IEC2012 reveals Passion for Unity

June 12, 2012: The Liturgy of the Word in the Royal Dublin Society Arena, on Monday, marked an unforgettable image of Ireland’s Christian Churches united in prayer. To name it as “historic” is simply an understatement on an island where down through the centuries religion was used to divide communities, where it was exploited to sow violence and even death.
The 50^th International Eucharistic Congress, on the theme, “The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another' is underway in the RDS arena. On Monday, the first full-working day of the Eucharistic Congress, pilgrims were able to see and hear the testimonies from leaders in the field of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, thanks to years of often silent work on the part of the men and women from Ireland’s Catholic and Protestant Churches.

Led by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin and his Anglican counterpart, Archbishop Michael Jackson, the faithful from across Ireland’s Christian communities mingled happily on the vibrant green lawn of this Victorian exhibition space, in between talks on the theme “Exploring and celebrating our communion in Baptism”.

In an address on the Church in the Modern World, Archbishop Martin spoke of finding the points of contact between the Church and wider Irish society and he also underlined that in facing the challenge of secularism, cooperation between the main Christian churches is essential: “The Gospel must be preached courageously even if it does not seem to find roots in people’s lives,” he added.

Archbishop Jackson, who was the chief concelebrant at the Monday afternoon liturgy, said Christians need to learn and use the good news that has come out of the Peace Process in the North. He also spoke of how we need to be “mindful that God speaks to the world through the Church” and that through baptism Christian communities are conjoined in the missionary purpose of God”.

Br. Alois Loser Prior of the Taize Community speaking on “Passion for the Unity of Christ's Body” said it is up to all of us to see the gifts that God has placed in others, that our baptism unites us, while Metropolitan Hillarion of Volokolamsk, who heads the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, invoked “spiritual power and determination” to oppose the degradation of “a morally neutral” European culture.

Held every four years in a different location in the world, International Eucharistic Congress, is a weeklong event organized by the Vatican, to promote the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist as central to the life and mission of the Catholic Church. In also promotes a greater understanding of liturgy and the social dimension of the Eucharist.