A new pastoral letter, highlighting enviromental issues, will be issued by the Catholic Bishops of Ireland in the coming months.The announcement was made following their June meeting in Maynooth on Wednesday.
The letter will be grounded in scripture, and will emphasise our repsonsibility as Christians to respect all creation.
In particular, the letter will highlight the dangers posed by climate change.
The Bishops added that they will consult with scripture and scientific experts as part of the development of the letter.
The Bishops also offered their good wishes to the incoming 30th Dail following last month's election. They also expressed their best wishes to the Member of Northern Ireland's legislative assembly.
Following Wednesday's meeting, the Bishops expressed the hope that political leaders would work to build “a society based on the integral promotion of the person and of the common good”.
“An authentic democracy is not merely the result of a formal observation of a set of rules but is the fruit of a convinced acceptance of the values that inspire democratic procedures: the dignity of every person, the respect for human rights, commitment to the common good as the purpose and guiding criterion for political life,” they added.
“In their specific areas of responsibility (drafting laws, governing, setting up systems of check and balances) elected officials must strive to seek and attain that which will contribute to making civil life proceed well in its overall course,” the Bishops continued.
Drawing attention to increasing concern about threats to social cohesion and the breakdown of community, Bishops reiterated the view that “The goal which all believers must put before themselves is that of establishing community relationships among people”.
“The Christian vision of political society places paramount importance on the value of community, both as a model for organising life and as a style of everyday living.”
In particular, the Bishops called on the Government to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which it signed last April.
They stressed again that "the recruitment and exploitation of people – women, children and men – is a gross violation of human rights and is contrary to God’s Law".
The Bishops also expressed the hope that the new Government will pursue reaching the United Nations development target of 0.7% of GNP within the promised timeframe.
They also acknowledged the contribution made by the Irish peace keeping forces around the world and expressed the hope that the new Government will continue in its commitment to international peace keeping in areas of conflict around the world.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce