Speaking to The Tablet in Armagh, Archbishop Eamon Martin revealed that at the beginning of October he will host a gathering for Northern Ireland’s parishes and dioceses, “to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of embracing the stranger”.
He expressed concern over “some very worrying and vexing scenes” south of the border and north of the border during the summer.
Ireland at the moment, according to the Primate of All Ireland, is “being challenged by the reality of the displacement of people across the world”.
“Maybe we are waking up to the fact that so many people around the world are not able to live in their own places for reasons of war or violence and in some places due to the ravages of climate change and the destruction and exploitation of the environment.
“Suddenly in the last number of years we have been faced with large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers. We have had the huge contribution of migrants who have come here to work and to contribute to our health services and various other hospitality services around Ireland.”
He believes it is important for people of faith to reflect on the challenges this presents and also the opportunities.
“Many of the newcomers to Ireland are people of faith, they want to be part of our parish communities and maybe we are not quite set up to welcome them, integrate them and make them part of our community,” he commented.
On the gathering he is hosting in October, Archbishop Martin said it would be supported by Embrace Northern Ireland, an organisation which has authoritative information on the numbers and nationalities of the people coming to Ireland and the kinds of struggles that they are having. “[Embrace Northern Ireland] is going to help us reflect and discuss together the pastoral challenges and opportunities.”
He expressed concern over the representation of refugees and asylum seekers on social media as “violent people, as spongers, as people who have nothing to bring. Yet if we go to our hospitals, if we go to our hotels, we are very grateful to have people who are working and keeping our facilities going. I feel it is really important for us to raise awareness because there are a lot of myths and a lot of falsehoods out there.”
“That is not to say that there aren’t struggles. We know that people are worried in communities that they haven’t got the facilities, the benefits, the health services or the school places.”
He stressed that the problem is the polarising of the discourse which leads to extremes.
“I think more and more people in the middle need to be aware; that is the purpose of our gathering at the beginning of October.”
The gathering for now is focused on Northern Ireland and will bring together representatives from parish pastoral councils and diocesan pastoral councils in Down and Connor, Derry, Clogher and Dromore “to learn and reflect and discuss together”.
He said one of his motivations for organising the gathering was that over the summer a lot of people had expressed concern that the anti-refugee and asylum-seeker protests were getting out of control and that these were being done somehow in their name.
“I think we have a responsibility to find out more and learn the truth about the matter and the kinds of struggles that some of these migrants have already been through and that they have to go through to be processed in order to be given permission to stay here and to get their work visas as well as the types of conditions that they are working under.”
Speaking about his participation, along with the Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop John McDowell, on the Navan Fort to Armagh leg of the Columban Way Pilgrim Walk this week, Archbishop Martin said, “For me, St Columbanus is a great symbol of hope and a figure of unity.
“I’ve always had a great interest in St Columbanus. In many ways St Columbanus is one of those great patron saints of Europe. I remember Pope Benedict was very strong in recognising the contribution of St Columbanus and the Irish saints who brought the Gospel to Europe at a time when the faith needed to be rekindled back in the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries.
“I would really love to think that the Irish Church could once more become a missionary Church. Some people laugh at me when I say that – they say we have got no vocations, and we have no sense of growth of any kind in the Irish Church.”
“But St Columbanus came only about 100 years after St Patrick, so the Irish Church was still very small; but it was very strong in faith and very firm in its hope and very active in its charity. That’s what happens as soon as you have people who are deeply committed to their faith – almost by definition they want to give it away. That’s because we all are fundamentally called to be missionary, we are called to go out and to bring the good news.”
“That’s what inspired St Columbanus after a lifetime in monastic life in Ireland, he sought permission to go to Europe and become a pilgrim for Christ. For me it is a great example of the contribution of Ireland to Europe and in many ways St Columbanus is one of those great patron saints of Europe.”
He highlighted how the Friends of St Columbanus on the island of Ireland is a cross-community group. “Archbishop John [McDowell] and I were very keen to support them and walk one of the legs of their journey.”
The Pilgrim Walk for peace, healing and well-being follows in the footsteps of the inspirational 6th century monk, St Columbanus, and is modelled on the renowned Camino de Santiago.
Passing through 42 locations across Ireland it features a tapestry of historical sites from early Christian Ireland. On the inaugural full walk of the Columban Way-Turas Columbanus in Ireland some participants will have walked for 27 days, setting out from Mount Leinster in Co Carlow and concluding in Bangor, Co Down on 21 September 2024, which is World Day of Peace.
Using walkways, pathways and pilgrim routes the pilgrims have highlighted the need to talk about health, well-being, the importance of peace and reconciliation, at a time, according to Archbishop Martin, “when we really need to good to each other and be kind to each other and welcome each other”.