Parish News

Last week’s Weekly Offertory Promise collection amounted to £2103. Thank you .

Congratulations to the children of Holy Child Primary who made their First Holy Communion this weekend.

Molly has started her Annual Collection to support the sick to attend the Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes. All proceeds welcome.

CEMETERY SUNDAYS: Milltown: Sunday 25th May at 3pm; Hannahstown: Sunday 25th May – Open air Mass at 3pm. Parking available at St Joseph’s Church and at Lamh Dhearg GAC on the Upper Springfield Road. Please park sensibly with consideration for local home owners. Do not leave valuables visible in car; The Rock: Sunday 1st June at 3pm; City Cemetery: Sunday 8th June at 3pm.

Baptised in Christ: We welcome to St Agnes’: Lauren Ann Black, Ella Grace McKenna, Ella Maria Ryan, Minnie Maura Farrelly.

Annual Diocesan Collection for our Student Priests: There are currently ten young men in training for priesthood for the diocese, three of whom, Dominic, Andrew and Conor, are deacons. The other students are James, Manuelito, Tony, James, Michael, Kevin and Christopher. Please remember them in your prayers. The second collection on the this Fifth Sunday of Easter is the yearly collection for the education of our student priests. Thank you for your support of this collection last year. Your financial contribution is another concrete way of supporting our students as they journey towards priesthood for service in our parishes.

Remember in prayer…

Recently deceased:Thomas Devlin.

Those whose anniversaries occur at this time:Margaret Burgoyne, Albert and Ann Fusco, Mary Flannigan, Lily Murray, James Dobbin, Roisin and Bridin Ramsden, Henry and Jean McGrillen, Margaret McCann, James McKeown, David King, Sarah Scott, Eileen Doherty.

What’s on locally

The Annual Pilgrimage to Knock will take place on Sunday 8 June and will be led by The Most Reverend Anthony Farquhar. The ceremonies commence at 2.30pm in the Basilica with the Sacrament of the Sick, followed by Mass, Benediction and the Rosary Procession. Further details: Fr Colin Grant at 028 90643939.

Down and Connor Pilgrimage to Fatima under the patronage of Bishop Noel Treanor. 14th-21st August 2014. 3-star hotels.£649 incl. Belfast-Dublin Airport return coach, return flight to Lisbon to Fatima, 7 nights full board. Based on sharing twin bedded rooms with facilities. Full religious progamme, directed by Fr Gerard McCloskey & Fr Sean Gilmore. Contact: Joe Catney (90714001 or Anna Prior (44841843.

Day Pilgrimage to Knock for Feast of The Visitation on 31 May. Foyer of Charity Day of Prayer. Bus leaves St Agnes at 7.30am. Bring packed lunch. Back approx. 10.30 pm.  Price £15. Contact: Pat 07946917354 or Sonia 07873444629.

Lough Derg -The Island is Calling YOU! 3 Day Pilgrimage to Lough Derg, Friday 6th  June — Sunday 8th June. Bus leaving from Catholic Chaplaincy. To book or  for further info. Contact: Gerry on 90812712 or Rosaleen 07976 199756.

“ The Septic Tiger” , a black comedy play by Pearse Elliot, will be performed at St Agnes’ Parish Centre on Thursday 19th June at 8pm. Tickets may be purchased at the Parish Office tel: 90615702.

Padre Pio Pilgrimage 2014, 25th July-1st August 6nights San Giovanni at Parco Della Rossa and 1 night Benevenuto at Grand Hotel Italiano. Meals included. Full itinerary escorted. Price €849 For information contact Annemarie at Joe Walsh Tours 0035312410800 or Joanne 02890228436.

Living Youth Habitat for Humanity Gala Ball””A Diocesan Living Youth Team will be travelling to Ethiopia in July 2014 to build houses with Habitat for Humanity, the world’s leading housing charity. As part of their fundraising campaign a GALA BALL will be held on Friday 16th May in The Tullyglass House Hotel, Ballymena. Tickets £40/£400 per table. To reserve tickets or for more information please contact: Claire Smylie at clairesmylie@livingyouthni.org. or Tel: 028 9023243. Please help build homes and hope in Ethiopia.

Come and enjoy this year’s All Saints’ Roundtable – ‘In  Faith, through Forgiveness to the Future’ on Saturday 24 May from 1.30pm to 5.30pm in All Saints Parish Centre, Cushendall Road, Ballymena. Guest Speaker, Dr Geraldine Smyth OP, of Trinity College Dublin and the Irish School of Ecumenics, well known theologian and writer, will be accompanied by Fr Paddy Delargy, Mrs Janice McKeith and Baroness Nuala O’Loan. Explore the true meaning of forgiveness for all Christians and its importance for the way we live our lives and build our future. No charge. All welcome. Tea & tray bakes. Donation basket to cover the costs. For information contact Nuala 07769974970 or Janice 079 27089125.

CHRISTIAN CITIZENSHIP AND THE LOCAL COUNCIL AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

A Pastoral Reflection by Most Rev. Noel Treanor, Bishop of Down & Connor

Pope Francis recently reminded us in The Joy of the Gospel, that there is need for a ”˜greater [presence] of Christian values in the social, political and economic sectors’ and ”˜a real commitment to applying the Gospel to the transformation of society’ (n. 102). On Thursday of this week, 22^nd May 2014, the Local Council and European Parliamentary elections for Northern Ireland will be held on the same day. This is an important opportunity for each of us as Christians and as citizens to influence the values that will shape future public policy at both local and European level.

How we vote is ultimately a matter of personal conscience. As with every act that has moral consequences, we are called to inform our conscience. This means weighing up the position of each candidate and political party in the forthcoming elections and deciding how, in exercising our Christian responsibility to vote, we can maximise the common good. With many issues, this is a matter of legitimate technical debate and sincere political difference. With other issues, however, such as the right to life of every innocent person from conception to natural death, the values at stake are so fundamental that they can never be undermined.

As a Pastor, I have been struck by how many people have said to me recently, and I know to other priests and clergy as well, that they would welcome some guidance in forming a sincere Christian conscience in the run-up to the forthcoming elections. It is a welcome sign of normality and progress that many citizens are engaging conscientiously and decisively with social and moral issues in Northern Ireland elections, beyond the traditional polarities of the Constitutional question.

In offering some guidance, Catholic Social teaching, based on respect for the inherent dignity and equality of every person, and emphasizing our responsibility as Christians to promote the common good, offers four principles that have particular significance in the forthcoming local and European elections in Northern Ireland. These are:

• The right to life. There is no more fundamental human right than the right to life. Society has a duty to ensure such a fundamental right is protected for all, but especially for those who are most vulnerable and least able to protect this right for themselves. Recently, the Minister for Justice in Northern Ireland announced his intention to introduce a bill to the Assembly that will significantly extend the law on abortion in Northern Ireland. In Dáil Éireann last July, legislation was introduced that made the direct and intentional killing of the unborn child lawful in Ireland. With great courage, some public representatives exercised their right to freedom of conscience on this issue of fundamental human rights and voted against the enforced policy of their party, which was to support abortion. While local Councils and the European Parliament have no direct responsibility for the law on abortion in Northern Ireland, the influence of local Councillors and MEP’s on our understanding of public morality and its relationship to law and policy, is significant. It is important for those who believe in the equal right to life of a mother and her unborn child during pregnancy, and who believe that the direct and intentional killing of an innocent person can never be morally justified, to establish the position of each individual candidate on this fundamental moral issue.
• Upholding the special value of marriage between a woman and man as the foundation of the family. As Christians we believe every person is equal in the sight of God and should always be treated with love, care, dignity and respect. Religious and non-religious people alike have long acknowledged and know from their experience that the family, based on the marriage of a woman and a man, is the best and ideal place for children. As Pope Francis stated recently, “ we must reaffirm the right of children to grow up in a family with a father and a mother capable of creating a suitable environment for the child’s development and emotional maturity” (16 April 2014). It is a fact of nature that same-sex unions are fundamentally and objectively different from the complementary sexual union of a woman and a man which is of itself naturally open to life. The position of a particular candidate on this issue is an important consideration for all citizens. This is not just a religious issue. It is about upholding marriage between a woman and man as the fundamental unit of society, open to the possibility of children, an institution written into the very grammar of nature itself. It is also important for politicians to recognise that this issue is not only about ensuring Churches and faith communities are not obliged to officiate at same-sex ”˜marriages’. Respect for religious freedom also includes the right of Churches to teach on this issue in a respectful and sensitive way, to have the ethos of faith-based institutions in employment and other areas protected and of Churches to continue to provide services in preparation for and on-going support of marriage and the family, in a manner which is consistent with their ethos. As experience in other jurisdictions shows, this freedom is very often denied to Churches once ”˜same-sex’ marriage legislation is introduced and the rights and freedoms of individual Christians and Churches are quickly, often aggressively undermined.
• Promoting justice, social inclusion and concern for the poor. Northern Ireland has the highest rates of child poverty in Ireland and the UK. It has some of the highest rates of working poor, fuel poverty and people on disability allowance. Church representatives were among the first to express concern about the potentially dramatic impact of the proposed welfare reforms on the most vulnerable individuals and families in Northern Ireland. Local politicians deserve credit for ensuring that some important aspects of the proposed welfare reforms will not be implemented here. Having an active concern for the welfare of the poor and most vulnerable is a fundamental Christian duty, deriving from the teaching of the Gospel and enshrined in Catholic Social Teaching. While supporting the principle of helping people out of welfare into work, the forthcoming elections are an opportunity to ask each candidate how they will work to ensure the needs of the poor and most vulnerable in our society are a priority and fully addressed.
• Promoting Peace and Reconciliation. Many people express disillusionment with the seeming inability of our local politicians to make progress on a wide range of urgent social, economic and educational issues. This includes the failure to reach agreement on issues that will help us to move to a more peaceful and reconciled future, such as flags, marches and dealing with the past. Elected representatives on Local Councils and in the European Parliament have an important part to play in promoting and funding key initiatives in this area, as well as influencing their political party to work towards agreement and progress on such critical issues in the Assembly. The promotion of peace, mutual understanding and reconciliation has also been at the heart of the European project and the work of the EU Institutions. The European Union is a noble and historic project. It is vital that we participate in the European elections to ensure the EU and its institutions continue to evolve democratically in the face of the massive political, social, economic and ethical challenges it is now facing. Promoting peace and reconciliation is fundamental to the mission and responsibility of every Christian.

As Christians, who by our national citizenship are also citizens of the European Union, we enjoy both the great freedom and the great responsibility of participating conscientiously in the democratic process and voting in the forthcoming elections. We have the freedom and responsibility to make the decision about who to vote for in accordance with a well-formed conscience, before God. It is also important that we commend and encourage all those who take up the noble vocation of politics and who, with a true spirit of public service, work with integrity and commitment for the common good.