RISE UP THEN, WITH HOPE!

Fr Billy Swan

On Saturday week, 17^th October, the National Synodal Assembly will take place in Gormanstown, Co. Meath. It will be an important moment in the history of the Irish Church and will be the culmination of five years of prayer, listening and discernment. All of the delegates and participants deserve our prayers and support as we hope the recommendations, wisdom and energy emerging from the Synodal Assembly will bear fruit and lead to a new springtime of renewal of Irish Christianity.

The National Assembly takes place three weeks after Pope Leo XIV’s successful Apostolic visit to France. For many reasons, a papal visit to France might have seemed intimidating. Like our experience in Ireland, France has seen much institutional decline in recent decades, with devastating effects of scandals, the tide of secularism and social divisions that have made the Church’s mission more difficult. Yet, those who expected a cool or hostile reception for the Pope were disappointed. The thousands of people who welcomed him in Paris, the joyful spirit of the liturgy in Notre Dame, the hundreds of thousands who took part in the open air Mass at Place de Concorde, his speech at UNESCO on the dignity of the human person, the celebration with 80,000 young people at the Stade de France, his words to the ecclesial assembly of the dioceses of the Paris province in the Institut Catholique, his visit to Lourdes and Metz, has given the French Church new hope and that the faith that runs deep in the history of the country, is still alive.

Listening to many of Pope Leo’s speeches and homilies in France, what struck me was how he acknowledged the challenges the Church faces and at the same time re-proposed authentic Christian faith as the antidote to everything that is dark, dysfunctional, sinful and wounded. What also struck me was how easily his teaching speaks with equal power and relevance to our present situation here in Ireland.

For example, to the French bishops, he said: ‘Always have the courage to acknowledge failings with a love of the truth and a determination to bind up wounds with the charity of the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep and calls each of them by name. Rise up, then, with hope, and never grow weary of proclaiming the Gospel!’ These words of the Holy Father confirm the Synod’s work on healing and that the Church be a place where wounds are heard and the wounded find peace.

The working document for the Synodal Assembly is entitled ‘Is not this what God askes of you?’, and the first pathway outlined is: ‘The Church that Proclaims the Gospel’. Proposal 8 of this section sets out ways the baptised can engage with Irish society in discerning the common good. In France, Pope Leo said: ‘The voice of the Church has every right to be heard in the public square. By its nature, it possesses a prophetic authority. Even if it is not always understood, her voice is nonetheless needed. Even when her teaching is not followed, particularly on essential questions touching the foundations of civilization, it remains necessary’. Encouraging words indeed.

With the success of the National Synodal Assembly in mind, I can think of no better way to conclude, by quoting the following words of Pope Leo in France and mentally substituting France with Ireland: ‘To renew hope and give fresh impetus to the Church’s mission in France, which I earnestly desire, there is only one ‘roadmap’, which is always the same: to make Jesus Christ known and loved, authentically, passionately, again and again’.

This is our prayer for the Synodal Assembly and our hope for the Irish Church at this pivotal time. In this spirit, may all the delegates and participants of the forthcoming Synod, ‘rise up then, with hope!’