Church of Ireland bishops reach out to all neighbours in wake of street protests
A pastoral letter from the five Church of Ireland bishops whose dioceses are located in Northern Ireland was read in all parish churches across the province last Sunday, on the Biblical theme of neighbourliness.
This pastoral letter came in response to the recent street protests, rise of hate crime and intimidation in Belfast and other areas, and spreading of fear around the issue of racial diversity and immigration.
"Christians have specific obligations to society in general and also to those from different countries and cultures who share our neighbourhoods", the letter from Archbishop John McDowell (Armagh), and bishops David McClay (Down and Dromore), George Davison (Connor), Ian Ellis (Clogher) and Richard Forster (Derry and Raphoe) asserts.
The bishops add: "We enjoy an incalculable blessing by living in a free society in which we have many opportunities to contribute to our collective well-being. As citizens we have a responsibility to deepen democratic culture, not to divide it. This requires working for the common good, using the many ways open to us to work with civility and courtesy for a better life for all, most especially for the next generation.
"The Christian attitude to society is based on the fundamental belief in the sanctity of every human life and the inherent dignity of every human person; all are made in the image and likeness of God. It was Belfast-born Christian author C. S. Lewis, who said that, next to the Holy Communion sacrament, the holiest thing we will encounter in our everyday lives is another human individual.
"It is often forgotten that this outlook, on which the very principle of 'universal human rights depends', has its origins in the thought world of the Hebrew scriptures and was embodied in the life of Jesus Christ. It was first fully articulated by the Apostle Paul and what the church has believed for centuries is now implicit in the language, laws and practice of secular society. Thus, to threaten or deny the fundamental dignity and equality of each human being, regardless of their race, creed or citizenship status, is unequivocally sub-Christian.
"Christians have the advantage of having been given explicit teaching and principles on our responsibilities to our fellow humans. This teaching finds its clearest and most compelling expression in the parable of the Good Samaritan and its eternal embodiment in the life, voluntary sacrifice and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is no coincidence that that parable was told by Jesus in answer to a direct question: “Who is my neighbour?”
The bishops' letter continues: "Among the many virtues which can be nurtured by constant reflection on this foundational teaching is to make Christians alive to the times when people in civic or public life are using language that demeans or diminishes human beings, or when they are telling lies about what human beings (or indeed God!) are actually like. This should especially be the case when public debate focuses on creating fear and scapegoats.
"People sitting in our pews on Sundays, living in our localities or serving in our communities who come from different cultures and countries, or who are simply people of colour, should never have to wonder are they people whose presence adds richness or diversity to our communities or are they someone else’s ‘legitimate concern’.
"It is in that spirit that we wish to reassure people from other cultures or countries or simply people of colour who may hear or read this pastoral letter that we appreciate your presence and the grace which you bring to us."