Chai Brady
The bishop of Derry warned students of a culture of “throwaway relationships” which has led to an “epidemic of loneliness” at an end of year Mass this week.
Speaking at a Mass celebrating the upcoming World Meeting of Families in St Mary’s School in Limavady, Bishop Donal Mckeown said we live in an environment “where many doubt the possibility of love and faithfulness”.
“Very many of our public role models seem unable to maintain long term faithful relationships. Throwaway relationships end up producing what one recent report called ‘an epidemic of loneliness’,” he told the pupils.
“In a culture that doesn’t offer anything much deeper than ‘obey your thirst’ or ‘let’s feel good’, a lifelong commitment can seems a loss rather than a gain.”
He said there is an implication that people need to “have fun” before settling down, with the average age of marriage being 32 in England and Ireland.
By implication, he said, settling down seems to be a loss.
“We develop by taking on serious relationships, not by playing at them. We grow up by moving from dependence to independence to interdependence, not by treating life as a joke.”
He added that it’s no surprise a “relationship-light culture” is leading to high levels of loneliness and mental distress.
The bishop went on to say the gospel teaches self-discipline so that the human body be used in the service of human dignity, and that “if I am not a master of my instincts, then my instincts master me”.
“The ‘me’ culture is promoting too many people who are dying for want of a reason for living.”
Attendance
The closing Mass for the World Meeting of Families this August 26 will be the largest single event to take place in Ireland this year – preparations are being made for an attendance of 600,000 people – with Bishop McKeown saying it can be a chance to proclaim God’s dream for the world.
“It will be a chance for the young parents of the future to say that they believe in God’s dream for this country and for this world. Changes in borders or changes in laws will not make a new Ireland. Changed hearts alone can do that,” he said.