BISHOP of Limerick Brendan Leahy has urged the people of Limerick to "have hope and give hope" as he looked ahead to Pope Francis’ jubilee year on that very theme next year. Addressing a recent Limerick Diocesan Assembly held in preparation for the new pastoral year, Bishop Leahy said we should all lean into the theme of Pope Francis 2025 ‘Jubilee Year of Hope’. Attendees at the assembly included parish representatives, religious orders, associations and other groups across the Diocese. Bishop Leahy said that Pope Francis wants next year’s jubilee to be a year of prayerful hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of Covid-19 pandemic, and climate crisis. The year will begin on Christmas Eve with the opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica, and on December 29, bishops will celebrate Mass in each diocese as the solemn opening of the Holy Year, and thereafter events will be organised locally. Speaking after the Limerick Diocesan Assembly, Bishop Leahy said: “We had the assembly to prepare for the pastoral year ahead and this coming year dovetails brilliantly with Pope Francis’ Jubilee of Hope as hope is something we all need to have and something we need to give to others. “Hope is something we especially need today. On the one hand we have a country with an economy that we’re told has never been stronger, on the other we are listening to a constant refrain of homelessness, challenges with addiction, people on the margins. We’ve the harrowing situation in the Middle East with the horrors there reaching into all our hearts. Many people have had their lives changed irrecoverably by Covid, not least many elderly." So, it’s easy to be discouraged, said Bishop Leahy. We know in the Church also there are strong headwinds blowing against us such as church scandals, the distance of many people from regular church attendance, the misunderstandings that can arise so easily, the challenge of the lack of clergy, the difficulty of connecting with the younger
PICTURES: Time to have and give hope – Bishop Leahy tells Limerick Diocesan Assembly
