Cardinal Sean Brady celebrated his first Mass at his Rome church yesterday after returning from an official visit to Israel. At 6pm yesterday, the Primate of All-Ireland took possession of the Titular Church of Cyricus and Julitta in Rome at a ceremony witnessed by members of the Irish community.
Cardinal Brady (68) completed the third stage in the ancient ritual of being created a Prince of the Church when he received his Papal Bull of appointment from parish priest Fr Antonio Votta.
Last November, Cavan-born Dr Brady received his red hat and cardinal's ring from the German Pontiff at ceremonies in St Peter's Square.
On that occasion, too, the Pope assigned Cardinal Brady stewardship of the Church of the early Christian martyrs, Cyricus and Julitta, close to the Colosseum.
But according to Church sources, if by an act of ill-fate, the 80-year-old Pope Benedict XVI had died before Cardinal Brady received his seal as protector of the assigned church under the Latin rite, he would be ineligible to vote in the conclave to choose the next Pope.
The Cardinal had just returned from visiting Israel with a high-powered delegation of Christian leaders from Europe and North America.
His first duty was to report on the prospects for peace in the Middle East to the Pope's prime minister, Cardinal Bertoni.
Later at a high profile news conference in the Marconi Room at Vatican Radio, Cardinal Brady said he had been "saddened and shocked" at the sight of the wall which the Israelis have erected around Bethlehem.
He urged the Israelis "to construct bridges, not walls, in order to build peace."
Cardinal Brady, who was told by Pope Benedict that the peace settlement in the North could be a model for the Middle East, said that following George W Bush's recent visit, there was "a moment of opportunity for the good of Israelis and the Palestinians and for the long-term security of the region."
From his experience of the peace process in the North, the Cardinal said that the lesson for both the Israelis and the Palestinians was that they should recognise the basic dignity of all human beings.
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