“Cling to the Rosary as the creeper clings to the tree – for without Our Lady we cannot stand,” – St Teresa of Calcutta
I welcome this news and like other priests in Ireland I am greatly looking forward to celebrating public Mass and the sacraments soon with our congregations – Archbishop Eamon Martin, Primate of All Ireland.
In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Archbishop Eamon Martin laments, “The harshest criticisms and mockery nowadays tends to come in social media - often from trolls, or people who have never met me.”
“It has been very difficult for us not being able to gather together in our beautiful church buildings. We’ve had to rely on spiritual communion,” said Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh.
Archbishop Eamon Martin has told Leaving Cert and A Level students that the Covid-19 emergency has "gatecrashed what is such an important and special year in your lives, and it has left you wondering: what happens next?”
“We are at a Kairos, a turning point, a time of opportunity,” said Archbishop Eamon Martin on Divine Mercy Sunday.
“I may be looking out at empty pews, but in my mind’s eye and with the eyes of my heart, I can see you in your living rooms, in nursing homes, hospital wards or perhaps driving in your cars, all linked spiritually in the ‘family of families’ that is the Church,” said Archbishop Eamon Martin.
Catholic Church leaders welcome the House of Bishops' selection of the Bishop of Clogher as Archbishop Richard Clarke's successor.
As a a representative of the inter–church structures in the public square, “he set a tone for reasoned debate and honest engagement that reflected the Christian call to be good neighbours".
“I can’t understand why people would choose to attack Greta Thunberg. She is passionate about what she believes; she is only a young girl and she is speaking prophetically to the world and what do we do – we attack her. We attack her message."
Archbishop Eamon Martin urges people and parties of different political perspectives “to progress peace", tackle poverty and homelessness, tackle the pressure on hospitals and schools, and "to promote a culture of life.”
“You know that when music of beauty is chosen, which is inspired by our faith, and is offered to God from the very best of our efforts, God can work through it to inspire the souls of others, nourish their faith, and bring them closer to him.”
Families across the island of Ireland - including those who live and work along the border and those who make their living from farming, business and haulage - have expressed anxiety about the future to Archbishop Eamon Martin.
Leave behind your selfishness and share your goods, appeals pontiff, by living three pillars of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
In a message issued ahead of the Vatican’s abuse summit this week, Archbishop Eamon Martin tells survivors, “I am truly sorry for what was done to you.”
“The example of Ireland is a very good one if the Church would look at it more closely and extrapolate from it out to the wider Church and then from that into society, in areas where there are not good practices” – anti-abuse campaigner Marie Collins.
“In the early New Year I will plan for further meetings to enable meaningful and constructive engagement with survivors and others in advance of the Rome convention,” says Archbishop Eamon Martin.
Archbishop Eamon Martin urges people to continue to witness to the fact that there are two lives worthy of protection.
“Today, Columban missionaries are at the forefront of teaching about reconciliation and justice, caring for the earth, our common home, and pointing out how the poorest peoples of the world suffer most from the throwaway culture of greed and waste.”
“From my time as a priest in Derry, I know how Foyle Search and Rescue volunteers work selflessly to help those who are vulnerable and in need” – Archbishop Eamon Martin.
“A visit to Northern Ireland, particularly with our history and with all that we've been through, is going to require a dedicated time,” says Archbishop Eamon Martin.
An Post expects huge interest in the stamps, one featuring Pope Francis and the depicting a family scene.
Archbishop Eamon Martin tells Irish Catholic education conference: "In a Catholic school, religion is not an added extra to be fitted in during break time or twilight hours or registration."
Archbishop Eamon Martin would like to see more parishes, not just those in the Gaeltacht, introduce regular Sunday worship in the Irish language.
“I think there is a huge groundswell for the protection of life.”
“When we attempt as Church to speak in the public sphere about the right to life of the unborn, some are quick to point to the scandals and to shameful stories of the past.”
“In recent years, faith schools have been poorly served, at times, by news media. Too often, there is a failure to ensure that hyperbole and opinion are counterbalanced with evidence-based facts.”
“To everyone in Ireland I just want to say a massive ‘thank you’ for the way you received and welcomed me in these years. You made me feel that I was at home” – Archbishop Brown.
“We want to say as bishops our firm ‘no’ to a harsh language and remind our politicians that their vocation is to work for the common good and exercise their leadership through the careful practice of compromise and agreement.”
Dublin-born Cardinal Kevin Farrell welcomes members of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference for their first visit to the new Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.
