Bishop John Kirby, Chair of the Irish Bishops’ Council for Emigrants, has welcomed yesterday’s decision of a US Senate panel for approving the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 which will, if and when enacted, create a pathway to citizenship for thousands of undocumented Irish living in the United States of America.

Bishop Kirby said “The IECE welcomes the approval of the bill which will give a path to citizenship for the estimated 50,000 undocumented Irish living in the United States.  Through its centres and outreaches, the Irish Apostolate USA – the pastoral service of the Irish Bishops’ Council for Emigrants in the United States – experiences at first-hand and on a daily basis, the many difficult situations facing Irish undocumented immigrants living in the US.  However the proposed legislation will enable our emigrants to realise their dreams and ambitions, to come out of the shadows and to contribute actively as members of their local community.  Crucially it would also be a family-friendly law allowing our emigrants to return home to visit parents and loved ones, especially for important family occasions.”

Bishop Kirby concluded “I ask for prayerful support for the success of this bill.  We have had many knockbacks in the past.  We will continue to monitor this situation closely and it is our hope that this bill will be brought to the Senate floor at the earliest possible opportunity.”

ENDS

For media contact: Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Brenda Drumm 00353 (0) 87 310 4444

From 22 May 2013 the Catholic Communications Office will circulate a weekly newsletter for parish newsletters and websites with information promoting the Church’s position on unborn human life. The newsletter headings are as follows:

• Church Teaching
• Abortion Legislation
• Liturgical Resources
• Quotes for the Week
• Choose Life Website

Issue 1 is now available in the following formats:

PDF version Choose Life 2013 Newsletter for Parishes Issue 1 22 May 2013
Word version Choose Life 2013 Newsletter for Parishes Issue 1 22 May 2013
GIF image version – see below

To avail of Cura’s crisis pregnancy support service see www.cura.ie or call 1850 622626.

All queries in relation to these newsletters should be forwarded to the Catholic Communications Office , Maynooth | www.catholicbishops.ie

ENDS

Homily Notes of  Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin Archbishop of Dublin

Pro-Cathedral, 18th  May 2013

 “We celebrate the Vigil of the Feast of Pentecost.  We recall that moment when the Holy Spirit first descended on Mary and the Apostles.  With that event the Church had its beginning.  From that moment on, the Holy Spirit shapes the Church as a sign of the unity in Christ of the entire human family.

This is why this evening we celebrate here in the Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese of Dublin a “Festival of Peoples”, a celebration of the diversity of ethnic identity gathered within the one family of Christian believers in the Archdiocese of Dublin.  I greet all of you gathered here:  those who were born in Ireland and those who have come more recently to our shores; I greet those who are visiting our city, especially anyone returning home from abroad.   I greet the priests and pastoral leaders of our immigrant communities; I greet the priests of the Archdiocese and religious who work here.

The Preface of the Mass of Pentecost sums up the deep meaning of the Feast as we celebrate it this evening.   It reminds us how the Spirit:

“as the Church came to birth

opened to all people the knowledge of God

and brought together the many languages of the earth

in profession of the one true faith”

The Church is not just a collection of individuals, but a witness to how faith in Jesus Christ fosters the unity of all peoples. The Apostles who had been shaken in their belief after the events of Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension were changed by the Holy Spirit and went out into the streets proclaiming and interpreting the message of Jesus.  The Spirit changed them in such a way that the events which at first seemed to them scandal and disillusionment were now understood in their true sense as a message of the triumph of Jesus over death, a message of hope and a message of unity.

Among those who were present at the Pentecost event, the Acts of the Apostles recall, each heard the Apostles speak in their own language.   This event became a sign of how the Church of Jesus Christ would spread and enter into the lives and the culture and the heritage of peoples in any part of the world and of every generation.

Anywhere the Church exists and celebrates the Eucharist it witnesses to the unity of all humankind, symbolised and nourished by the One Bread, the One Cup around the One Table.  The Eucharist is the great sign of unity.  Those who partake in the Eucharist witness to a faith which generates a new sense of the unity of humankind.

Today’s celebration is a celebration not just of diversity but of welcome and belonging, of interdependence and solidarity, of love and of hope.   Racism, xenophobia, and exclusive nationalism are all alien to a Eucharistic spirituality. This Eucharist and the life of the Church in this diocese must be marked by a spirit of openness and welcome. We are all children of the same God, brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

I would like to express my thanks to our immigrant communities for the contribution which they themselves bring to renewal and newness in many of our parishes and through the enthusiasm of their young people.  I hope that you have experienced a sense of true Christian welcome into our communities.

Many of you came to Ireland to respond to our economic needs for labour at a time of prosperity.  We needed workers.  What came to our shores, we must all remember, was not just labour; it was and is people, men and women, who contribute by their work and their cultures to an enriched Dublin and not just through an economic input alone.  In times of economic downturn we must never be tempted to think of immigrants as disposable commodities, as we in our consumer culture use and dispose of so many things according to our necessity or whim.

The event of Pentecost is linked in the biblical context with another event:  that of the Tower of Babel.  The story of the Tower of Babel is a story of unbridled human ambition which ends with the division of people into different languages as God confounded their speech and scattered them over the face of the earth. Uncontrolled human ambition led to a situation in which people no longer understood each other and became divided. At Pentecost the Spirit came to heal that wound and that division. The Tower of Babel led to failure in understanding; at Pentecost, on the other hand, the Apostles went out into the streets of Jerusalem and each heard and understood in his or her own language.

The world today needs a new sense of unity and of solidarity and the ability of people to listen and to hear what others are saying.   We see this is so many ways.  Just think of the divisions which our economic crisis has caused.  The story of the Tower of Babel is a perennial warning to humankind of what happens when solidarity fades and uncontrolled growth riddled with unbridled selfishness take over.  The story Tower of Babel  sheds light on what happens when an economic situation or a political system move away from serving the common good and when we mere humans think that they can build towers which would reach to God himself, when we almost feel that we can act as God.

That lesson is not one which is against human progress and the progress of science.  It shows rather what happens when science and progress are deviated through selfish ambition and the feeling that we humans can even reach into the domain of God himself.

The results of any unqualified concept of growth and progress will always be same: the tower remained a ruin and through false ambition the unity of people collapsed.  In our recent past, an economic system became infested with personal greed and uncontrolled ambition and was even trumpeted, only then to collapse like a pack of cards and create new divisions.  We see the divisions of poverty and precariousness, lack of hopeful employment for our young people, of emigration, of our inability to maintain important services of solidarity.  We can see how a past model of growth without equity makes it today more difficult to restart the growth with solidarity which we need.

This Feast of Pentecost must challenge all of us to overcome that strong tendency towards individualism which we so often find in our society.  We must also be aware of just how much that individualism can infect our understanding of the Christian faith.  We reduce our faith to a sort of book Christianity, something which serves to inspire my life and provide a comfortable personal spirituality, making faith a sort of comfort zone which does not require reaching out to others.  Faith, however, is personal but not individualist.  The Church is not a spiritual supermarket where I can serve myself and top-up on means to save my own soul without ever speaking to anyone else.   Gathering and sharing in the faith are essential dimensions of being believing Christians.

The Feast of Pentecost which we celebrate today reminds us that faith in Jesus involves a new understanding of the unity of humankind. The message of Jesus Christ can be understood and acclaimed by the many languages of humankind and by people from every geographical background.  That same message can be understood by each successive generation with its differences in culture, communication, progress and scientific development.  No society is too sophisticated not to be able to understand the message of Jesus within the context of its culture.  No society is too sophisticated not to need the message of Jesus Christ.

The community of believers however is not a community which we create ourselves, but one in which, as our second reading reminded us, “the Spirit comes to help us in our weakness”; it is the “Spirit who puts into words” thoughts and deeds which we ourselves would never be capable of doing.    ENDS

Notes to editors

• Each year, those from abroad who have come to make their home in Ireland are invited to a celebration of the Eucharist at St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral. This year’s Festival of Peoples takes place on Saturday 18th May at 6pm — the Vigil of Pentecost.
• A massed choir from many different countries including, Ireland, Spain, Romania, France and China joined with the Dublin Diocesan Music group to lead the music with songs in many languages and traditions.
• Photographs are available from John Mc Ilroy Photos at 087 2416985
• Further Information Annette O Donnell 087 8143462

“In our hymns and in the liturgy we refer to the Holy Spirit whose coming we celebrate on this Feast of Pentecost as the spirit of unity and the bond of love.  Our second reading reminds us that the Spirit we receive is not the spirit of slaves bringing fear into our lives.  The Spirit is the spirit of sonship; when we become sons of God in Jesus Christ we can turn to God our Father with the simple, intimate term “Abba”, as a child confidently addresses his father.

So often we create complications about faith and about God.  It is we ourselves who turn God into a God to be feared, whereas the God revealed in Jesus Christ invites us to be welcomed into the inner life of God himself, to be friends of God and children of God, who live a life not of fear but of trust and love.

It is the Holy Spirit across the journey of time who guarantees our ability to enter into that relationship with God.  The great Feast of Pentecost is the culmination of the paschal event.  Jesus who is risen from the dead sends as he promised the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit gives life to the Church, which is charged to bring the good news to people of all languages and backgrounds.

This Spirit has been and continues to be at work throughout the whole of history.  Jesus Christ was conceived by the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit; at the beginning of his public mission, at his baptism, it is the Spirit who descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove and confirms his mission and identity.

After his resurrection, at the moment in which he returns to his Father, Jesus pours out the Spirit upon his disciples and makes them sharers in his own mission.  It is under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that the disciples go out on the first Pentecost Sunday and begin to preach the Good News to peoples from all parts of the then known world.

The spirit, we heard in our first reading, enabled the apostles to speak a message which was understood by all, each in their own language.    This means that the Spirit enabled them at Pentecost and us today to teach a message which is relevant and understandable to the lives and the concrete realities of peoples of different backgrounds.   The message of Jesus is a universal one, not just in the sense that it has spread right around the world, but above all in that no one, no people is excluded from that message. No society is too sophisticated not to be able to understand the message of Jesus. No society is too sophisticated not to need the message of Jesus Christ.

The essence of that message is love. It is when we allow the Spirit to make us loving people that God will come and make his home in us.   This is the message which Jesus gave his disciples already before he died.  It is the message that we as Christian believers are called to bring to the realities of the world of our time.

The Church is called, according to the opening words of the Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Church, to be “a sign and a sacrament of the unity in Jesus Christ of all humankind”.  Wherever Church exists, it must be a sign for all to see of unity and community.

We all need community.   Community is not just for the few who are naturally gregarious.   It is not for the just for the unfortunate who need support.  We need something more than a vague good neighbourliness based on living next-door to each other without enmity or undue friction or even as happens today without even knowing our neighbours.  We all need real community.  We need a deep sense of solidarity and care and love for one another. The Eucharist forms that unique sense of community through the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is a spirit of freedom. The Spirit enters into our hearts and frees us from our fears and anxieties; from the walls of false protection we build around ourselves; from the limits we place on our ability to be truly loving people.  The Spirit breaks down within us those obstacles which prevent us from opening our hearts truly to God.

The freedom which the Spirit brings is a freedom to serve; the freedom which comes from the Spirit unites.  The freedom which comes from the Spirit overcomes division.   The Spirit is “Lord and giver of life”, we recite in the Creed.  The freedom which comes from the Spirit is a freedom which generates life and rejoices when life can be lived to the full.  It is important in the current debates about abortion that Christian believers be, and be seen to be, on the side of all life, especially when life is most vulnerable.  The Christian believer is on the side of the life of the mother and that of the unborn child, life at its very beginnings and life at its end, life warped through economic exploitation, life threatened by the horrible violence we see on the streets of this city.

We thank God for those who work within our healthcare system and who give constant witness even in difficult circumstances to ensuring that both mother and baby survive and flourish.  This is a great tradition of which we can be proud and which we must see to it that it survives and is not weakened.

In the scriptural tradition, the working of the Spirit at Pentecost is contrasted with the division we see after the construction of the Tower of Babel, fruit of the shameless ambition of humankind.  We experience still today situations just as those at the time of the Tower of Babel. Growth, progress, economic interest and profit are pursued for their own sake, without any regard for the consequences for other areas of life, whether on the poor and excluded, or the environment, or on the global good of inclusion. The story Tower of Babel sheds light on what happens when an economic system or a political programme moves away from serving the common good and when we mere humans think that we can build towers which would reach to God himself, when we almost feel that we can act as God.

A worldview based only on human ambition inevitably leads to divisions and confusion.   In our recent past, an economic system became infested with personal greed and uncontrolled ambition – and it was even trumpeted – only then to collapse like a pack of cards and create new divisions.  We see the divisions of poverty and precariousness, lack of hopeful employment for our young people, of emigration, of our inability to maintain important services of solidarity.  Being on the side of life also means being concerned about all those in our days and in our communities who, as a result of economic mismanagement, are not able to flourish in their lives and who experience anxiety and loneliness and even at times despair.

The biblical image tells us that the division of language, fruit of the folly of human ambition symbolised by the Tower of Babel, has been overcome through the presence of the Spirit at Pentecost which enables peoples of all backgrounds to understand the same message and thus to understand each other.   The challenge for the Church is to be in the forefront in seeing that the work of the culture of the Spirit becomes embodied in real life.

We live in a world in which for many individualism, self-expression and self-sufficiency become the sole driving force of human activity.  This Feast of Pentecost must challenge all of us to overcome that strong tendency towards individualism which we so often find in our society.

We must also be aware of just how much that individualism can infect our understanding of the Christian faith.  We reduce our faith to a sort of book Christianity, something which serves to inspire my life and provide a comfortable, personal, armchair spirituality, making faith a sort of private comfort zone which does not require reaching out to others.  The Church is not a spiritual supermarket where I can serve myself and top-up on ways to save my own soul without ever speaking to anyone else or thinking of the consequences of my actions.

The “Creator Spirit” is the one who helps us steer the path of human progress in a new direction, within a framework respectful of God’s design for his creation, forcing us to transform our individualism and self centeredness into a response of generosity, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that spirit of unity and the bond of love, Lord and giver of life.”

ENDS

Background

Archbishop Eamon Martin was invited to deliver the closing address this evening at the novena in the parish of Saint Patrick, Roden Place, Dundalk, in the Archdiocese of Armagh, on the theme; “The Eucharist, Communion with Christ and with one another”.  Please see text below:

Address 

Not long before he died, Pope John Paul told the young people in Rome, ‘There is no authentic celebration or adoration of the Eucharist that does not lead to mission’.  In a world where human life itself is under attack, we have a particular and critical mission.  The other day a member of the Apostolate of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration told me – I am offering up my holy hour each week before the Blessed Sacrament so that, even at this late stage, the government may have a change of heart and not introduce legislation for abortion into our country.  The organisation ‘Precious Life’ is calling on all of us to offer forty days of prayer and fasting from the 12 May for the protection of unborn children in this country. I support these initiatives, because if we are in ‘communion’ with Christ, the Bread of Life, at Mass or during adoration, then we are also ‘commissioned’ to bring the Good News about Life out there into our community. How can we be in communion with the Bread of Life at Mass or here tonight and not speak the ‘Gospel of Life’ in our daily lives, especially these days when unborn human life is under such a direct threat in our country?

We are being asked to accept that in order to protect life we can directly and intentionally take a life – that in order to save the life of a mother it is sometimes permissible to directly and intentionally target the life of an innocent unborn child in the womb. We are being asked to accept that if a woman is in crisis because of her pregnancy and feels suicidal, then sometimes the right thing to do for her in the long term is to take the life of her unborn child. Legislation is being proposed which will make it legal in this country to directly and intentionally take the life of an unborn child in order to save the life of a mother. Such direct and intentional taking of any human life is gravely immoral. It strikes at the very heart of our faith and belief because it directly targets human life which is sacred and a gift from God.  The right to life is such a natural and inviolable right that no individual, no majority and no State can ever create, modify or destroy it.

How can it be argued that it is for the ‘public good’ to legislate for the direct and intentional taking of human life?  How can it be claimed that this is the will of the Irish people who had enshrined in the Constitution the protection of the life of both a mother and her unborn child?

A massive effort is being made to produce legislation together with the systems necessary to make it happen. If a similar effort was redirected towards establishing with the relevant professional bodies clear medical guidelines together with robust support structures for medical personnel, towards supporting mothers who have very real anxieties or fears about their pregnancy, towards improving professional development, training and support structures for doctors, nurses and other professionals who are faced with these complex and very difficult dilemmas on the ground, then it is still possible to preserve Ireland’s reputation as one of the safest places in the world for mothers and babies during pregnancy.

None of us can leave our faith ‘outside the room’ when we are considering these matters.  Those final words at Mass call us to go and announce the Gospel of the Lord, to go and glorify the Lord with our lives.  We cannot separate our communion with Christ in the Eucharist from the call to mission and evangelisation. We must face the challenge of putting faith into practice in our lives, and have the courage to follow our informed conscience, no matter what the consequences might be. And in this vital case our conscience has to be informed by our communion with the Bread of Life, by the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’, and by the fundamental Christian belief in the sacredness of all human life.

My brothers and sisters, the notion of the Eucharist as ‘communion’ is not some kind of cosy comfort blanket to make us feel all warm and wrapped up in ourselves in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is a call to personal conversion and to change in the way we live our lives and how we organise our communities. The Eucharist has the power to change us and, through us, to change the people we meet and even to change society. It unites us with Christ in the most profound way and that communion has the power to transform us, and to make a real difference in the world.

We gather before the Blessed Sacrament on this final evening of the Novena in honour of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. Pope Francis said the other day, ‘in this moment of profound communion in Christ, we (also) feel the spiritual presence of the Virgin Mary alive in our midst, a maternal presence, a familiar presence’. Mary is the Mother of Life, she selflessly gave her body, gave everything to carry in her womb Jesus the Saviour of the world. And Jesus in turn, selflessly gave his body and blood as atonement for our sins and for the sins of the whole world. May Mary mother of the Church, mother of all mankind be with us in our hour of need. And may she, most clement, most loving, most sweet Virgin Mary, show us the blessed fruit of her womb, and open our minds afresh to the great mystery of Christ’s presence among us in the Eucharist – our communion with Christ and with one another.

Panis Angelicus fit Panis hominum. O res mirabilis.  The bread of angels becomes the bread for all mankind. What a wonderful thing!

ENDS

For media contact: Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678

Notes for Editors

•         Archbishop Eamon Martin was ordained Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh on 21 April 2013

The Diocese of Ossory is preparing to celebrate and reflect on the faith of its people.  Led by Bishop Séamus Freeman SAC, the people of Ossory will come together for a Faith Fest this weekend: 10, 11 and 12 May 2013.  Faith Fest 2013 is a special event which is being organised by the diocese as a response to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s invitation to all Catholics to mark this year as a Year of Faith.

Faith Fest 2013 will see the people of Ossory celebrating and reflecting on their faith and looking forward to the future in hope.  Much of the weekend’s activities, which are organised by Ossory Adult Faith Development, will take place in Saint Kieran’s College near the heart of the medieval city.  More than seventy parishes and organisations within Ossory diocese will be represented at the Faith Fest event, showcasing many of the good things that are taking place in the diocese.  With imaginative and informative stands and displays those present will be able to share in the stories of individual parishes and organisations and hear about their plans for the future.

In a letter to all homes in the diocese Bishop Freeman explained, “I am writing to invite you, your family and friends, to come join us in Saint Kieran’s College as we celebrate together this “Year of Faith”.  Let us celebrate and be grateful for all that is good in our diocese. You are all very welcome.”

As part of the Faith Fest there will also be a number of workshops, talks and lectures for those who want to learn more about or deepen their faith and knowledge of the Church.  Guest speakers and workshop presenters include: Dr Suzanne Mulligan (Department of Moral Theology, Pontifical University, Maynooth), Father Gearoid Dullea (Executive Secretary of the Irish Bishops’ Conference), Ms Julie Kavanagh (Kildare and Leighlin Faith Development Services), Mr Dermot McCarthy (Chair of the Boards of All Hallows College and Saint Andrew’s Resource Centre, a member of the boards of Saint Patrick’s College and the Irish School of Ecumenics Trust, a former civil servant, he is the chair of the Pastoral Council in his parish in Dublin) and Mr John Waters (writer and columnist).

To launch the weekend of Faith Fest 2013 a concert will be held in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny, on Friday 10 May featuring Father Liam Lawton with special guests The Unity Singers.  Doors open 7.00pm and the concert will begin 8.00pm.  Tickets are €20 and are available from Ossory Faith Development (056 775 3624), Saint Mary’s Cathedral Chapter House Bookshop (056 770 3884) and online at www.ossory.ie

The weekend will also see the heats and finals of the public speaking competition for secondary school students in Kilkenny and there will be sporting events and activities for the younger members of the community.

The full programme of events for the weekend is available on the diocesan website: www.ossory.ie  With the exception of the concerts all events are free and open to the public and all are invited to drop in over the weekend.

Notes to Editors

• The exhibition will run from 10.00am to 6.00pm on Saturday and from 2.00pm to 6.00pm on Sunday and will highlight the best of what is happening in Ossory.
• The Diocese of Ossory includes most of County Kilkenny and portions of Counties Laois and Offaly.  The Diocese contains 89 churches in 42 parishes and has a Catholic population of 90,000.  Patron Saint is Saint Kieran.  See www.ossory.ie for more information
• For more details on the Year of Faith see www.annusfidei.va

ENDS

Media contact: Father Dan Carroll, Diocesan Communications Officer, 00353 (0) 087 907 7769 and/or the Catholic Communications Office, Maynooth: 00353 (1) 5053017

This National Directory for Catechesis in Ireland speaks from the heart of the Church with love.

It is particularly timely in seeking to address the specific catechetical issues that arise in the Irish context now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century. It acknowledges the many questions about Christ and his message that are alive in Irish society and in the Church in Ireland today.

We hope that it will encourage all who are searching for the deepest meaning of life and love to turn toward Christ who educates us to live truly, compassionately and with integrity in the presence of our ever-loving Father.

Share the Good News – Leaflets

A series of seven leaflets are available which are designed to introduce people to the full National Directory for Catechesis in Ireland.

The topics covered include prayer, family catechesis, young adult faith development and Catholic schools.

In this, the Year of Faith, these fliers build on the impact that Share the Good News is having in parishes and faith communities around Ireland

Denis Nulty was born in Slane, County Meath on 7 June 1963 to parents Den Nulty and Nan Balfe. He is the youngest of five children, with two brothers and two sisters. The family farm was the home where Denis and his siblings were reared. He attended Primary School at Saint Patrick’s National School, Slane and Secondary School at Saint Patrick’s Classical School, Navan, completing the Leaving Certificate exam in 1981.

Denis entered the seminary at Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth in September 1981, completing a BA in 1984 and a BD in 1987. He was ordained a Priest for the Diocese of Meath in Saint Patrick’s Church, Slane on 12 June 1988 by Bishop Michael Smith in the presence of Bishop John McCormack.

In September 1988 Bishop Smith appointed Father Denis as Curate in the Cathedral Parish at Mullingar where he served for ten years until 1998. In August 1998 Bishop Smith appointed Father Denis as Parish Priest of Saint Mary’s, Drogheda where he has remained until the present day.

In 2006 Father Denis followed a course of study in All Hallows College, Dublin, leading to an MA in Management for the Pastoral and Voluntary Services being awarded by DCU.

In September 2006 Bishop Smith appointed Father Denis as Vicar Forane for the Duleek Deanery which comprises seven parishes.  Father Denis has been Chairperson of the Council of Priests in the Diocese of Meath for the past eight years.

Speaking after the announcement yesterday, Father Nulty said: “I come today to the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin as a Priest who has been immersed in parish life since Ordination. My first ten years were in the Cathedral Parish in Mullingar. For the past fifteen years I have been Parish Priest of Saint Mary’s Parish, Drogheda. They have been a very rewarding and enriching twenty-five years, during which I have been taught so much about being a Priest among People in the struggles and the joys of ordinary life. From the Church of the Assumption at Saint Mary’s in Drogheda I find myself today at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow. I am a priest who works earnestly, who loves the priesthood and loves working with priests and people. But I am a priest who needs to learn a great deal about the story of this diocese, its geography, its people, its priests, its traditions and its history – be patient with me as I embark on a journey that will take me to every parish in this Diocese, to listen to the Spirit speaking through the faith and example of committed priests and parishioners. I know there is dedicated involvement of laity at many layers of Church life. I come to support this engagement. I come to listen to the conversation of faith in the Diocese. I come to care for priests, to encourage seminarians and to support the faith growth of the young, who may feel at times isolated or on the fringe. For many priests these are difficult days as they see their number grow perhaps older and fewer and the demands heavier – let us work together to encourage vocations and to develop collaborative ministry.”

Click here for video footage of the announcement in Carlow.

Statements in relation to the appointment:

• Announcement of appointment by Pope Francis
• Welcome address by Monsignor Brendan Byrne, Diocesan Administrator
• Address by Bishop-elect Father Denis Nulty
• Statement by Bishop Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath
• Statement by Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland
• Statement by Bishop Jim Moriarty, Bishop Emeritus of Kildare and Leighlin

Photo: Brenda Drumm, Catholic Communications Office

Ends

I warmly welcome today’s appointment by our Holy Father Pope Francis of Father Denis Nulty of the Diocese of Meath as the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin.

I can assure him that the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin is full of warm welcomes and it is blessed in its great numbers of faithful and gifted people.

Over the past three years, the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin has been very ably administered by Monsignor Brendan Byrne and it is right to also acknowledge his service on this special day.

I join with the people, religious and priests of the diocese in praying for Father Nulty as he takes up his new responsibility and ask God’s blessings on him and on the diocese in this Easter time of renewal.

ENDS                 

+James Moriarty

Bishop Emeritus of Kildare and Leighlin

For media contact: Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: 00353 (1) 505 3017, Martin Long 00353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Brenda Drumm 00353 (0) 87 233 7797 in Carlow (Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin)