STRONG, SECURE, loving families "are the God-given ideal within which children may grow and fulfil their potential. It is therefore vital to create structures and conditions that support and encourage wholesome family life,'' the Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Alan Harper has said in his Christmas message.
Families of all kinds can fall apart and "sometimes children are exploited, abused, neglected or unloved," he said, but "where that happens society must step in".
The recent Baby P case in London and "the appalling statistics of child abuse and neglect" reported recently in The Lancetindicated the size of the problem, he said. Ultimately this was "society's failure - we all failed".
The Catholic and Church of Ireland Bishops of Clogher, in their joint Christmas message, spoke of the need to recover faith and hope in the current climate of financial turmoil.
Bishop Joseph Duffy and Bishop Michael Jackson noted that the "economic downturn, for example, means that this Christmas will be very different for most people. Many have already lost their jobs in recent months, essential education and health services are in imminent danger, the vulnerable in our society are the most affected. The pressing need is to recover faith and hope in the future."
They pointed out that Mary and Joseph at the manger were "undaunted by their exclusion from the inn". They were "happy to allow God to guide them towards their unforeseen and unfamiliar destination, even before that destination brought them the miracle of their new-born child".
They said that "as for our own cross-Border community, the present downturn inevitably adds to the isolation of this part of the world". Questions that needed more attention than ever were how people were coping with the aftermath of oppression and violence and how the mutual respect and trust that made for a cohesive community were being generated across political and religious frontiers, they said.
In their joint Christmas message the Bishops of Cork, John Buckley and Paul Colton, encouraged people "in the midst of a difficult time . . . as a first priority, to celebrate a simple Christmas - a Christmas which concentrates on the Christmas good news of the birth of Jesus Christ".
These were times "when we need to discover afresh the value of community life, of friendship and of support towards each other", they said.
In his Christmas message, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin Jim Moriarty said the rapid change in the economic state of the country would affect everyone.
