Ireland: the challenge of reconstructing faithThe Catholic Church in Ireland “is now at a defining moment in its history”. On January 5, during the Requiem Mass celebrated in St. Patrick’s Cathedral attended by faithful from different Christian denominations, Cardinal Sean Brady, archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, bid the last farewell to His Eminence Cardinal Cahal Brendan Daly who passed away the night of December 31 at the age of 92. In his homily Cardinal Brady addressed the question of the Reports drawn up by the judges Ryan and Murphy which uncovered cases of abuse on minors by religious and on “its shameful mismanagement by those charged by God to protect his ‘little ones”. “It has caused such justified anger and outrage on the part of the faithful and damaged trust so profoundly in the integrity of the leaders of the Church. No-one can doubt the Catholic Church in Ireland is now at a defining moment in its history. The only way to authentic renewal is that of humble service to God’s people”, His Eminence said. According to cardinal Brady, after the serious cases of abuses recorded in the government Reports, the “rebuilding of trust” is a priority that “will entail making sure that children are safe at every moment and in every Church setting”. “It will require complete commitment to the path initiated by Cardinal Daly, of working with the civil authorities and whole parish communities to ensure best practice, cooperation and accountability in safeguarding children in all Church activities”, he said. Cardinal Brady delivered a beautiful and detailed potrait of cardinal Daly, whom he defined “prophetic”, always “ahead of his time”, for his ecumenical commitment, for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, for ecology and social justice and for the appreciation of the role of female religious in the life of the Church”.Spain: WYD cross on the sites of the attacks The WYD cross and the icon of the Virgin Mary on the places of the attack of March 11 2004 in Madrid, that caused the death of 193 civilians. On January 4, during the pilgrimage to the Spanish capital city, where August 16-21 2011 will be celebrated the 25th World Day, the sacred symbols arrived in the train station of El Pozo where 67 people died. The cross and the icon were carried in procession by the youth, and were at the centre of a prayer for all the victims of terrorism and for all those who were involved in it. The ceremony follows the prayer recited last week in the church of Saint Joseph, in the neighborhood of Vallecas in Madrid by young disabled and volunteers. During the meeting, Victor Hernandez, from the delegation of the Pastoral care of Health, recalled, “we all pray in the same way, regardless of the state of our body. Occasions such as this – he said – show that the values of the youth aren’t only strength and beauty but also the ability to donate themselves, the solidarity and the commitment for the dignity of all the sons of God”. The Cross was previously brought in the prison of Soto del Real, where it was received by the detainees to the presence of the cardinal archbishop of Madrid, Antonio María Rouco Varela.Russia: the wishes of archbishop Pezzi Archbishop Paolo Pezzi sent Christmas wishes to the minority of faithful who celebrated Christmas on December 25 (while in rest of the Country the festivity of the birth of Jesus, according to the Orthodox tradition, falls on January 7). The Mass celebrated the night of December 24 in the Catholic cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was attended also by a representative of Moscow’s Patriarchate, the Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov who read the Christmas wishes to Catholic faithful in Russia conveyed by the Patriarch of Moscow and of All Russia Kirill and by the president of the Department of religious foreign affairs archbishop Hilarion Volokolamsky. In the Christmas homily archbishop Pezzi said: “Today, in this dark and difficult moment, all of us Christian faithful must bring to the world our experience of the encounter with the Incarnate Word”. In his speech the archbishop mentioned the words of a famous Orthodox theologian of the 20th century, Alexander Schmemann: “Our cold and cruel century needs stories of life and faith lived not by giving simple facts and notions on faith, but rather by conveying its most intimate experience”.
