There are voices out there who do not understand, or do not want to understand, what religious tolerance means in the Ireland of today and that should concern all of us.’
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has condemned anti-mask protesters for their actions
The respected cleric added that some of them are the same people who tried to ‘overturn’ his car because he attended an Islamic gathering.
‘When you look at some of the protests against mask-wearing and other restrictive measures, behind outward talk of respecting individual liberties there was also a strain of negation of the virus,’ he said.
‘Some of those who took part in these anti-mask demonstrations were the same groups that attempted to overturn my car when I attended an Islamic gathering in Croke Park. There are voices out there who do not understand, or do not want to understand, what religious tolerance means in the Ireland of today and that should concern all of us.’
Archbishop Martin also warned that the closure of churches under COVID restrictions should be kept to a minimum.
The move to ‘Level 3’ has seen public worship effectively banned, as religious services have had to move online.
Weddings and funerals are still allowed, with a limit of 25 participants, and churches may remain open for private prayer.
Ireland is the only part of Europe with such restrictions. Speaking lat an online gathering of the Dublin Council of Churches, Dr Martin insisted that: ‘There can be a justification for the closing of churches, especially at crucial moments or to protect vulnerable people.’
But he warned ‘such measures should, however, be limited to the minimum period necessary’.
Reflecting on the lockdown, he said: ‘This time last year, none of us could have imagined how 2020 would be so different.
‘Very few of us had any understanding of what a global pandemic could be like, although I remember my parents talking about the 1919 flu pandemic.’
He also said that job losses resulting from the pandemic could lead to suicides and stressed the importance of religious practice to the wellbeing of believers.
‘In our consumerist society, losing one’s job and ending in debt can damage self-worth even to the point of leading to suicide.’ The Archbishop of Dublin said most countries were not prepared for the pandemic and that ‘we overtrusted in a particular view of medicine’.
‘We had forgotten that, in public health terms, human behaviour is as important as clinical medicine in fighting infectious diseases,’ he said. ‘This time last year if someone had asked us how you would fight a disastrous global pandemic, very few of us would have placed hand-washing and maintaining a safe distance from others at the top of our list.’
But Dr Martin praised the Irish people’s adaptation to ‘truly life-changing’ restrictions.
He said: ‘Frontline workers earned our respect, gratitude and admiration; public health authorities emerged from the corridors of
Government offices and became trusted public figures; schools had to close but soon a creative response of online home-schooling emerged.’
The Archbishop also praised Crosscare, the social support arm of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, for helping to protect the homeless in Dublin from the virus.
He said: ‘Crosscare in the Catholic Archdiocese responded to the special needs of the homeless and as a result, the incidence of the virus among the homeless in Dublin was held within surprising limits.’
While he said the loss of the sacraments being celebrated would impact negatively on worshippers’ health, But he included some positives the pandemic has brought to the Church. ‘The inability to attend public worship has led to creative use of social media to make services available online,’ he said.
‘There has been less emphasis on fostering the ways in which the encounter with Christ can be fostered in daily life.’
Report courtesy Extra.ie
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