THE CATHOLIC Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin led prayers yesterday for Irish culture and society to be renewed “with a spirit of solidarity and responsibility and care for others”.
During the annual Way of the Cross procession in the Phoenix Park, he asked God to “be close to those in today’s world who find that they have lost jobs, homes, livelihood or security”.
He continued: “Today still we encounter injustice and lies and corruption when men and women fall trapped into self-centredness and a blind desire for wealth, where talent and creativity are used to foster individual prosperity and the sense of responsibility for the common good – economic, political, spiritual – loses its anchor.”
He prayed for “those whose economic security has been undermined, those who have been abused, those whose trust has been betrayed, those who suffer for the convictions of their faith”.
He continued: “We remember today especially the victims of the terrible earthquake in the region of L’Aquila in Italy,” he said.
“Suffering is hard to accept, so hard that at times we would prefer to sanitise suffering off the radar screens of our lives and our society.
“A society which banishes suffering to its margins quenches at the same time its sense of compassion, the sense of being one with the person who suffers,” he said.
He led an estimated 1,000 people, many immigrants, from the Wellington Monument to the papal cross, stopping at five stations along the way, at each of which there were readings, singing, and reflections by himself.
The annual event is organised by the lay Catholic movement Communion and Liberation. Taking part this year also, and for the first time in which a holder of the office is concerned, was the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Eibhlín Byrne.
She was there “both in a personal and official capacity. I am a Catholic and that’s important, and I attended the ceremonies of many other denominations and faiths during the year.”
She also felt that “at a time like this it helps give people a sense of solidarity, of carrying the cross for others”.
“Times are frightening for people,” she added.
Contemporary life was proving “a very difficult path for some . . . even leading to suicide”.
Also, where immigrants were concerned, she felt the church had played a very strong role in helping our immigrants, which she praised.
She warned of the dangers of a backlash against immigrants because of the recession.
Later, when asked about remarks he had made at the Pro-Cathedral Chrism Mass on Thursday about it being a hard time to be Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Martin responded: “That’s what people say to me. That I became archbishop at a particularly hard time.
“Yes, perhaps. But this is the time given to me.” He added “. . . and I would not have wanted to be archbishop in Archbishop McQuaid’s time”.
The Church of Ireland primate, Archbishop Alan Harper, remembered the victims of recent atrocities in the North in his Easter message. “When the people of Ireland, North and South, their political leaders and the representatives of all the churches, spoke with a single voice after the killings in Antrim and Craigavon, they were speaking the language of the resurrection: recognising the past, but witnessing that we have moved on,” he said.
“The new place, the new peace is life-giving and life-affirming, and it is where we want to be.’’
The Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Most Rev John Neil, acknowledged in his Easter message that “life has changed for so many in recent months, redundancy, job loss, almost catastrophic income drop – and such a downturn can all too easily isolate those who are suffering most acutely . . .
“Every group of people, every parish, every Christian community can only be effective in sharing a message of joy and hope if it is a place where those suffering the most are not only welcomed, but encouraged and supported in the most practical ways possible.”
