IRELAND
The Tablet
11 September 2014 by Sarah Mac Donald in Dublin
Newly appointed Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin, who also becomes Primate of All Ireland, says he wants to see a “humble renewal” of the Irish Church led from the bottom up by the laity.
Speaking at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh this week, following the announcement that Pope Francis had accepted the resignation of his predecessor, Cardinal Sean Brady, Archbishop Martin pledged to be a “servant leader” and cautioned against expectations of a top-down leadership.
He called on the laity to take ownership of their vocation and mission to hand on the faith.
Outlining his vision for the future of the Church, the archbishop, who is expected to become the next President of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said it would not be about “building up some big edifice or some triumphalist Church or trying to make sure that it dominates politics and the State”.
Cardinal Brady, whose resignation was accepted a few weeks after he reached the retirement age of 75, had faced numerous calls to step down following his handling of a clerical sexual abuse case in the 1970s. The hierarchy has been heavily criticised over the abuse scandal in recent years.
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