Aid to the Church in Need
Pope Francis
St. Oliver Plunkett
Answering God’s Call 13 - 3
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Aid to the Church in Need
Contents
Page
Priest’s Trust in God - Fr. Martin Barta . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 2 Strengthening the Faith - Johannes Freiherr Heereman ................................... 3 With Heart and Hands in Ivano-Frankivsk - Eastern Europe ........................... 4 They Have Given Everything - Burundi . . . . . . . . . ................................................. 5 God is Calling – Everywhere - Seminarians . . . . ................................................ 6 Satisfying the Thirst for Truth - Scholarships . ................................................ 8 The Joy that Comes from God - Priestly Formation ...................................... 10 A LOOK IN THE
A chairde - Answering God’s Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................................. 12 On Being a Good Shepherd - Pope Benedict XVI .......................................... 14 Céad Míle Fáilte Pope Francis - Johannes Freiherr Heereman........................ 17 A Great Apostolate Before Him - Three questions to Ulrich Kny, ................... 18 Faithfulness is Key to the Renewal of the Church ...................................... 19 Our New Holy Father and the Legacy of a Name - By Archbishop Chaput .... 20 The Intercession for Priests Retreats Programme - Fr. Kevin Scallon C.M. .... 22 St. Oliver Plunkett - Eddie Cotter Jr., DTS . . . . . . . . .............................................. 24 Ballintubber Abbey and Seán na Sagart . . . . . . . .............................................. 28 Fr Gerard Cusack O.Praem - A Tribute . . . . . . . . . . . .............................................. 32 Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: Kirche in Not / Ostpriesterhilfe, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acn-intl.org
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Dear Friends,
grace, then Jesus will give him his own Heart and make use of his weakness. For this reason the priest is indispensable for the people, for in his consecrated hands he bears the fullness of grace.
The Paschal Mystery of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord is already anticipated at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday. Jesus celebrates the first Holy Mass, in which he offers his whole being, under the outward forms of bread and wine, to his apostles. He also commands them to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in memory of him. In this way he makes them into the first priests, through whom he can say, ‘This is my Body. This is my Jesus says: ‘Pray the Lord of the harvest Blood.’ No man would ever have come to send out labourers into his harvest’ upon the idea of speaking these trans- (Mt 9:38). A priest cannot simply be forming words over bread and wine if manufactured. Priestly ordination is God had not given him the command and no mere final exam, after which he can authority to do so. The priest is a second then sign a contract of employment with ‘I’ of the Lord. Thus, the diocese. Priests also in the priest, must be besought ‘If the priest trusts in God’s in prayer from God. Jesus can bring the Paschal joy of forgivegrace, then Jesus will give And equally, without ness to all men and him his own Heart and make priestly vocations, the can say, ‘I absolve you work of ACN would use of his weakness’ from your sins.’ bear no lasting fruit for the Kingdom of The priest does not have to be a manager, God. For without the sacraments, the a great orator, a financial expert or a human soul withers away. psychologist. In their deepest hearts people look to the priest to be the reflec- Dear Friends, you send us your prayers tion of God’s Mercy. All the greater then and your gifts, and many of you also offer is the disillusionment and scandal when up your sickness or infirmities of age for they find a priest who is self centred new priestly vocations and for the sanctiand hypocritical, a man who no longer fication of priests. Just how indispensable believes in his supernatural vocation. Of and how noble is your cooperation in course the priest, in his human weakness, prayer and sacrifice is expressed in the can always fall short of the greatness of beautiful words of the French Saint John his vocation, but if he trusts in God’s Eudes: ‘The sacramental priesthood is so
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great, so divine that there seems to be nothing greater or more divine. And yet there is a priesthood that in some sense exceeds that of the priest: the vocation to work for the sanctification of priests by saving the saviour and pasturing the shepherd; by obtaining light for those who are the light of the world, and sanctifying those who are the sanctifica-
Dear Friends, It is surely no coincidence that the 100th birthday of Father Werenfried should fall in the Year of Faith. Father Werenfried’s heartfelt concern was to save and strengthen the Faith wherever it is most threatened and where Christians are persecuted. This was also the concern of Pope Benedict XVI when he proclaimed the Year of Faith. And in doing so he was thinking not least of the Western nations. The Holy Father wanted to see a New Evangelisation, not for the sake of the Church, but for the sake of human happiness generally. It is a desire that concerns us too. You, dear benefactors, have given a wonderful gift to the Church and to the Holy Father for the 100th birthday of Father Werenfried. For last year you entrusted well over 85 million Euros to us – more than ever before in the history of ACN – so that we can help the Church where she
tion of the Church.’ My grateful blessing on you all.
Father Martin M. Barta, Ecclesiastical Assistant
is threatened by violence, where people still hunger for the living, loving God, and likewise where faith is being suffocated by materialistic values. Father Werenfried once said, ‘Our benefactors are our greatest capital.’ This is still true today, and for this I wish to pass on to you, with joy, the thanks we daily receive from all over the world for your generosity.
Johannes Freiherr Heereman, Executive President of ACN International
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With Heart and Hands in Ivano-Frankivsk ‘Faith is no abstruse philosophy, but finding one’s way to wisdom, to understanding, to objectivity, to the perception of total reality’ (Benedict XVI). In the Greek-Catholic seminary of IvanoFrankivsk in Ukraine this reality has a human face. In one hand a textbook on dogmatics, in the other a chisel or a trowel – this is how we should picture the seminarians there. They study hard, and in their spare time they help with the renovation of their seminary, which is over 100 years old. The renovations are part of a wider renewal of religious life taking place here. It was only 18 years ago that Catholics were again able to pray and study here. In 1946 the Soviets sent most of the lecturers to Siberia; some were shot dead on the spot, as were most seminarians. For decades afterwards the building was used by their murderers as a school for Party members. Since it was reopened, more and more young men have come to IvanoFrankivsk. But the building has become too Working with their heads – in the classroom, sitting one of the many exams.
They would love to have wellfitting windows, to stop the wind whistling through.
small. Three seminarians have to squeeze into a 10-foot-square room, with just one desk and a wash basin. 282 seminarians share just 12 showers, and they are in the basement. They need to be removed, and more need to be installed. A healthy mind in a healthy body: it applies to seminarians too. Working with their hands, preserving fruit – Many hands make light work.
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Priests are urgently needed in the nine dioceses that send their seminarians to Ivano-Frankivsk. The renovation of the seminary is equally urgent. In order not to interrupt their studies, the building complex is being renovated bit by bit. For now it is the turn of the roof and the left wing. It is as though all the defects of the past are being removed so that new life may spring from the ruins. So it is very appropriate that the seminarians should be working, not only on their own interior development, on their formation and life of prayer, but also on the exterior of their seminary. So they are finding their way to ‘total reality’. And we can
help them – with a Rosary in one hand and a cheque in the other perhaps? Both are needed for an all-round renewal. • Distinguished by the soutane – the young seminarians after their arrival.
They Have Given Everything They call them the ‘Batwa’, the outcasts of society. They are the pygmy peoples of Burundi, and they live in slum-like hovels. Their children knew nothing of school or regular meals. But now one young religious congregation is caring for them – the Apostles of the Good Shepherd and the Queen in the Cenacle. This congregation, which is just 23 years old, also goes out to the hospitals, to the prisons and to those suffering from leprosy. It is growing, despite the premature death of its founder, Archbishop Joachim Ruhana, just seven years after it was established. It now has 13 priests, 18 brothers, nine seminarians and close on three dozen young men who are currently preparing for the novitiate. In order to help the pygmies find stability, they have built them small houses and
In the pygmy village – waiting for the good shepherd.
established a boarding school, where the children are given a Christian education. They have given everything for the poor; now their congregation needs help itself – for its seminarians. It can no longer afford the cost of their studies. ‘We want to serve our Mother the Church’, writes the General Superior, Father Zenon. Please help them to keep this service alive. •
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God is Calling – Everywhere ‘The love of God sometimes follows paths one could never have imagined, but it always reaches those who are willing to be found.’ So said Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 in his message for the 50th World Day of Prayer for Spiritual Vocations. Many people feel the call of love while still children. Ignatius who lives in rural Senegal recalls, ‘One day, a white priest came to our village. I watched him admiringly as he celebrated Holy Mass and afterwards I pointed to him and said to my mother: “I want to be like him.”’ It was not until some years later, however, that Ignatius left his village and arrived in the seminary of Ziguinchor. For his fellow seminarian, Hervé Jean, it took a few years longer still. Already in the kindergarten he had been fascinated by the Pope’s Mass vestments, and when he found a cardboard mitre his elder brother had made, he was quite clear: ‘I am going to be a priest and bishop’. Today, shortly before his ordination, his dream is a little more clearly focussed. He wants to become ‘a worker in the Lord’s vineyard’.
Do-it-yourself seminarians – in the vegetable garden, Ziguinchor/Senegal.
Inculturation in Papua Neu-Guinea – in the design of the Tabernacle.
Hervé and Ignatius are among the 42 candidates for the priesthood at the seminary of Saint Jean-Marie Vianney. In this predominantly Muslim country the flame of their vocation needs the particular protection of a sound formation and a personal relationship to Christ. With your contribution towards their formation you are also helping these young hearts to be ‘willing to be found’ and to ‘submerge their will in the will of Jesus’.
‘Put on the Lord’ (Rom 13:14). Seminarians about to receive the habit.
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Gregory, Frank, James, Lito and Frank – these are the five young men on whom Bishop Gilles Coté is pinning his hopes. He asks our prayers for them. They are the seminarians of his diocese of DaruKiunga, in Papua Neu-Guinea. Four cheerful young men, who as native sons of their country are familiar with all the different traditions of the indigenous natural religions. Today they are explor-
ing and deepening their knowledge of the mysteries of Catholic theology. They need textbooks, writing books, educational materials. The investment needed for their formation is more than Bishop Coté can afford. We are helping him. They need to be able to respond, with heart and head, to the call of the Lord. •
So that the Seed will Sprout Blood of the martyrs, seed of Christians... In scarcely any other country is this saying of early Christendom truer than in Nigeria today. When the Good Shepherd seminary was first established in Kaduna, in Muslimdominated northwest Nigeria, there were just nine seminarians. Today there are 94. And this in a region on the edge of the Sahara, in buildings more reminiscent of a slum than a formation centre for future priests. They are crammed in, three students to a room intended for one. The chapel, which should be the heart of every seminary, is simply an old classroom which, after Holy Mass and prayers, is used again for teaching. The refectory is a makeshift structure, and the sanitation is on the margins of human dignity. The staff have to be accommodated outside the seminary. No one can blame the seminarians if they look forward to the holidays – away from this cramped and uncomfortable place. But they come back again each time, every one of them. And they are hoping that we will help them to
“Rejoice in the Lord!” (Phil 4:4). Enthusiasm is part of their vocation.
Washing, cleaning, repairing – all part of the day’s work, part of their vocation.
build a chapel and extra accommodation, especially for the priests and academic staff. They know that many of their fellow believers in Nigeria are worse off, that time and again Christians are dying for their faith, but that nevertheless many are being baptised and priests are greatly needed. We have promised financial help for the chapel and the accommodation block, so that the seed will sprout and grow. •
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Satisfying the Thirst for Truth - Scholarships Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, the holy Curé of Ars, had great difficulties with his studies. At the age of 17 he could barely read and write, and without the many friends who helped him to study, he would never have been able to serve as a priest at the Altar. Yet today he is the patron saint of priests. He had what the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council called the ‘thirst for truth in his heart’. It was a thirst that drove him to show to all around him ‘this close friendship with the divine Master’ and ‘to open their hearts to the merciful Love of the Lord’ (Pope Benedict XVI). Many local churches experience this thirst today and also have young men with a vocation, yet lack the resources to enable them to study. The bishops turn to us for help, for they need soundly trained priests to satisfy the thirst for truth within their dioceses. The scholarships you supply help smooth their
path, and most of our students complete their studies with flying colours. Father Salvador Augualada studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome until 2011 and is now back teaching in his home country, the Philippines, as a professor at the Institute for Consecrated Life in Asia. He is currently introducing more than 180 students to the study of theology and has also written a book on Saint Pedro Calungsod, the second saint of the Philippines, who was canonised only last October. ‘I came back’, he writes in his letter of thanks, ‘with a much deeper understanding of the universal mission of the Church’. The experience of Father Lewis Mutachila, from the diocese of Ndola in Zambia, has been very similar. Thanks to your help he was able to study in Rome at the Camillianum, the International Institute for the
‘… and you will renew the face of the earth.’ Father Werenfried with ACN scholarship holders in Rome. 8 +e313ei_print.indd 12
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From student to Archbishop – Mgr. Zbignevs Stankevics of Riga (centre).
Theology of Pastoral Health Care. Today he has a new, more compassionate perspective on the sick and disabled. He is now teaching the nursing staff and the Catholic chaplains in the hospitals and parishes, about the biblical and moral aspects of healthcare, from the beginning of life until its end, on birth and ageing, death and hope. With the understanding gained from his studies he has also been able to establish a programme for the pastoral care of those living with HIV/AIDS. Father Lewis lives for his mission, and many more live today thanks to his work.
Ukrainian Archbishop-Major Shevchuk, another former scholarship holder.
Our scholarship holders know the challenges in their own countries. Father Promildon Lobo from India remarks, ‘We need well-trained priests to teach in our seminaries’ – while Father Williams from Ehiti in Nigeria sees the differing cultures as a problem to be tackled. That is why his final thesis examines multiculturalism as an opportunity ‘for us to learn to live together peaceably’. But Father Williams also knows – like all the 400 priests and religious sisters from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe who through your generosity benefit from an ACN scholarship in Rome or elsewhere in Western Europe – that they ‘are not studying for themselves, but for the Church and the people’. They also know that our benefactors ‘don’t have trees at the back of the house with money growing on them’ but that they too make many sacrifices to help the students with their studies – so that they in turn, as servants of the Church, can satisfy the thirst of others for truth. •
Scholarship holder, priest, martyr – Fr. Ragheed while still a seminarian in Iraq.
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The Joy that Comes from God Saint Augustine wrote in his Confessions: ‘A happy life means rejoicing in the truth’, adding: ‘We find this joy in You, O God, who are the truth.’ Those who live as close to the truth as seminarians do, who spend many hours wrestling with it every day, can also see many other reasons for joy. In the seminary in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, they have enumerated some of them: the joy of praying together every day, the joy of celebrating the Holy Eucharist together daily, the joy of playing football with the different year groups, or washing up the dishes, the joy of being connected via Internet with the rest of the world, the joy of having a small library with recent works on theology and philosophy, the joy of having good lecturers and pastoral staff they can always talk to, the joy of being able to contribute by their own work to the upkeep of the seminary... They list many other reasons besides. But the greatest joy of all is to be a child of God and
to have found their way to their priestly vocation. For Jean Pierre, ‘all the studying on this path’ with all its theoretical and practical teachings, is ‘nothing more than a continuing and always actual discovery of Jesus Christ’. And consequently he sees your help for him and for all the seminarians as ‘a witness to your love for Jesus’. Antoine speaks of the ‘magnificent gift of voluntary celibacy’, while Armel adds that this celibacy helps him to be ‘universally available for Christ and the Church’. Birhange speaks of the ‘wonderful mission of bringing the Redeemer to those who do
‘Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep’ (Rom 12:15).
Cuba. Studying, thanks to you – like one seminarian in eleven worldwide.
Despite all the joy, an exam is a serious business.
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not yet know God’, while Justin is ‘happy to be able to tell people in this cold, technological world of globalisation, that God has come to them as a Person, as a Man in Christ’. This year there are an additional 14 seminarians, making a total of 90 – and all in a region marked by war, violence and poverty. These 90 want to change all that, by proclaiming the love of Christ everywhere. You are helping them, with a contribution of €322 per seminarian per year. That should be
worth it, for the joy that comes from God. •
Czech Republic. The organ ‘sings’ to the glory of God in the Olomouc seminary.
Slovakia. For 1,150 years Christ’s cross has gone ahead of the Church.
India, land of vocations. Here in Bijhan there are 216 seminarians.
It was a real family party. Some of them were former members of the Building Companions. Above all there were benefactors from the very early days, who had actually personally known Father Werenfried. They met together in Louvain, Belgium, to celebrate the 100th birthday of the late founder of ACN. Among them were two sisters from a family of 11 children. The elder sister has undergone two hip replacements, while the younger has had tumours in both eyes and had, in fact, lost one eye entirely. But they are determined not to give up their charity work. Together they knit woollen hats
for the missions. Also present was Father Steve Mulambo from Malawi (see photo), one of the 40 students whose studies you are supporting in Belgium. They all very grateful for your help. Father Steve even performed an African dance as a way of • saying thank you!
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A LOOK IN THE
A chairde, n his letter introducing this Mirror, Fr. Martin Barta refers to the Priest as being a ‘reflection of God’s mercy.’ The nature and role of the Priest is a theme which Pope Benedict XVI took up at length when quoting St. John Mary Vianney in his June 2009 letter proclaiming a Year for Priests, the opening paragraphs of which provide our first reading ‘On being a Good Shepherd’. Now emeritus, Pope Benedict continues to answer his calling to the priesthood as a simple pilgrim. Humble and obedient service to the Church has characterised Benedict’s life from the day of his priestly ordination. And this humble service continues as Benedict lives out his remaining days on this earth, hidden from public view, supporting the Church and his successor in prayer. Our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, like his predecessor has heard and answered God’s call, to the Priesthood, to the Episcopacy and to the Papacy. Also like his predecessor Pope Francis is a man characterised by great humility and holiness. In our second reading ACN’s Executive President, Johannes Herreman welcomes Papa Francesco as he is now being called in Rome. Johannes draws our attention to Pope Francis’ great apostolate of Mercy.
In the third reading Ulrich Kny, ACN’s Latin American specialist, is interviewed and asked to reflect upon his dealings with the then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio and evaluate how he sees Pope Francis develop the great apostolate that lies before him. This interview is followed by a short piece which highlights Pope Francis’ assertion that faithfulness is key to the renewal and regeneration of the Church. That renewal and regeneration of the Church is the focus of Pope Francis’ great apostolate is nicely brought out in the fifth of our readings wherein Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia reflects upon the Holy Father’s choice of name. Of course the renewal and regeneration of the Church will not be realised without the full and active participation of ‘good shepherds’, bishops and priests who are capable of providing effective leadership
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in the whole enterprise of re-proposing the Good News to an impoverished world ever in great need of Christ’s healing. Great priests and great bishops, ‘good shepherds’ are clearly needed for the journey ahead and today, as in times past, despite what the secular media would appear to suggest, the Church has such great priests and great bishops and a great number of them. All of ACN’s work and all of its successes to date have been founded upon the great work of great bishops, great priests, great religious sisters and great religious brothers who have answered God’s call, taken up their crosses and followed Christ. Indeed without such great vocations the work of ACN would bear no lasting fruit for the Kingdom of God. It was to assist such great priests in their great work that in 1976 Fr. Kevin Scallon together with Sr. Breige McKenna launched their successful Intercession for Priests retreat programme. Fr. Kevin in our sixth reading provides a brief overview of the programme and its history. Historically, one great Irish priest and bishop was of course the martyred St. Oliver Plunkett. In our seventh reading of this Look in the Mirror, Eddie Cotter Jr. presents a profile of St Oliver and how he was brutally martyred for his efforts to bring the sacraments to Irish Catholics during Penal Times when a Protestant State actively persecuted the Catholic Church in Ireland. A LOOK IN THE +e313ei_print.indd 17
State and cultural persecution of Christians and the Catholic Church remains an on-going reality throughout our contemporary world but at least the situation is not as parlous for priests here in Ireland as it was during Penal Times when monetary bounties were placed upon their heads. Our eighth reading on Ballintubber Abbey and Sean Ná Sagart refers to these difficult times. Finally our Look in the Mirror closes with a tribute to our dearly departed friend and colleague Fr. Gerard Cusack O. Praem., who passed away suddenly on the 18th March. Fr. Gerard was unquestionably a ‘good shepherd’, a ‘true and faithful servant,’‘a reflection of God’s mercy’ and an authentic ‘friend of Christ,’ who undoubtedly is now sharing in His Master’s eternal happiness. Fr. Gerard’s life work is complete and provides a compelling testimony to the truth that each of us are asked to become ‘friends of Christ’ and ‘reflections of God’s mercy’. Especially during this Year of Faith we are being asked to hear God’s call for us to become better ‘friends of Christ’ and better ‘reflections’ of His mercy. Beanachtaí
J F Declan Quinn
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On Being a Good Shepherd by Pope Benedict XVI
he saintly Curé of Ars would often say ‘The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.’ i This touching expression makes us reflect, first of all, with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself. think of all those priests who quietly present Christ’s words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. ow can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as ‘friends of Christ’, whom he has called by name, chosen and sent? still treasure the memory of the first parish priest at whose side I exercised my ministry as a young priest: he left me an example of unreserved devotion to his pastoral duties, even to meeting his own death in the act of bringing viaticum to a gravely ill person.
also recall the countless confreres whom I have met and continue to meet, not least in my pastoral visits to different countries: men generously dedicated to the daily exercise of their priestly ministry. et the expression of Saint John Mary also makes us think of Christ’s pierced Heart and the crown of thorns which surrounds it. I also think, therefore, of the countless situations of suffering endured by many priests, either because they themselves share in the manifold human experience of pain or because they encounter misunderstanding from the very persons to whom they minister. ow can we not also think of all those priests who are offended in their dignity, obstructed in their mission and persecuted, even at times to offering the supreme testimony of their own blood? here are also, sad to say, situations which can never be sufficiently deplored where the Church herself suffers as a consequence of infidelity on the part of some of her ministers. Then it is the world which finds grounds for scandal and rejection. hat is most helpful to the Church in such cases is not only a frank and complete
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acknowledgment of the weaknesses of her ministers, but also a joyful and renewed realization of the greatness of God’s gift, embodied in the splendid example of generous pastors, religious afire with love for God and for souls, and insightful, patient spiritual guides. ere the teaching and example of Saint John Mary Vianney can serve as a significant point of reference for us all. The Curé of Ars was very humble, yet as a priest he was conscious of being an immense gift to his people: ‘A good shepherd, a pastor after God’s heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy’.ii e spoke of the priesthood as if incapable of fathoming the grandeur of the gift and task entrusted to a human creature: ‘O, how great is the priest! … If he realised what he is, he would die… God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host…’ iii
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What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of his goods … Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest, and they will end by worshiping the beasts there … The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you’.ii
xplaining to his parishioners the importance of the sacraments, he would say: ‘Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put him there in that tabernacle? …The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? ...The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? ...The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? …The priest, always the priest. And if this soul should happen to die [as a result of sin], who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again,… the priest… After God, the priest is everything!… Only in heaven will he fully realise what he is’.iv
Benedict XVI: Extract from ‘Letter proclaiming a Year for Priests’ Vatican City, 16 June 2009. • i
‘Le Sacerdoce, c’est l’amour du cœur de Jésus’ (in Le curé d’Ars. Sa pensée – Son cœur. Présentés par l’Abbé Bernard Nodet, éd. Xavier Mappus, Foi Vivante, 1966, p. 98). ii Ibid., p. 101. iii Ibid., p. 97. iv Ibid., pp. 98-99. v Ibid., pp. 98-100.
These words, welling up from the priestly heart of the holy pastor, might sound excessive. Yet they reveal the high esteem in which he held the sacrament of the priesthood. He seemed overwhelmed by a boundless sense of responsibility: ‘Were we to fully realize what a priest is on earth, we would die: not of fright, but of love… Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth… 16 +e313ei_print.indd 20
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Céad Míle Fáilte Pope Francis
by Johannes Heereman, Executive President, ACN ercy changes the world’ – Pope Francis’ words in his first Angelus greeting are like an exhortation to us all in Aid to the Church in Need to continue resolutely along the path that Father Werenfried marked out for us from the very beginning of our charity.
• Is this not a challenge to our courage to confess the Faith? and • Is this not also a challenge to our willingness to help all the suffering and persecuted Christians around the world who have to bear particularly heavy crosses?
Once again we have in the Holy Father, a gift from God, and we welcome him from our hearts and promise him our faithful service. For Aid to the Church in Need true service is a service of mercy and we are therefore willing participants in the Holy Father’s mission to change the world for the better. Pope Francis’ words of love, ‘A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just’ signals the way forward for ACN, the Church and the World.
‘We need to rightly understand God’s mercy. Our merciful Father... never tires of forgiving, but at times, we tire of asking forgiveness.’
Elaborating upon this theme of Mission and Mercy, the Holy Father in his first homily, given as he was celebrating the Holy Mass Pro Ecclesia together with the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, spoke right to the heart of Aid to the Church in Need’s mission and work when he declared that the Church is more than a mere welfare organisation. Pope Francis is very clear, the Church and all its associated charities must always walk in the presence of the Lord, must build on Him and give faithful witness to Him. Clearly this includes the Cross for ‘When we journey without the Cross… we are not disciples of the Lord.’
Céad Míle Fáilte, Pope Francis.
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Pope Francis encourages us not to tire in seeking, sharing and enjoying God’s mercy for so it is that ‘Mercy changes the world.’ Let us thank God for this gift of His infinite Mercy and the gift of Pope Francis to His suffering and persecuted Church on earth.
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A Great Apostolate Before Him
An interview with Ulrich Kny, Latin America specialist with ACN Q: You met the man who is now Pope, what was your impression of him? Ulrich: His first days in the papacy have confirmed my impression of him at that time. He is a modest man with a depth and a great humility of character. He knows very well the limitations of our human nature and also how utterly we depend on God’s support. He asked us then – and he has again and again repeated this in his personal letters of recommendation for specific projects – to pray for him. When I saw him emerge on the balcony of Saint Peter’s, so simply and modestly, I felt myself immediately reminded of the simplicity with which God’s Son came into the world. I believe that Pope Francis, as the supreme pastor of the Church, has a great apostolate before him.
Q: Pope Francis is seen as an advocate of the poor. He has publicly castigated the ‘daemonic impact of financial imperialism’. Will this become a main theme of his pontificate? Ulrich: Undoubtedly, the authentic proclamation of the Gospel involves standing up for human dignity. Pope Francis will emphasise the Church’s preferential options • for the poor and oppressed, • for unborn life and • for the family as the primary cell of society. Thanks to the moral authority of the Pope, the question of justice, correctly understood, will become more important, and not only in Latin America. Q: Pope Francis has the work of mission very much at heart. Why is the Church in Latin America particularly missionary? Ulrich: Innumerable Protestant sects and free churches are challenging the Catholic Church to become more active and evangelical. In Brazil, for example, over recent decades, the percentage of Catholics has fallen to 64% on account of the sects. These sects are well-funded, their Pastors require only short and limited theological formation and they now have a huge presence in the mass media. By contrast the Catholic
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Church has very limited financial resources. The presence and success of the sects however has stimulated local Churches to ever greater levels of witness and activity and we in ACN are actively helping in this. The challenges facing the Church in Latin America and indeed throughout the world
are great as indeed they have always been throughout the Church history. As a Holy man with unrivalled pastoral experience Pope Francis is acutely familiar with them and no doubt God will give him the graces he requires to realise the great Apostolate that lies before him.•
Faithfulness is Key to the Renewal of the Church he Church in Latin America attaches particular importance to the transmission of the Catholic Faith, to catechesis. This is necessary, given widespread superstition and on account of the misleading activity of innumerable Protestant sects. The great continent-wide mission which was launched in 2008 following the assembly of the Latin American bishops in Aparecida, has as its goal to present the Person and mission of Christ authentically, in word and image, and so facilitate the personal encounter of the heart with Christ. So it was that Pope Francis, when Cardinal of Buenos Aires, requested several thousand copies of ACN’s Little Catechism ‘Yo creo’ (‘I Believe’) as well as a few thousand of our Child’s Bibles ‘God Speaks to His Children.’ Cardinal Bergoglio also requested and received copies of ACN’s little Rosary booklet for children, ‘Children Praying the Rosary.’
rial help from ACN in the construction of a novitiate in San Miguel. So it is that from direct personal experience our Holy Father knows what ACN, thanks to the generosity of its many benefactors, has done for his particular church in Argentina and what ACN is capable of doing for the Universal Church if it continues to remain faithful to its mission and continues in its work to act in a spirit of loving mercy. For Pope Francis ‘faithfulness’ is key to the renewal and regeneration of the Church for ‘faithfulness is always change, burgeoning, growth. The Lord effects a change in the one who is true to him’. In all of this, catechesis is of crucial importance to the transmission of the Faith and the manifestation of authentic Charity, Charity in Truth (‘Caritas in Veritate’). True Charity is built upon the Credo, ‘I Believe’, ‘Yo creo.’ •
Prior to his becoming a cardinal, Pope Francis as a Jesuit priest, received mateA LOOK IN THE +e313ei_print.indd 23
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Our New Holy Father and the Legacy of a Name By Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M., Cap. rancis is the name of several extraordinary saints. But the Francis most people remember when they hear the name, including many non-Christians and non-believers, is the Poverello, ‘the poor one’ – St. Francis of Assisi. This is the saint whose name our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, has chosen. So it’s good to know a little bit about him. St. Francis once said that ‘the saints lived lives of heroic virtue, [but] we are satisfied to talk about them.’ Francis himself wasn’t satisfied with pious words. He wanted to act on the things he believed. He called his brothers to live the Gospel with simplicity and honesty. And that’s why he used the words sine glossa – ‘without gloss’ – in his Testament. He saw that the Gospel wasn’t complicated, but it was demanding and difficult. The scholars and Church lawyers of his day in the 13th century had written commentaries called glosses. And these
glosses were very good at either explaining away the hard parts of the Gospel, or diminishing our need to follow Christ’s demands. Francis wanted none of that. He was a radical in the truest sense. He wanted to experience discipleship at its root. Francis lived in a time as troubled as our own. It was an age of Christians killing Christians, Muslims and Christians killing each other, wars between cities and states, and corruption both within and outside the Church. Views of society and the Church were changing. The feudal system was falling apart. For much of his life, Francis was lost in the confusion. But in his experience of faith and prayer, he came to some basic insights that gave him a very powerful inner freedom. And this enabled him to live the Gospel with simplicity and clarity in such a way that he not only was converted himself, but also became the leader of a movement of conversion in the Church and society at large. Today the Church seems to be in similar disarray. We have all sorts of factions fighting each other, among priests, among bishops, and certainly among our lay people. We’re humiliated and shaken by the criminal sexual behaviour of some of our clergy. And this has led, even for some who are deeply loyal to the Church, to a lack of confidence in our bishops, in the Church and her future, and even sometimes to a lack
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of confidence in Jesus Christ. We wonder if the Gospel is really true or if the Church is just another fraud. Francis felt many of the same sentiments, and he faced many of the same questions. And yet a very clear part of his spirituality was his love for the Church, his obedience to her pastors, his unwillingness to be critical of the Church. Instead of tearing her down because of the sins of her leaders, Francis chose to love the Church and serve her – and because of that love and by his simple living of the Gospel without compromise, he became the means God used for the renewal of a whole age of faith. When God spoke to Francis from the cross of San Damiano – ‘Repair my house, which is falling into ruin’ – Francis heard it literally. He thought he was supposed to repair the chapel of San Damiano near Assisi. But of course the real call was to repair the larger Church with an interior revolution, by the personal witness of a pure and basic living of the Gospel. A LOOK IN THE +e313ei_print.indd 25
Francis wasn’t the only Church reformer of his day. Plenty of other men and women saw the problems in the Church and tried to do something about it. Francis wasn’t even the smartest or the most talented – but he was almost certainly the most faithful, the most honest, the most humble, the most single-minded in his mission, and the most zealous in his love for Jesus Christ. And I’d argue that these marks of authentic Church renewal haven’t really changed at all in 800 years. It’s always easier to talk about reform when the target of the reform is ‘out there,’ rather than ‘in here’. The Church does need reform. She always needs reform, which means she needs scholars and committed laypeople to help guide her, and pastors who know how to lead with humility, courage and love. But what she needs more than anything else is holiness – holy priests and holy people who love Jesus Christ and love His Church more than they love their own ideas. Today, just like 800 years ago, the structures of the Church are so much easier to tinker with than a stubborn heart, or an empty hole where our faith should be. Reforming the Church, renewing the Church, begins with our own repentance, our own humility and willingness to serve – and that’s the really hard work, which is why sometimes so little of it seems to get done. But as our new Holy Father understands so well, it can be done. Francis showed us how. • 21 26/03/2013 12:40
The Intercession for Priests Retreats Programme by Father Kevin Scallon, C.M. How It Began… he Intercession for Priests was started at All Hallows College, Drumcondra in 1976. The years following Vatican II were a critical time for priests and many were deciding to leave the priesthood. Those who persevere were trying to come to terms with the nature and demands of priestly ministry. Even then, it seemed to me that the crises in the priesthood were not of the kind that would be resolved by human means. When I heard of a programme in the United States called the Intercession for Priests it struck me that something like this was just what was needed. It turned out there were twelve of us with some lay people and Sr. Briege McKenna, O.S.C. Testimonials from Retreatants ‘The Intercession for Priests at All Hallows College has always been a place of sincerity, where everyone acknowledges the need for repentance, healing and spiritual renewal.’ ‘No one can describe how it happens, but it is a spiritual experience beyond words which helps me to appreciate my priesthood more and more.’
We began on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16th, 1976. Over the years, thousands of priests have taken part in it from all over Ireland and from places very far away. Its impact on my own life has been incomparable, as I know it has been on the lives of many, many priests. Only the Lord knows how effective the prayers and intercessions, of so many, have been for the spiritual renewal of the priesthood. Why It Has Lasted... he Intercession for Priests has lasted because it has provided for many priests, a rock, a place of security where they can come and feel at home in their priesthood. It is a familiar place where psalms are sung and heard ‘The joy of the Lord is evident. Priests who come to pray for others always go away greatly blessed themselves. It has certainly been true in the past. The “Intercession” is a work of faith, but more than anything else it is a gesture of great love for the gift of priesthood and for all the “vessels of clay” in which it is carried.’ ‘It has always been of great help for me to attend the Intercession for Priests. It really can only be understood by experience.’
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Anointing of the Sick Intercession for Priests Retreat
in a new way; where the divine therapist is encountered in the forgiveness of sin and the binding up of wounds; where there is no ‘correctness’; where you can pray with and for each other. It is this that draws so many of us to come here year after year. 2013 Intercession for Priests Timetable Four Intercession for Priests Retreats will take place between 5-30 August 2013 at All Hallows College, Druncondra, Dublin. These Retreats are open to Bishops, Priests and Deacons. The week goes from Monday morning to Friday lunch and prospective Retreatants are encouraged to register in advance although this is not essential. A LOOK IN THE +e313ei_print.indd 27
At the Intercession for Priests… • We pray for holiness for ourselves as priests and for bishops and priests everywhere. • We pray that priests will be full of the love of Christ, that they will be secure in their identity and vocation and alive with the power of the Holy Spirit. • We pray in thanksgiving for the vast army of faithful priests that they may grow in the love of Christ. • We pray for priests who are persecuted and imprisoned, who are rejected and poor. • We pray that they will be protected from the deception of the evil one and safeguarded from confusion of doctrine and rebellion against authority in the Church. I pray that the future of the Intercession for Priests will be as blessed as its past and that it will continue to be a source of strength and grace for many priests in the years to come. • Retreatants can come in when they choose and stay for as long as they want. When present Retreatants are expected to take part in the spiritual exercises of the Intercession for Priests. For further Information please contact: Rev. Kevln J. Scallon, C.M., Intercession for Priests at retreats@intercessionforpriests.org
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aint liver lunkett (1625-1681) Archbishop Martyr aint Oliver was born into an influential Anglo-Norman family on November 1, 1625 at Loughcrew, near Oldcastle, Co. Meath. He was born into a newly titled noble family. Until his sixteenth year his education was provided by his cousin Patrick Plunkett, Abbot of Saint Mary’s Dublin who later was to become the Bishop of Ardagh and Meath. As a teen Saint Oliver grew up during the upheaval of the rebellion against Charles I. Charles I was King of England, Ireland and Scotland from March 27, 1625 until his execution on January 30, 1649. Charles was not really a religious fellow, but he married a French Catholic princess and filled several important appointments with Catholics. This made many of the English very nervous since they felt this brought the Church of England too close to Roman Catholicism.
Commemorative Medal of the Canonisation of St. Oliver Plunkett in 1975.
Charles believed in the Divine Right of Kings, a doctrine which holds that a monarch receives his/her right to rule directly from God and not from anyone else like his people or other ruling bodies. It is easy to understand why he was in constant conflict with the English parliament who did not like his authoritarian way of ruling especially when he tried to charge more taxes and force some religious reform. As an aspirant to the priesthood, Saint Oliver set out for Rome in 1645 under the care of Father Pierfransesco Scarampi of the Roman Oratory. Fr. Scarampi was the Papal Envoy to the Catholic Movement known as the Confederation of Ireland
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Many of Saint Oliver Plunkett’s relatives were involved in this organization. During this time, the Irish Confederate Wars, also known as the Eleven Years War, were raging in Ireland. These were conflicts between native Irish Roman Catholics and English and Irish Anglicans and Protestants. Saint Oliver could not have known that, as a result of the outcome of this war, he would not return to Ireland for fifteen years. The wars ended with the defeat of the Irish, a ban on the public practice of Catholicism, the execution of C a t h o l i c priests, great loss of life and massive land confiscation by the English Parliament. Charles I, whose interest was not religion, but power was executed because of the defeat of these civil wars. Oliver Plunkett was admitted to the Irish College in Rome and proved an able student. The Rector at the college testified some years later that Saint Oliver ‘devoted himself with such ardor to philosophy, theology and mathematics that he was justly ranked among the foremost in talent, diligence and progress in his studies. He was a model A LOOK IN THE +e313ei_print.indd 29
of gentleness, integrity and piety.’ Saint Oliver was ordained a priest in 1654 and was chosen by the Irish Bishops to act as their representative in Rome. He taught Theology in the College of Propaganda until November 9, 1669 when he was appointed Bishop of Armagh. Saint Oliver stayed in London for some time, after becoming Bishop, to use his influence to lessen the harshness of the anti-Catholic laws in Ireland. It wasn’t until March of 1670 that he physically arrived in Armagh to continue his apostolate as Bishop. He was most zealous in the exercise of the sacred ministry. Within three months he had administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to about ten thousand of the faithful, some of them sixty years old. For many years these Catholics had had no opportunity to assist at Mass or receive the sacred sacraments because of the persecution of Catholics and the Church. By December, 1673, he had confirmed no fewer than 48,655 people. The storm of persecution burst with renewed fury on the Irish Church in 1673. This was the year the Test Act was 25 26/03/2013 12:40
enacted. These were a series of English penal laws that were exacted on Roman Catholics and other nonconformists which required them to be professed members of the Church of England or be punished in many ways, one of which was not be able to hold any kind of civil office. Saint Oliver would not accept these regulations. He went into hiding. The high school, he had built and which was under the leadership of the Jesuits, was demolished, schools were scattered and chapels closed. Saint Oliver, however, would not forsake his flock. He traveled in disguise with the Archbishop of Cashel. Their living arrangements were wherever they could hide. He would lay concealed in the woods or on the mountains, and with such scanty shelter that through the roof they could count the stars at night. He tells their hardship in one of his letters: ‘The snow fell heavily, mixed with hailstones which were very large and hard. A cutting north wind blew in our faces and snow and hail beat so dreadfully that up to the present we have scarcely been able to see. Often we were in danger in the valleys of being lost and suffocated in the snow. May it redound to the glory of God, the salvation of our souls, and of the flock entrusted to our care.’ Warrants for the arrest of Saint Oliver were repeatedly issued by the government. Finally he was seized 26 +e313ei_print.indd 30
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and cast into prison in Dublin Castle December 6, 1679. The government had no trouble rounding up lying informants to testify against him. In Ireland, however, the character of these witnesses was so well known that no jury would listen to their lies. In London, it was different. So Saint Oliver was sent to London. His accusers would try to convict him on raising a rebellion to over throw the government. This rebellion, of course, needed a leader and it naturally would be the Bishop. The real crime was that Saint Oliver was a Catholic Bishop. Chief Justice Pemberton resided at the trial of Saint Oliver. He set forth from the bench that there could be no greater crime than to endeavor to propagate the Catholic Faith. There is nothing more displeasing to God than that!
On July 1, 1681 Saint Oliver Plunkett became the last Catholic martyr to die in England when he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, the infamous London place of public execution. Initially his remains were buried in two tin boxes next to five Jesuits who also had been martyred. Relics of Saint Oliver are enshrined all over the world. Oliver Plunkett, beatified in 1920 and canonised in 1975 was the first new Irish saint in almost 700 years. Pray for us Saint Oliver that we too may have the courage to defend our faith and our Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what the cost. • Eddie Cotter Jr.
The first grand jury found no reason to try Saint Oliver, but he was not released. The second trail was a ‘kangaroo’ court. A ‘kangaroo’ court or trial is essentially an illegal process. The outcome is determined in advance usually for the purpose of providing a conviction. The prisoner has no rights at all to defend himself or be defended. Saint Oliver was, naturally, found guilty of high treason on June, 1681 for ‘promoting the Catholic faith’ and was condemned to a gruesome death. On hearing this, Saint Oliver replied in a joyful voice, ‘DEO GRACIAS!’. A LOOK IN THE +e313ei_print.indd 31
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Ballintubber Abbey and Seán na Sagart allintubber Abbey is a royal abbey two kilometres Northeast of the village of Ballintubber, County Mayo in Ireland. Founded by King Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair in 1216, it is reputed to be the only church in Ireland founded by an Irish king that is still in regular use. The abbey marks the beginning of Tochar Phádraig, the ancient pilgrimage route to Croagh Patrick long defunct but now reopened as a cross-country pilgrimage and tourist trail. Despite being suppressed and damaged during the Protestant Reformation, the Abbey was in continuous use throughout penal times by Catholics. In 1966, the nave was restored and re-roofed in time
for the 750th anniversary of the abbey’s foundation. Efforts are being made to restore the entire East wing before the 800th year celebration in 2016. Among the Abbey’s many attractions, are:• an Abstract Way of the Cross, • a Permanent Underground Crib, • a Rosary Walk, • a Small Museum and • the Grave of Seán na Sagart, an infamous priest-hunter. Seán na Sagart/John of the Priests (c. 1690– 1726) was a notorious priest-hunter during Penal Times in Ireland (c.1607 – 1829). Born John Mullowney in Derrew, near Ballyheane, County Mayo, he began his career as a horse thief but was arrested and sen-
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confess his numerous sins. When a priest would arrive, Mullowney would grab a knife hidden under the bedclothes, and attempt to capture or kill his confessor. His captives if they refused to take the Act of Abjuration would then be executed by the Crown.
tenced to death in Castlebar in his youth. When the Grand Jury became aware of his low character and criminal talents, they cut a deal with him whereby in order to escape the hangman’s noose, he agreed to turn priest-hunter. The 1709 Penal Act demanded that Catholic priests take the Oath of Abjuration and recognise the Protestant Queen Anne as Supreme Head of the Church of England and Ireland. Any cleric that refused was sentenced to death by the Anglican-controlled judicial system.
Not surprisingly Mullowney was a deeply unpopular individual and he himself was murdered in a wood near Partry. Post mortem, local Catholics threw his body into a lake. Subsequently the Parish Priest persuaded them to retrieve the body and have it buried in unconsecrated ground near the Abbey. •
Mullowney excelled at the activity of hunting clergy and he received £100 (c. €15,000 in today’s money) for the capture of a Bishop, £20 (€3,000) for a Priest, and £10 (€1,500) for a Hedge School Teacher; signficant sums which allowed him to afford a self-indulgent lifestyle. One technique he used to catch priests was to pretend to be sick and close to death. He would then call for a priest to A LOOK IN THE +e313ei_print.indd 33
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The Living Spirit
Need, Love and Thanks – Your Letters
As as our souls respond to the love of God, They are bathed in an unfathomable peace: A peace which is the onset of everlasting life.
For the Bacon Priest Even as a young girl I used to support the Bacon Priest. I have a cheque ready for 40 Euros, so that I can post it off at the beginning of the month (when I get my pension). My thanks and prayers to all, A benefactress in Belgium
So it is that already in this life, When we keep our hearts and minds Fixed upon the mystery of Christ Jesus, We can experience something of that eternal life Which transcends all human understanding and imagining.
On our first wedding anniversary Last spring, during our honeymoon in Turkey, we got to know more about your work. And so, to mark our first wedding anniversary, we have decided to support your projects with a donation. Please be assured of our prayers for your work and your vital mission in today’s world. A young married couple in France
Amen Adapted from Mother Cecile Bruyere (1945 - 1909)
Working in the spirit of Fr Werenfried I am delighted that ACN endeavours in so many different ways to support persecuted and threatened Christians, both materially and spiritually. May your hard work and sacrifice during 2013 – when ACN gratefully commemorates the 100th birthday of Father Werenfried van Straaten – continue to bear rich fruit. My every good wish and blessing for your work in the spirit of Father Werenfried van Straaten, I remain, united with you in prayer, Archbishop Peter Stephan Zurbriggen, Apostolic Nuncio in Austria A miniature spiritual retreat I am sure I speak for many hearts when I say that each issue of the Mirror is like a miniature spiritual retreat. Each one is beautiful in its own way, but the one I received today (No 1 - January 2013) is so beautiful to me that I am now going to ask you to send me another three. I know that this is a little unorthodox, but I would love to pass them onto some friends, and what’s a bit of paper between good friends? Knowing you, I am sure you will oblige. May God bless ACN and all its beneficiaries and benefactors, and continue to prosper all its works and undertakings. A benefactress in Australia
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Thank you from Aid to the Church in Need Each year thanks to the • Donations • Legacies and • Mass offerings of its benefactors in Ireland and around the world, ACN is able to: • Provide sustenance and the means of survival for approx. 20,000 priests • Support approx. 18,000 seminarians and religious and • Distribute approx. 1.5 million catechetical books for children in over 170 languages.
For more on Aid to the Church in Need Please visit our website
www.acnireland.org
Heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and support provided to Christ’s Suffering and Persecuted Church. May the Good Lord continue to bless you and your family, past and present, now and always.
J F Declan Quinn Director Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland) Where to send your contribution for the Church in Need: Please use the Freepost envelope. Aid to the Church in Need, 151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Tel. (01) 837 7516. Email: info@acnireland.org Web: www.acnireland.org
(Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620).
If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This Mirror is for your interest and information.
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Please visit www.godspeakstohischildren.org to view an online version of ‘The Four Gospels’ and ‘God Speaks Through His Saints and Our Suffering’.
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Father Gerard P. Cusack. O.Praem. R.I.P. Man of Faith and Prayer, Pastor Bonus ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! ... Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25: 21
1942: Born, Bunnoe, Co. Cavan. 1963: Received the White Habit of the Premonstratensians. 1968: Ordained a Priest. 1994: Appointed Administrator, Holy Trinity Abbey, Kilnacrott, Co. Cavan. 1996: Appointed Prior de Regimine, Holy Trinity Abbey. 2011: Appointed Ecclesiastical Assistant, Aid to the Church in Need (Irl). 2013: Departed this life, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. ‘The life and death of each of us Has its influence on others; If we live, we live for the Lord; and If we die, we die for the Lord, so that
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Alive or dead we belong to the Lord... It is to God, …that each of us must give an account.’ Romans 14: 7-9,12
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Father Gerard P. Cusack O.Praem. (1942 - 2013) Prior de Regimine, Holy Trinity Abbey, Kilnacrott, Co. Cavan. Ecclesiastical Assistant, Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland)
Requiescat In Pace +e313ei_print.indd 4
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Stand firm in the faith, be strong. (1 Cor. 16:13)
‘If the priest trusts in God’s grace, then Jesus will give him his own Heart and make use of his weakness’ Father Martin M. Barta, ACN Ecclesiastical Assistant.
‘The priesthood is not simply “office” but sacrament: God makes use of us poor men in order to be, through us, present to all men and women, and to act on their behalf. This audacity of God who entrusts himself to human beings – who, conscious of our weaknesses, nonetheless considers men capable of acting and being present in his stead – this audacity of God is the true grandeur concealed in the word “priesthood”.’ Benedict XVI, at the conclusion of the Year for Priests, 11 June 2010
Fr. Gerard Cusack O.Praem. RIP.
Aid to the Church in Need helping the Church heal the world. 151 St. Mobhi Road, Dublin 9. TEL 01 837 7516 EMAIL info@acnireland.org +e313ei_print.indd 1
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