Bishop Paul Dempsey, welcomed as Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin on Trinity Sunday in St Andrew's, Westland Row, spoke about the call to proclaim Jesus Christ in season and out of season.
"The heart of my call as priest and bishop and as one immersed into the life of Christ on the day I was Baptised, is to share the message and continue the mission of Jesus Christ.
That’s a challenging mission today. We have come through an enormous amount of change as a society and a Church. We have had to confront difficult truths that were necessary to face. This will always be part of our story. However, in the midst of all this change, the mission remains the same. As baptised Christians we proclaim Jesus Christ in season and out of season. Some would say the Church hasn’t a voice anymore, the Church is dying and no longer has a place in the public square. Pope St John XXIII referred to them as the “prophets of doom who are always forecasting disaster.” They are always with us. It is important to remember that the Church is not dying, it is a model of Church that is dying. We are on the cusp of something new. The Church is always in a process of renewal. We, as the baptised, are part of that story, right now in this moment.
Pope Francis, as he leads us on the Synodal Path, is helping us to reengage with the Church as the People of God which was proclaimed by the Second Vatican Council. This is an exciting moment! We don’t have to have it all worked out, far from it, we just need to be open to the Spirit, listen to where the Spirit is calling us, and do not be afraid!"