Archbishop's comments were `intemperate'

The Department of Justice has taken exception to remarks about the treatment of refugees, made by the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Walton Empey, describing them as "intemperate".

The archbishop, in his Easter address given at the Festival Sung Eucharist in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, yesterday, described the Government's attitude to refugees as "abominable".

He described as a brave initiative the attempt by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Senator Joe Doyle, to bring more understanding of the refugees' situation to the people of the city, but he found it sad that he was then subject to hate mail. That revealed the ugly face of racism in elements of our society, he said. "Obviously such people have turned their backs on the risen Christ."

However, the archbishop said it was very difficult to see the risen Christ "in the abominable attitude of the Government in its treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers. There is little evidence there of God's love for all people." Christ himself in the flesh was a refugee and would be in danger today of being deported (from Ireland) to his own country, he said.

The remarks were part of a broader address in which the archbishop condemned secularism, indifference and corruption in Irish society. A spokesman from the Department of Justice said the address was "intemperate", adding that the Government, through the Department, had always handled the refugee situation in accordance with guidelines laid down by the UN's High Commission on Refugees. The spokesman said he regretted the archbishop's remarks, which he had heard on the news yesterday, adding, "if he wanted to come in and discuss the situation with regard to the refugees, with senior officials, he would be welcome".