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.’’
