The head of the Catholic church in Ireland has made history twice in two days. On Sunday, Cardinal Seán Brady became the first Catholic primate or cardinal to attend a Church of Ireland General Synod Eucharist service.
On Monday, he became the first Catholic primate in history to attend a service of thanksgiving and commemoration at Trinity College, Dublin.
"We live in remarkable times," Cardinal Brady told a congregation in Armagh.
Speaking at Sunday's Eucharist service, he said that last week, he had blessed the graves of the executed republican leaders of the 1916 Rising in Arbour Hill, Dublin.
On Sunday, he was present at the service to mark the end of the Church of Ireland synod - a moment of both "historic and symbolic significance," he said.
On Monday, he was preaching in Trinity College chapel - another first for a Catholic primate.
Trinity College, Dublin, was traditionally a Protestant university. Until the end of the 19th century, Catholics were rarely admitted. It was not until 1970 that the Catholic Church lifted its policy of discouraging Catholics to attend.
Cardinal Brady told worshippers at the Synod service in St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh: "To some people, all of that seems an impossible combination.
"The last millennium saw great divisions in the unity of the Church - the body of Christ. Many now dare to hope, and I am one of them, that this millennium will see the great healing of those wounds.
"The last millennium also saw great divisions and conflict on this island of Ireland and between Ireland and her nearest neighbours. Again, many dare to hope that those conflicts can now be resolved, once and for all."
'Courage'
Cardinal Brady said the present moment was "a wonderful kairos to play our part in trying to heal, once and for all, the hurts of the past.
"I salute the efforts of those who have already courageously undertaken this task. But we all have our part to play," he said.
The cardinal saluted the courage of the Church of Ireland for their work in addressing the legacy of conflict in a multicultural Ireland.
"The independent review of the whole initiative concluded that the projects on immigration and loyalist communities are at the cutting edge of contemporary diversity and inclusion issues in Ireland today.
"My own limited experience of contact with the loyalists' communities in recent times, would lead me to the same conclusion."
In April, the cardinal met loyalists connected to the paramilitary UDA for face-to-face talks for the first time.
He met an Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) delegation at his private residence in Armagh.
Cardinal Brady said the meeting had been "highly significant." He said he was encouraged by an assurance given by the UPRG that there would be "no going back to the past".
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to us or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that we agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Source (BBC)
SV (2)