| As Christians throughout Ireland
prepare to celebrate the joy and mystery of the Birth of Christ
I am deeply conscious of the contrasts in this island at the
first Christmas of the millennium. Soon we will hear again the
message of the Angels and sing the familiar carols in our
Churches. But outside our doors and beyond most of our homes
life presents contradictions and divisions which confront the
Christmas Gospel with scenes of need, want and injustice.
Christmas 2000 finds Ireland a place of contrast.
As we move slowly towards a just and stable society we pray
that widespread terrorism and violence can be consigned to
history. But today there is another culture of violence
corroding too many lives. That culture breeds fear among the
elderly and the young alike. It proclaims that violence in the
street or in the home is an acceptable behaviour pattern for
which society too easily finds excuses. We must challenge that
belief and never assume that there is an acceptable level of
violence in any civilised country.
As we become an island foremost in Europe for the IT
revolution we must ask if we have yet learned even the basics of
communication between communities. Have we even begun to match
the advances of technological advances in communication by the
basics of human understanding of difference? Have we yet
understood the lessons of the past about listening to each
other, speaking to each other and giving each other space to
reach our full potential as people made in the image of God?
As new homes and buildings spring up before our eyes how
conscious are we of the homeless and the deprived, those who
sleep in our streets, the marginalised and those alienated from
a society of plenty?
Beyond our rapid economic advance which has brought new
wealth to many have we yet begun to understand the drying
injustice of the chasm between the rich and the poor, those who
have much and those who have little chance of escaping the
degradation of poverty?
Ireland has become a place of ethnic diversity. Many minority
cultures are forming new communities. How far have we moved
towards the acceptance of cultural differences or reached pout
in understanding to this new fact of pluralism in our midst?
The Christian message of Christmas is one of hope - it is
also one of immense challenge if we are to build a really just
and peaceful society. There must be a sense of Christian
responsibility and compassion as well as joy as we celebrate the
birth of Christ.
May the peace of Christ and the justice of Christ fill our
hearts this Christmas.
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