is considerably lower than in any other part of Ireland." He continued saying: "(That) the conformist Ireland of the Archbishop McQuaid era changed so rapidly and with few tears, was read as an indication of a desire for change, but perhaps it was also an indication that the conformism was covering an emptiness and a faith built on a faulty structure to which people no longer really ascribed" and that "The Catholic Church in Ireland will inevitably become more a minority culture. The challenge is to ensure that it is not an irrelevant minority culture". 2011 general election comments Archbishop Martin in February 2011 called on Christians in Ireland to be vocal about the values they want for "a caring" society. Addressing a Church celebration of the World Day of the Sick in Clontarf, Archbishop Martin said: "We stand at an important moment regarding the future of our Irish society." He continued saying "In a climate marked too often only by criticism and mud-slinging, we Christians are called to drive for a sense of common purpose regarding the type of society we wish our political leaders to generate and the values that we would wish to see enshrined in that society." Shortly afterwards the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference released a guide to voters for the general election. 2015 Same Sex Marriage Referendum In response to the passing of the thirty-fourth amendment of the constitution of Ireland, which inserted a clause into the Irish Constitution permitting same sex marriage, Martin stated that "The Church needs to take a reality check. It's very clear there’s a growing gap between Irish young people and the Church, and there’s a growing gap between the culture of Ireland that's developing and the Church." Retirement On 29 December 2020, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Martin. As a Catholic Bishop, Martin was required to submit his letter of resignation after he turned 75 years of age in April 2020. His successor was named as Dr Dermot Farrell who will take over on a date to be determined. See also Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal References External links Catholic Hierarchy Dublin Diocese Biography Ferns Report Diocese of Dublin Roman Catholic archbishops of Dublin Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Clonliffe College 1945 births Living people People from Dublin (city) Diplomats of the Holy See Roman Catholic titular archbishops Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Catholic