Archbishop decries buried truth in church, in the economy and in private lives and hearts
MORE THAN 1,000 people took part in the “Way of the Cross” from the Wellington monument to the papal cross in the Phoenix Park in Dublin yesterday.
There were stops for five “stations”, at each of which there were readings from the gospel, from commentaries by Pope Benedict, while hymns were sung.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin supplied a reflection at each of the stations.
In a reflection at the papal cross he asked: “What is truth? Where is truth to be found in today’s world? No one wants to be called a liar or one who is untruthful or unprincipled in his or her life. Yet we float in spin. The truth is manipulated, it is blurred and it is buried and covered up.”
But truth had “a unique power eventually to burrow its way out of all attempts to bury it.
“When truth eventually burrows its way out from under the tombstones with which we try to bury it, it emerges with renewed power and energy and its revelations are all the more shocking in their sheer nakedness, as we have seen within our church; as we have seen in political and economic life; and as we see in smaller yet in no less catastrophic ways with the secret sins and lies of our own lives and hearts.”
He prayed: “Lord help us to understand that it is better to remain apparently powerless with the truth on our side, than to spend endless time and ideas and money in trying to launder the truth.
“Help us build a society founded on truth rather than on the illusions of spin and so much empty imagery of marketing. Help us to realise that the crowd is not the measure of truth. The crowd will cry Barabbas when it suits.”
In a previous reflection, he remarked how “the stark integrity of Jesus stands out in the face of the complicity and falsehood of those around him. Jesus stands alone . . .
“The priests and the lawyers and the elders have their minds made up already and push the accusations that they have collected to condemn him . . . Witnessing to the truth can be a lonely witness.”
He continued: “We need a real renewal in the church, we need a renewal in our catechesis which is not about formulae or history or comparative religion but about developing that sense of personal communion with Christ.”
He prayed: “Lord renew your church. Renew your church as a people of integrity which can stand out as a beacon of what is good and true and loving in the confusion and selfishness of our times.
“Help all of us repent those fruits of lack of integrity which wounded the lives of so many who were abused with our church.”
Yesterday was the ninth year of the event, organised by the Catholic lay organisation Communion and Liberation. It has been led by Archbishop Martin since his return to Dublin.
Communion and Liberation, an international movement in the Catholic Church, was founded in Italy by the late Msgr Luigi Giussani in 1954.
It is actively present in 70 countries worldwide.
SUN ARISE ISLANDERS TO GATHER AT ANCIENT STONE
A remote island community off the Cork coast is to gather for sunrise prayer at an ancient stone tomorrow.
A standing stone marks the centre of Bere Island, where 60 people attending an Easter retreat on the island will join locals to welcome the morning sun at 6am.
The gathering marks the end of a week-long retreat led by the director of the World Community for Christian Meditation, Fr Laurence Freeman. A Benedictine monk, Fr Freeman leads retreats and seminars worldwide, with particular emphasis on nurturing interfaith understanding.
Participants travelled from as far away as Singapore and Brazil to attend the retreat, which included a daily schedule of yoga, meditation, prayer and discussion.
This is the third Holy Week retreat to take place at the island’s new heritage centre, which was opened last year by President Mary McAleese.
Manager of the Bere Island Heritage Centre Theresa Hobbs said: “We have a wonderful group of people this year, from diverse backgrounds. They all have varying reasons for coming and they bring a great energy and great life to the island, after a long quiet winter.”
LOUISE ROSEINGRAVE
SORRY, WE CAN'T TAKE THE PHONE RIGHT NOW... OFFICIAL IRELAND TURNS DEAF EAR ON GOOD FRIDAY
THE TALK might be of reform and keeping the country open for business but large swathes of official Ireland remained firmly shut yesterday, despite the fact that Good Friday is not a public holiday
Just three Goverment departments – Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Defence – out of 14 contacted yesterday picked up the phone, while many leading companies, State bodies, unions, employer groups and political parties were equally uncontactable.
Although offices across the country closed for the day, workers providing basic services such as bin collections and postal deliveries worked normally.
Sadly for unsuspecting motorists, it was also a normal day for Dublin’s car clampers, who were out in force.
There are nine public holidays in Ireland each year, but Good Friday is not one of them (Easter Monday is).
It is, by tradition, a bank holiday and a church holiday, so banks and schools close on the day. However, it is not a statutory holiday and workers do not have an automatic entitlement to time off on the day.
Employers are not obliged to give a day off or pay public holiday pay unless a specific agreement is in place with staff.
Calls to most Government departments yesterday were met with an automated response or left unanswered.
There was no answer from the Departments of the Taoiseach, Finance, Health, while automated phone messages were in place at the Departments of Communications, Education, Enterprise Employment, Environment and Social Protection. The phone mailbox at the Department of Justice was full while callers to the Department of Transport were told the switchboard was unattended.
There was no answer either from the Revenue Commissioners or the Economic and Social Research Institute.
Calls were not picked up at Siptu headquarters or the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, and there was no answer from the employers’ group Ibec or the small business organisation, Isme.
The political classes had shut up shop too, with no answer from Labour, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin headquarters.
A message on Fine Gael’s phone said they would be back next Wednesday.
Customers trying to contact ESB Energy Ireland and Bord Gáis were wasting their time because their service centres were closed, though you could get through to Eircom after a long wait.
Meanwhile, some pubs opened, even though they remain legally prohibited from selling alcohol on the day.
PAUL CULLEN, Political Staff
