Scottish Catholic Observer

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin opened the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in his home city on Sunday by declaring that ‘the Church in Ireland is a Church on the path to renewal.’

The week-long congress opened with the celebration of Mass at the Royal Dublin Society Arena, which was celebrated by 40 cardinals, some 200 bishops and priests and attended by an estimated 12,500 pilgrims.

The main celebrant at the Mass was the Papal Legate, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Pope Benedict XVI’s personal representative at the congress, who, in his homily, prayed that the event would ‘bring a special blessing to Ireland at this turbulent time.’

Cardinal Ouellet noted that the Irish Church ‘is suffering and faces many new and serious challenges of the Faith.’

“Well aware of these challenges, we turn together to Our Lord, who renews, heals and strengthens the faith of His people,” he said.

History and renewal

The congress began with a ceremony celebrating Irish Catholic cultural and spiritual heritage, and Cardinal Ouellet highlighted that the nation’s ‘strong history of faithfulness has enriched not only these shores, but has, through her missionary sons and daughters, helped to bring the Gospel to many far-distant shores.’

At the beginning of Sunday’s Mass, a healing stone was unveiled at the foot of the altar, on which a prayer had been inscribed written by a survivor of clerical sex abuse. A young woman recited the prayer, after which Archbishop Martin recalled all those who suffered abuse and ‘who still today bear the mark of that abuse and may well carry it with them for the rest of their lives.’

“In a spirit of repentance, let us remember each of them in the silence of our hearts,” Archbishop Martin, president of the congress, said.

In a message for the Catholic Faithful in Ireland, prompted by demands for reform of the Church and some of its key teachings, the Dublin archbishop added: “The Church is not ours to redesign; it is a gift that we receive from the Lord with the guidance throughout history of the Holy Spirit and following the example of Mary and the saints.’

Scotland

Scotland is represented at the Congress by Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop Mario Conti, Bishop Philip Tartaglia, Bishop Toal and the newest member of the Scottish bishops, Auxiliary Bishop Stephen Robson of St Andrews and Edinburgh, whose Episcopal ordination was celebrated at Edinburgh’s St Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday, and by Catholic priests, deacons and lay Faithful.

“This Eucharistic Congress has a special poignancy this year as it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council,” Bishop Robson told the SCO following his arrival in Dublin. “The overall theme of the congress is: The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another.”

Bishop Robson added that Cardinal O’Brien had said the event ‘felt like a homecoming’ and spoke of the very warm reception they had received on arrival in Dublin, commenting that ‘the Irish people and hierarchy made us feel so welcome and at home.’

On Monday evening, the Scottish bishops were taken to a concert for Scottish pilgrims, at the Church of the Miraculous Medal in Dublin, by Fr Paul Boyle, a priest of Dublin Archdiocese and a former employee of the SCO.

Closing Mass

It was announced at the weekend that Pope Benedict will not be making a live broadcast to the congress at Sunday’s closing Mass.

A pre-recorded message from the Holy Father will be shown instead to the expected 80,000 pilgrims who will gather on Sunday at Dublin’s Croke Park stadium.

Fr Kevin Dorran, the congress’ general secretary, said that weather factors influenced the decision to pre-record the message, although it had never been confirmed that a Papal broadcast would be live.

— Don’t miss the live blog by Auxiliary Bishop Stephen Robson, Scotland’s newly ordained bishop, on the Eucharistic Congress in Dublin at http://sconews.co.uk/opinions

Pic: Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet and Italian Archbishop Piero Marini concelebrate the Eucharist during the opening Mass of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin yesterday. Cardinal Ouellet is head of the Conregation for Bishops and Archbishop Marini serves as president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses.