The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Walton Empey, has called for a concerted effort to change the minds of Irish people with racist tendencies.
"Politicians, church leaders, union leaders, the media, schools, sports people who are icons to so many young people, all such people must make a concerted effort if progress is to be made," he said.
Speaking at the diocesan synods of Dublin and Glendalough in Dundrum last night, he described racism as "a deadly poison afflicting our society to an ever increasing degree".
It was likely "this satanic attitude" was always to be found in our society "but with the influx of asylum-seekers, refugees, immigrants and foreign tourists, the fake mask of tolerance has been ripped away savagely", he said.
"For too long, far too long, there has been a deafening silence from the political leaders of our country concerning this evil.
"It was therefore a pleasant surprise recently to hear Mr O'Donoghue, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, outlining steps that the Government intends to take in fighting this evil," he said.
Referring to corruption in Irish society he praised a recent and widely reported sermon by the Archdeacon of Dublin, Venerable Gordon Linney, on the matter and said current tribunals had revealed "not a can but a veritable bucket of worms".
All of this could not be blamed on the Celtic Tiger "for much of it took place when the tiger was but a cub", he said. But everyone was shocked by the revelations, none more so than those who have neither wealth nor political clout and to whom society pays little attention, he added. "The homeless, the aged, the sick who cannot afford medical insurance; such people have little or no influence through the ballot box so it is up to us to press the political system for action."
All this was accompanied by a steady growth in the number of homeless young people, he said. He described Father Peter McVerry as "a bright light in his valiant attempt to combat this appalling situation. "However, he cannot combat this shocking circumstance alone. It needs urgent action by the State to provide the badly needed facilities to meet this very bad situation," he said.
"Remember children as young as 12 will this very night be looking for somewhere to lay their head."..
He also paid tribute to the work of High Court Judge, Mr Justice Peter Kelly "who never fails to highlight the plight of young offenders. He is obviously a man of compassion and deserves great credit for his efforts," Dr Empey said.
