The Eucharistic Congress is about to return to Ireland for the first time since 1932 and it will occur in a country where the Catholic Church has taken a harsh beating in recent years.

The fact that it is in Dublin, where the one archbishop who has risen to the occasion resides, is the best thing the Congress has going for it.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has shown how a caring prelate, intent on seeing justice done, can deal with the issue of sex abuse and still remain personally popular and relevant.

Unlike fellow leaders in the Irish church, Martin has faced up to his responsibilities and maintained a dignified and coherent response to crisis after crisis.

The aim of the Congress is to encourage a revival in faith among millions of Irish Catholics.

Whether it succeeds will depend much on the message from Rome, which reaches the masses. If it is business as usual then it will surely fail.