Bishops Call To Resist 'Defeatism'

Ireland's Bishops have called on the Irish people to resist "defeatism" and embrace "neighbourliness" during the economic downturn.

The Bishops comments come after the scheduled Winter 2010 General Meeting of the Irish Bishops' Conference was postponed last week due to bad weather, while a special one day meeting was held yesterday in Maynooth.

In a joint statement, the Bishops said demands for assistance with basic things like food, fuel and clothing from organisations such as Saint Vincent de Paul are up as much as 35% from this time last year.

However, Bishops tried to remind the people that the current financial circumstances did not "remove our responsibility as a nation to provide assistance to others".

In a statemt that said there was no substitute for "good neighbourliness" and "human friendship", the Bishops appealed for a new mobilisation of practical care for others in local communities, of people giving generously of their time and talents as well as their money and goods to tackle poverty and social exclusion.

"It would be easy to descend into a culture of negativity, defeatism and despair. While important questions have to be asked about how this situation has 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."

The statement brought particular attention to the plight of the elderly, which the Bishops described as "among the most vulnerable in any community".

"Spending time with the elderly and ensuring that they are safe, warm and receiving sufficient food and other necessities is also a vital expression of our Christian neighbourliness and solidarity," the statement said.

It added: "In responding constructively to the present crisis we have an opportunity to build an economy in which profit and growth are at the service of people, an economy which brings benefit to all our citizens, especially the children of our nation, the elderly and the most vulnerable."

(DW)