The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, has asked whether it would be possible for the State to mark the millennium by "setting a figure of Christ our Saviour in stone or bronze in some prominent setting".
Giving his Easter Sunday homily at the Pro-Cathedral yesterday, he asked whether it would not be appropriate to set up such a figure "so that future generations will say: yes, they celebrated the Millennium Jubilee, and they left a reminder that it is for us as well".
He wondered would it be appropriate for the State to do this "in order to acknowledge the prayer of so many hearts, Catholic and Protestant, for the achievement of peace in Ireland"?
The very fact that our system of dating historical events referred back to the birth of Christ "gives a special significance to our Christian manner of marking this important occasion", he said. The birth of Christ was much more than a purely historical event. "When Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and gave birth to God's only Son, He who is eternal entered time as a participant in human history," he said.
Christ was not like those long-dead heroes or wise men who might still exercise influence but only through the records of history, he said. "He lives in the church, and each of us can come to know and to love him with the knowledge of which St Augustine speaks when he says that one comes to know a person only through friendship. Friendship is possible only between the living."
