The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin has warned against
undermining the independence of judges and has appealed to all involved
in the administration of justice to strive to ensure justice is
available to all, not just those with “elevated” financial means.
Dr
Diarmuid Martin also said that antisocial behaviour could be the
expression of other problems, including mental health problems.
There
must be an “urgent social and political response” to the high
proportion of men and women returned to a prison system unable to
address their problems, he said.
He called for a wider concept of truth
beyond that of technology and science, arguing breach of the truth of
trust and loyalty “is at the root of our economic challenges”.
All
of us must act with a truth which was “not a self-centred ideology” but
founded on a care and respect for the truth of the other. Dr Martin
made the remarks in his homily at the annual Mass held at St Michan’s Catholic Church in Dublin to mark the opening of the new legal year.
The congregation included the papal nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown, and senior members of the judiciary from Northern Ireland, England and Scotland, as well as judges from the Supreme Court and the High Court here.
In his homily, Dr Martin focused on the themes of truth, unity and equality and their importance for fostering social harmony.
The
right administration of justice was “a fundamental pillar of democracy”
and our common sharing in, and respect for, society. When
dysfunctionality enters into the administration of justice, that had
“degenerative effects” on the fabric of society.
“The
independence of the judicial system is the first institution which is
undermined by totalitarian or corrupt systems and the undermining of the
independence of the judicial system is often the destruction of the
final pillar which sustains democracy and freedom.”
Equality
was not an isolated concept and justice “has to seek a sense of equity
which ensures that the balance of justice is something that can be
attained by all, especially those whose opportunity and access to power
may be weakest”.
Justice must also work to ensure legitimate claims “do not result in a litigiousness which damages the unity of society”.
On a recent papal encyclical, Lumen Fidei,
Dr Martin said it addressed the challenge of truth in today’s world and
outlined, without the truth of relationships, love, commitment and
loyalty central to the personal lives of all, society would be “totally
empty”.
“The truth of trust and loyalty is also
the fundamental pillar of an economy or a market. At the root of our
economic challenges, there is the breach of that truth.”
There
was also “the truth of ideals and dreams” and the centenaries this
nation would celebrate in the coming years were “examples of how the
truth of ideals and dreams indeed overcame the truths of accepted
wisdom”.
Truth was not just about measurement and investigation but about seeking to explain our lives as individuals and as a society.
While
such a concept of truth could be exploited and could turn into
fundamentalism, there could also be a fundamentalism of the relative and
workable, the agreed-on and compromise, which could lead to arrogance
and intolerance of those with deeply held convictions, he added.
Values
could help us to see the realities of the world in new ways. The
changes affecting Ireland “require roots and people who witness in their
lives to what is most fundamental about life”. The “art of the
possible” was “not the realm of pure compromise” but required people who
were uncompromising in reaching out towards that ideal.