Pope Benedict set for Irish visit in 2012

[Art321]

Pope Benedict is expected to visit Ireland in 2012 for the International Eucharistic Conference, Irish church sources say. It will be held in Dublin.
Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, yesterday revealed that the Bishops’ Conference has now formally issued the invitation, the Irish Independent reports.
Insiders say a papal visit would go some way to finally put to rest the issue of child sex abuse by clergy and help the struggling Irish church regain some momentum. A meeting with child abuse survivors would almost certainly be on the agenda.

Archbishop Martin stated the invitation had been acknowledged by the Vatican. The Pontiff will be 85 at the time of the proposed visit but he has been in robust health up to this point.
A separate invitation by the survivors of child for the Pope to meet them in Ireland was given by Archbishop Martin during this week’s summit in Rome, when 24 Irish bishops visited there, but this has not yet been replied to.

The leader of a survivors group, Andrew Madden, said Archbishop Martin was not as strong when he met with him after his return from Rome, saying he “came across as a very different man to the man” he met last Saturday in advance of his trip to Rome.
“I put it to him that he appeared to have had his wings clipped in Rome and that this might go some way to explaining why his fellow bishops seemed so happy on their return to Ireland,” said Madden.

Source: irishcentral.com/news/Pope-Benedict-set-for-Irish-visit-in-2012–84841587.html

 

[Catholic29]

In light of all the recent headlines will there be any Catholics left in Ireland by 2012?

 

[NPC]

In light of all the recent headlines will there be any Catholics left in Ireland by 2012?

Despite what you may hear in the newspapers, there are plenty of Catholics left here! Not as many as there were in the 20th century, but as far as I can tell, attendance at Mass has not fallen as a result of the recent reports into abuse. Many are saying that for those who wanted an excuse to leave the Church, the scandals are the perfect excuse. However, there is such huge support for our priests at the moment - those “on the ground” who are, day in and day out, doing great work in their individual parishes and who feel that they have to apologise constantly for the heinous crimes of others.

While a papal visit would be welcome, 2012 is a long way off really…It would be nice for the Pope to be there for the Eucharistic Congress. He will be 85 at that stage, so I pray that his good health and mobility will remain & give him a lengthy pontificate!

 

[AidanM32]

In light of all the recent headlines will there be any Catholics left in Ireland by 2012?

Hello,

Yeah, i think there will be because Ireland is a Catholic country, but there is some protestants in the North, thats because the the North is ruled by England.
England is a protestant country!

Aidan.