthening the bonds of affection and unity between the See of Peter and the Irish Church. So I have no hesitation in saying to the lay faithful of Ireland today, ‘Take heart! Today is recognition of your goodness and of your fidelity. Today the Successor of Peter has not so much honoured me as honoured the people of Ireland for their dedication to faith, family and fair play. That is why it is such a delight to have so many lay friends from Armagh, Cavan and the USA here too.

The years ahead will bring a new emphasis on the role of the lay faithful. This is to be welcomed. It is also appropriate and necessary. Respect for our neighbour, defence of the inherent dignity of the human person, generosity in service of others, concern for those most in need, especially in the Third World, turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, these are the things which have made Ireland the great, generous and peace-making country that it is. These are the things that will keep Ireland great but these are things which flow from faith. My prayer is that these will continue to be the outstanding characteristics of the Irish. That will only happen if the foundation of faith remains intact.

Two weeks ago Father Peter McVerry addressed the priests of our diocese. He told us that the passion of God is compassion, especially for the poor and the vulnerable of our world. My hope is that through God’s grace, Ireland will continue to be known as a country which values and defends the irreplaceable gift of faith, a faith which is compassionate and has at its heart a concern for the vulnerable and the poor.

My hope is that we will continue to see our reputation as a country of strong faith as an asset. As something which motivates and inspires our compassion for the world. I pray for a deep renewal of that faith. I pray that many Irish people will rediscover the joy which has brought such fulfilment to my own life, the joy of following Jesus Christ.

Becoming a Cardinal is not just an honour, it is also a responsibility. It implies a willingness to help the Holy Father carry out the task entrusted to him of feeding the flock, strengthening them in their faith, leading back the stray and guiding them safely into the banquet of Eternal Life. Pope Benedict himself has described it as the work of rescuing people from the many forms of alienation that are in our world today. I believe that the Holy Father wants us all to help him proclaim the Good News that God is love.

I ask your prayers that I may be given the wisdom and courage to carry out that task and, as I do so, I make my own the Prayer of St. Patrick.

‘But what can I say or what can I promise to my Lord,
as I can do nothing that He has not given me?
May He search my hearts and my deepest feelings….
May God never permit it to happen to me
that I should lose His people which He purchased in the utmost parts of the world.
I pray to God to give me perseverance
and to deign that I be a faithful witness to Him
to the end of my life for my God.’

Finally, I want to express my appreciation of your presence here today. I realise it is not so easy to cover a long event like this, not least, when it is out of doors, in unpredictable weather. But I want to thank you for the coverage you have already provided and will continue to provide over the next few days. I know it will mean a lot to people in Ireland who have an interest in the events of today and those of the next few days.

I hope you will forgive me if I pay particular tribute to RTÉ. It was very generous of them to broadcast live both the Consistory this morning and the Mass of the Rings tomorrow. I would ask Joe to convey my sincere appreciation to those responsible for this decision in RTÉ and also for the decision to broadcast the Mass in Armagh next Thursday.

Thank you, I hope you will enjoy the rest of our time together.

ENDS

ADDRESS TO CAVAN COUNTY COUNCIL

BY

CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

SUNDAY 16 DECEMBER 2007

Members of Cavan County Council, elected representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I am greatly honoured by your decision to hold this Reception here today. This Reception not only honours me, but also honours my family, my native parish. It honours the clergy of the diocese Kilmore, of which I was a member for thirty years. It also honours the See of Patrick and the diocese of Armagh. I find the whole event very moving. Thanks you for being her, for your congratulations and good wishes and prayers.

I was thrilled that the Chairman of the Council, Mr Francis McDermott, and the Assistant Manager, Mr Des Maguire were able to be in Rome for the Consistory. Their presence added a very special dimension to an already historic occasion and I am deeply grateful to them.

I am very thankful for this Reception and all that goes with it. The presence of the Guard of Honour and of so many distinguished guests further embellishes what will be, at least for me, a very memorable occasion. Thirteen years ago the Council was most gracious in hosting a Reception when I became Archbishop. Once more you excel yourselves today. I thank you most sincerely for this further kindness.

For the first sixteen years of my life, Cavan County Council occupied a not insignificant place in the life of our family. My father was a member for the Bailieborough electoral division. My uncle, Terence J Smith, represented the Cavan electoral division, my mother’s first cousin, John P McKiernan, represented the Ballyjamesduff area. So to say that we were interested in what when on in this chamber would be a slight under-statement.
A large white envelope arrived every month containing Minutes and the Agenda, signed by either Dermot McCarthy, the County Manager or Michael J Smith, the Secretary. While we didn’t have the same means of instant communication that exists today, we were well aware of the composition of the Council and the political allegiance of each Councillor – perhaps the presence of three Lavey men and two Laragh men in their ranks, whetted out interest considerably.
I was reflecting a night or two ago and I think I could still name more of the members of the Council of the late 40s and early 50s than I can of the present County Council, with all due respect to you ladies and gentlemen. But I am gratified to note that among your ranks can be counted a number of my past students from St. Pat’s and even some former altar boys. I wish you all well in your discussions and wisdom in your decision making.

This Council chamber evokes some very powerful memories for me, not of Council meetings nor of Court cases, I am glad to say, but of GAA Conventions and County Board meetings. It recalls sharp debates and colourful characters like H. L. Smith, T P O’Reilly and Andy O’Brien. Unfortunately, many have gone to their eternal rest. It also takes me back to my teenage years and an election count here in 1955 and the memory of a photograph that used to hang in our house of a meeting here in the 30s probably. It all conjures up pictures of discussion and debate; dialogue and division. But isn’t this the stuff of democracy.
So, as I thank you for this act of exquisite kindness towards myself, I salute the noble enterprise in which you are engaged. It reminds me that Patrick Kavanagh said Homer wrote the Iliad of such stuff. In an age that gradually and apparently grows more private and individualistic, it is refreshing and pleasing and gratifying to find women and men who are willing to stand for public office, to set forth their convictions and to spend their time and their energy promoting the common good – the public good – the good of the citizens of this county.

I wish God’s blessing on you and your families for a peaceful Christmas and for prosperity and harmony and happiness in the New Year.