Bishop Kevin Doran
Photo: Independent.ie Making an appeal in a culture that is “changing rapidly”, Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran, urged Catholics to not be dismayed at a growing societal attitude that openly disregards faith and the Church but to instead centre our focus on the fundamentals of what we believe in and the Church’s provisions if we want to be truly nourished.
Speaking at the Easter Vigil in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo last Saturday, Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran conceded that there may be some truth to the feeling that our faith is being undermined in the current culture, but according to him this is only a partial truth.
“Many of us, in recent years, have come to feel that our culture is changing rapidly and that our faith is being undermined,” he said. “There may be an element of truth in that, but I don’t think it is the most helpful way to look at things. It is, at most, only a part of the truth.
“Another way of looking at it is that, perhaps our faith is not as strongly rooted as we thought it was, now that some of the institutional supports have been taken away.
“Our faith does not, in the final analysis, depend on public policy, nor is it determined by social media. It depends on Jesus Christ who has risen from the dead and who lives forever. It also finds essential nourishment in the community of the Church because it is together that we are the Body of Christ. It is through our prayers, our sacramental life and through the witness of our Christian living, that we encourage and strengthen one another.”