Ruadhán Jones
Bishop Paul Dempsey. Bishop Paul Dempsey called on Government to recognise the integral role churches play in their communities, saying their work is often overlooked.
Heart of society
Bishop Dempsey said the Church should be at the heart of society, not at the fringes and it should be “drawn on more from the political sphere”.
“I think somehow or other that Church organisations are not taken as seriously as they could be and should be in our local parishes,” Bishop Dempsey said.
Commenting on a report about the role of the Church post-Covid-19, the bishop of Achonry told The Irish Catholic that the Church is often “the glue that holds communities together”.
“Any priest in a parish, any lay volunteer or parish minister, is very much in tune with the local community because we’re at the heart of community – we’re there in people’s lives, we’re there in their joys, we’re there in their sorrows,” he said.
The pandemic highlighted the important social and spiritual work the Church does, Bishop Dempsey said.
Education
He emphasised the Church’s contribution to education in particular, saying he is “amazed” when politicians talk of a “baptism barrier”.
“They talk about this thing called the ‘baptism barrier’,” he said. “I have never in my 23 years being a priest and bishop come across a baptism barrier. We’ve always been opening and welcoming to people of all faiths in our schools.”
The Church should be more outgoing in preaching its message, Bishop Dempsey added, saying that it has “so much to say to society”.
“Sometimes, unfortunately, we don’t hear the commentary in society about what the Church has to say and the importance of its message because we get caught up in our own internal affairs,” Bishop Dempsey said.
“We shouldn’t be internalising; we should be reaching out to as many people as possible to try and help them and inspire them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Read more: ‘The Church is the glue that holds communities together’