RESEARCH SUGGESTS that religious faith can help people to overcome difficulties in life, Catholic primate Cardinal Seán Brady has said.
In an Easter message to the people of Ireland, he said: “No one is suggesting that to have faith, or to be a Christian, is to be spared the full mental and emotional weight of life’s crises or traumas or that Christians will always cope better than others in such circumstances. Yet to be able to find peace in the midst of our greatest physical, psychological and fiscal trials is one of life’s greatest gifts.”
Commenting on a “crippling” fear caused by the economic crisis, he said: “Research shows that a number of factors can contribute more than financial prosperity to the recovery of our sense of human happiness and peace in challenging times. These include having, among other things, fit and healthy bodies, realistic goals and expectations, a positive self-esteem, an optimistic outlook, remaining socially active and having supportive friendships that enable companionship and the confiding of fears.
“Research also suggests that having a life of religious faith which provides community support, purpose, acceptance, an outward focus, and hope contributes significantly to the prospect of general well being and happiness. It suggests that those who are religious are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, to divorce or be unhappily married, to commit suicide, or to become depressed or be diagnosed with a psychological disorder.”
Of the economic crisis, Cardinal Brady said, it was “tempting for some to say ‘We told you so. We are paying the price for our greed’, or that, ‘a little bit of recession is good for the soul’. I do not subscribe to this view. In fact, I am concerned that many people are depriving themselves of a vital spiritual resource because of an outdated caricature of the church as harsh, soulless and joyless, whereas nothing could be further from the truth.”
Contrary to to that, “the Christian message is not a rejection of the material world. It is an invitation to use the wealth of this world in a just and responsible way. After all, the goods of creation are for all the children of the Creator,” he said.
“Critically, for those who have learnt in recent months what it is to be fearful for the future, perhaps for the first time in their adult lives, the Christian message is about overcoming our fear. The phrase ‘do not be afraid’ is one of the most common phrases in scripture. It appears at least 83 times in the Old Testament and 25 times in the New Testament.”
It was the case that “sometimes the most silent and tortuous dimension of fear is its impact on the mind. It is no coincidence that one of the few professions which record an increase in business during a recession is the mental health profession,” he said.
It was important therefore “that we provide enough resources to ensure access to high-quality mental health care for those who can benefit from it, particularly in a time of economic challenge.”
At the Easter Vigil Mass in Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral on Saturday night Archbishop Diarmuid Martin condemned “the examples of deliberate gangland violence and callous revenge which we witnessed in this city and in other parts of Ireland in recent weeks.”
He also warned against “a utilitarian vision of science” which “can lead to a situation which considers it easier and more ‘merciful’ to quench life, than to be merciful through being alongside others in their moments of . . . trial.”
The Church of Ireland Achbishop of Dublin Most Rev John Neill recalled yesterday how “at the height of ‘the Celtic Tiger’, there was little time for the weak, little concern for the poor...’’
In his Easter Sunday sermon at Christ Church Cathedral, he said it was “no longer possible to afford credibility to the selfishness that lay close to the heart of those boom times’’.
