Madam, – In his homily marking “World Day of the Sick” delivered in Clontarf on February 6th, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has quite properly drawn attention to the need for Christians to engage in a rigorous debate about the values we wish to see enshrined in Irish society.
He stated, “In a climate marked too often only by criticism and mud-slinging, we Christians are called to drive for a sense of common purpose regarding the type of society we wish our political leaders to generate and the values that we would wish to see enshrined in that society.”
Irish Presbyterians do not want to see a Christian “world view” eliminated either by default or design from the shaping of public policy, and we urge voters to evaluate manifestos by their ethical and moral stances every bit as much as by their economics.
I suggest that we need much more than an exclusively materialistic vision for the future. Wealth and never-ending economic growth can readily become idols that supersede God as the focus of human loyalty, and thus break the first and most foundational of the Ten Commandments. We also need to rigorously uphold the principle that since people matter to God, they are much more than units of labour, and every person must be valued whatever their circumstances. Any policy that tends to weaken human and family relationships is to be firmly resisted. We have quite enough lonely, isolated and frightened citizens.
Policy must be designed to bring hope and care to them, rather than depend on the social welfare budget to provide what is needed. Having a proper budget for this does matter a great deal, but it is no substitute for care and compassion. Each suffering individual matters just as much as any international banker or multinational entrepreneur.
Current and upcoming debates are crucial to all of us who are committed to a Christian and Biblical worldview, and so I want to encourage Christians of all persuasions (not least Irish Presbyterians) to get involved and help shape the future of the nation. – Yours, etc,