Archbishop urges young people to avoid conformism

Young people were urged today to avoid conformism as they have a vital role to play in bringing about a better society.

The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin , Dr Diarmuid Martin, said young adults must translate into actions their desire for justice and a better world.

Preaching at Midnight Mass at the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin, the Archbishop said: “Step out of conformism, then, and bring the newness of the message of Jesus to the world where we live.

“The message of Christmas can shake us out of the superficial conformism of the consumerist world. I have watched in the past days at different carol services the faces of children as they listen in wonder at the beautiful and moving story of the birth of Jesus.”

In the televised Mass, he said: “Christmas is a time in which even the most sophisticated among us should not be ashamed to allow the innocence and simplicity of a child to reappear in our hearts.

“That innocence and simplicity, wonder and sheer goodness are precisely what a world tempted by cynicism, scepticism and indifference needs.”

In Dr Martin’s first Christmas Mass, he went on to remember Irish troops playing peacekeeping roles in Liberia and elsewhere.

He said later: “Rarely in our recent political history has there been such a united longing for peace, shared by young and old, across all the political and religious traditions on our Ireland.

“Peace is possible. We pray that the Christmas message may penetrate into hearts and bring fruits of peace soon.”

Preaching at Midnight Mass in Armagh, the Catholic Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Sean Brady, said it would be a tragedy if Christ’s birthday or his revelation of God’s unconditional love for each of us were to be forgotten during today’s celebrations.

In his Christmas message, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin Dr John Neill said people must build bridges of understanding with immigrants to avoid a society plagued with violence and ghettos.

Dr Neill, who will be giving a sermon at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin today, said people must communicate with those who are coming to our shores “with little or nothing“.

He said: “There is a price to be paid in being a welcoming and multi-cultural society.

“We have to be willing to learn about the way others live and think. We have to go out of our way to understand that many coming to Ireland today have been traumatised, whether by violence, political oppression or poverty.”