How I see the future of the Church in Waterford and Lismore

People often ask me about the future of the Church as if the Church is a completely separate and alien entity from society. 

The Church exists in society. The mission of the Church happens within society and cannot exist without it. The problems of the Church are mirrored in society and vice versa. 

Both the society and the Church are made up of human beings with all their possibilities for good or evil. The mission of the Church is the mission of Jesus Christ – to bring Salvation to all people. 

That means to sanctify the world, to make all people holy through the grace of Jesus Christ and him alone, so that all people will know that Jesus Christ loves them completely and desires that we live in love in his presence. 

Only Christ can do this. Only in Him do we find full happiness. 

I am privileged to know Jesus and I desire every day to tell others about him. That’s why I like to sit outside the cathedral on Saturday afternoons – to meet people, listen to their stories, and tell them about Jesus. 

I meet people of all ages but of course, I have a special affection for young people. The future of the Church rests on young people but they are also the present and they need older people to show them the way and to be faithful. 

I have seen in Holy Family Mission in Glencomeragh how God works wonders. But I see this in dozens of other ways across the parishes – at Mass, in Parish Pastoral Councils, prayer groups, in Confession, youth groups, using social media cleverly, pilgrimages, outreach to the poor and homeless, Christ on the Street, Little Nelly’s Baby Bank, etc.

I am saddened to see a lack of unity in the Church and to hear people claim that changing Church teaching to make it more relevant will “bring more people in”. It won’t. 

Mediocrity never attracts. We either choose the whole Christ – carrying his cross each day or we simply don’t know him at all. The Church as a whole must stay true to Christ's teachings guided by the Holy Spirit and, with Pope Leo, not get lost in fleeting societal trends.

Huge crowds came to Mass all over the Diocese for Christmas – especially the young. I have spoken to priests about this – there is something happening under the surface. The secular agenda simply is not working. All that the world has to offer – pleasure, fame, wealth, comfort, power, etc. just don’t fill the human heart at the deepest level. 

I believe that our very serious drugs problem is a symptom of that.

We know that there are challenges for the Church – there always have been. Many people have cut themselves off from the Church. I would ask them what have they replaced the Church with? Have they believed all that they have been told about the Church without finding out the full truth? 

I know that we as Church have to listen more. To find the right way of doing this is the issue. 

Gathering 250 people in a hotel will not work. 

We must listen to the stories of people where they are at. Christ has a message of love for each of us, which may differ a lot from what we want to hear.

In the Diocese, we are also trying to face the challenge of the digital age better and get more involved in social media in parishes across the Diocese, offering words and messages of hope and authentic happiness rather than false promises.

I thank God when I see how people live their Christian calling in the middle of their ordinary lives, since that is the calling of 99% of lay people – to sanctify their everyday lives – in the kitchen, in the office, the factory, on the farm. 

If we cannot find God in everyday life then how can we find him in the church building?

I know that the average age of our priests is high but I do believe that God is calling men to the priesthood. I am glad to say that we have four seminarians at present and we had a priest ordained back in November. 

We must pray a lot for more priests and for all vocations – especially to marriage, since, like all vocations, marriage is under pressure. There are fewer priests and religious but there are also fewer people getting married. That is a worry for all of society since a stable family based on the committed marriage of the father and mother is the basic unit of a healthy society where children are formed to be good people.

I meet wonderful people of faith every day in my work. I believe that the reason why young people are beginning to come to Church is because of the faithfulness of countless priests, lay people, and religious Sisters and Brothers, who ‘have kept the faith’ through thick and thin over the years. 

Christ’s saving message is the same “yesterday, today and tomorrow”.

Most Rev Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan was ordained Bishop of the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore in April 2015