Family gathering is Pope’s ‘gift’ to Irish Church

Pope Francis has said 2018’s World Meeting of Families is a gift to the Irish Church, Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said.

Speaking in Drumcondra at the formal launch of preparations for the ninth global Catholic family gathering, which Dublin will host with Dr Martin presiding, the archbishop warned against allowing the meeting to be “a seven-day wonder, a week of buzz and glitter and possibly even the joy of meeting with the Pope”.

Dr Martin called on Catholics to recognise what is owed to our families, urging them to accept Pope Francis’ gift “in such a way that he will be proud of us”.