Courtney McGrailDear Editor, For the first time in a long time I feel there is a bit of a positive buzz around the Church in Ireland, thanks to Pope Francis nominating the Year of Mercy. I was very heartened to read in The Irish Catholic (IC 26/11/2015) that most dioceses across the country have embraced the idea of the Holy Year and are making plans for initiatives to run through the year.
Opening a holy door in the cathedral is not enough. While quite dramatic, it is really only symbolic, and must be backed up with other practical initiatives to keep the momentum going. A particular emphasis on Confession is an obvious element and well done to Shannon parish for the Mercy on the Mall project to offer Confession in the local shopping centre.
While most people will probably not want to make an indepth Confession in public, the fact that the priests are visible in an everyday social environment will be enough to start conversations and allow the clerics the opportunity to invite people back to the Church.
Above all the Year of Mercy should facilitate local parishes to reach out to the margins and to those who have left the Church. They must be visible in the community in their acts of mercy: visiting the elderly, visiting prisoners, visiting migrants and offering a welcome.
Pope Francis has already in many ways broken the stereotype of the Church as judgemental and unwelcoming, now it is our turn to follow his lead on a local level.
Yours etc.,
Margaret Monaghan,
Dooradoyle,
Limerick.