On 1 November last, Archbishop Eamon Martin, Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, together with Archbishop John McDowell, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, published an autumn reflection titled Daring to Dream. This statement by the two Archbishops was written in the context of the Northern Ireland assembly’s current public consultation on its draft Programme for Government.
Regarding their statement, the Archbishops said, “In recent months our Churches, in our own particular ways, have been giving thanks for what you might call the “coming good” of creation.. The season of Creation in the Catholic Tradition, and Harvest Thanksgivings in the Church of Ireland have celebrated the abundance and variety of nature and the welcome cycle of seed time and harvest.
“Some, however, refer to this time of the year as ‘The Fall’ – a description which brings to mind the part of the creation which perhaps finds it most difficult to come good – the human element. Having minds and wills and consciences of our own is both our glory and our vulnerability.
“This season ‘of mists and mellow fruitfulness’, of the changing of the clocks and the falling of the leaves, invites us to consider how the lives of societies and nations – and our own lives – can also “come good” or at least be on a steady trajectory to do so.
“In a world of deepening flux, the draft Programme for Government seeks to reach out and ‘do what matters’. Our task is to not wallow in disillusionment or cynicism but to do our bit to encourage, work and pray for ‘the coming good’. In doing so, it is important to ask ourselves, as Keats once did: ‘Where are the songs of Spring?’
“There are certain ‘goods’ which are only good when they are held in common. Are we a people who respect and acknowledge the humanity of one another sufficiently to stand up for each other’s well-being?
“Can our institutions rise to the enormous challenges of envisioning a new sort of society, or are they resigned to be a slow motion re-run of the past?”
Archbishops Martin and McDowell concluded, “In searching together for the answers to these questions, all of us, as ordinary citizens must have the confidence in ourselves and in the leaders of political and civic life to give them space to take risks and to dream dreams. ”
Visit CatholicBishops.ie to read the full text of Archbishops Martin and McDowell’s autumn reflection – Daring to Dream.
ENDS
