In his Christmas sermon, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Rev Dr Robin Eames, denounced the threat of violence for any reason as immoral.
"The Christian meaning of today's events can leave us in no doubt: the continuing threat of violence for any reason, be it common assault or robbery, be it as political persuasion or intimidation, is immoral," he said.
He said that the questions a Christian Christmas posed for us extended far beyond Christmas Day, and a world of desperate need cried out for home and reassurance.
"In our own community, the prince of peace compels us to ask how important real peace is in our lives.
"Day after day we see what violence does to people whose homes are raided; to members of other racial origins who have sought a home in our land; to victims of sectarian hatred.
"Every day we learn of the consequences for too many who try to live ordinary lives in our violent society," he went on. "The prince of peace compels us to ask about the role in our community life of a continuing threat of paramilitary violence.
"We can no longer deny the value of dialogue and debate devoid of the threat of violence. This raises the serious issue of the threat of paramilitary organisations which possess arms they have not given up - and it raises those questions to a moral level," he said.
"In today's climate, surely the message of the prince of peace challenges the morality of any paramilitary force in a community struggling to find stability and peace?
"The desire of a huge majority of people here is for a peaceful future of justice and equality," he added.
In his homily at midnight Mass in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, Dr Sean Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland, said we live in an age in which people look like heirs who have squandered an inheritance entrusted to them by history.
"These are a global people who have lost not only their inheritance but their Christian memory," said Dr Brady.
"Any loss of memory is serious. But the loss of Christian memory is sometimes accompanied by a fear of the future. There is an inner emptiness and a loss of meaning in life.
"The fruits of this are to be seen in the falling number of births in Europe, and in the difficulty in making life-long commitments, such as marriage.
"At the root of this loss of hope and loss of Christian memory is an attempt to promote a vision of man, apart from God, and apart from Jesus Christ.
"When man begins to see himself as the centre of the world, he begins to take the place of God. He forgets that it was not man who created God, but God who created man.
"And yet, we cannot live without hope. Jesus Christ is our hope. In him all history finds its beginning, because all things were made by him," he said.
Dr Brady said the story of Bethlehem was not just a pretty tale to be told once a year and be put away with the decorations.
"We remember those children being born into the world today, and for whom there is still no place at the inn. We think of the birthright of every child. The right to an adequate supply of food, a safe, loving and happy environment in which to grow up, and appropriate shelter and clothing to protect from the elements.
"If all children in today's world are not already enjoying this right, we ask: why not?" he added.