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.

ADDRESS OF

CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

AT RECEPTION IN

IRISH COLLEGE, ROME

25 NOVEMBER 2007

I am grateful for the presence of government delegations from Ireland – north and south – led by the
· President of Ireland, Mrs Mary McAleese
· The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mr Shaun Woodward
· Minister Dermot Ahern and
· Minister Paul Goggins.
I am grateful for the presence of so many brother bishops, many of them my fellow students in Maynooth or in the Irish College, Rome.

I am deeply grateful to my many families:
v The Brady family,
v The family of my native parish, here in great numbers.
v The family of St. Patrick’s College, Cavan,
v St Patrick’s Maynooth,
v Irish College, Rome,
v The Armagh parish family,
v The Castletara parish family,
v The Ara Coeli, Armagh parish family,
v The Archdiocese of Armagh family,
v Representatives from the Irish Bishops Conference staff
v The wider Irish family in Rome and
v Friends in the USA.
Like so many other things, it is very hard to imagine this course of events years ago when Archbishop Clifford and I first arrived here as seminarians to continue our studies for the priesthood in 1960.

I have spent some twenty years of my life in this College and have wonderful memories of my time here. I owe so much to the ministry of men and women.
I was baptised by a Cootehill man;
Confirmed by an Armagh man;
Ordained priest by an Italian Cardinal;
Ordained bishop by an Antrim man;
Appointed bishop by a Polish Pope;
Nominated Cardinal by a German Pope;
Taught to pray by a Cavan woman;
Catechised by a Donegal woman;
Nursed and fed by several Italian women;
Aided in so many ways by so many efficient and generous secretaries.

I am very conscious today of St. Malachy, native of Armagh City, the City in which I live now, who came to this City of Rome twice, I think to ask for the Pallilum for Irish Archbishops as a sign of communion with the Bishop of Rome and a guarantee of Church unity.

Although I have spent twenty years of my life in this College, I also spent four years in the National Seminary in Ireland – St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, and owe it, and its staff, a great debt.

I am thankful to God for all I have received and what have I that I have not received? This morning I got a beretta and a parish Church from the Holy Father. It is the last in a long line of God-given gifts

v Life from my parents,
v Upbringing from my native parish,
v Education from so many teachers,
v Baptism and so many sacraments from my mother, the Church and all the gracious communion which went with that.

I am thankful for the presence of so many brother bishops from Ireland. I think it is clear testimony to the bonds of friendship and solidarity that exist between us and that have been forged in the face of challenging adversity over the last twelve years.

It is almost forty-seven (47) years to the day since I first flew into Champino Airport one Friday night, courtesy of Aer Lingus, via Lourdes, to be greeted by a deep Breffini accent, with the words: “Would your name happen to be Brady?”

I am thankful for the presence of Cardinal Cormac-Murphy O’Connor and Cardinal Keith O’Brien. The O’Briens of Thomond and the O’Connors of Connacht were Princes in the Irish scene. I am pleased, but humbled, to be the third member of the Sacred College from Ireland in addition to Cardinal Cahal Daly and Cardinal Desmond Connell. It now numbers Cardinals Foley, O’Malley, Egan, McCarrick, Stafford and Cassidy as well as some other American Cardinals who have Irish blood in their veins – Rigali, Levada, Keeler, Law as well as Cardinal Pell of Australia.
It is fifty (50) years since I, and some other 94 others, went to St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth to being studies for the priesthood. I am glad to say that some twenty-five of that class are present here in Rome for these celebrations.

It is forty-seven (47) years since I came to the Irish College, Rome and I welcome here Mgr John Fitzpatrick from Dublin, Father Fintan Lyons from Glenstal; the Rt Hon Noel A Kinsella, President of the Senate of Canada from that class.

I also remember those who have died, that they may rest in peace. I think of Mgr Kevin Mullin and Mgr Cyril Mulligan, who both served in the Diplomatic Service to the Holy See. May they rest in peace.

I am very pleased with the Church assigned to me today by the Holy Father, St. Cyricus and Julitta, who were martyrs. The story is that Julitta, a widow of Iconium, took her three year old son, Cyricus, to Tarsus, the native city of St. Paul, to escape persecution. Here, however, she was recognised and accused, suffered with her child a series of tortures, which, however, rebounded in some way against the persecutors whom Cyricus attacked. Eventually, Julitta and her son were executed and their relics were saved by other Christians. Cyricus was supposed to have come from Antioch, a child martyr of immense popularity.

The connection with France was strong, partly because of some relics brought back from Antioch. Charlemagne, in a dream was saved from death by wild boar on a hunt, by the appearance of a child who promised to save him from death if he would give him clothes to cover him. The Bishop of Nevers interpreted this to mean that he wanted the Emperor to repair the roof of the Cathedral, dedicated to San Cyr. Hence Cyricus is represented in icon as the child riding on a wild boar. He was the patron saint of children and his feast day is 16 June.

I am happy that the Church is at the heart of classical Rome – within sight of the Forum and the Arch of Titus and the Mamertine Prison – reminding me of carefree days and times as a teacher of Latin and Roman Art and architecture. The most gratifying feature of this Church is that it contains the tombs of students of the Irish College – possibly contemporaries of my grand-uncle.

I am very happy to be an Irish man today but I am also thankful to be an Ulsterman, to be alive in this present time and to be an Ulsterman who has moved to the north at this most interesting of eras when, hopefully, after centuries of conflict, the inhabitants of that beautiful area are living together peacefully, prosperately and amicably. I have received messages of goodwill from all the main Churches, from the Loyal Orders and, in particular, from the Archbishop of Canterbury. This leads me to believe that there is now a wonderful opportunity for rapprochement – reconciliation – and end to alienation.

Today I give thanks to God for my family and for all the communities and families which have given me home in the various stages of my life. I spent twenty years of my life here in this College – the Irish College, Rome. Like a generous mother, it welcomed me in 1960 along with Archbishop Clifford, Mgr John Fitzpatrick, Noel Kinsella, Father Fintan Lyons, here present. It has given me board and lodgings and much more, down through the years. I am grateful for all of that.

Two weeks ago, Father Peter McVerry addressed the priests of our diocese. He told us that the passion of God is compassion, especially compassion for the poor and homeless children of the world. He challenged all of us to do something to ease their plight. I came to Rome with those words ringing in my ears and my eyes fell upon these words of Pope Benedict XVI:

“We follow Christ in the mission to be fishers of men. We must bring people out of the sea that is salted with so many forms of alienation, and onto the land of life, into the light of God”.

“Lord, remember your promise. Grant that we may be one flock and one shepherd! Do not allow your net to be b=torn, help us to be servants of unity!”

Pope Benedict spoke those words at the beginning of his ministry as Supreme Pastor on 24th April 2005. He invites all of us to bring people out of the sea that is salted with so many forms of alienation.

Today many people feel alienated either from their families, from their faith, their fatherland. They feel disconnected and impoverished and unhappy. I think we should all try to play our part in bringing them out of that sea of alienation and onto the land of life and the light of God.

I have found the motto which I took when I became a bishop namely: To know Jesus Christ, to be challenging and inspiring. To know Jesus is to imitate Jesus. To imitate the Jesus who broke down barriers but also brought the healing love of Christ. Co-operation not competition and connectedness are the way forward. Connecting people to their families and to their communities and to their faith, to their homeland. It has to be a powerful way of healing and overcoming alienation. It will require forgiveness. It is the only healing way of dealing with the past that frees us up to live serenely in the present and to face the future confidently.

Thank you

AMEN

TEMPERANCE SUNDAY 2008

HOMILY GIVEN BY

CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY

ST. PATRICK’S CHURCH, DUNGANNON

SUNDAY 3RD FEBRUARY 2008

I have just returned from the Holy Land – the land where Jesus lived and died and rose from the dead for love of us. It was my great privilege to celebrate Mass for all of you at the Holy Sepulchre – the tomb where Jesus lay dead before rising in gloriously on the third day.

It was on a mountain in the Holy Land that Jesus spoke those words which we have just heard in the Gospel. They are called the Beatitudes. Beatitudes means ‘Blessedness’ ‘happiness’. It is generally accepted that Jesus is speaking about himself in that Gospel. How would it sound if was read like this: ‘Jesus is happy and poor in sprit and in fact’. The kingdom of Heaven certainly belongs to him. Jesus is gentle and those who are gentle like him will inherit the earth’.

· Jesus mourns with those who are in sorrow because of tragedy or loss or grief. Jesus hungered and thirsted for what is right.
· He always did and said what was right. Jesus is merciful to all who turn to him with confidence.
· Jesus is pure of heart and his vision of God the Father has never been dimmed or grown dull or been muddied by the filth of this world.
· Jesus is a peacemaker and he wants to restore peace between us and God.
· Jesus was persecuted for saying and doing what was right but he remained happy through it all. He knew that he was doing what his Father wanted him to do.

Today, on this day of prayer for Temperance we take time to consider what temperance is all about. There is a right way and a wrong way of handling the good things of this world. To live well in this life you need to be wise and fair. You need to be brave and balanced. That balance we call ‘temperance’.

Since I was here last I got a new title, that of Cardinal. The word ‘Cardinal’ comes from the Latin word for a hinge. A hinge is a joint or mechanism for hanging doors onto doorposts or onto a wall. So Cardinals are people apparently who join various doors to the main building which is the Church.

There are also such things as Cardinal virtues as well. They are good qualities and there are four of them which are considered so important that they are compared to hinges. They help to keep our lives hanging together. In this life we all need to be wise, we need to be fair to each other, we need to be brave at times. We need to be balanced and moderate. So these special hinges help us to hang in and hang on and hang together.

We need balance in life. We need moderation – not just in our eating and drinking but also in our language. The Ulster Council is giving out armbands today with the letters N F L – National Football League but also they stand for ‘No Foul Language’.

I was recently told that in Accident and Emergency Departments of some hospitals there is a notice saying that ‘no abusive language towards the hospital staff will be tolerated’.
Apparently people arrive into these departments looking for care and attention and proceed to abuse the nurses and doctors. No civilised society worth its salt would stand for that. We need to get a few things clear in our minds. Our life and our health are goods that have been entrusted to us by God and so there is an obligation, first and foremost, on each one of us to look after and take care of our health.

Each one of us should look after our own health and safety first of all. How? -By providing for ourselves food, clothing, housing and recreation and medicines when required. We are not talking about bodily health only. Health of mind and soul are even more important.

One of the great threats of both bodily and mental health is Intemperance – the misuse of drugs, especially of the most powerful drug of all – alcohol.

There are many kinds of stimulants – intoxicating drinks, tobacco, coffee, tea and cola are all stimulants. As we all know, when used in moderation, they can add great flavour and enjoyment to life. But let me quote the words of a moral theologian on this: “Temperance in stimulants in a strong obligation than temperance in eating”. The reason is that stimulants damage health more easily and they can lead to addiction. This holds especially for tobacco and still more for intoxicating drinks. Then he goes on to say: “Abuse of alcoholic drinks has too often destroyed the happiness (and the health) of individuals and of families”.

Today we give thanks to God for the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association who set good example, who encourage others to be temperate and moderate and who warn us against the dangers. Of course they also make reparation for all the harm that misuse of drink and drugs does.

We, here in Ireland, have an unfortunate history of misuse of alcohol. The experts warn us that there is a time bomb coming down the line in the form of health hazards to our young people if their drinking habits don’t change but nobody seems to be listening or to care. We say we love our children and our grandchildren. We are as honest as our actions. If we are honest, we will act now. Some say young people misuse alcohol to overcome shyness. Shyness can come from shame – shame that exists because people are being blamed all the time. We need to praise young people for their good qualities and not to be constantly criticizing them. People sometimes drink too much because they have a poor image of themselves or lack confidence. We need to help them build up their confidence and see that they are not junk that they have plenty of good qualities.

What a great gift it would be for children if we would be the generation, brave enough, to promote and work for an attitude of culture of moderation rather then excess in our use of alcohol. That is the key. We need to change attitudes. Attitudes will only change if we value balance and moderation. If we see that absence of moderation and intemperance are really monster that threaten our lives and our security.

I have come to the conclusion that grannies have great influence. I was in my old school – St Pat’s, Cavan – last Friday evening. Several of those big, brawny Breffini boys came up to me to have me sign prayer cards for their grannies.

ST. PETER’S CATHEDRAL BELFAST

HOMILY GIVEN BY
CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY
SUNDAY 17th FEBRUARY 2008

Your Eminence, my brother bishops, my brother priests, Reverend Sisters and Brothers, dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ

I thank you for your kind invitation to be here this evening and for your welcome. It is a great privilege to celebrate Mass in this beautifully reordered Cathedral of St. Peter’s, Belfast. I know that establishing this Cathedral as a vibrant centre of worship for the Diocese and for the city has always been a particular priority for you Bishop Walsh. It was, in keeping with your Episcopal motto, a real ‘work of the heart’. I congratulate you on the outstanding outcome. From its masterly choir, to its majestic spires and its far-reaching contribution to the life of Belfast and especially the lower Falls, we can say of St Peter’s with the psalmist: ‘This is a work of the Lord, a marvel in our eyes. Indeed we are glad’. We can also say with St. Peter in today’s Gospel, ‘Lord it is wonderful for us to be here. Let us build three tents.’ In other words, let us enjoy the gift of God’s presence – in people, word and sacrament, a presence so evident in the beauty and peace of this Cathedral, a presence which is life-giving, energising and transforming.

This presence is very evident, of course, in the practice of perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a practice commended to us by Pope Benedict. There are so many graces which flow to individuals and to whole communities from adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I commend Fr Kennedy and the other priests of the Cathedral for encouraging this particular devotion and I thank those many parishioners who ensure that, in the words of St. Paul, there is prayer ‘without ceasing’ in the company of the Risen Lord here in the centre of Belfast, here at the centre of Down & Connor.

I would also like to pay tribute to Fr Kennedy for his inspired decision to invite priests across the Diocese to come together in the Cathedral to pray on a monthly basis, to pray with each other and for each other. In my opinion, nothing could be more helpful or important at this time. As priests we need the prayerful support of each other and of those around us as we face the uncertainties and challenges of our priestly ministry. If we are to be gentle and faithful shepherds after the Lord’s own heart, then we need the prayerful support and solidarity with each other and with all God’s people. Most of all we need time with the Lord in prayer because without him we can do nothing. Without his intimacy, his love, his power working in us we can so easily become an empty vessel, or as St. Paul would say, a ‘gong booming, or a symbol clashing’. We can only address the spiritual hunger that is so evident in our society at this time if we ourselves have built a tent for God’s abiding presence in our own hearts and minds. We can only lead others to believe that it is ‘good to be here’ at Mass, that it is ‘good to be here’ with others as the Body of Christ. If we ourselves have taken to heart the words of the Lord: ‘Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments my Father will love you and we shall come to you and make our home with you.
When Jesus is at home within in us, we are also at home with ourselves. This is what Jesus meant when he said came to give us a peace which the world cannot give. That peace is what so many people in our world are looking for. When we have it, when it is within us, it can draw others to Christ because He is its source.

I was really pleased to receive the invitation to come here this afternoon. It gives us an opportunity to honour and celebrate and thank God for the many strong bonds that unite the diocese of Down and Connor and Armagh. One of these is, of course, our shared association with our National Apostle, St Patrick. Tradition has it that he worked as a slave in Slemish, came back as a missionary to Saul and that he is buried in Downpatrick. I love that part of his Confession where he speaks of praying as many as a hundred times a night and just as often in the day.

A sixteen year old boy in the quiet of the North Antrim hills, he had his own experience of God’s indwelling presence, a presence which like St Peter at the Transfiguration, he wanted to keep with him. He wanted to hold on to it like the pearl of great price. In the end, life was to take him far from the silence of Slemish – even the beauty of Ballymena!. When he met the Kings of Armagh, for example, things were not just as serene! But it is clear from the tradition of his famous breastplate that in all the many challenges which followed the deep sense of God’s abiding presence within and around him never ever left him –

Christ above me,
Christ below me,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me.
In fact it is clear that it was this knowledge of Christ within that was the source of his missionary zeal. It came from his habit of creating space to, in the words of our Gospel, to ‘listen to him’! To listen to the Beloved, in whom the Father is well pleased.

In the course of his preaching, Patrick ordained bishops to minister to the needs of the people. Among these was St MacNissi – whom Patrick had baptised and who founded the Church of Connor.

Malachy, a native of Armagh had to struggle against his own family to preserve the religious freedom of the Monastery of Armagh. He moved to Bangor where he set about restoring the ruined Abbey before being made Abbot. Next he became Bishop of Down and in 1129 he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh. Unable to take possession of his diocese for a number of years, he resided in Armagh for only three years as Archbishop before returning to the diocese of Down which obviously made him ore welcome than his own people in Armagh.

Patrick MacNissi Malachy

Their memory lives on. They are venerated as the heroes of our faith. They have a special place in our hearts. Their example inspires us. None of them had an easy life. Each one had his cross to carry. Like Abram, Patrick had to leave his country, his family and his father’s house for the land which the Lord would show him – this far of land of Ireland. In return, the Lord made him a great nation and blessed him and made his name famous.

Like Paul, Malachy had to bear hardships for the sake of the Good News – the hardship of conflict with his own kith and kin, the hardship of leaving home. But he too relied – not on his own achievements but on the power of God, who saved him and called his to be holy.

I am sure that the secret of their greatness was the same – their love which revealed itself in the service of both God and of their people and which was the result of a most intimate union with God.

Over the past 200 years the designs of providence have made Armagh even more indebted to Down and Connor. Archbishop Crolly came in 1835 and died in 1849 – a victim of cholera contracted in the wake of the Famine – and in the course of his heroic pastoral duties. He lies buried in front of the High Altar of St. Patrick’s Cathedral of which he was the founder and close to St. Patrick’s Grammar School, which he also founded.
Cardinal William Conway was appointed in 1958 and he died in 1977. He was the Archbishop of the Council and of all the reforms that ensued and of the canonisation of St. Oliver Plunkett. Armagh owes much to Cardinal Conway.

What a delight to see Cardinal Cahal Daly here today – my esteemed predecessor and who has proved such a wise guide and counsellor to me all these years. We rejoice to recall the valiant testimony of his 40 years as a Bishop, in three dioceses, in so many difficult situations. He has given to so many people – in the words of today’s Gospel – the courage to stand up and not to be afraid. Long may you continue to do so and as they say in Donegal – go mairfidh tu an céad! – may you live to be a hundred.
I am very grateful to all of you for being here today. When Bishop Walsh invited me to this Mass in honour of my being created a Cardinal I was a little anxious. I was conscious of that verse from the Thomas Carnduff’s, Songs of the Shipyards – called The Men of Belfast. It goes:

We are the men of Belfast,
Her sinew, marrow, and bone,
By the graft of our brain and muscle
We fashioned for her a throne;
And people, or lord, or parson,
Class, or creed, or clan,
It’s little we care for yer titles,
Unless you’re a Belfast man!

Of course, Cardinal William Conway would have passed this test coming as he did from these historic streets of west Belfast. Cardinal Daly, would have also held his head high, having worked as he did in Down and Connor, for so many years and who is now living in Belfast. But for a poor Archbishop of Armagh, who comes from Laragh in Co. Cavan originally, there was little hope. This is compounded by the fact that since becoming Archbishop of Armagh, an Irish Theologian of some renowned has written that there are too many dioceses in the Irish Church and that really Down & Connor should be the Archdiocese of the Northern Province and not Armagh.