IRELAND'S Catholic bishops have warned that the "wounds" caused by
financial turmoil and government austerity measures could lead to
violence in the streets.
They are also openly critical of the "bonus culture" of financial
institutions and semi-state bosses earning six-figure salaries at the
same time as budgets for vital services are slashed as part of
government cutbacks.
In a statement issued Monday, the bishops said ordinary
people "would find it difficult to countenance the present position
whereby large six-figure salaries continue to be awarded to senior
executives of semi-state companies at the same time as cuts are being
made to the minimum wage, disability allowance and State pensions".
They also addressed the growing trend in house repossessions and the spiralling debt experienced by many families.
"The speed with which the consequences of the financial crisis have
been felt by individuals and families throughout Ireland has been
both striking and frightening," the bishops say.
"For many people in Ireland today, the home, which should provide a
place of warmth and security, has become a burden, a source of
insecurity and a constant reminder of insurmountable debts."
The
bishops are clear that their pronouncement is not a political
manifesto, but they say that calls by politicians for everyone to
"share the pain" may be exploited at the expense of the weak and
vulnerable.
They also want voters to think ethically before voting
for candidates or policies that are overly individualist or
consumerist.
Worried by "considerable financial and political turmoil throughout the
island of Ireland, which has brought suffering and despair for many
people", they believe that "the wounds generated by the crisis run
deep and, if allowed to fester, could engender a cultural climate in
which the spectre of social fragmentation and violence cannot be
ruled out".
"With elections fast approaching on both sides of the Border, there
are real opportunities for political change," they say, adding that
religion plays a role in political and social life by "reawakening the
spiritual energy which empowers people to work for justice in the
world".
The bishops spoke under the umbrella of their
Council for Justice and Peace, launching a 20-page document entitled
From Crisis to Hope: Working to Achieve the Common Good.
Homing in on the "bonus culture" of recent decades and on what they
describe as "the resultant inequality and damage to social cohesion",
the bishops want voters to remember the "common good".
The bishops
say that this era in Irish history "should be viewed through the lens
of hope rather than crisis management".
But they add that "this will only be possible if we can learn from past
mistakes and challenge the capitalist cultural model that has
dominated in recent decades".
They describe this as "a consumerist model of personal and societal
fulfilment, where everything and everybody has a price, a stance that
ignores the really important things such as love and indeed life itself
-- they are literally priceless".
They are concerned too that the reduction in the minimum wage "affects a
very small proportion of the working population -- mainly migrants
who are not represented by unions and have no power".
In the US, bishops have been accused of turning their institution into a
single-issue church because of a concentration on abortion.
The
Irish bishops have a much broader agenda.
But, as the election looms, they will also restate traditional teaching
on the right to life of the unborn as "a non-negotiable element of
fostering the common good".