WE SHOULD rebuild family and community life as well as our economic system, the Catholic primate Cardinal Seán Brady has said. The banks need support but so do our families, he said in his Christmas message.
"There is much talk about recapitalising the banks with cash. This Christmas let us recapitalise our families, our local community and our society with concern for one another and with love.
"It is an investment which each one of us can make. It is an investment which comes with a guaranteed return," he said.
"Let us rebuild family and community life as well as our economic system so that our future prosperity will be built on more solid foundations'', he said.
He felt that "in the current economic climate, it is all too easy to be pessimistic and to focus on the negative. The child in the manger beckons us to a future full of hope.
"And there are many good reasons to hope. If we invest in strong bonds of family and friendship, if we build up communities that care, we will always have good reasons to hope. If we can turn the current global recession into global growth in a culture of care, then we will be in a better place than we were before the current economic crisis began.
"If we can turn the credit crunch into an expansion of love and concern for others, then we will move closer to a more united, fair and sustainable world.''
He recalled travelling to Bethlehem earlier this year with the Church of Ireland primate, Archbishop Alan Harper, the president of the Methodist Church, Rev Roy Cooper, and the moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Rev Dr John Finlay.
"In contrast to the words of the famous Christmas carol, the town of Bethlehem is no longer little, nor peaceful and still,'' he said.
It was now "a small city cut off by a high wall from its neighbours and the outside world. Tragically, Bethlehem has become a byword for conflict and division."
But, despite the great difficulties of life there, he saw that the people, especially the young people, "knew that poverty, setbacks and difficulties could not rob them of their dignity and their dreams. They also knew the wealth that comes from a strong family bond and a community that cares,'' he said.
It reminded him "of the importance of building strong families and communities that care here at home. It struck me that this generation of young people have more in common across the world than any generation before.
"It occurred to me that, despite the many divisions in the world, the world now has the chance to become more united than ever before. This is what the child born in the manger in Bethlehem came to do - to make us one, to establish among us a civilisation of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace,'' he said.
He prayed "that this Christmas will bring all of us in Ireland the blessing of renewed hope for the future and the peace which comes from knowing that God-is-with-us, not just in this season of goodwill but in every minute, of every day, until the end of time. A happy Christmas to you all and to all those whom you love.''
