Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin [pictured] has warned that there must be no place within the Church for “narrowness and bitterness”.
He said that Catholics down the ages “have seen believers build barriers of narrowness and bitterness, when they think they are simply being zealous in defending the message of Jesus”.
Speaking at Mass in Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral at the weekend he lamented what he described as a “growing polarisation” within the Church, saying that there are some who feel they are “zealously defending” the Church, while being intolerant and disrespectful towards those with whom they disagree.
“Hatred and intolerance can never foster goodness and love. Hate language can never be reconciled with the teaching of Jesus,” he explained to the Faithful present.
He insisted that there are valuable lessons for believers from the past. “Where in its history intolerance had spread within the Church, these have not been moments of nobility in Church history but the opposite.
“Wherever intolerance has entered into a dominant role in society, society has been impoverished and undermined,” he said.
Dr Martin warned: “When believers and indeed Church communities become narrow minded and judgemental, they leave people marginalised and unloved with their hope blunted and their dignity broken,” he said.
This comes on the heels of what he described as “examples of growing racism and intolerant language here in our own country”.
Stories
The archbishop was speaking of a recent incident which saw a young woman, Xuedan (Shelley) Xiong, being allegedly racially abused before she was pushed by a group of young people into the Royal Canal in Dublin.
The archbishop said he was “scared” when he hears “stories of racist intolerance by groups of young people”.
He said that the Catholic community must take the lead in tackling intolerance saying it “must be a Church where people are welcomed, respected and cherished even in their difference”.