Archbishop decries buried truth in church, in the economy and in private lives and hearts.
MORE THAN 1,000 people took part in the “Way of the Cross” from the Wellington monument to the papal cross in the Phoenix Park in Dublin Friday.
There were stops for five “stations”, at each of which there were readings from the gospel, from commentaries by Pope Benedict, while hymns were sung.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin supplied a reflection at each of the stations.
In a reflection at the papal cross he asked: “What is truth? Where is truth to be found in today’s world? No one wants to be called a liar or one who is untruthful or unprincipled in his or her life. Yet we float in spin. The truth is manipulated, it is blurred and it is buried and covered up.”
But truth had “a unique power eventually to burrow its way out of all attempts to bury it.
“When truth eventually burrows its way out from under the tombstones with which we try to bury it, it emerges with renewed power and energy and its revelations are all the more shocking in their sheer nakedness, as we have seen within our church; as we have seen in political and economic life; and as we see in smaller yet in no less catastrophic ways with the secret sins and lies of our own lives and hearts.”
He prayed: “Lord help us to understand that it is better to remain apparently powerless with the truth on our side, than to spend endless time and ideas and money in trying to launder the truth.
“Help us build a society founded on truth rather than on the illusions of spin and so much empty imagery of marketing. Help us to realise that the crowd is not the measure of truth. The crowd will cry Barabbas when it suits.”
In a previous reflection, he remarked how “the stark integrity of Jesus stands out in the face of the complicity and falsehood of those around him. Jesus stands alone . . .
“The priests and the lawyers and the elders have their minds made up already and push the accusations that they have collected to condemn him . . . Witnessing to the truth can be a lonely witness.”
He continued: “We need a real renewal in the church, we need a renewal in our catechesis which is not about formulae or history or comparative religion but about developing that sense of personal communion with Christ.”
He prayed: “Lord renew your church. Renew your church as a people of integrity which can stand out as a beacon of what is good and true and loving in the confusion and selfishness of our times.
“Help all of us repent those fruits of lack of integrity which wounded the lives of so many who were abused with our church.”
It was the ninth year of the event, organised by the Catholic lay organisation Communion and Liberation.
It has been led by Archbishop Martin since his return to Dublin.
Communion and Liberation, an international movement in the Catholic Church, was founded in Italy by the late Msgr Luigi Giussani in 1954.
It is actively present in 70 countries worldwide.
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