The Irish Catholic Church has been embroiled in so many bad headlines
recently that there was an almost audible sigh of relief among the
faithful at last week's announcement of the 50th International
Eucharistic Congress which will be held in Dublin in June 2012.
There
will a series of cultural and liturgical events centred on the RDS in
Dublin, where thousands will take part in workshops, seminars and
celebrations of the Eucharist.
An estimated 80,000 pilgrims will
attend the week-long programme of events, culminating in a huge open-air
Mass at Croke Park.
This has already led to suggestions that the Pope
may preside at the closing ceremony.
However, this possibility was
quickly played down when the Congress was formally announced in Dublin
by the Catholic Primate, Cardinal Brady, and the Archbishop of Dublin,
Dr Dairmuid Martin.
Archbishop Martin said firmly: "This is not a
Congress about whether the Pope comes or not, it is part of the process
of renewal. If the Pope does not come, the process of renewal goes on."
The first Eucharist Congress was held in 1881 under the Pontificate of
Leo XIII and the purpose of the regular international gatherings is to
celebrate the Catholic faith.
A Eucharistic Congress was last held in Dublin in 1932 and it underlined the theocratic nature of the new Free State.
Not
surprisingly, the Dublin government and the Irish Catholic Church made
major efforts to make sure that it was a great success.
There was even
an Act passed by the government specially for the event.
The
ceremonies at the Congress were spearheaded by the special Papal Legate
Cardinal Lorenzo Lauri and on the final day - June 26, 1932 - there was a
live Papal broadcast from Rome to a huge audience at Phoenix Park.
The
1932 Eucharistic Congress led to the establishment of Radio Athlone,
which later developed into Radio Eireann.
Overall, the Congress had an
enormous public impact, which may be difficult to surpass next year.
This
is partly because the world has changed beyond recognition since then
and new technology has made international figures like the Pope familiar
to everyone.
Since Pope Benedict became Pontiff, there has been
talk of a visit to Ireland - and especially to the north, which was
ruled out of bounds to John Paul II by the Troubles.
He has
already been invited to Ireland and when he decreed in 2008 that the
50th Eucharistic Conference should take place in Dublin, this further
indicated his high regard for the Irish Church.
However, the torrent of
bad publicity about clerical sex-abuse which has overwhelmed the Church
since then may have made the Pope's advisers nervous of accepting any
invitation to Ireland in the near future.
The caution of
Archbishop Dairmuid Martin is, therefore, understandable, but he is also
right to claim that the Congress could in itself be the focus for a
renewal in the Irish Church.
Economically, it could also help to
boost tourism at a time when Ireland needs all the visitors it can get.
There is little doubt, however, that the shadow of clerical child-abuse
will continue to linger long over the entire Irish Church.
If the
Pope decides to come to Dublin, and therefore almost certainly to
Northern Ireland as well, next year, it will be taken as a sign that he
believes that the worst of the Irish sexual-abuse scandal is over.
On
the other hand, the Vatican may yet decide that a specially-relayed
message from the Pope, but not his presence in Ireland, is the best that
the Irish Church can expect next year.