Cathal BarryThe Church should be a welcoming “counter-movement” in a society that can be violent, unforgiving and anxiety-driven, Archbishop Michael Neary has said.
The Archbishop of Tuam also warned that faith cannot be about maintenance. Rather, it is about “welcoming home all sorts and conditions of people,” he said.
Speaking from the summit of Croagh Patrick on Reek Sunday, Dr Neary suggested that Christians “have become accustomed to Christianity being marginalised in the public domain”, instanced by the banning of Christian symbols in certain quarters. However, the archbishop urged Christians to be agents of hope.
This means having the courage to live with uncertainty, Dr Neary said. “It does not mean having the answers, it means having the courage to ask the questions and not let go of God, as he does not let go of us.”
Correctness
“We live at a time when the urge for order and political correctness seems nearly to squeeze out the voice of hope. The biblical message of hope is to dream large dreams about powerful purposes of God,” he said.
“Hope does not consist of losing control, but of relinquishing it in trust. Hope reminds us not to make absolute ties to the present because it will not last.”
Referring to the major challenges facing the Church, the West of Ireland archbishop said it is becoming an increasing “challenge to imagine the world with God”.
“Our culture endeavours to make sense of the world without reference to God. Living in a society of technological control and precision we are reduced to thinking that we know all of the codes. Change, even change for the better, can be disorientating, threatening and traumatic,” Dr Neary said.
“Fundamental to all culture is respect for that which another group holds sacred. When this respect is violated something crucial is lost,” he added.