THE scandalous behaviour of Ireland's wealthy elite is a symptom of the country's loss of grace, Archbishop of Dublin John Neill will say in his Christmas message.The Church of Ireland leader will also hit out at the exploitation of migrant workers as another depressing signal of a slide in public standards.
Opulence
In his Christmas sermon, Dr Neill will tell his congregation at Christ Church Cathedral that truth has also been sacrificed by the greed that has gripped the nation in recent times.
"Perhaps all the tribunals and public enquiries have inoculated us against the fact that so much else has been covered up in Irish society,'' he will say.
"Only a few weeks ago, we discovered in quick succession the amazing tales, first of the scandalous opulence and spending of those entrusted with public responsibilities, and then within days, we learnt of the desperate exploitation of many of our immigrant workers.
"The truth was remarkably hard to face, but each of these stories are symptomatic of a loss of both grace and truth.''
The Archbishop will insist that stories of people reaching out to others in generosity, in caring and with compassion must be heard.
Real
"We have been through weeks of bad news on the economic front, we have managed to induce a national depression, and the prophets of doom have now become the purveyors of this depression,'' he will say.
"We need a wake-up call -- to discover more of the goodness that is still out there, the people who are there for others, who are working hard not just for themselves but to keep others at work, the acts of love and kindness that actually tell a real story and a human story."
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(Source: EH)