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	Martin Admits Scandals Hurt Church Credibility By Grainne Cunningham and Kathryn Hayes Irish Independent June 29, 2009 http://www.independent.ie/national-news/martin-admits-scandals-hurt-church-credibility-1795507.html ARCHBISHOP Diarmuid Martin has publicly conceded "the legacy of scandals" has seriously damaged the image and credibility of the Catholic Church in Ireland. The archbishop spoke of the need for renewal as he launched the beginning of the Year of Evangelisation over a weekend which saw the ordination of four new priests. Speaking at a special service in the Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, on Saturday, Archbishop Martin said: "The difficult times we are living through and experiencing do not excuse us from the task of preaching the Gospel, in season and out." The service included the ordination of two new priests for the Dublin Archdiocese, Frs Colin Rothery and Aloysius Zuribo, and the ordination of one Capuchin priest, Fr Stephen Kim, for the Korean Province as well as the commissioning of 13 new parish pastoral workers. Meanwhile, the Bishop of Limerick Dr Donal Murray urged people to pray that vocations to the priesthood will "flourish again in our country". He made the plea at St John's Cathedral in Limerick yesterday at the first ordination in the diocese in four years. Newly ordained Fr Eamon Purcell (55), from Co Laois, will be attached to St Munchin's Parish on the north side of the city where he is due to celebrate his first Mass tonight. He worked in that parish for a year as deacon before moving from Limerick to Bede College in Rome to study for the priesthood. The Bishop of Limerick also appealed to communities and families to support those who feel they might have a vocation. The last priest to be ordained in the Limerick diocese was Fr Chris O'Connell in 2005.
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