The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, has told a conference in Poland that the church in Ireland faces a challenge "to help many nominal Catholics, including some who notwithstanding regular attendance in church have never reflected personally on the faith they have assimilated through societal and familial influence".
Archbishop Martin was speaking in Krakow yesterday at a conference of the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Commission, of which he is vice-president.
"In Ireland, we are confronted, for perhaps the first time, with the need for a first proclamation of the Gospel to sizeable numbers who have never heard of Christ," he said.
"Even more urgent, and this may come as a surprise to those whose image of Ireland may have been shaped by its past, is a renewed proclamation for those already baptised," he added.
He said "unfortunately, much of what pope John Paul had to say about Europe in general is equally true of the situation in Ireland today: 'many Europeans today think they know what Christianity is, yet they do not really know it at all. Often, they are lacking in knowledge of the most basic elements and notions of the faith. Many of the baptised live as if Christ did not exist'."
The conference was opened by the Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dzwisz, who had been secretary to pope John Paul.
Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pottering and Polish president, Prof Lech Kaczynski, also attended the conference.
Archbishop Martin said that in Dublin a process of re-evangelisation had begun through the renewal of parish structures. "The aim has been to draw into the life and mission of the parish a new generation of lay leaders who will be able to bring the good news to the communities. I hope to see a particular attention to young people, and to the evangelisation of young people by young people," he said.
"A next step will be to ensure an adequate and appropriately articulated proclamation of the Gospel and of the central teachings of Christianity in those centres of cultural and intellectual formation where the ideas and policies that will shape our country are being forged."