The Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin
has urged communties in the capital to support and co-operate with
Gardai to end violence on the streets, to speak out and to “shame the
perpetrators.”
His comments, at Mass in Lourdes this afternoon, come
following 48 hours in Dublin which saw, among other incidents, a
vicious stabbing on the streets in the early evening, a security guard
held at gunpoint and the discovery of a pipe bomb in a graveyard.
Archbishop Martin also referred to recent murders outside the capital when he said, “At the end of this pilgrimage I would like to make an appeal. In these days we have shared here in Lourdes an extraordinary experience of peace. This contrasts with the constant news we receive about the violence of shootings and stabbings that marr the life of the streets of Dublin and around the country.”
He said such horrendous violence can become so commonplace that we become anaesthetised to it and it acquires for its perpetrators a warped sense of celebrity. “Nothing could be farther from the truth. Violence degrades and brings shame on its perpetrators and sponsors. Violence only leads to further violence and grief. Vendetta generates further vendetta and leaves both the perpetrators and the community less secure.”
Archbishop Martin urged communities to “raise our voices unambiguously to condemn those behind this violence.” He added, “as communities we have to support and cooperate with the Gardai; we have to speak out; we have to shame the perpetrators; we have to educate our young people; we have to mobilise our communities; we have to pray for an end to a dangerous cancer in our society.”
Archbishop Martin was preaching at Mass in Lourdes at the end of the Annual Diocesan Pilgrimage, which saw almost 2,000 sick pilgrims, medics, students and volunteers participate over the past five days.