A moral obligation for each of us - Confronting homelessness

The sad, lonely death, in a Dublin doorway, of John Corrie, the 43 year-old homeless man who died yards from our parliament, is symbolic of many things wrong in our world, but for anyone to suggest they are shocked by such an inevitable tragedy just adds a shameful and offensive layer of hypocrisy to the charge sheet already faced by this society.

There have been warnings for months if not years about the looming homelessness crisis, especially from the relentless and admirable Fr Peter McVerry, but a solution to a scandal that simply should not be an issue in a society as rich as this has yet to be found much less delivered. And, like it or not, we are all to blame.

Official stasis — despite valiant efforts by on-the-ground social workers and volunteers — facilitated by a public that does not regard social justice, deprivation and poverty, access to educational supports or decent housing as important as opposing a relatively moderate and entirely justified water charge is a large part of the problem.