Recently appointed Archbishop Dermot Farrell has condemned a spate of knife crime in the capital as “inhuman” in a homily delivered over the weekend.
Dangerous road
Speaking at Mass in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Ballymun, Archbishop Farrell said a person who carries a knife is “travelling down a dangerous road full of risks”.
“Sooner or later, it will be used in a malicious way which puts yourself and others in the way of serious injury or death. This is not the way to construct a world that is safe – safe for ourselves, safe for each other, safe for our children, and safe for the vulnerable – be they old or young, friend or stranger,” he said.
“Knife crime and violence, which is self-destructive, must always be condemned. Let us not forget that our Lord knew first-hand what violence could do—and never succumbed to it himself.”
He added that there is a spiritual issue, in which there is a “loss of empathy towards other human beings”.
Empathy
“The truth of who we are – and of what we are – is at stake. Genuine empathy is the entry point into the commandment to love your neighbour and to live in peace. If the problem of violence in our country is to be overcome, we need a spiritual and moral conversion.”