Cathal BarryDublin’s St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral has urged people to donate unwanted Christmas presents to the needy rather than return them to the shops.
On Christmas Day, hundreds of people living in homeless and emergency accommodation received gifts from the diocese’s social care agency, Crosscare, that were donated to the Pro following Christmas 2014.
St Mary’s Administrator Fr Damien O’Reilly said he was “delighted” to be able to facilitate the appeal.
“This simple scheme allows Crosscare to give a gift to someone in their services who would not normally receive one. It is also a reminder to us all of how we can get needlessly caught up in wasteful commercialism at this time of year,” he said.
Noting that Pope Francis has “consistently preached about the need to control waste in our world,” Fr O’Reilly said “using gifts you don’t need to give to those who have little, is one small gesture of sharing that can help”.
He added that Dublin parishioners had already been extraordinarily generous to Crosscare this month with tons of food collected for the Diocesan Food Appeal.
“The unwanted gifts appeal will make sure that as well as the essentials, people who are struggling with life, will get a small token of cheer each Christmas,” Fr O’Reilly said.
Unwanted presents can be brought to the crib in the pro-cathedral until Wednesday, January 6.