THE Bishop of Ferns, Dr Brendan Comiskey, has said that whoever governs Ireland for the next number of years will have an unprecedented opportunity to better the conditions of all.
In a pastoral letter read at Masses in the diocese yesterday, Dr Comiskey said it was important that the followers of Jesus Christ judged all policies and promises of rival parties and politicians by the question; did they promote or demean the dignity of the human person?
"All who are involved in the election campaign, when they seek to promote this dignity, are engaged in a Gospel initiative. So also are those whose vote is inspired by the same purpose. To vote on Friday is more than a right, it is a moral responsibility."
He said society's poor and vulnerable had a special claim on us to be their voice at election time but they were not a burden, but our brothers and sisters. Poverty was the context in which many of the issues of this election should be dismissed.
"When stability in government is spoken about, for example, we should remember that true stability comes from a fair distribution of wealth and not, in the first place, from the colour of one's politics.
"Zero tolerance for crime is meaningless unless there is a similar intolerance for the far greater crime of poverty in a time of unprecedented national wealth. Many of our people are bemused by talk of a Celtic tiger. Unfortunately, for too many of them the so called Celtic tiger is like the cuckoo, heard in the distance but never in one's particular neighbourhood.
"What does talk of green tigers - and economic boom mean to that 15 per cent of our population who live in a condition of persistent poverty and to the 34 per cent who live on disposable incomes below 60 per cent of the national average, according to the figures released recently by the Government?
"Father Peter McVerry goes to the heart of the hype by asking the question: if the country has £1.5 billion to £1.8 billion to give away in tax cuts, why did a 13 year old homeless boy with cerebral palsy have to spend a weekend lately sleeping in the streets because there was no accommodation available?" Dr Comiskey asked.
He said for the Catholic citizen, the social teaching of the church had for too long been regarded as an optional extra. Catholics must be mindful of the teaching of the church that action for justice was an integral part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Catholics did not want to be told how to vote but, he said, all needed to be reminded of the moral principles which should underpin any human enterprise as important and serious as running for political office, and voting for those who did so.