Last Tuesday, according to reports in the Irish Times, there was no celebration of Mass in the diocese of Limerick, Ireland. Instead of celebrating Mass the priests of the diocese gathered for a “formation gathering” and people gathered in parish churches for prayer services.
Bishop Brendan Leahy said the day without Mass will be useful preparation for a future in which the diocese – which currently boasts 184,000 faithful in 60 parishes – will need to rely on lay people to lead services because of an acute shortage of priests.
Middle East plunging into ‘new lows of barbarism’
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the permanent representative of the Vatican at the United Nations headquarters in New York, said that recent events have “plunged some areas of the Middle East further into violent chaos and new lows of barbarism”.
The archbishop referred to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by the Assad regime as well as the Palm Sunday attack against two Coptic churches in Egypt.
He also appealed to all religious leaders to strongly speak out against the use of religion as an incentive to violence.
Mgr Auza paid tribute to Lebanon, noting that the country “is heroically bearing the burden of hosting millions of refugees from neighbouring countries and territories in conflict”.
He repeated once more the support the Vatican gives for “sustained negotiations in good faith” to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, arguing for a two-State solution.
Pope honours martyrs of 20th, 21st centuries
While presiding at a liturgy of the Word on April 22 in honour of the martyrs of the 20th and 21st centuries, Pope Francis said:
“How often, in difficult moments of history, have we heard it said: ‘Today our country needs heroes’.
“Likewise, we can ask: ‘Today what does our Church need?’
“Martyrs, witnesses, that is, everyday saints of ordinary life, lives lived coherently; but we also need those who have the courage to accept the grace to be witnesses until the end, until death.
“All these are the living blood of the Church.
“They are the witnesses who carry forward the Church; those who witness to the fact that Jesus is risen, that Jesus is alive, who witness to him with coherent lives and with the strength of the Holy Spirit they have received as a gift.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)