Archbishop George Stack of Cardiff has called for Catholics to challenge “the structures of injustice” in society.
At
an installation Mass at Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral, the former
Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster said that “one of the greatest Christian
virtues is hope… a living faith that even in turmoil and confusion
there is a meaning and a purpose to existence which cannot be fully
explained in the here and now, a conviction that nothing is wasted in
the sight of God.”
The archbishop gave a summary of his homily in Welsh, which was received with loud applause by the congregation.
He
also echoed Archbishop Vincent Nichols’s call for a renewed commitment
to the “common good” and for Catholics to work harder to get their
message across in the society at large.
“Pope Benedict XVI gave us
an inspirational example in his speech at Westminster Hall when he
explored the essential partnership between faith and reason.” he said.
“He set out a path to help us navigate the social, economic and
financial crises being faced by the western world. Whilst continuing to
care for those who are poor in any way, and the support of the alienated
and dispossessed, we must also have the courage to challenge those
structures of injustice which deprive people of the ‘tools for
conviviality’ which are essential if every person is to make a proper
contribution to a civilised society.
“Perhaps we do not articulate
our passion and compassion for the Common Good as well as we could.
Perhaps we are misunderstood when we seek to contribute to the public
discourse to the ‘civilisation of love’ spoken of by Pope Paul VI.
Perhaps the role of faith in re-forming our varied communities is
sometimes distorted or deliberately misunderstood.”
The seventh
Archbishop of Cardiff was born in Cork in 1946 and attended school in
north London, and was ordained in 1972.
In 1990 he was appointed vicar
general for Clergy in Westminster Diocese. He was responsible for
pastoral care in Hertfordshire and in education.
He said at the installation that living in St Albans he was inspired by the third century martyr after whom it was named.
Pointing
out that martyr means witness, he added: “Bearing witness to something
greater than ourselves has always been a challenge. It is a demanding,
challenging and difficult thing to do both personally and also as a
community of faith which is the Church. We seek to bear witness to the
truth about the human person, the truth about life, the truth about
love.”