CHURCH HOMILIES: CATHOLIC PRIMATE Cardinal Seán
Brady emphasised the need to rebuild confidence in the church in his St
Patrick’s Day homily last Thursday.
He said religious faith was very
important to many Irish people, a fact that deserved due recognition and
respect in public life and policy.
“Yes, in Ireland, confidence in many
institutions, including the Catholic Church, has been profoundly shaken
in recent years because of its failures. We must continue to try to
rebuild that confidence. For the church, this means a humble discernment
of the path to renewal.”
Speaking on the RTÉ radio broadcast
Mass, Cardinal Brady said the historic link between the Christian legacy
of Patrick and Irish identity was often ignored, if not denied
outright.
“This is evident in the increasing disconnect between so
many St Patrick’s Day celebrations and the faith and hope which Patrick
came to bring. It is part of a wider European problem. Despite the fact
that the roots of European and Irish culture are profoundly Christian,
there are those who would prefer to deny that reality.”
In a
homily at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, retired Catholic Bishop of
Killaloe Willie Walsh said the Irish people “cannot and will not”
overcome the financial crisis “unless we find a new sense of solidarity
in which those of us who are lucky to have jobs are willing to share the
pain involved in trying to get it right.”