2018 ‘We can only say that we’re very sorry. But the Church is strong. We must lift our heads’

NOT even heavy summer showers could dampen the spiritual mood at the World Meeting of Families in the RDS yesterday.

As rain fell intermittently, families and clergy took shelter in exhibition halls lined with religious stands, some laden with plastic Popes, others with religious wall hangings (a snip at €46 each).

Taking place in the same RDS spaces as events like Holiday World and the Horse Show, the exhibition halls had the look and feel of a trade show for Catholicism.

And while the vast hall given over to the morning’s headline talk about safeguarding children and vulnerable adults was far from full, the halls selling religious souvenirs were doing a brisk trade.

Families and clergy from all four corners of the world gathered to chat and share their excitement about Pope Francis’s imminent arrival in Dublin.

The Pennsylvania child abuse scandal showed no sign of overshadowing the event.

‘I love my faith and am very proud to stand up for it,’ said Bernadette McCall, a nun with the Sisters of Nazareth in London.

The Glasgow native travelled to Dublin with a group of 19 nuns who were staying at the Green Isle hotel on the outskirts of Dublin and had already visited Knock ‘to make sure they’re getting it right for Pope Francis. Like John the Baptist, we went before him’.

‘People who are so negative about the Church should come and spend some time at WMOF,’ she said.

‘It’s been lovely to meet families from all over the world – I’ve met people from India, Canada, Ghana and the US. It’s a great witness to faith.

‘What’s going on (in relation to child abuse) is absolutely appalling and we’re very very sorry about what’s happened to our wonderful, beautiful Church.

‘We can only say that we’re very sorry but we have to lift our heads. We won’t let them drag us down. The Church is strong, it will come back, our God is good.

‘I’ve already met the Pope at a conference in Rome but we’re all very excited to see him at Croke Park and in the Phoenix Park.

‘Yes, we’re doing the whole package. We feel very privileged to be here.’

Josianne Dupont travelled from Quebec in Canada with her husband and four children aged between seven and 14 to attend the WMOF along with a group of other Canadians.

‘My husband and I are involved in a small family Mass with Franciscan priests in our parish and we’re here as the result of an offer from the bishop for one family to attend. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to pay for flights and accommodation for six of us,’ she said. ‘We’re here with a group of people from other parishes and staying at DCU.

‘Quebec is predominantly Roman Catholic but schools have been secular since the early 2000s so our children feel alone in their faith sometimes.

‘We want to share our faith with our children – that’s important to us. We think it’s great that they can come to WMOF and see that there are other children and teens who share it.

‘We’re going to the Festival of Families in Croke Park and the children are very excited to see the Pope.

‘Our seats for the Phoenix Park Mass on Sunday are right behind the bishops so we will have a great view of everything that’s going on.

‘The issue of child abuse is in my head when I go to Mass and I might think twice about leaving my children with a priest but my faith is grounded. Jesus’s message is so great, it has to shine.’

Lawyer Emmanuel Makene, 41, from Tanzania spent the equivalent of $2,000 travelling to Dublin via Dubai to attend the WMOF.

His wife, who also spent $2,000 on flights and accommodation, was unable to travel when her father became ill.

‘It might sound like a lot of money but when it’s for spiritual needs, it’s okay. I don’t think it’s expensive, I need the spirituality,’ said the father of two, who was dressed in a colourful shirt depicting the Virgin Mary.

The secretary of a lay council in his parish, he travelled with a 48strong group and is also staying at DCU student accommodation for the duration of his visit.

New Zealander Roger Gilbride, 30, had travelled to Dublin from Germany where he’s a seminarian with the Fraternity of St Peter, an order founded 30 years ago which celebrates Mass in Latin and has 300 priests and 160 seminarians.

With five years of his seven-year studies completed, he attended his first WMOF to meet people from congregations around the world and to visit Waterford where the order is considering having a permanent house in the coming years.‘

The pastoral congress is everything I imagined,’ he said.

‘The talks are inspirational and it’s great to meet people from around the world but I’ll already be gone from Dublin by the time Pope Francis arrives.’ Comment – Page 14

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‘We’re doing the whole package’