ANY renewal of the structures of the Catholic Church in
Ireland can only be achieved through a wider renewal of faith, the
Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin has warned.
Dr Martin said the Catholic Church needed healing
and reconciliation as clerical sex abuse and the hierarchy’s subsequent
handling of the issue had caused immense hurt to many victims and
survivors. "Many in today’s Irish society have lost confidence in the
Church," said Dr Martin.
Speaking at a Mass in the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin Sunday to mark the National Eucharistic Congress, Dr Martin said next year’s International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held in Ireland for the first time since 1932, represented a chance for the Catholic Church in Ireland to oversee a wider renewal of faith.
However, he cautioned that the secularisation of Irish society meant people were exposed to a culture and lifestyle, often unknowingly, which could easily undermine their faith.
Dr Martin said the decline in regular Mass attendance was just one sign Catholics were failing to understand the centrality of the sacraments in the life of the Church.
"The sacraments are not just places where we come to Church to ‘top-up’ as if it were at a source of grace. Neither are the sacraments just social or cultural events open to anyone as they wish," he added.
The archbishop dismissed suggestions that the concept of a Eucharistic Congress belonged to a past era. He claimed anyone who thought the Eucharist was simply marginal to any renewal of the Church did not understand the religion.
Dr Martin said the 1932 congress had left a deep mark on the memory of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
Acknowledging that religious culture in Ireland had changed significantly since 1932, he added: "There is obviously no intention of replicating a church of the past, much less attempting to restore in 2012 what took place 80 years ago."
He said the congress would be an important moment when Catholics could pause to reflect on what lifestyle means.
Speaking at a Mass in the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin Sunday to mark the National Eucharistic Congress, Dr Martin said next year’s International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held in Ireland for the first time since 1932, represented a chance for the Catholic Church in Ireland to oversee a wider renewal of faith.
However, he cautioned that the secularisation of Irish society meant people were exposed to a culture and lifestyle, often unknowingly, which could easily undermine their faith.
Dr Martin said the decline in regular Mass attendance was just one sign Catholics were failing to understand the centrality of the sacraments in the life of the Church.
"The sacraments are not just places where we come to Church to ‘top-up’ as if it were at a source of grace. Neither are the sacraments just social or cultural events open to anyone as they wish," he added.
The archbishop dismissed suggestions that the concept of a Eucharistic Congress belonged to a past era. He claimed anyone who thought the Eucharist was simply marginal to any renewal of the Church did not understand the religion.
Dr Martin said the 1932 congress had left a deep mark on the memory of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
Acknowledging that religious culture in Ireland had changed significantly since 1932, he added: "There is obviously no intention of replicating a church of the past, much less attempting to restore in 2012 what took place 80 years ago."
He said the congress would be an important moment when Catholics could pause to reflect on what lifestyle means.