Connacht Tribune
Bishop of Galway: ‘Church must be open to all’
The Catholic Church should no longer be viewed as a “holy huddle”, and remain open to all who seek it.
Bishop Michael Duignan, who has led the Diocese of Clonfert since 2019 and became Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora last year, says the church must have an open-door policy, for those who visit every day and for those who “dip in” even once a year.
“One of the greatest gifts that Pope Francis has given to the Church is the sense that there’s an open door; that we’re not a holy huddle but people trying to live life with God by our side, and trying to do our best through the ups and downs of life,” says Bishop Duignan.
“If that means that they come once or twice a year, they are welcome. We cannot exclude people. There are so many varieties of people out there and if you open up to them, you actually gain something yourself from them.
“I always say that some of my favourite people to talk to are non-believers. We have great chats and I’m enriched by their conversations with me . . . I don’t know if they’re enriched by their conversations with me,” he laughs.
Faith, says Bishop Duignan, should enrich life and never be an imposition and those who choose to believe often have “a more profound engagement with their faith”.
“I don’t expect anybody else to be forced to believe anything. I feel that we as a church community need to be able to explain why we believe in this, and why it is important to us and if people want to come and be part of that, there should be an invitation there. It should always be by invitation, not by imposition.
“Some people see faith as a duty that drags us down, or something that means you can’t have fun at all. For me, that’s not faith. I think it makes life better and gives an opportunity to live life with a deeper meaning,” he says.
As society in Ireland becomes more secular, Catholics must find a place for that change, says Bishop Duignan, but so too should there be a place for those of faith.
“I think we have to find a way where both voices respect each other, and that the Church respects the secular world view. But I would like to hope that those of a secular viewpoint would also have a place for the faith perspective in life, not just for Christian faith or Catholic faith, but for all faiths,” he says.
The conversation around Catholic patronage in primary school education has been ongoing for years and the Bishop stresses that making room for a different world view is critical, but it will be parents who lead the way.
“There is a large grouping that has a secular worldview and I think over time, the composition of schools will have to realign to that reality.
“There will have to be more diversity to cater for the choices of parents because if they don’t want what Catholic education has to offer, the need a choice and the problem is, at times, that there is no choice,” says Bishop Duignan.
“I think a caricature of Catholic schools is sometimes created, and they’re seen as sort of pumping religion into people but I believe Catholic schools are about opening your perspective on the world and going on an adventure of faith and reason, where science and religion are not mutually exclusive,” he adds.
The Church is in a transitional phase, says Bishop Duignan, and in the aftermath of child abuse scandals.
“Terrible things have happened and things that should never have happened, and were wrong. I don’t think we should or can forget the wrongs of the past.
“The Church is challenged to hold up its message in a way that is credible, so that people will see it as something that they want for themselves. We have to go forward if we feel what we believe in makes a difference to people’s lives, and I think it does,” he says.
In the three years since Bishop Duignan was appointed Bishop, the world has experienced a life-changing pandemic with Covid-19, and the outbreak of war in Europe with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Covid moved the Church online unlike ever before, and the streaming of services has become the norm where it was once a rarity – a positive and a negative all at once, as the Bishop explains.
“As a faith community, we’re a live event and it’s better live than on the telly. You get the most out of it when you’re here, with the community,” he says, adding that the positive outcome is that those who otherwise would be unable to attend can now do so from home.
The Church has had a significant role to play in the response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, particularly so in Loughrea, where Bishop Duignan is based and where a significant amount of accommodation has been provided for those fleeing the war.
“I was involved in the convent project in Loughrea and the people there have done massive work, doing their best to look after others who have come from very difficult circumstances.
“In our faith communities, we might need to do more of that and to look at the needs of people and ask what we can do,” he says.
Connacht Tribune
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Connacht Tribune
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Connacht Tribune
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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