Pope’s visit not the end of Church in Ireland, says Dr Martin

Those who saw the recent visit of Pope Francis as presaging the end of the Catholic Church in Ireland have no idea what the Church is, the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.

“The Church is not just an institution of a cluster of social institutions. It is above all the place where we learn to know Jesus as the one who revealed to us who God is, a God of mercy and compassion,” he said. This was “a God who offers us forgiveness and new beginnings. In the Church we experience hope and renewal.” Archbishop Martin was speaking at Mass in Lourdes where he is leading 2,000 people in the annual Dublin diocesan pilgrimage. The pilgrimage includes 177 sick people, 45 nurses and eight doctor volunteers as well as 300 young people assisting them. There are also pilgrims from 20 parishes and for the first time 133 teenage volunteers from 25 different secondary schools.

“We look towards the future of the Church in Dublin and in Ireland. There were those who could only see in the visit of Pope Francis what they considered the end of the church as they saw it. The problem is that many of those commentators had really lost the understanding of what the Church is,” Dr Martin said.