Bairbre Cahill
I was a speaker at the recent conference by The Irish Catholic/Iona Institute on Pope Francis and the future of the family in Ireland. Afterwards a number of people came up to talk to me. One man spoke of his work with the Society of St Vincent de Paul and how their outreach is to all people in need, whatever their faith. The question this man had for me was: “How can we best approach people of other faiths and none when we are coming as Catholics?”
It is a good question and one worth pondering for all of us. It is not only that we as adults encounter people of various faiths and outlooks on life.
Our children are also encountering this whether or not they are in a Catholic school.
At the conference, Archbishop Eamon Martin talked about being intentionally Catholic. That means having made a particular decision to be Catholic, not just Catholic by accident. Consequently, it means actively living our faith and being ready for faith to shape who we are and how we live. So we could speak of a family or a school or parish being intentionally Catholic.
Approach
Sometimes when we know we are going to encounter people who have a different way of looking at the world we tone down our own approach so that we avoid any difference or conflict. There are times when that makes good sense and is an appropriate thing to do. However, in an increasingly diverse and multicultural world if we all tone down or even hide who we are and what we believe in then we do a disservice to our faith and our own identity.
Society would become very bland if we all tried to suppress difference. What we need to be able to do is express and celebrate difference as something that brings richness and variety to life. This works as long as we have a deep respect for other people of goodwill whatever their faith or perspective.
This is the ethos in a Catholic school – a community that is confidently Catholic and which welcomes a diverse range of pupils, respecting their faith or their secular perspective on life, while not watering down its own commitment to Catholic faith and values. Being confidently Catholic is not about forcing others to change. It is a confidence to say, “This is who I am. This is what shapes my life and the choices I make. I’m interested to know who you are.”
Confidence
I know that as a parent that is the sort of confidence I hope and pray our own children – now young adults – have. I know that it can be challenging at school and at university to claim their own identity as Catholics and it is something I cannot do for them – it can only be their own choice. I want them to be confident – not arrogant.
I want them to be able to speak out when they choose to and not to be silenced by voices that say God no longer matters.
Being confidently, intentionally Catholic must mean having a deep respect for those who are different to ourselves, recognising our common humanity and be willing to engage in dialogue. So this is what I would say to the man from the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul – know that you do what you do because of your Catholic faith.
Do not be afraid to claim that identity and to speak of it to anyone who asks you. Carry your faith gently, not as something to force upon others but as a guiding light that inspires your humanity to reach out to theirs.