Pres Release Ash Wednesday 25th February, Immediate
The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Diarmuid Martin has said the current concern over unacceptable behaviour in the financial world, is an example of how individual, personal behaviour which is fundamentally immoral, can lead to a seriously destructive effect on the fabric of society.
At Ash Wednesday Mass in University College Dublin for staff and students, Archbishop Martin said, Lent can be a moment in which each of us looks at the values which govern our lives and the values which we would wish to see in the world, the society and the economy of tomorrow.
In his homily Dr. Martin said, “I do not like the: “a little bit of recession is good for the soul” argument. The tragic thing is that those who lived well in times of prosperity will live reasonably well in times of recession. Those who were poor or in a position of precariousness will pay the terrible price of becoming poorer and find themselves in an even more precarious situation.”
He said “The destructive elements that appear in our society and our economy are the fruits of the false paths trodden by individuals which then have contributed to the creation of what Pope John Paul called “structures of sin”, which take on almost a life of their own.” ENDS
