DIOCESE OF CLOGHER
Joint Christmas Message from the Bishops of Clogher - Bishop Joseph Duffy and
Bishop Michael Jackson:

The celebration of Christmas every year reminds us of the absolute centrality of the 
person of Jesus Christ for all Christians.  

Even in our own country which was evangelised so long ago, we find it difficult to see 
the reality of a Christian society, measured explicitly on the values of the Gospel.  
Today we face together a new situation marked by ever increasing ethnic diversity. The 
danger is that we could get used to a vague form of Christianity that lacks any real 
reference to Christ and his Church.

The evangelisation of today’s world can only happen with the rediscovery of the personal, 
social and cultural identity of Christians.  That implies, above all else, the rediscovery 
of Jesus Christ, incarnate Word, and sole Saviour of human kind.  This basic conviction 
enables us to embrace life as it meets us.

The largely secularised culture which is ours today seeks to isolate committed Christians 
and to blot out the Divine in human relationships. Christians are easily discouraged and 
slip into bouts of negative fatalism and scattered activism. The reality of the Christmas 
event enables us all to face the present positively and to live generously and to the full.   

ends 

DIOCESE OF CLOYNE
Christmas Message from Most Rev John Magee, Bishop of Cloyne:

At this time of year when the mornings are slow in giving way to the light of day and 
the evening darkness rushes in with ever-increasing momentum, enveloping whatever light 
remains of the shortened day, we are made very conscious of the great contrast between 
light and darkness. The tradition of lighting up our Christmas Trees, of illuminating 
our streets and stores and now, more than ever, of using imaginative means of highlighting 
the exteriors of homes and businesses, sends out a message to all of us to be persons of 
the light. Indeed, the Feast of Christmas is a feast of light. Because He, who is the 
Light of the world, comes to us all once more in the form of a little innocent Child, 
“ a light that shines in the darkness, a light that darkness could not overpower”. (Jn. 1:5).

It seems that in this year 2002 our communities began the festive activities, the lighting-up 
of our darkness, somewhat earlier than heretofore. Was it because we may have noted how we 
have recently slipped into a darkness that cries out for illumination? Have we come to 
realise that without the enlightenment of Truth, without the support of mutual respect, 
without the warmth of human love, we can all lose our way in life, indeed we can lose the 
very meaning of life? Are we so caught up in the things of darkness - the threats of war 
and violence, the despicable acts of human depravity in the abuse of the innocent, the 
disrespect for life, the neglect of the poor and the lack of appreciation of the value 
of forgiveness and mercy - that, in the words of the Prophet we have become a people 
“ who live in a land of deep shadow”? (Is. 9:1).

Christmas is a time for all of us to step out of the shadow, to step into the light. It 
is a time of reappraisal of our personal, family and community values system in the light
of the One who came as the Christ-Child of Bethlehem, of the One who, stepping into history 
and into our human condition, brought us the Good News. Each Christmas is a renewal time. 
Each Christmas is the reliving of that event which changed human history. Each Christmas 
is an invitation to walk in the Light of Christ and to view our neighbours in that Light, 
with total respect for their dignity as Children of God.

As we stand in awe and wonderment at the reality of Christmas depicted so vividly in the
Manger of the Crib, as you parents clasp, in love, the hand of your child at the Crib and 
recount, this Christmas, the greatest story ever told, the story of God’s great love 
expressed in the palpitating heart of an Infant Child, may His Peace heal your hurts, may 
His Love renew the fire of love for which your hearts crave and may we all together hear 
once again the Good News proclaimed by the Angel: “ Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you 
news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today, in the town of David, 
a Saviour has been born to you: He is Christ the Lord” (Jn. 1: 10-11).

May your Christmas this year be filled with joy, light and happiness and may the New Year 
which approaches be one of peace, harmony and love for all mankind.

ends

DIOCESE OF CORK AND ROSS
Christmas Message 2002 - Jointly issued by Rt. Rev. Paul Colton, Bishop of Cork,
Cloyne and Ross and Most Rev. John Buckley, Bishop of Cork and Ross: 

Each year when, as bishops, we are invited to bless the SHARE crib in the centre of Cork 
City there is the feeling that we are getting to the heart of what Christmas is about.  
Surrounded by people doing their Christmas shopping, by workers caught in the midst of 
the commercial frenzy and among people heading home at the end of the day, we join with 
the young people around their crib placed at the centre of Cork’s life to mark the season 
and to proclaim the Christmas message: God is with us.
The baby in the manger, Jesus Christ, is God’s way of saying that he has come among us 
and stands alongside us today. His presence is for all time and all situations. At Christmas, 
we remind ourselves of his unfailing love. At Christmas, we get strength and hope for what 
has been and for what is to come. He has become like us, one of us, to raise us up to himself.
The challenge to us, in turn, is to share that light in our world. We are called to be with 
his people who are in need, those who are alone, those who find Christmas difficult, and to 
help to build the peace of the Christ-child in the year that lies ahead.
May you and yours be blessed with his peace this Christmas time.

ends

DIOCESE OF FERNS
Message from Most Rev Eamonn Walsh, Apostolic Administrator of Ferns:

It’s a privilege for me to be among the people of the Diocese of Ferns as your Apostolic 
Administrator this Christmas.  I thank you all for your kindness and warm welcome. I was 
a stranger and you welcomed me.

At this Holy Season of Christmas, may I share a short Christmas message and blessing with 
you. 

Christmas remembers the birth of Jesus who is called Saviour (Luke 2:11). It is much more 
than that because what it celebrates is the gift of salvation.  Salvation, through Jesus, 
Who is the way, the truth and the life.  Salvation that delivers from evil and leads us 
to everlasting peace and life.  

Many are present at the manger but all the focus is on Jesus.  In the manger, He shows us 
how the gospel is about receiving and giving.  He receives tenderness, wonder, praise.  
He also gives as He reaches out and evokes wonder in the shepherds and the magi.  He is 
little, poor, born in a stable.  In His kingdom, people are called to the greatness of 
being little.  He comes to live solidarity with those who are insignificant in the eyes 
of the world.  As He is the centre, He makes them the centre with Him in His kingdom.

May I translate this message into a blessing.  This Christmas, may we celebrate the birth
of the Prince of Peace who said “My peace I give you, my peace I leave with you”. We thank 
God for the seed of peace which the Holy Spirit has planted in our hearts.  A gift that 
is ours to develop or to destroy.  

This gift of peace grows the more we reach out to each other’s needs; the more we share 
in each other’s pain and suffering; the more we rejoice in each other’s success; the more 
we forgive and realise our own need of forgiveness.

May the peace of Christ continue to grow strong in our own hearts, the hearts of our family, 
the hearts of our community, the heart of our land.

Peace to all people of goodwill.

Help us to keep away from our hearts the destructive seeds of ill will. May our selfishness 
be replaced by generosity; may our discontent give way to appreciation of what we have; give 
us the mind and outlook of Christ.  

Lord, your peace does not depend on the amount we possess but on the size of our heart.  
Your peace is within our grasp.  Bless us this Christmas with Your peace.  As we honour 
and praise your name in carol, may be honour it in thought, prayer and deed.  We ask this 
blessing in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

ends

DIOCESE OF KERRY
Message from Most Rev Bill Murphy, Bishop of Kerry:

As we approach the Winter solstice the days are shortening and the nights are lengthening.  
At this time of year people in olden times feared that darkness would triumph over light.  
No wonder, then, that they celebrated the first signs that light was making a comeback. 
The pagan Winter festivals that preceded Christmas celebrated the triumph of light over 
darkness.

No wonder, too, that Christians chose this mid Winter festival to celebrate the birth of 
Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, whose resurrection signalled the triumph of light 
over darkness and life over death.

For Catholics in the diocese of Kerry as in other Irish dioceses, the year 2002 will probably 
be remembered as the “annus horribilis” par excellence.  At Easter there was the BBC 
documentary “Suing the Pope” and then more recently the RTE “Cardinal Secrets”.  Both were 
devastating but the BBC documentary was more objective and accurate and therefore had the 
greater impact.

Click here for full text of Bishop Bill 
Murphy's Message

DIOCESE OF KILLALA
Message from Most Rev John Fleming, Bishop of Killala:

We associate Christmas with Charles Dickens. His book, A Christmas Carol, comes into its 
own at this time with memories of childhood and images of snow, carols and an abundance 
of good things. Dickens also wrote a book called A Tale of Two Cities in which he said 
“These are the best of times and the worst of times… an age of wisdom and an age of 
foolishness… an era of belief and era of unbelief. It was the season of light and the 
season of darkness… it was the spring of hope and the winter of despair.”

He could be talking of Ireland today, our country  where wisdom and foolishness, belief 
and unbelief, light and darkness, sin and holiness seem to sit side by side. In recent 
years and especially in recent months the sins of Church and State, of institutions of 
all kinds, have been paraded before our eyes. It is easy for us, therefore, to focus on 
the winter of despair rather than on the spring of hope, on the season of darkness rather 
than on that of light.      
 
Christmas calls us once again to focus on the spring of hope, when the birth of a child, 
named Jesus, assures us of the triumph of the love of God over human sinfulness and the 
healing power of God over the brokenness of our lives. Nature itself assures us also of 
this victory. In these cold, dark days of mid-winter the cold which we experience is giving 
a kick start to the flowers which will herald the joy of spring with snowdrops, daffodils 
and tulips.

My prayers for everyone this Christmas is that this season of hope will penetrate and 
transform all our lives.

ends

DIOCESE OF KILMORE
Message from Most Rev Leo O'Reilly, Bishop of Kilmore to the people of Kilmore
for Christmas 2002:

We are coming to the end of what has been a difficult year for the Church in Ireland. 
It has been a difficult time for you, the people of Kilmore, because what happens in any 
part of the country affects us all. The programme Suing the Pope, about the abuse of 
children by priests in Ferns diocese, and the Prime Time programme about similar abuse 
in Dublin caused a wave of anger and dismay among Catholic people the length and breadth 
of  the country. In addition to revulsion at the abuse itself there was anger and 
bewilderment at how church authorities dealt with the priests who were responsible. I 
know that it has caused much pain and anger to the people of this diocese, to parents 
of young children, and to everyone who cares about children and about the Church.

It has been a very difficult time for priests too. We share your shock and anger whenever 
incidents of abuse come to light. We are dismayed that children who were entitled to be 
protected by clergy were in some cases brutally exploited and betrayed. We grieve for 
the children and their families whose lives have been blighted by abuse and for the loss
of trust that all priests have suffered at a result. However, the actions of a minority 
of clergy should not blind us to the fact that the vast majority of priests are doing a 
great job in very difficult times. I ask you to continue to support them with your help 
and your prayers.

Click here for full text of Bishop O'Reilly's Message

DIOCESE OF LIMERICK
Joint Christmas message from Bishop Murray and Bishop Michael Mayes:

Is it only three years since we welcomed a new millennium with such high hopes? In the 
meantime, we have seen scandals and disillusionment; we have experienced an economic 
slowdown; the threat of war looms in Iraq; violence continues unabated in the Holy Land; 
famines and disasters have blighted many lives, and we have seen a day – September 11th –
that will be forever remembered with horror. It is a darker world than our millennial 
optimism anticipated.

On Christmas Eve, according to an old Irish custom, a candle burns in the window of many 
houses. It shines out in welcome to the Holy Family. More profoundly, it echoes the words 
of St John: "Light shines in darkness and darkness could not overpower it… The Word was 
the real light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world" (Jn 1:5, 9).

In the dark the light of a candle can easily be seen a hundred metres away, whereas at 
midday it would only be noticed if one was right beside it. The power of light is, 
paradoxically, more easily seen when it shines in darkness. 

Click here for full text of Message

DIOCESE OF WATERFORD AND LISMORE
Message from Most Rev William Lee, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore: 

One of the things that makes Christmas very special is being remembered by friends.  It’s essentially 
a family feast, an occasion for exchanging gifts and sharing the warmth of our homes in the company of 
friends.  Our hearts and our thoughts are especially with family members who may be absent or who may 
have died during the year.  God’s presence and love can be experienced in healing misunderstandings, 
patching up quarrels and letting bygones be bygones. 

The past year has been a distressing and traumatic year for the Church in Ireland.  

Click here for full text of Message