THE real Christian message of Christmas was never more urgently needed for the people of this land, the Church of Ireland Primate, Dr Robin Eames, has said.
In his Christmas message, Dr Eames said that recent events have shown "the cruelty, inhumanity, bigotry and violence which pervades this society".
He said. "We have seen so much which has denied the love, joy and peace of the child Christ. We have experienced at first hand some of the worst emotions of human nature.
"We have plumbed the depths of man's inhumanity to man. In the face of anger, intimidation, cruelty and sectarianism, the still small voice of Jesus has seemed far removed from happenings."
Rarely had we seen such evidence of our need of hope and understanding, the archbishop added. Rarely had the Christian message of the Prince of Peace been so urgently needed.
"In the name of the Christ of that first Christmas, we must all pray for new courage and new determination to put love, joy and peace back into our community," Dr Eames said.
"May 1997 see that peace which passes all understanding turn the tide of alienation and suffering into a time of genuine understanding and peace for us all."
The Presbyterian Moderator, Dr Harry Allen, in his Christmas message, said he was greatly sad deed that in many communities the tensions of recent months had strained relationships almost to breaking point.
"I long that these links may be renewed and strengthened with a mutual respect and courtesy that will lead to a fresh understanding and acceptance of each other" Dr Allen said. "There is much to do by way of healing."
The Church of Ireland and Catholic Bishops of Clogher, the Right Rev Brian Hannon and Dr Joseph Duffy, in a joint Christmas message, pointed out that Jesus lived in a country of divided loyalties.
"He declared openly who he was. He refused to conform to standards he did not accept. He never allowed himself to be manipulated," they said.
The bishops said that many people agreed with the message of Christ but stopped short of putting it into practice. "The result is that we get hopelessly bogged down in our attitude to political negotiations, to parades and protests, to boycotts and picketing of churches," they said.