Primate questions Irish society’s ‘soullessness’

LIFE has become cheap and violence very common in a society where reverence and respect for all that is sacred has diminished significantly, the Catholic Primate of All-Ireland, Archbishop Seán Brady, declared yesterday.

Archbishop Brady was principal celebrant and preacher at a Mass at the ancient Clonmacnoise monastic site in Co Offaly to mark the 25th anniversary of the visit to Ireland of Pope John Paul II.

Dr Brady also read a special message from the Pontiff, who said that he was joining the bishops of Ireland, the clergy, religious and the laity in prayer for renewed vigour and a fresh dedication to the faith.

“I pray especially that, through the intercession of Saint Patrick, the people of Ireland will set an example to others of Christian life in this new millennium,” Pope John Paul wrote.

Over 2,000 people attended the special Mass, during which Archbishop Brady questioned whether Ireland had taken the road to a soulless future, rooted in rampant consumerism and the glorification of the individual over the community.

He recalled that when the Holy Father visited Knock in 1979 he had prayed that prosperity would never cause Irish men and women to forget God or abandon their faith.

Archbishop Brady said the people of Ireland must now look closely at how their success had been achieved and how its fruits were being distributed.

There was a growing sense that Irish people might have lost, or might be losing, something precious and important.

“One commentator has spoken of the new soullessness of Irish society,” he pointed out.