New Archbishop of Cashel and Emly on the Gospel in today's Ireland

(Vatican Radio) Last weekend Bishop Kieran O’Reilly was installed as the new Archbishop of Cashel and Emly, in Ireland. Archbishop O’Reilly who was ordained a Society of African Mission priest, has worked in countries including Liberia and Nigeria He has also served on the Irish and International Councils of the SMA.

In May 2010 he was appointed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as Bishop of Killaloe and in May 2014 Pope Francis appointed Archbishop O’Reilly as a member of the Congregation for Religious and Societies of Apostolic Life

The Archbishop also serves as the Episcopal Secretary to the Irish Episcopal Conference and has been appointed at substitute Bishop at the Synod of Bishops on the Family in October.

Talking to Lydia O’Kane, Archbishop O’Reilly spoke about the Church in today’s Ireland.

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“A Church is called to live in the Ireland that we live in, to bear witness to the Gospel. We live in an era what we call New Evangelization… It’s a different Ireland from sixty or seventy years ago, but it’s still our country and we still love it… and I believe it has a tremendous amount to offer in the way it witnesses to the Gospel”.

Commenting on the challenges people in the country continue to face following the financial crisis which hit Ireland hard, the Archbishop said, “people to try and put their lives back together again after they have had economic damage done to them, that’s a very slow process. So, the Church has to be present in that kind of a world and realistically understand that people’s resources and people’s ability to address fundamental issues are very important.”

Archbishop O’Reilly also noted that the October Synod on the Family is a challenge for the Church in Ireland to address issues that speak to people where they are in life.