THE CATHOLIC primate Cardinal Seán Brady has criticised recent
incidents of political violence in Ireland at a World Day of Peace Mass
in Armagh.
It was, he said, “so sad to hear reports recently of
people being again recruited and trained to carry and use weapons of
death and destruction against fellow human beings on this island”.
In
many references to Pope Benedict’s message for World Day of Peace, he
said “the Holy Father reminds us today that parents must always be free
to hand on to their children their faith and their values.
“Not
only must they be free to do so, they must he helped and encouraged to
do so by the rest of society. This is the way to build up a strong and
caring social fabric which is so important.’’
At a World Day of
Peace Mass in Dublin Rev Dr Kieran O’Mahony described as ‘‘poignant and
revealing’’ that the pope should have to argue for the place of religion
and religions in the world today.
In Rome the pope implored “all
men and women of goodwill to renew their commitment to building a world
where all are free to profess their religion or faith”.
He said it
was “painful to think that in some areas of the world it is impossible
to profess one’s religion freely except at the risk of life and personal
liberty. In other areas we see more subtle and sophisticated forms of
prejudice and hostility towards believers and religious symbols.’’
He continued that “at present, Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith.’’
Religious
freedom expressed “what is unique about the human person, for it allows
us to direct our personal and social life to God, in whose light the
identity, meaning and purpose of the person are fully understood.
“To
deny or arbitrarily restrict this freedom was to foster a reductive
vision of the human person; to eclipse the public role of religion is to
create a society which is unjust, inasmuch as it fails to take account
of the true nature of the human person.”
He warned that “the
exclusion of religion from public life deprives the latter of a
dimension open to transcendence, without which it becomes difficult to
guide societies towards universal ethical principles and to establish at
the national and international level a legal order which fully
recognises and respects fundamental rights and freedoms . . .’’
Warning
against religious fundamentalism and secularism he said both represent
extreme forms of a rejection of legitimate pluralism and the principle
of secularity.
He said that, “with due respect for the positive
secularity of state institutions, the public dimension of religion must
always be acknowledged. A healthy dialogue between civil and religious
institutions is fundamental for the integral development of the human
person and social harmony.’’
At the Mass in Dublin’s University
Church, Dr O’Mahony said it was “poignant and revealing that the pope
should have to argue for the place of religion and religions in the
world today; a place, so to speak, at the high table and not simply in
the privacy of one’s heart or home.’’
Dr O’Mahony, academic
director of biblical studies for the Dublin archdiocese and associate
Professor at the Milltown Institute, said “the plea for a place for
religion at the high table imposed a task on believers of showing that
their contribution to the construction of civil society is substantial
and significant, and communicable beyond the specifics of the particular
faith.’’
In his new year message Presbyterian Moderator Rev Dr
Norman Hamilton said “this time of year is normally associated with
hopes of a fresh new start, but this time round we all know that we are
going to face not just harsh weather, but harsh economic realities for
the whole of 2011.
“The bible was quite clear that God calls his
people to seek the welfare of everyone in the whole community, and to
specially care for those who are most vulnerable – irrespective of
whether they are believers or not,’’ he said.
As Presbyterian
Moderator he felt “a particular responsibility to help keep these two
biblical perspectives at the forefront of not only our own church, but
of wider society as well.
“We will contribute to public discussion
and debate, and crucially we will engage in serious prayer on many
hugely important issues.’’
SIC: IT/IE