THE ARCHBISHOP of Armagh has urged Irish Christians to put aside sectarian divisions and stand together against the corrosive individualism of modern Western culture.The ‘Me - More’ syndrome, of putting one’s own wants and desires ahead of the needs of the community, had wrought havoc upon Irish society, Dr Alan Harper said in a sermon at Dublin’s Roman Catholic pro-Cathedral, during an ecumenical service celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The eternal qualities of truth, beauty and goodness, he argued, had become subordinated to the pursuit of the will to power, as individuals sought to master their own fates in isolation from God and society.
Dr Harper also bemoaned the lack of progress in talks towards Church unity, asking the interdenominational congregation to not let internal church issues shut out the call to be one.
He urged Ireland’s churches to set aside their sectarian divisions and unite to combat obesity, binge drinking and profligacy, as ‘conspicuous consumption brings no contentment.’
One hopeful sign, however, of inter-church cooperation, he noted was the decision by the Roman Catholic Church to become a full member of the Dublin Council of Churches, ending a 44-year estrangement.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, told the gathering that he welcomed the development as a sign of the vitality and the warmth of inter-church relationships, and viewed it as a hopeful sign for further ecumenical co-operation.
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