WORLD DAY OF PEACE
1 JANUARY, 2007
ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL ARMAGH
HOMILY BY THE MOST REV GERARD CLIFFORD
AUXILIARY BISHOP OF ARMAGH

Here in Ireland one of the new phenomena of our time has been the number of migrants coming to our country. Some come to get away from oppressive regimes. Others come to make a bit of money for themselves and their families. Yet others come to make a new start in life. These are the people of the new Ireland. Like the wise men in the Gospel narrative of the Epiphany they come with their own gifts and skills – Polish, Filipino, Latvian, Lithuanian, African, Asian, Eastern Europeans. Over the past five years more than a million migrants have come to Ireland. That is one fifth of the total population of the island. Some 300.000 of them are Catholic. At present we have 100 religious services in place in Ireland for the various ethnic groups providing masses in the various languages. This is the new Ireland.

Hopefully all of the migrants will make their own contribution to our country, spiritually, culturally, financially. It presents a great challenge to all of us. To our migrants I thank you for the trust you have put in us and I hope that trust will be returned one-hundred-fold. Hopefully we will continue to be the Ireland of the welcomes.

At times that appears unlikely. We have seen the growing violence in our community We have seen the nightly television footage of theft, assault and aggression unleashed in our communities. – people robbed in their homes, people assaulted in the street, car hijackings, thuggery on a massive scale. It is indeed a long way from the Ireland of the welcomes. We blame drink or drugs. We ask why this is happening. We try to rationalise it all. I believe that for some reason we have lost our way. We have lost respect for ourselves, respect for others. We have lost our moral compass, that inner voice of respect. We have crossed the line of respect. Some have gone too far. I believe we have lost a sense of our dignity and of the dignity of others. Pope Benedict calls on us to see the other person as the heart of peace. That will come about when we begin to appreciate the dignity of the other.

I hope that 2007 will be the year to draw back from the brink – a time to hear again the voice of respect, tolerance. decency. We need decency restored. That’s a challenge for all of us, for families, schools, communities. In particular it is a challenge to us individually to say to those around us: ‘this is not the way, there is a better way. It is the only way’.

I pray that all of us may do our bit to ensure the message is delivered.

Extract from the homily by
the Most Rev Gerard Clifford
Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh
to mark the 25th. Anniversary of the death of Charles Armstrong.

St. Patrick’s Church, Crossmaglen 12th. August, 2006

We gather this evening to pray for the late Charles Armstrong and all those who have disappeared without trace during the so- called ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland. Every year there is a Mass in Armagh to remember the disappeared and to pray that their bodies may be found so that they may be given a proper Christian burial.

To date six bodies have been recovered; that of Eamon Molloy whose remains were left in a coffin in Faughart graveyard in May 1999. The remains of 23 year old Brian McKinney and 17 year old John McClory, murdered in 1978, were found in Co. Monaghan in September1999. In 2003 the body of Jean McConville was found by walkers at Shelling Hill on Templetown beach in Cooley. In 1981 Eugene Simmons went missing in Castlewellan, Co Down. His body was found in Dundalk May, 1984. Gareth O’Connor went missing on 11th May 2003. Body recovered June 2005.

Year after year the families of the other missing men meet in Armagh to pray for their loved ones but also to draw attention to the fact that more should be done to help those who have been bereaved and to appeal for help to identify the location of the bodies. Tonight we pray for Charlie Armstrong who went missing on his way to the Church in 1981 and we pray for Gerard Evans, also a local man, who went missing in March 1979.

Every year as we gather in Armagh on Palm Sunday for this special Mass we are reminded of Christ’s own death and Resurrection. The Gospel story tells of Joseph of Aramathea, a prominent member of the Jewish Supreme Council, coming to Pilate and asking for the body of Jesus. Pilate granted the request. We are then told that Joseph of Aramathea, an upright and virtuous man, bought a shroud, took the body of Jesus from the Cross, wrapped the body in the shroud and laid it in the tomb which had been hewn out of the rock. Then we are told that Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joset were watching and noted where he was laid. It was the most natural thing in the world. They took note of his resting place. It was a question of basic respect and reverence for the dead.

Today the families of Charlie Armstrong and Gerard Evans ask for nothing more, just the return of the body of their loved one so that they can be buried with respect and dignity.

Over the years of the ‘troubles’ much has happened that has brought sadness, death and bereavement to many. Over those years many brutal and unjust things happened. Today I believe we have moved on. The Good Friday Agreement has begun to chart a way forward for peace and justice for all. We are in a new situation. The days of darkness hopefully are a thing of the past. We talk of the Good Friday Agreement. Good Friday – the darkest day in the Church’s year but also a day when we look beyond Christ’s death and burial to his Resurrection. The day itself has seeds of new beginnings, new hopes, new promises.

The families of the disappeared have had their own Good Fridays – the loss of a loved one, no farewells, no goodbyes and no reasons given. We can only guess the anguish and distress these families have felt over the years. The sense of isolation, of being marginalized in a tightly knit community, the sense of being abandoned by friends and neighbours. It’s a frightening panorama; people afraid to talk, people not wanting to get involved. It’s a nightmare that only those who have experienced it can fully understand.

That was the past. The past is gone. Thankfully we have moved on. We are now in a new situation. Two Commissioners have been appointed to head up the search for the disappeared, one in Dublin, Frank Murray, former secretary to the Government, the other in Belfast, Ken Bloomfield, former head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service. A forensic scientist skilled in the work of searching for missing people has been engaged to bring further expertise to this search. There is also a support team with specialist knowledge and expertise in this area. It is all moving in the right direction. But no matter how expert people are they need information.. Somebody, somewhere may have information that could help. My plea to you tonight is to make that information available.

The late Fr. Denis Faul has over the years worked tirelessly to help recover the bodies of the disappeared. It was his dying wish that the bodies would be found and returned to their loved ones. Somebody, somewhere may have the information that could bring closure to the sadness and distress of these families. Somebody may have the information to bring the searches to an end. My appeal tonight is to anyone with information, however insignificant it may seem, to communicate that.

Tonight we pray for Charlie Armstrong and Gerard Evans. We pray for their families and we pray for an end to the restless searching. May they and the others who have disappeared without trace rest in peace.

FUNERAL MASS FOR THE LATE MONSIGNOR DENIS FAUL.
ST. COLMCILLE’S CHURCH, CARRICKMORE, CO TYRONE 23 JUNE 2006
HOMILY BY BISHOP GERARD CLIFFORD
AUXILIARY BISHOP OF ARMAGH

The readings we just listened to set the scene for our funeral Mass today. We gather to pray for and remember the late Monsignor Denis Faul. Today we grieve at the death of one we loved so much;. a priest of our diocese for 50 years, a man who was an inspiration and an ideal to us all. We remember Fr Denis Faul greatly, we remember his commitment and dedication as a priest of our diocese and we remember one who was in many way a prophet of our times during the 30 years of what we call the ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland.

On behalf of Cardinal Brady, who is presently in Africa , on behalf of Cardinal Daly and the priests and people of the Archdiocese of Armagh I extend our deepest sympathies to his sister Brigid, his brothers Dr Peter, Stephen, Terence, his brother -in-law, his sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, his housekeeper Margaret and his many relatives and friends.

The Gospel of the Beatitudes (Mt. 5; 1-12) we just listened sets before us the ideal for Christian living. In many ways it sums up the life and work of the late Denis Faul.

‘How happy are the gentle’ they shall have the earth as their heritage’. Denis Faul was first and foremost a good priest, faithful to his ministry but more than that faithful to the Church. The core of his life was influenced by his commitment to his priesthood and to the Church. That was the inspiration of his life. Out of that grew his involvement in justice, peace, reconciliation and education. It was the driving force in his life. That was the compelling force that directed his involvement in civil rights and in campaigning for the rights of others. His mother’s words to him left an indelible mark on his life. She said; ‘remember there is nobody better than you, although there will be some as good as you are’.

The tributes have all been made to Denis Faul’s involvement in working for peace and reconciliation for more than 30 years. All of that sprung from his up-bringing in Louth, the close family bonds, the home where respect, trust, care for others was the cornerstone of his up-bringing. Denis was from his earliest days a young man of principle. I am told that even on his Confirmation day he declared he wanted to become a priest. He had two uncles who were priests on his mother’s side of the family. He knew what priesthood was about and he wanted that more than anything else. That brought him to St Mary’s College, Dundalk, to St Patrick’s College, Armagh, St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth and later to the Gregorian University in Rome. All his life he encouraged young men to join the priesthood and it is interesting that over the years the two parishes of Louth and Carrickmore Parish gave an unprecedented number of young men to the diocese and to the religious orders.

After studies Denis Faul was appointed to St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon. He would spend the next 40 years of his life in education. He believed that education was the key to liberating people from repression, unemployment, discrimination and injustice. He was an ardent advocate of education for all. He worked endlessly to provide the very best opportunities for all regardless of ability and he strived more than anything to make available a system of education for those who sought an academic career. Education was about formation spiritually, intellectually, academically and religiously. His great boast was that for a generation he helped young men develop their character and helped them take their place in society. Underpinning all of that was his commitment to Catholic education. He was in the forefront in promoting Catholic education. He believed that was the right and obligation of every catholic. And he did his utmost to create an awareness of that among the Catholic community.

‘Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right; they shall be satisfied’.
A hunger for justice, for peace, for reconciliation was the driving force behind the life of Denis Faul. Over thirty years he was the prophetic voice for the Catholic community in Northern Ireland. He was the voice for the voiceless, the friend of the repressed. He saw the injustices in society. He was involved in the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s; he condemned violence from whatever quarter. He spoke out courageously about the abuse of internees and collaborated with many other, particularly with Monsignor Raymond Murray, and the late Fr Brian Brady and Sr Sarah Clarke in forming an ad hoc network of support for those in distress. This group of social campaigners exercise every sinew in defence of those oppressed and produced a stream of publications to document human rights abuse and individual violations of civil and political rights. Fr. Faul and Fr Murray’s booklet ‘The Bimingham Framework’ was seminal in bringing attention nationally and internationally to the miscarriage of justices on behalf of the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four and others Irish prisoners he believed to have been wrongly imprisoned.

In 1981 he played a pivotal role in the brokering of an end to the hunger strikes.

He fought fearlessly on behalf of victims of violence no matter what the source. He is remembered as the priest who exposed the injustice of violence. He condemned murder repeatedly. In particular he was trenchant in his condemnation of the murder of Tom Oliver in Cooley in 1991. He saw the threat of violence extending to the Republic of Ireland and he was forthright in his condemnation.

Later he addressed the plight of those exiled from the community by various groups and forces. In particular he campaigned on behalf of the ‘disappeared’, those who had been abducted and whose bodies had never been found. His plea even on his death- bed was addressed to those who had any knowledge or hint of where these bodies had been placed. His words were clear; ‘Anyone who has knowledge of the unburied bodies bears the responsibility for that’.

But Fr Faul was more than a campaigner. He was a fried and support to anyone in grief. He said Mass on different occasions for the ‘disappeared’ – an annual Mass held in Armagh to remember those who had disappeared. He supported families and relatives and I know that was greatly appreciated.
‘Blessed those who mourn , they shall be comforted.

Denis Faul knew what it was to mourn for those suffering. His name was a household name in many families throughout Northern Ireland. He published his name and telephone number for people to make contace with him when needed. It was a phone number that was well known. He walked behind many coffins, grieving with people and sat patiently with families torn apart by the death of a loved one. Today many people are grateful to him for all of that.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers they shall be called sons of God.’

For some thirty years Denis Faul was the voice for justice in society. He stood up for what be believed in. He was relentless in the pursuit of justice and human rights. Denis Faul can justly be called a ‘son’of God.
I return to the Denis Faul we knew in the Archdiocese of Armagh. He was a deeply spiritual man, faithful to his calling as a priest. He enjoyed the company of priests He was always the student, an avid reader. His voluminous library bear witness to that. He was always the scholar interested in everything to do with the Irish language and culture. ‘Bhi gra as chuimse aige sa Ghaeilge. Gach uile bhliain chaith se seal mar sheiplineach sa Ghaeltacht,go mor mhor I dTeileann i dTir Conaill agus bhain se an-taithneamh as na laethanna a chait se ann bliain i ndiaidh bliana’.

On the 13th of June he had planned to be in Maynooth for the celebrations with his class-mates of 50 years of priesthood. He even got a new suit for the occasion but sadly he was not to make the gathering. His classmates Fr John Bradley and Fr Tommy McGeough were there to answer the many queries of friends and class mates. On the day some 40 priests gathered to celebrate. Each one signed a card wishing Monsignor Faul well and assuring him of their prayers. He was to die a week later.

Today we mourn one of the great icons of priesthood in our diocese. We mourn a man committed to his priesthood and to his work for people. He was one of the great priests of out time. Ni bheidh a leitheid ann aris. May he rest in peace.