Following a spate of gang related murders in Limerick, the city’s bishop has called for prayers for young people who have been drawn into the “absurd cycle of violence and death”.Bishop Donal Murray said Limerick had witnessed “savage murders” in recent weeks and that neighbourhoods had experienced grief, fear and intimidation.
The bishop said this was the “tragic fruit of greed, hatred and the desire for revenge” which was utterly futile, brutal behaviour which disregarded the value of human life.
“Violence breeds only violence,” Bishop Murray said. “The words of Jesus to those who sought to protect him by force are an appeal that applies with great force in Limerick today: ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword’.”
He added: “It is tragically clear that these self-destructive attitudes are being communicated to a new generation. We already see their young lives being destroyed.
“We should pray especially for young people who are being drawn into violence and crime, that they may understand their own dignity as human beings.”
Bishop Murray said that people in the communities affected by violence who should be giving youngsters a sense of “hope and an appreciation of their own potential” were leading them into a life of drug dealing, violence and murder.
“To lead impressionable children to look at murder and stabbing as something to be taken for granted, even to be admired, is a horrible betrayal,” he said.
“The most likely outcome for them is that they will spend the best years of their lives in jail or that they themselves will perish by violence at an early age.
“In spite of the pressures that surround them, I hope that young people may have the strength and wisdom to recognise the deceptive and cruel reality behind the invitations to take part in this absurd cycle of violence and death.”
The bishop said the majority of people in the areas affected by crime were decent and law abiding people who had their neighbourhoods blighted by crime.
He said violence has “spilled over” in a way that subjected good and peaceful members of the community to heartbreak, fear and intimidation and to “an environment marked by burnt out houses and burnt out cars and burnt out hopes”.
He praised those who have worked to improve the situation in Limerick, including the priests and religious who have lived and worked in the areas most affected as well as teachers, social workers, emergency services and Gardaí.
In looking ahead to a regeneration project which will attempt to tackle the problems in the city, he called on all residents to play a part in building a better future.
And he urged: “We need to pray also for those who are engaged in horrific acts; they too are brothers and sisters for whom Jesus gave his life, but they have lost sight of something that is basic to their own humanity.
“To kill another human being in cold blood and to regard that deed as something acceptable is a denial of the dignity not just of the victim but of the perpetrator.”
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