Church must reach out beyond itself – Archbishop Diarmuid Martin

The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin says an inward looking church will never be missionary and will never renew itself.

Speaking at Mass at the start of the Diocesan pilgrimage in Lourdes this morning (Sunday), the Archbishop of Dublin said, “One of the great themes of Pope Francis is that the Church must never become “self-referential”, closed in on itself, a closed shop preoccupied only with itself, a Church more attached to itself than to spreading the message of Jesus Christ. The Church, he stresses, must reach out; it must move out beyond itself. An inward-looking Church will never be missionary and will never renew itself.”

2,000 sick pilgrims, medics, priests, students, teachers and volunteers left Dublin yesterday for the week long pilgrimage, the largest of its kind in the country. 

Pilgrims have begun the pilgrimage with prayers for peace in Syria, in his homily the Archbishop said, “We pray  that during these days of pilgrimage, through the intercession of Mary and Bernadette, the saving and loving power of Jesus will overcome those forces in the world which menace the gift of peace.”

The Diocesan pilgrimage went ahead this year, despite extensive floods in June which caused millions of euro of damage at the world famous Shrine.