Bishop Dónal McKeown has said Pope Francis courageously reached out to those on the margins and challenged vested interests both political and economic during his papacy.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00His courageous reaching out to and for those on the margins.
00:06His challenging of vested interests, political and economic.
00:12But we remember the last 12 years, at least I do,
00:15as a time when Christ's core message of mercy and joy were proclaimed.
00:22They may have been key themes in his own personal spiritual journey over all the years,
00:26but they were also core messages for our angry and frightened times.
00:33He spoke in an uncomplicated language that addressed peace,
00:39the destruction of the earth's resources and the effect on the poor.
00:43And he challenged loudly and bluntly vested interests in economics and in the church.
00:51Like Peter and John in today's first reading,
00:54Pope Francis knew that the truth was always uncomfortable,
00:59especially for the strong,
01:01and that to quote the psalm which is quoted again in our first reading,
01:05the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
01:11Any future can be built only on the cornerstone of a shared search for the truth
01:17and never on the shifting sands of greed and narrow self-interest.
01:23Making the church great again is not on our agenda.
01:28But it's intriguing that despite his disposal of uncomfortable causes,
01:32his challenge of many people in strong positions,
01:35tomorrow's funeral will be attended by many of the powerful
01:37whom we would have criticised,
01:39people in many cases who have no connection with Christianity of any kind,
01:43least of all with Catholicism.
01:45The crowds of people from every walk of life suggest
01:49there is a hunger for the message
01:52that Peter and John in our first reading
01:55preached to the rulers, the elders, the scribes,
01:58the high priests in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.
02:02Resurrection still means that bad news
02:05and poor role models,
02:08brutality and hard-heartedness
02:10are not the best we can expect,
02:13nor will they have the final say.
02:17In the crowds I hear a cry for grace and new life
02:20to overcome the reality of sin and exploitation.
02:26And Jesus' message on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias,
02:30the Sea of Galilee,
02:31is one the church also, also needs to hear.
02:34The life of Pope Francis suggested that one great danger from the church
02:38comes not from outside enemies of the word,
02:42but from those in church who think that an abundant catch is not possible.
02:48Peter and his companions go against their best instinct
02:51as experienced fishermen,
02:53and they are astounded by the huge catch of fish.
02:58That's the sort of conversion that's needed
02:59if the church is to be renewed.
03:02Sinodality is not about tinkering with structures or teachings
03:05in order to suit somebody's passing agenda.
03:08That's silly.
03:10It's about listening together to what the Lord is saying.
03:13And leadership is about having the courage to put out the nets
03:16despite everything that is saying
03:18this would be a waste of time.
03:21It's worth noting in our Gospel story too
03:24that as the Apostles come ashore with a haul of fish,
03:28Jesus already had a fire lit with fish cooking on it.
03:31But he still asks the Apostles to bring some of the fish
03:34that they have just caught.
03:37Though he can provide everything,
03:39he still wants everybody to be able to make their own contribution
03:43to the shared table.
03:46A Eucharistic community sits down together
03:49where everyone has a contribution to make.
03:53Resurrection changes not only what has happened,
03:55it changes what can happen.
03:57It involves a resurrection of our imagination
03:59and of what we dream for the mission of the church.
04:04Renewal comes not merely from believing the truth,
04:07but from living the truth
04:09in reviewing how we structure
04:11our community of missionary disciples.
04:16And so this weekend, in these days,
04:18we commend the soul of Pope Francis to God.
04:22In life, he constantly asks people to pray for him.
04:26We still do that.
04:28He knew, like the first Peter did,
04:31that of all the names in the world,
04:33the name of Jesus is the only one
04:36by which we can be saved.
04:38So we accompany him with our prayers
04:40as he comes before the one who says
04:43that as often as we reached out
04:44to the least of Christ's brothers and sisters,
04:47we did it to him.
04:51And because we can look back on the last years
04:53with gratitude
04:53for the one who began his ministry
04:56with the words,
04:57Good evening,
04:58and he finished his ministry by saying,
05:00Happy Easter,
05:01we can face the future with trust
05:03that God will continue
05:04to be at work in his church
05:06even when we think God is not.
05:09All we have to do
05:11is to act justly,
05:12to love tenderly,
05:15walk together humbly with our God,
05:18and be amazed at the abundant catch
05:20that comes through those
05:22who put out into deep water
05:23and allow God to bring resurrection
05:26into the mess of our Calvaries.
05:29May his soul and the souls
05:33of all the faithful departed
05:34do the mercy of the Lord.
05:37Amen.
05:39As you leave the cathedral this evening,
05:42you're invited to take a packet
05:44of seeds for wild flowers
05:47in honor of St. Pope Francis
05:50to plant them when you go home
05:52so that we continue to improve our environment.
05:56So as you're leaving,
05:58there are packets of seeds of wild flowers,
06:01and even if you don't have a garden,
06:02you'll have a window box
06:03or something that you can put them in.