Homily of Bishop Michael Router at Mass for the Third Sunday of Easter preparing for International Parental Alienation Awareness Day

Homily of Bishop Michael Router at Mass for the Third Sunday of Easter

“Childhood is short and any substantial period of conflict and separation can lead to a parent missing significant moments in a child’s life such as First Communion and Confirmation”

Bishop Router

Peace be With You!

Jesus appears to his disciples in this morning’s gospel, and he greets them with the words, “Peace be with you”. In the post resurrection accounts featured in the gospels of Luke and John, Jesus uses this greeting five times. He uses it to calm the grave fears and agitation of his disciples that was brought about by the trauma of the crucifixion, its violence, and their subsequent dispersal.

Increase in Domestic Violence

We have all been through, to a greater or lesser degree, atraumatic experience in the past year. Covid-19 has presented many challenges to us as a society, through the stress on our health system and economy, and as individuals in our relationships and family life. Unfortunately, one of the manifestations of these challenges is a sharp increase in domestic violence. Calls to the Garda Síochána relating to violence in the home increased by 17% between March and November of 2020 (Irish Times 3/12/20) and there was a 5.3% increase in domestic abuse crimes in Northern Ireland in 2020 (Domestic Abuse Statistics www.psni.police.uk). The gift of peace that Jesus brings is much needed in international and national affairs, but it is also very much needed in our homes and in our hearts. Much of the difficulty, pain, and stress that the world endures emanates from the lack of peace in the hearts of men and women. We, therefore, constantly pray for the gift of peace. We know how easily it can be shattered.

Year of the Family

Pope Francis declared 2021 as the ‘Year of the Family’ to mark the 5th anniversary of the publication of his Post Synodal Exhortation ‘Amoris Laetitia’, the Joy of Love, and to highlight the importance of family in creating a strong foundation for a healthy and stable society. In his exhortation he says that “All Family life is a ‘shepherding’ in mercy. Each of us, by our love and care, leaves a mark on the life of others… seeking to bring out the best in them” (Par. 322). Therefore the family needs to be constantly supported so that its importance in human development is recognised and protected.

Difficulties in Family Life

This, however, does not overlook or fail to recognise, the grave difficulties that can emerge in family life from time to time. Human weakness will always give rise to conflict and misunderstanding which can lead to difficulties in trust and commitment. The internal and external pressures that married couples experience can lead to the breakdown of relationships that previously were loving and committed. Thankfully, most couples in this situation work hard to solve their problems and some engage in marriage counselling to rebuild their relationships. As Vice-President of Accord, the marriage preparation and counselling service, I know that many couples have sought the relationship counselling provided to help them find stability and a way forward.

Yet we all know that sometimes there is little prospect of a marriage relationship being repaired and this is difficult and painful for all concerned. Where there are children involved it adds a complexity that, if not handled sensitively, can have negative effects. It is incumbent on all parties to create an environment that is supportive to children and ensures that, where it is not threatening or abusive, they can maintain a relationship with both their mother and father.

Parental Alienation Awareness Day

Next Sunday, April 25th, is the International Parental Alienation Awareness day. This day highlights a particular form of domestic abuse that manifests itself in more subtle ways than physical or sexual violence. Parental alienation is a problem that has garnered increasing coverage by the media in recent times. On 20th March the Irish Examiner devoted considerable coverage to the issue in an extensive article titled ‘Parental alienation: Some days you wake up and think: ‘It’s like a living bereavement’, that included the views of a psychotherapist, a female and a male victim, and a solicitor.

Parental Alienation often takes place when one parent tries to distance his or her children from the other parent when a marriage or relationship ends. Sometimes it is justified for a child to be separated from a parent because of threatening behaviour. In the case of Parental Alienation, however, there is no such reason. The courts have recognised that the parent should have access to their children, yet the other parent refuses to allow it. Such a denial of the rights of children to have a loving relationship with both parents has long-lasting and damaging consequences for a child. It often involves being cut off from one side of the family including grandparents, who also suffer greatly as a result. As childhood is short and any substantial period of conflict and separation can lead to a parent missing significant moments in a child’s life such as First Communion and Confirmation. Such moments can never be repeated.

Support for Change

Over the past number of years thirty county councils and local authorities in the Republic of Ireland, and two in Northern Ireland, have recognised officially that this is a serious issue and have called for a change in the law to take into account situations where one parent is wrongly influencing their child or children against the other parent. The ‘Report on Reform of the Family Law System’, published in October 2019, recommended that the relevant changes be made to family law in Ireland to ensure that this doesn’t happen (p.50). I hope that such calls will be listened to and the necessary changes will be made. As Pope Francis states in ‘Amoris Laetitia’, “The Church, while appreciating the situations of conflict that are part of marriage, cannot fail to speak out on behalf of those who are most vulnerable: the children who often suffer in silence” (Par. 186).

Prayer for Peace

Changes in the law will, of course, be very helpful, but they alone won’t always be effective in dealing with difficult and painful situations within families. We as followers of Christ know that genuine peace comes through trust in him and in recognising his presence among us even when we are afraid or agitated. As we approach the International Parental Alienation Awareness Day next week, we redouble our efforts to pray for peace in families where trust and goodwill have been shattered. The first words Jesus says to his disciples in today’s gospel are “Peace, be with you”. Peace can often be sadly lacking in our communities and our families. We pray for all parents and for children so that even in difficult situations they may know the peace that the risen Christ brings to them and may turn to him for solace, comfort, and healing.

+ Bishop Michael Router

(This Mass was celebrated today in Saint James Church, Grange, Co Louth, in the Archdiocese of Armagh.)

Life in the Spirit Seminars

Our Lady Queen of Peace prayer group are hosting eight Life in the Spirit seminars in St. Mary’s Church, Knockbridge. See poster for more details.

Church Leaders call for unified political response to address violence and community tensions

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God’

As Christian Church Leaders from across the island of Ireland we appeal to our political leaders to come together in a unified response to the heartbreaking scenes witnessed on our streets last week and renew their commitment to peace, reconciliation and the protection of the most vulnerable.

The causes of this most recent outbreak of violence are complex and, in some respects, deep-rooted. Church representatives and other community leaders working on the ground in affected communities have spoken to us of their frustration at seeing another generation of young people risk their lives and their futures because repeated warnings about the need to treat our fragile peace with care went unheeded.

The Good Friday/Belfast Agreement has rightly been held up as a beacon of hope for societies in conflict around the world. The significant reduction in violence since 1998 is a major achievement that serves to remind us that the problems we face at present are not insuperable. But that experience also teaches us that these challenges can only be addressed by political leaders coming together with a genuine desire to find solutions and accommodations which meet the legitimate concerns of others as well as their own. The Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, and the subsequent agreements that built on its foundations, recognised our interdependence on these islands and the consequent responsibility to respect all identities and foster good relations within Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland and between the UK and Ireland.

We have previously advocated for the need to protect all these relationships in the context of Brexit. The Northern Ireland/Ireland Protocol presents many challenges to the flow of trade and also the flow of goodwill across and between these islands. Some of the challenges were foreseeable and have been planned for and mitigated (at least in part). The political outcomes of the Protocol are more difficult to address because they are tied in with very big issues of world trade and sovereignty. The only way in which these will be constructively handled, from a Northern Ireland point of view, and with a good chance of a successful outcome, is if the European Union (including the Irish Government) and the Government of the United Kingdom are approached jointly by the entire Northern Ireland Executive advocating for the protection of the common good across the whole of Northern Ireland. Such a joint approach would be difficult to turn down, but to develop it will require a renewed generosity of spirit from political leaders on all sides of our community.

Leaders, organisations and communities make mistakes. As Christian leaders we are conscious of the need to acknowledge the failings of leadership from the churches in our ministry to divided communities. In such circumstances there is nothing ignoble in showing genuine sorrow. It is hardly surprising, given the complexities of our relationships at home and abroad, that politicians, political parties and others in leadership make miscalculations. Learning from the consequences of miscalculations is much better than an endless scramble to paper over the cracks.

We also have to face the difficult questions about who pays the price for our failings. In the past week we have seen people afraid to leave their homes, others at risk of violence as they go about their work and young people feeling that they have no stake in society or hope for the future. Much good work on the ground has been undermined as tension has risen and confidence has plummeted. It has been horrific to witness the intensity of the violence directed against the PSNI and the extent of the injuries sustained by officers. All of us in Northern Ireland have created a society in which even-handed policing requires the wisdom of Solomon combined with the patience of Job. The PSNI is relentlessly scrutinised by the Policing Board, and other organs of accountability. In that sense the PSNI has a political legitimacy across this community which is enjoyed by few other institutions. It is vital that we address concerns in a way that strengthens our democratic processes rather than undermining them.

We are conscious too that Churches are only a small part of the wider civic leadership in our society, and that all civic leaders have a responsibility to support our elected representatives as they seek to negotiate difficult compromises and find new accommodations for the common good. At the same time, we have a responsibility to hold them to account, and the persistent levels of socio-economic inequality in the areas worst impacted by violence, over two decades after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, demand more sustained attention and meaningful intervention by political leaders. The Agreement provided for regular and transparent engagement of civic leaders in policy development, but in practice this has been implemented only in a very limited way, and all too often as an emergency response rather than a preventative measure. Churches, together with other civic leaders, are keen to play our part in addressing the root causes of violence and working to ensure all communities here can enjoy the benefits of peace into the future.

Please be assured of our continued prayerful support for your leadership at this critical time.

Yours sincerely,

The Most Revd John McDowell

Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland

The Most Revd Eamon Martin

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland

The Rt Revd Dr David Bruce

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

The Revd Dr Tom McKnight

President of the Methodist Church in Ireland

The Very Revd Dr Ivan Patterson

President of the Irish Council of Churches

Bishops announce initial submission phase of Synodal Pathway for the Catholic Church in Ireland

On 10 March 2021, the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference announced a new Synodal Pathway for the Catholic Church in Ireland leading to the holding of a National Synodal Assembly within the next five years.

Conversations at local, regional and national level have informed the work of a dedicated subgroup of the Bishops’ Conference which was established to further explore this idea. During their 2020 Winter General Meeting, bishops decided to proceed along a synodal pathway, and, since then, have been assisted and greatly encouraged by Cardinal Mario Grech and Sr Natalie Becquart, of the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Cardinal Grech and Sr Becquart addressed the Irish Bishops on the theme of synodality on 3 February 2021.

Commenting on the Synodal Pathway, Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick said, “Before embarking on the Synodal Pathway consultation, bishops are inviting submissions to reflect on what methods/models to adopt in these coming two years of conversations. For example: parish hall meetings, focus groups, questionnaires, deep-listening sessions; written submissions; family-focused gatherings; summary of findings of assemblies that have already taken place across dioceses; and/or conferences.

“Feedback, which should be no more than 300 words and submitted by Pentecost Sunday 23 May 2021, ought to focus on the nature of the process for the consultation i.e. how we can best go about this initial phase of establishing the conversation, rather than on the prospective themes for the Synodal Pathway, which will be addressed in the next phase.

“It is said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. I think the possibility of submissions on the Irish Bishops’ Conference website on what methods/models to adopt in the coming two years of conversations is a simple but significant step and I hope many will offer their suggestions.”

On the new Synodal Pathway webpage, see www.catholicbishops.ie/synod, people are invited to offer feedback to the following question: What would be your preferred option for engagement in a conversation process about the Synod?

The responses will be considered by the task group to be put in place by the bishops this summer to plan and oversee the first steps along the synodal pathway.

Synodal Pathway Timeline:

The Initial Phase – Prayer, Listening, Consultation, Discernment

The initial two-year phase of embarking on the synodal pathway and leading, in time, to a National Synod, helpfully coincides with preparation for the 2022 Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops in Rome entitled, For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission.

Bishops envisage the next two years as a period of prayer, listening and discernment, involving a nationwide consultative conversation on this theme. This will allow individuals and parishes, religious orders and associations as well as groups, movements and organisations both within the Church and in Irish society at large, to share their insights into the Church in Ireland – past, present and future. It will also include discussion and debate via related information sessions and educational programmes on the meaning and processes of synodality. Best practice in listening and synodal processes and assemblies at home and around the world will be researched.

The Planning Phase – Preparation for a National Synodal Assembly

The planning and preparation phase for a National Synodal Assembly will bring together and seek to implement the fruits and recommendations from the Initial Phase. It will, in particular, take account of the conclusions of the General Assembly in Rome in 2022, together with any Apostolic Exhortation by the Holy Father emerging from the General Assembly. The aim of this phase will be to design the particular form of our National Synod and prepare directly at local, regional and national level for the holding of the Synod.

Next Steps

Next June, at the Summer General Meeting, bishops intend to establish a task group to plan and oversee the first steps along the synodal pathway. This task group will be made up of lay women and men, including young people, religious, priests and bishops.

The next two years (2021-2023) will be a period of prayer, listening and discernment, involving a nationwide consultative conversation on the theme: “For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission”. This will allow individuals and parishes, religious orders and associations as well as groups, movements and organisations, both within the Church and in Irish society at large, to share their insights into the Church in Ireland – past, present and future.

The key question is: What does God want from the Church in Ireland at this time?

Easter to Pentecost 2021

Before embarking on the consultation itself, between Easter (5 April) and Pentecost (23 May), 2021, bishops are seeking submissions on what methods to adopt in these coming two years of conversations.

The new Synodal Pathway webpage is live on www.catholicbishops.ie/synod featuring information on the timeline, some FAQs and some additional resources to assist with this phase of the process.

Easter Hope – Joint statement by the Archbishops of Armagh

One of the words which we associate most strongly with Easter is “hope”. It is a word that has become a bit debased in the way we use it nowadays. “I hope so” very often means “I would like to think this or that might happen, but I doubt if it will”. Nothing could be further from the victorious and positive nature of our Easter hope.

Easter falls at a season of the year that is full of hopefulness. Longer evenings, Spring flowers, birdsong, and the sap rising in the trees. The whole creation (at least in the Northern hemisphere) is bursting with hope and the promise of new life. And the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead brings that hope to a new level of reality. Far from the resurrection being simply a metaphor that religious people use for natural renewal, as some believe, it is the yearly renewal of the Earth in Spring which is an anticipation of the resurrection; a sign pointing to something greater than itself. A shadow in search of a substance. Transience moving towards permanence.

That is how the creator God has imprinted something of Himself into the fabric of the world. He has made if full of intimations of eternity, for instance in beauty and in music which are where many of us find the strongest suggestions of intense joy and infinity. These created things won’t fulfil our yearning for eternal fellowship with God, but they will arouse it, and prepare us to find it unexpectedly, in the servant life and death of Jesus Christ.

Even today there are other signs all around us, not this time in nature or in music, but in the human lives which our eyes have been opened to value, often for the first time.

It has been a tough year since last Easter, and many people, Christians and others, have found ways of making the best of a bad job by helping one another in ways that we haven’t been used to doing before. We’ve also found ways to show our appreciation and admiration for people who we don’t usually think about. They aren’t sports people, or billionaires or even politicians. They are nurses and delivery drivers and people toiling in cavernous warehouses and food factories for very low wages. People who serve the fundamental needs of God’s world. And, in its own way their hidden service is a shadow of the resurrection life; the life of heaven, God’s place. Our sure and certain hope.

Homily of Archbishop Eamon Martin at Mass in memory of the Disappeared for Palm Sunday 2021

Standing through the solemn reading of the Lord’s passion, from the Gospel of Mark, acts like a great overture to Holy Week. As if in a great symphony, its themes will keep returning in the prayers and readings of the coming days. And then on Good Friday next, at three o’clock, we will stand again – as if in a great recapitulation – to listen to Saint John’s account of the Passion at the dry hour when Jesus gave his life on the cross for our salvation.

The word “Passion” denotes suffering. Each of the Gospels graphically presents the cruelty, the inhumanity, the pain and the loneliness of the suffering of Jesus.

The hurtful betrayals;

That treacherous kiss;

The friends could not even stay awake with him one hour and who fled as soon as they came under pressure;

The people who changed their tune from “hosanna” to “Crucify him”.

Even Peter, his stalwart, the one he had nicknamed “Rock”, folded in fear and denied even knowing him.

Jesus had always faced opponents, but now that opposition brimmed over into cruel hostility and murderous intent. He became the victim of jealousy and corrupt power, subject to the violence that begets violence, and unjustly condemned by the flawed testimony of false witnesses cynically rounded up to discredit him.

But Jesus showed amazing courage during his passion. In Gethsemane he found strength to do the will of his Father, despite his fears.

He found resilience to endure horrendous abuse, mockery, scourging and torture.

Still, in the darkness of Golgotha, stripped of his clothes and his dignity, his agony and isolation were heard in that heartfelt cry from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. There ends the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel today brings to mind another word – the word “Com-passion”. Compassion means “to suffer with” another.

We see “compassion” in the gentle loving fidelity of the woman who tenderly anointed Jesus, in Simon who helped carry the cross, and in the witness of those faithful women who didn’t abandon him. When everyone else had gone, they remained to keep vigil. They were there until his burial, and even afterwards – so much so that it was they who first witnessed that the tomb was empty and he had risen.

Passion and Compassion; suffering and “suffering-with”: these joint themes are knitted together in the verses of today’s Gospel. They are the recurring themes of Holy Week.

It is comforting to know that, although there is so much suffering in the world, thankfully there is also no lack of compassion – people who are prepared to “suffer with others”. During the Covid19 pandemic for example: love and care, have been found side by side with the suffering, isolation, and pain that the virus has brought.

And in your story, my dear brothers and sisters, the story of the “Disappeared”, suffering and compassion have met and embraced.

You and your loved ones have known terrible suffering; you have shared in so many ways in the Passion of Jesus.

But your story has also brought out tremendous love and compassion – the way that you have supported each other over the years – in many cases even after your own loved one has been found – that has been a powerful witness to “suffering with others”. There is compassion also in the people who have come forward to the Independent Commission with information to help ease your suffering, and in the painstaking forensic work that so many have done to try to find the bodies of your loved ones.

Sadly there has been little progress over the last year in the search for answers. For some of you, especially those outside of Ireland, the Covid19 restrictions will only have added to your sense of separation and loss. We think of those members of your families who are sick and vulnerable and those who have died – in some cases never having been united with the bodies of their loved ones.

Our annual Mass is a humble expression of our compassion for you. Not to know where your murdered loved one is buried must bring an unbearable burden of suffering – some of you have carried that burden for almost fifty years. Not to be able to grieve properly, to have a Christian burial, to lay flowers on a grave – we cannot imagine your pain. Conscious of this heartache, I appeal once more today, that anyone out there who has even the slightest amount of information, to show compassion and mercy by sharing it with the Independent Commission. It is never too little, or too late, to bring the key that will ease the suffering of others, and help them find peace and consolation. For the love of God, do not remain silent. Have compassion.

Our thoughts and prayers today are especially with the families of Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey, Robert Nairac and Lisa Dorian. The recent unsuccessful searches for Columba in Braggan Bog and for Lisa near Ballyhalbert, must have brought you, their families, so much pain. Our hearts go out to you. We encourage you, as Pope Francis has often said, “do not allow yourselves to be robbed of hope”.

We also remember that there are other families who continue to struggle with the disappearance of their loved one, including those who may not have been recognised on the official list of the Disappeared. You too are in our prayers today.

The prayers and readings of Holy Week remind us that where there is suffering, the crucified Christ is present. Many people who suffer find it helpful to unite their pain, their agony and loneliness with the suffering of Jesus for us on the cross. And they feel his presence in their suffering.

Similarly, Christ is present where there is compassion, tenderness, mercy and kindness. And because Christ is Risen, hope cannot die. An ancient hymn for Holy Week promises that, “where charity and love are found, God is there”.

Today’s Gospel and the core message of the Christian faith, continue to remind us that where suffering and compassion are found, God is there – both in the suffering, and in the compassion that goes with it.

Eternal rest…

Amen.

Northern Catholic Bishops oppose introduction of abortion services

Northern Catholic Bishops oppose introduction of abortion services

Statement by the Northern Catholic Bishops regarding the intention of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to introduce extreme and discriminatory abortion services to Northern Ireland

“What Westminster seeks to impose, against the clear will of a majority of people here, is a law which blatantly undermines the right to life of unborn children and promotes an abhorrent and indefensible prejudice against persons with disabilities, even before they are born… This is not a time for silence or strategic opting out.” – Northern Bishops
“We call on all local MLA’s and political parties to speak out against the extreme and profoundly discriminatory nature of these abortion regulations” – Northern Bishops

Statement

We are deeply concerned by the announcement that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland intends to bypass the NI Assembly to force the Minister for Health here to commission some of the most extreme and liberal abortion services on these islands.

This is the latest in a line of unilateral interventions by the current Westminster Government to portray a reckless disregard for the fragile checks and balances of the international peace settlement between these islands. Such a development should be a matter of grave concern for anyone who upholds the principle of devolution at the heart of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement.

As we have said before, in this context, the equal right to life of every mother and her unborn baby must always be upheld and protected. An important mark of any humane and compassionate society is our ability to work through difficult challenges in a way which is life affirming, not life destroying. As followers of Jesus, we believe that as a human family we have the capacity to love and care for one another, especially for mothers facing crisis in pregnancy, in a way that does not involve bringing about the death and destruction of vulnerable children in the womb. The abortion regulations introduced by Westminster, against the will of the majority of people here, are predicated on the assumption that the unborn child in the womb has no right to love, care and protection from society, unless the child is wanted. None of us acquire our humanity, or our fundamental right to existence, on the basis of whether or not we are wanted.

What Westminster seeks to impose, against the clear will of a majority of people here, is a law which blatantly undermines the right to life of unborn children and promotes an abhorrent and indefensible prejudice against persons with disabilities, even before they are born.

We call on all local MLA’s and political parties to speak out against the extreme and profoundly discriminatory nature of these abortion regulations, which the Secretary of State seeks to impose over their heads. This is not a time for silence or strategic opting out. We ask you, as our locally elected representatives, not to meekly acquiesce in this effort to bypass internationally agreed devolved structures. We appeal to you to publicly defend the rights of all children in the womb to be treated equally and to have their right and that of their mothers to love, care and protection by our society respected and upheld.

We, the Catholic Bishops of Northern Ireland, remain committed to working with all sectors of society, so that a culture of life and care becomes a reality for all.

Bishop Michael Router: Homily on Synodality – St Patrick’s Day, 2021

Bishop Michael Router: Homily on Synodality – St Patrick’s Day, 2021,

Our Lady Star of the Sea, Boher, Co. Louth

Text of Bishop Michael’s St. Patrick’s Day Homily

It’s hard to believe that we are facing into our second consecutive St Patricks Day in lockdown. This time last year we were getting used to restrictions that were somewhat novel and that we thought would be relatively short lived. I don’t think anyone would have believed that 12 months later we would still be in the same situation. Yes, the vaccines have brought hope and a sense that there is an end in sight, but our patience is wearing thin and we just wish but we could get back to some sense of normality.

St Patrick’s Day is usually a great day of colour and pageantry around the country with parades, sporting occasions, concerts and many opportunities for socialising. It is, perhaps, true that St Patrick’s Day in normal times has moved well away from its religious foundations and become a very secular celebration. I suppose one of the spiritual benefits of this day being severely restricted is that we have a little bit more time to reflect on our Christian faith and its growth and impact on our island over the past 1600 years. In that sense the last year has had a deep reflective quality about it and most people, both inside and outside the Church, realise that we are on the cusp of a time of change and challenge.

We as Church, like every other organisation in this country and in the world, will have to adapt to that change and assess and reflect on the long-term effects of this pandemic. It is fair to say, however, that long before this pandemic, the Church in Ireland, and the practise of the faith, was coming under severe pressure. There is an obvious need for reform so that Church structures will become more fit for purpose in the 21st century.

At our spring meeting, held last week, the bishops of Ireland decided to embark on a synodal process for the Church in Ireland. Already I can hear many people saying ‘What on earth does a synodal process mean and what difference could it possibly make?’

In the past the Church has been very hierarchical with those at the very top making all the decisions and handing them down to those below with little discussion or consultation, particularly with those who were marginalised because of gender or social status. The great council of the modern Church, Vatican II, which took place in the 1960s, opened the possibility of changing the structures to allow for greater participation of the lay faithful in all aspects of Church life. The message and the model proposed by Vatican II has, unfortunately, been very slow in getting off the ground. There have been great strides made at local level over the past 30 or 40 years but we still remain quite a hierarchical Church with limited formal channels for wider consultation and cooperation between bishops, clergy, religious and laity.

The synodal process that the bishops have announced is similar to that which is underway in Australia and Germany at present. Yes of course we will have a gathering, an assembly, at a national level within five years but that won’t be the beginning of the synod, or the end of it, or even the most important part of it, because synodality is a way of being Church where everyone walks the path together and that journey begins now.

Over the coming years there will be widespread consultation with everyone inside and outside the Church, those who are faithful and committed and those who have turned their backs and walked away. There will be much more information released as we go along, but the announcement is an exciting moment for all of us who value and love our Christian faith and who know the importance of the sacraments provided by the Church to nurture and nourish that faith. So, on this St. Patrick’s Day let us rededicate the Irish Church to the care and protection of our patron saint who set out on a missionary journey in a difficult and challenging time with little more than faith and hope in his heart. St. Patrick discovered, however, that faith and hope were all you needed. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Saint Patrick achieved a miracle in this land and planted a seed off renewal in the heart of all Irish men and women.

May the journey we undertake together into the future, uncertain and challenging as it may be, plant the seed of faith and renewal once again in our country. The Church will never be the same as it was. We are not trying to re-invent the Church of the past, but we are beginning a journey to somewhere new and, hopefully, to somewhere where people can rediscover the joy of being part of the family of God.

A Message from the Irish Church Leaders for St. Patrick’s Day

Church Leaders’ St Patrick’s Day Message

‘In Christ We Journey Together’

The leaders of Ireland’s main churches have come together to issue a message on St Patrick’s Day that reflects on the 1921 centenaries and contains an invitation to wider civic society for further dialogue. Entitled ‘In Christ We Journey Together’, the theme chosen by the Church Leaders Group (Ireland) for their shared reflection on the centenaries, they recognise that some may struggle with idea of a shared history of the centenaries. Together, however, they explore how the Christian faith and Christian social ethics can contribute to the healing of relationships and offer a hopeful vision for the future.

In their Joint Statement, which they also filmed as a video message at Saint Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh, the Church Leaders welcome the progress that has been made through the peace process in building relationships of mutual respect and trust across these islands. While acknowledging that there is much work still to do, they set out a vision for a society where different identities in a pluralist public square can be valued.

Reflecting together, the Church Leaders placed particular emphasis on the interconnectedness of the people of the UK and Ireland, saying ‘What is undeniable … is the reality that we have to live in a shared space on these islands, and to make them a place of belonging and welcome for all’. They have chosen to issue their message on St Patrick’s Day to embrace the way this former slave, who embodied that interconnectedness, brought Christianity to Ireland some 1,500 years ago. In this context, a single century is but a brief moment in time, but the Church Leaders note that significant anniversaries can provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on our history and explore what can be learned for today.

The reflection is informed by principles of ethical remembering, ‘In our approach to the past we have a moral responsibility to acknowledge the corrosive impact of violence and words that can lead to violence’, the Church leaders said. They also recognise that there is a need to face difficult truths about failings in their churches’ own leadership in the work of peace and reconciliation. Regarding the role of the churches, they said, ‘We have often been captive churches; not captive to the Word of God, but to the idols of state and nation.’

The Church Leaders are sharing this message today as an invitation to dialogue. They have planned a series of engagements for this year which will include opportunities for conversation and reflection — as churches, as well as with political and civic leaders — and other events to mark the centenaries.

Church Leaders Statement in full

As disciples of Jesus Christ, sharing in the grace of his redemption, and in the Father’s unshakeable love for his creation, we have been reflecting together on the events of 1921 on this island. We wish to share some of our thoughts as we continue these conversations and as we journey together through the year.

Every generation of leaders, civil and political, is called to make choices about the structures that govern our life in community, now and in the future, in circumstances that will always be less than ideal. Significant anniversaries provide an opportunity to reflect on our trajectory, exploring what can be learned for today through a re-examination of the contrasting and intertwined narratives of conflict and compromise that surround these pivotal points in our history.

Some may struggle with the concept of a shared history when it comes to the centenary of the partition of Ireland, the establishment of Northern Ireland and the resulting reconfiguration of British-Irish relationships. What is undeniable, however, is the reality that we have to live in a shared space on these islands, and to make them a place of belonging and welcome for all. In our approach to the past we have a moral responsibility to acknowledge the corrosive impact of violence and words that can lead to violence, and a duty of care to those still living with the trauma of its aftermath.

There are insights from Christian social ethics that may offer a helpful perspective, alongside others, as we seek to navigate our contested past in a way that will contribute to healing of relationships in the present and a hopeful vision for the future. Christ’s teaching, ministry and sacrifice were offered in the context of a society that was politically divided, wounded by conflict and injustice. His call to ‘render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things of God’ (Mark 12:17) conveyed the reassurance that beneath these societal fractures lay a deeper source of connection because all things belong to God.

Saint Patrick’s Day 2021 message to the people of Ireland at home and abroad from Archbishop Eamon Martin

I pray that people who are struggling with the pandemic, whose livelihoods have been threatened, or have contracted the virus, that they will find in Saint Patrick the courage and resilience to go on
I pray, as we reflect on our shared history, that we will find in Saint Patrick a source of courage and values as we face with confidence new possibilities for today and tomorrow on this island
I pray that we will be as open, as Saint Patrick’s was, to the cry of the poor, the lonely and isolated, the bereaved, the stranger and exile among us; the prisoner, the homeless and the hungry

For the second year running, celebrations of the Feast of Saint Patrick are curtailed by Covid19 restrictions. The traditional parades, parties, an rince, na seisiúin and the usual big sporting events have had to be cancelled or postponed. Even the White House presentation of the bowl of shamrock has gone virtual!

Down the centuries many customs, myths and paraphernalia have grown up around Saint Patrick and the celebration of his feast day at home and abroad. But perhaps, paradoxically, the restrictions this year are opening up an opportunity for us to focus a little more on Saint Patrick himself, and even rescue the real Saint Patrick from the legends and distractions surrounding him.

If you want to find the true story of Patrick, and get an authentic understanding of who he was, the best place to look is in his own words which are preserved for us in two ancient writings – Saint Patrick’s Confession, and Saint Patrick’s Letter to Coroticus. You won’t find any mention there of green beer, snakes or even shamrock – but you will discover the testimony of a real person who dedicated his life and energies to spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ.

You will read about a young man who was seized from his family home as a teenager and trafficked to Ireland where he worked as a slave until he escaped back to his homeland. You will learn that even though Patrick had been raised in a Christian home and family, he says he had little knowledge or understanding of the true God. It was only while he was isolated and alone in captivity, minding flocks in the cold and rain on the hills and valleys of Ireland, that he found strength and courage in prayer and grew to know God’s love and protection in a powerful and personal way.

You will discover that much later in Patrick’s life he heard the “voice of the Irish” calling him to come back and walk once more among them, and he returned to Ireland as a priest and bishop to share the joy of the Gospel with the people who had once held him captive. His writings relate his struggles and trials as a missionary, the dangers and opposition he faced not only from those who resisted the spread of Christianity, but also from those within the Church who argued that Patrick had a questionable past and was unlearned and unfit to be a bishop.

But even though he accepted his sinfulness, his lack of proper education and preparation for the mission, Saint Patrick never doubted that God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – was with him, shielding him from danger and falsehood, and ultimately guiding him, every step of the way.

Although it is not contained in Saint Patrick’s own writings, the traditional prayer which we know as St Patrick’s Breastplate, harmonises with the picture of the saint which we pick up in his own writings.

Patrick prayed: Christ on my right hand; Christ on my left hand; Christ all around me.

Thinking today of those in our country and beyond who are struggling during the pandemic – either from contracting the virus themselves, or having to isolate; those in hospital and intensive care; those whose jobs or livelihoods have been threatened; those who are exhausted from caring and worrying – I pray that they will find in Saint Patrick the courage and resilience they need to go on, surrounded, as he was, by the love and protection of God.

Patrick prayed: Christ behind me; Christ before me.

Thinking about Ireland, north and south, at this pivotal moment in our shared history, a time when we look back one hundred years: to separation and partition on this island and all that has happened to divide, grieve and polarize us; thinking at the same time about the achievements and progress of Irish people, and about the possibilities for lasting peace and reconciliation, for harnessing the beauty and uniqueness of our land, and for building relationships that will bring us closer together rather than divide us – I pray that we will find in Saint Patrick a source of courage, shared identity and values and the resilience we need to face with confidence new possibilities for today and tomorrow on this island.

Patrick prayed: Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me; Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me; Christ in every eye that sees me; Christ in every ear that hears me.

Thinking about Family on this feast of our patron saint – about those who are with us at home, those who are far away or in hospital or care, or otherwise unable to join us – I pray that our hearts and lips, our eyes and ears will be as open as Saint Patrick’s were to the cry of the poor, the lonely and isolated, the bereaved, the stranger and exile among us; the prisoner, the homeless and the hungry. I pray that we, like Saint Patrick will bring faith to life and life to faith. May we be missionaries of God’s love, forgiveness, healing, mercy and joy everywhere we go, this day and always.

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