It is a real pleasure to be here in the Harmonie Club in New York for this All Hallows’ Gala dinner. I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet with so many friends and graduates of All Hallows this evening. This event highlights for me the rich tapestry of relations that bind our two nations and people together - so many miles across the Atlantic. It is particularly encouraging to see you contributing so actively to the ongoing development of that relationship tonight.
As many of you will be aware, my connection with All Hallows in Dublin runs both very deep and personal. Growing up on Dublin’s northside during the ‘50s and ‘60s, the Ahern family was privileged to live a mere mile and half away from the River Liffey and yet enjoy all the benefits of life on a 30 acre farm!
With my father as farm manager at All Hallows, we liked to think that we had the run of this city centre haven. And, to be honest, with the college’s unique position in Drumcondra, looking down on the rest of the city, I am sure we did! In fact, times have changed little since then. Us Northsiders still like to believe that we look down on the rest of the city!
What with an historic college like All Hallows, one of the finest stadia in the world in the form of Croke Park and the Archbishop’s residence all within a stone’s throw of one another, we are probably justified in our opinion!
Tongue in cheek aside, the story of All Hallows is one that has had a lasting legacy not only on the city of Dublin, but also on cities and communities worldwide. It is a story inspired by a mission to serve, to educate and to enrich people’s lives through Christian teaching. And this mission can be traced back to the very establishment of the college in 1842 by a young priest from County Meath, Fr John Hand. Fr Hand’s goal of developing a missionary college to train priests for work amongst the Irish emigrant communities, takes on all the more significance when one considers the social circumstances of the time.
During the early decades of the 19th century, Ireland was only emerging from the oppression of the Penal Laws, only to be ravaged in 1845 by the Great Potato Famine that halved the population. The toll of misery which the vast movement of people gave rise to was alleviated, to some extent, by the priests who travelled from Ireland to cater for the spiritual needs of Irish emigrants.
And since then, more than 4,000 All Hallows’ priests have travelled to the four corners of the globe – from South America to South Africa and Australia to the West Indies – serving Christian communities worldwide.
And here in the United States, some 270 All Hallows’ graduates serve the community, either in churches as pastors, associate pastors or youth ministers or in education as lecturers, teachers or university administrators. I know that many of you here tonight are heavily involved in keeping that proud legacy alive.
As a small island sitting on the edge of the European mainland, Ireland has had an exceptional engagement with the world – thanks in no small part to the hundreds of men and women who left our shores to bring the message of the Gospel to others.
In addition to serving the Gospel however, Irish missionaries have made a major contribution to the holistic development of our societies. Here in the United States, as in Ireland, they have left us with a rich heritage in education, health and social concern for the less well off. And, as part of the wider Irish diaspora, I know that many of you here this evening continue to build on that inspirational work. In so doing, you are spreading the name of Ireland far beyond the shores of our small island nation. In fact, it is thanks in no small part to you – as part of the wider Irish family - that when the name Ireland is spoken, the words welcome and solidarity are close behind.
Not alone has the Irish missionary movement had such a profound effect on communities across the world, it has also brought huge benefits to the Irish at home.
As a society, it has opened our eyes to the wider world, made us more in tune with the challenges of development and globalisation and more conscious of the need for tolerance and justice for all. It is striking to note that these represent many of the very same issues at the heart of the UN World Summit, which I have been attending along with other world leaders here in New York.
To my mind in fact, the similarities between the UN agenda today and that of religious communities worldwide run deep. As many of you will be aware, this 60th Session of the General Assembly has been hailed as an important opportunity to revitalise the United Nations. The focus today is on how this union of nations can best meet its goal of advancing human rights and equality and promoting better standards of life for people in every corner of the globe. In essence, we as world leaders have a unique chance to re-evaluate where we are going and to determine how the United Nations can best meet its goals of peace and stability worldwide.
In the face of decreasing vocations and the painful scandals that have rocked the Church in recent times, the Church and religious orders have also had to go through a process of re-evaluation. Whilst the prevailing temper towards the Church has tended towards disquiet, criticism and uncertainty recently, the grievous offences of a small minority cannot be allowed to hang like a millstone around the majority.
That would be grossly unfair to the many religious men and women worldwide who have honoured their vocation, lived it to the best of their ability and contributed so much to the well-being of our societies.
The reality is that if we fail to give a hearing to the religious perspective, we risk losing sight of the values that underpin Christian teaching. For it is to the many visionary priests, nuns and brothers that we owe thanks for facilitating our education as a people. It is they who recognised the importance of an education for life. And that does not mean education simply in terms of the knowledge attained, but rather in terms of the values instilled in us as a people. These values are inspired by a belief in the dignity and equality of every individual and the need for collective responsibility in our societies.
As you will be aware, Ireland has experienced unprecedented growth and change in recent times. Right across the globe, countries look in amazement at what was once just a small, underdeveloped nation on the fringes of Europe, to what today has become one of the most successful economies in the world. Yet, despite our success, it is particularly interesting to note, that there is a hunger amongst many for much more than the material. The recent attendance of some 2,000 vibrant young Irish people at the World Youth Day in Germany provides a prime example of that.
As the President of Maynooth College recently remarked – “humans are spiritual beings and that can be lost sight of in the hurley burley of the pace of life”. Amongst that hurley burley however, our clergy and religious are well positioned to lead the way underpinning a new spirit of solidarity and voluntarism amongst our people. For the Church has always been a hub of human connectivity, reaching out and serving people in so many different aspects of our lives.
And just as All Hallows was a pioneer in meeting changed circumstances during the nineteenth century, it is rising today to the changing environment of this new millennium. The college that once produced so many priests to work with communities across the world, has now taken on a new role providing a spiritual home to lay as well as religious communities. All Hallows is now seen as a Centre of Pastoral formation, of spiritual reflection and pastoral leadership. As Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin recently remarked “this does not mean that the college should quietly drop its title Missionary." Instead “today, we realise that the call to mission is addressed to all in the Church."
I am confident that all of you present here this evening will respond to that call, serving your communities just as the All Hallows’ priests have been doing for well over one hundred and sixty years.
Once again, I thank you for the opportunity to be here with you and I wish you all a very enjoyable evening.
Thank you .
ENDS