The seven volume St John’s Bible is the first handwritten bible for over 500 years and only 299 copies of the Heritage Edition have been produced. The only Irish set is in the possession of Mary Immaculate College and the first two volumes were on display at the International Federation of Catholic Universities Conference in Maynooth earlier this week. Pictured at the conference with the Bible are: Prof Eamonn Conway, Dr Eamonn Fitzgibbon and Dr Patrick Connolly of Mary Immaculate’s Theology Department with Archbishop Eamon Martin and Dr Jim Triggs of St John’s Collegeville (USA). Photo: Donal Norton The visit of Pope Francis should be a moment when even those who feel alienated or hostile to the Church can reconnect, Archbishop Eamon Martin has said.
He described the theme of the World Meeting of Families ‘the Gospel of the Family – Joy for the World’ as a message “not only for ‘faith-full’ Catholic families and those who are broadly supportive of Church, but it is Good News also for those who have become indifferent to faith, and even those who feel excluded or alienated from Church, rejecting or actively resisting all that we stand for”.
He was speaking at the opening Mass of the General Assembly of the International Federation of Catholic Universities, which is being hosted this week at Maynooth. The gathering brings together over 200 university presidents, vice-presidents and international development officers.
Archbishop Eamon told those gathered at the Mass that he felt honoured in welcoming them to what he described as “this unique campus which encompasses a thriving secular university, a historic Pontifical university and the national seminary for the formation of our priests.
“At this ‘crossroads’, here at the heart of Ireland, young adults of all faiths and none, meet and interact, sharing their ideas and hopes for the present and future, engaging with a rapidly evolving culture and learning to discern amidst the often contradictory messages which push, and pull, them – this way and that,” he said.
Good News
The Primate of All-Ireland said that “this is a challenging time to be a leader in a Catholic university. The world yearns for the Good News – today, more than ever – but Gospel values are often threatened by a popular relativism which questions any appeal to objective truths or stable moral reference points and which even relegates the fundamental right to life itself beneath the right to individual choice.
“This is indeed a time for believers to become engaged in the new evangelisation, and active as missionaries for Christ,” he said.
Welcoming delegates, Prof. Michael Mullaney President of Maynooth said that “the complexities of globalisation and the global problems of poverty, the ecological crisis and climate change, require sophisticated analysis for ethical solutions.
“Catholic universities must play an increasing role in the development of these solutions and in equipping graduates to take their place in the promotion of the human dignity of every person and the common good of all,” he said.