THE DEMORALISED state of Irish society and the inadequacy with which this is being met has been addressed in two significant new year homilies and one message by three senior church figures.
Catholic primate Cardinal Seán Brady devoted a significant amount of his New Year’s Day sermon at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh to the scourge of suicide, “now the biggest killer of young men in Ireland, but not only young men”, as he put it.
In Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin told a congregation at St Mary’s Church on Haddington Road, which included Taoiseach Enda Kenny, that “the Catholic Church, the faith of the majority of the citizens of the nation, had a dominant influence on the values which keep our social interaction intact”.
But, he said, “a new situation now exists and this requires a change in the manner of interaction between church and State”.
In a new year message, Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe Ken Good warned that in “focusing so much on what we do not have, we can be in danger of becoming increasingly joyless, powerless and dispirited.
A spirit of poverty can erode our sense of hope and can rob us of much of the joy of living, such that our difficulties are compounded.”
Where suicide was concerned Cardinal Brady said the ability to listen was “extremely urgent”. It was “vitally important” that society took on board its responsibility in this matter and gave “careful consideration to the challenge of listening appropriately to the concerns of young people”.
He noted how Pope Benedict in his new year message “asks parents to spend time with their children”.
The Pope had also asked young people “not to yield to discouragement when faced with difficulties. Be confident in your youth and its profound desire for happiness, truth, beauty and genuine love”.
The Pope, Cardinal Brady said, asked that parents and grandparents “remind the young people that they are never alone”.
Archbishop Martin acknowledged that “there have been dark moments in the history of the Catholic Church which have been unveiled in recent years. Church leaders have over the years overstepped the boundaries of their legitimate mandate.”
But, he continued: “The contribution of individual believers and of the church as an institution to Ireland’s development and social culture has overall been positive. A mature future-oriented dialogue between church and Irish culture should build on those positive aspects of our past.”
He accepted that “criticism or even rejection of the Catholic Church and what it represents is legitimate. But criticism is different from negative and cynical caricature of faith or spin. Caricature of faith does little to build up in society the values that endure.”
Such mature dialogue between church and society required renewal in the church, he said.
“The International Eucharistic Congress, which will be held here in Dublin this year, must become a moment in which Catholic Christians reflect on what their faith in Jesus Christ means in today’s society.”
Bishop Good said that “media continue to remind us, repeatedly and relentlessly, of what we all know only too well: the immensity of the economic challenges we face, the impact of austerity measures, that our standard of living is falling and that things will continue to be difficult for some years to come.”
But the start of a new year was a time to be reminded “that there are other indicators of the quality of life, besides those of a purely financial and economic nature”.
Even in the face “of serious austerity measures, there can be real value in deciding to be grateful for many good things we do have”, he said. These included “being and feeling alive; enjoying a measure of health, for our family and relationships; having work to do, whether paid or not; the joys of the natural world; a place to live with its security and comfort; the food we enjoy; our faith and sense of purpose in life; our church, our friends and our social life; interests, hobbies, sport; our freedoms and human rights . . . ,” he said.
“A conscious decision to be grateful and to be generous can, in fact, be quite empowering and can help us deal with difficult financial circumstances with greater control and resolve,” he said.