“Faced with these challenges it would be easy to descend into a culture of negativity, defeatism and despair,” the bishops acknowledged.
However, they said that while important questions have to be asked about how this situation had arisen, “a preoccupation with blame and recrimination alone would be futile and distract from the urgent task of building a more just, sustainable and prosperous future”.
Citing the appeal of St Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians, “Encourage one another and build one another up... For this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus,” the bishops said that as Christian leaders, they echoed this to the people of Ireland today.
“As we prepare for the coming of ‘God-with-us’, in the celebration of Christmas, we pray for a spirit of national solidarity and hope”, they said.
