Bishop of Limerick: 'We need to make sure to continue to root out the evil'

THE BISHOP of Limerick has said there is a need to “continue to root out the evil” in the Catholic Church, following Pope Francis’ historic 36 hours in Ireland.

Bishop Brendan Leahy, who attended the World Meeting of Families festivities last weekend, praised the pontiff for “instilling a new hope” following his speeches across the country.

It is the first time since Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1979, that the head of the Vatican set foot in Ireland.

Last weekend’s visit, however, attracted significantly fewer people and was largely dominated by the Church’s history of sexual abuse and ill treatment of mothers.

During his final address at Phoenix Park on Sunday afternoon, Francis delivered an off-script speech and begged for forgiveness for the atrocities caused by the Church’s members.

Bishop Leahy said no pope has “ever spoken with such anger and sorrow. That he did this in Ireland, a country where the Church has been brought to its knees by these horrific acts, was telling about how grave the acts were, the level they were at, his personal horror at them and deep concern for the victims,” the bishop said. 

Bishop Leahy said he had “great hopes” that the pontiff’s visit would “be an important moment to ignite a renewal of our faith in Ireland. And I think that is what happened”.

“There were so many stand out moments but one of many that struck a deep chord for me was his time of silent prayer in Knock when, after praying to Our Lady, he touched the candle as he was leaving as if to say ‘remember all those intentions I entrusted to you’. Personally, I found the expression of faith in such huge numbers so encouraging. 

“Yes, numbers were way back on 1979 but it was still the biggest celebration of any type that this country is likely to see for years. It was an expression of faith and fellowship from young and old and, for me, is something that we must now build on."

He said it was heartening to have many Limerick people attending the World Meeting of Families celebration.

“The key thing now is that we see this as a new beginning but only a beginning - in both aspects. We need to make sure the good work the Church does continues and that we give voice to that and encourage people in. But we also need to make sure that we continue to root out the evil and make this Church a place that provides the sanctity and peace that it should.  Pope Francis has inspired us. He has instilled us with new hope,” he concluded.