Diocesan News
Archbishop John Neill's Presidential Address to the Dublin & Glendalough Diocesan Synod
We?re Telling Our Young People to 'Sink or Swim'
Archbishop John Neill's Presidential Address to Dublin & Glendalough Synod
Archbishop Announces Appointment of Nigerian Priest to Assist with Ministry to the ?New Irish?
In his Presidential Address to the Dublin and Glendalough Diocesan Synod taking place on Tuesday 18 October in Taney Parish, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr John Neill will refer to the ?frightening? levels of youth suicide. Condemning values ?currently on offer in the marketplace of values? that are ?so materialistic as to be dehumanizing, so ruthless as to be utterly destructive?, the Archbishop will say that Irish Society is telling its young people to ?sink or swim, even if we never put it in so many words.?
The full text of the Archbishop?s address follows (please note embargo). Portions referred to in the press release are highlighted.
Taking as his theme ?The responsibility towards a new Generation in Ireland? the Archbishop will refer to statistics on youth suicide which record that the highest number of suicides was in the 15-25 year age group and that there has been a 26% increase in suicides in the last ten years, three times the rate of increase in the UK. He will also quote figures saying that 300,000 Irish people suffer from depression, a significant number of them young adults. He will say ?we have to overcome the taboo that surrounds mental illness. A previous generation may have been afraid to address issues of sexuality, we are often afraid to address issues of mental health.?
Describing ?one of the great pressures on young adults is the pressure to come to terms with their own identity, the Archbishop will say that they are undertaking a struggle for identity ?in the insecurity of a value culture of shifting sands.? Condemning the ?culture of materialism? he will describe it as ?the world where values have gone all awry, the world where all certainties have collapsed and where life changes so fast that security of any kind is hard to find, [it] is a very difficult place in which to grow up. The loosening of both family and of church ties is representative of a sort of social disintegration which leaves the individual adrift at a time when their identity is being formed.?
Turning to how the Church can help address these issues the Archbishop will say ?we know that the old certainties and old books of rules may have had their day, but somehow we have to express the real values that undergirded them.? Arguing that ?in this multi-cultural, multi-faceted society with endless options and choices, the Church itself will become more varied, offering a variety of styles and presentations of both the Word of God and of Worship? he nevertheless added ?offering variety and recognizing diversity is not to let go of essential faith values. In a multi-faith and multi-cultural society we must not be embarrassed to seek the core Christian values.?
In his address, the Archbishop also announced two important developments in the area of Ministry to the ?new Irish.? The first is the appointment of the Revd Obinna Ullogwara from the Diocese of Lagos, Nigeria as Curate Assistant to the parishes of Whitechurch and Tallaght. His initial responsibilities will be to the International community in those parishes but it is envisaged that this will be extended to the International Community throughout the Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough. The Archbishop will also launch a report entitled ?Welcoming Angels? which will examine how the Church in the Diocese can ?overcome racism and really welcome those coming to our shores.? Praising the Report, the Archbishop will say that ?This report has not come from ?talking?. It has arisen out of listening.?
For further information contact:
Mr Garrett Casey,
Diocesan Communications Officer
Dublin and Glendalough
Tel: +353 (0)1 6106447 or
Mobile: +353 (0)87 2356472
The Synod takes place over the two evenings of Tuesday 18 October 2005 and Wednesday 19 October 2005 in the Community Centre beside Taney Parish Church (starting at 5pm on both evenings). Media are welcome to attend. Please contact Garrett Casey for further details.
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Presidential Address
The Most Reverend Dr. John Neill
Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough
To the Diocesan Synod Tuesday 18 October 2005 at 5:15pm, Taney Parish Church Dundrum
RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS A NEW GENERATION IN IRELAND
THE IRELAND OF 2005
Ireland is changing, and changing fast. This is something we all realise. However there is something quite shattering about many of the statistics in modern Ireland that represent despair, disillusionment and deprivation of one kind or another. The increasing rate of change in matters economic, social, moral, religious, ethnic and political is a fact of life. The consequences of this have not always dawned on us as quickly. The result is all too easily seen in those negative terms which I have just used, despair, disillusionment and deprivation. I will return to some significant statistics in a few moments, but first let me illustrate something of the changes that we face.
Economically we are now living in one of the wealthiest countries and indeed one of the most expensive in the world. We have been used to seeing ourselves as poor. The responsibilities of being rich are rather novel for us. The growing gap between rich and poor is a very serious development.
Socially we see traditional family structures changing dramatically, with the weakening of the ties of the extended family, and the establishing of many family units other than those based on marriage. We also see the role of women and men in society and indeed in the family changing significantly.
Morally, we see a questioning of absolutes, and an uncertainty as to what can replace those clear guidelines which were once virtually taken for granted. We face new ethical issues thrown up by scientific research in general and medical science in particular.
In the religious scene, we see a growing impatience with traditional institutional structures, and a lessening of the ties of denominational affiliation. The growth of new churches as well as the increasing number of churches made up of particular ethnic groups has changed the Christian landscape. Beyond the Churches too, we see the growth of other religions in this country, particularly of Islam.
Ethnic diversity is now a fact of life in an Ireland which only a short time ago was beginning to realise that you did not have to be both nationalist and Roman Catholic to be truly Irish! What it is to be Irish must be defined afresh at least in common understanding.
Politically we have not even begun to realise the effect that the peace process in Northern Ireland must have and already has had on political life in Ireland as a whole. We are seeing a re-appraisal of the acceptance of violence at both an international and a national level. We have to move away from any glorification of violence even in our traditional memory.
PEOPLE AT RISK
There are indeed many aspects of change that are to be welcomed and there are many aspects of change that challenge fundamental values. What is certain is that we ignore the changing face of Ireland at our peril. There must be a realistic response to change, and there must also be a real duty of care exercised towards those that are in many ways most at risk in this changing culture.
Obviously the elderly will spring to mind as among those at risk in this scene, and in many ways they are. Likewise we have a special responsibility for children in these times. Both the Irish Government and also many others have highlighted the effects that a changing society is having in the whole area of the care of children. Prosperity has not had sufficient impact upon our health services, nor in the provision for those with special needs. The list of these real challenges could continue but I wish to focus on one area in particular.
YOUNG ADULTS IN IRELAND
Young adults are a very high risk group in today?s Ireland. I define this group as aged above fifteen and below twenty five. These are the people who have grown up during these years of accelerating change. They are not finding it easy. We may often urge them to live and behave in a responsible fashion, but in doing so, we are often failing to listen, and worse still failing to take responsibility for the environment in which they are living out their lives. They are not yet the policy makers; they are not the power brokers. Many of them have a reasonably high spending power, and as such are at risk to an even greater extent. Many of them are extremely turned off by the world in which they have grown up.
SUICIDE
I mentioned statistics a few minutes ago. Let me give you some now. In a four year period across the turn of the present century in the Republic, the highest number of suicides was in this 15-25 age group. The age group up to 35 years of age was only slightly behind. The number of male suicides in a similar period was about four males to every one female. However more recently the number of suicides has risen to six males to every one female. Even more frightening is the fact that in the Republic there has been a 26% increase in suicides in the last ten years, three times the UK rate of increase, with only Northern Ireland being comparable with this State.
The highest level of binge drinking in Europe occurs among Irish teenagers aged 15 -16 years.
We are told that three hundred thousand Irish people of various age groups suffer from depression, and a significant number of these are young adults. Those who live in urban Ireland have the highest rate of depression in the whole of Europe. Having stated these facts, I am not attempting to make any political point. National government has recognised the problem and already is seeking to implement a strategy to address it.
The tragedy of suicide is a symptom of a society of which we are part, and it is that aspect of the problem that involves us all ? we all have a responsibility to this rising generation.
When we are faced with anything tragic, we all try to find reasons, and we tend to blame something that we can identify clearly. In the case of many suicides among young people, there seem to be several or at least two or three factors at play. These include depression or other psychiatric disturbance, loss through bereavement, or breakdown in family or romantic relationships, and abuse of alcohol or drugs. It is hard in some cases to isolate whether some of these are can be seen as primarily causes of other factors, or chiefly effects of other factors. For example, alcohol abuse may be used to escape depression, or it may lead to that very depression, or either depression or substance abuse may lead to breakdown in a human relationship.
A SENSE OF IDENTITY
I want to move beyond the narrow focus of the tragic ending which is suicide, and to look a little more widely at some of the pressures facing young people of both genders.
One of the greatest pressures on young adults is the pressure to come to terms with their own identity. The teenage years are a time of insecurity within and without, when what is required is a secure context. Yet it is a time when many family units seem to unravel through marriage breakdown, having an effect on the vulnerable young however much the parents genuinely try to address it. This experience can give rise to all sorts of negativity in the teenagers own self image, in ability to relate to others and in any sense of looking forward to what lies ahead.
We must not forget that this struggle for identity is being played out in the insecurity of a value culture of shifting sands, as I spelt out a few minutes ago.
MENTAL HEALTH
In society as a whole, we have swept depression under the carpet in spite of the fact that it is so widespread and common. When we do admit it, we think of it more in terms of older people or of those with obvious psychiatric illness. We ignore at our peril the fact that it is a real feature of the life of young people today in Ireland. We have to overcome the taboo that surrounds mental illness. A previous generation may have been afraid to address issues of sexuality, we are often afraid to address issues of mental health.
WHAT VALUES?
At the same time as a society, we have stopped saying to our young citizens ?Go away?, but because we now have something for them to do in their own land ? we say instead ?Sink or swim? even if we never put it in so many words. But our ?points? system for example sends that message loud and clear, with it failure to address the gifts and possibilities of the young person as an individual. At the time of their greatest insecurity, we are no longer able to say to these same young adults ?Do this or else? ? partly because it wouldn?t have any effect and partly because our own values are so up in the air that we don?t know any longer what we should be telling them. So instead the message comes loud and clear ?We no longer care what you do?.
The culture of materialism accompanying the Celtic Tiger boom reached a height toward the end of the nineties here in the Republic, and at the very same time our youth suicide figures rose. There is a void. Those experiencing it no longer turn easily to family or to Church.
For too long there has been a tendency for people to complain about the younger generation and even to suggest that they have it easy and others all had it so tough. Not only is this not true, because the fact that people have more money and have more variety to life is not giving them an easier life. Instead the materialistic world, the world where values have gone all awry, the world where all certainties have collapsed, and where life changes so fast that security of any kind is hard to find, is a very difficult place in which to grow up. The loosening of both family and also of church ties is representative of a sort of social disintegration which leaves the individual adrift at a time when their identity is being formed. No wonder the cry is uttered again and again ?Who am I??
Not for one second am I justifying the appalling culture of substance abuse, be it alcohol or illicit drugs, nor the promiscuity, nor the violence, nor even the vandalism. What I am saying is that these are symptoms as well as causes of a great deal of suffering, and indeed a symptom of something that we have to address.
YOUTH INITIATIVE
In this diocese, we have made a huge investment in youth ministry at both a central diocesan level in 3Rock, and in many parishes too, especially those that have developed a youth ministry and even employed youth workers and youth ministers. Yet as we do that, we are aware that we are only at the surface of the problem. One of the exciting things with 3Rock is that it is already having a spin-off not only in meeting certain needs, but also in training those who will work far and wide in the dioceses. For too long in the Church of Ireland, we all thought chiefly in terms of entertaining our young members, keeping them together and also seeking ways of keeping them at public worship. This provided a context of support and friendship, but the time has come for a far more radical approach.
?CHURCH? AND VALUES FOR A RISING GENERATION
Youth networks of support have to be formed, where in the security and trust often lacking in the world out there, real issues of life and death, of identity and of faith have to be addressed. The Gospel that we proclaim has a central theme of the identity of each one of us given to us in Baptism as being the child of a loving God. This may make little sense to those who rightly or wrongly have ceased to find anything that they can recognise as secure, caring and loving in the world around them. Bridging that gap is the greatest challenge for evangelism ? sharing the good news of Christ today. The expression of ?Church? that makes sense to many living in the confusion of twenty-first century Ireland may be very different from what we have received and in what most of us feel at home ? but above all it has to be real and address real needs.
In facing these issues as Christians today, we are left with questions to address. We have to ask what sort of faith we have got to share. We have to ask ourselves deep and searching questions about the values that we should be passing on. We know that the old certainties and old books of rules may have had their day, but somehow we have to express the real values that undergirded them. This is not to be interpreted as a cry to return to the old days ? it is a call to express today and to live today by the realities that reflect the Gospel. This involves recognising that in this multi-cultural, multi-faceted society with endless options and choices, that the Church itself will become more varied, offering a variety of styles and presentations of both the Word of God and of Worship. This is not all possible in one parish, but within the life of the diocese this is possible. I see signs of this far and wide in the United Dioceses. I thank God that narrow parochialism is giving way to a more open attitude among us all, and we realise that no one style of church and of parish life can cater for the needs of all in today?s world. This means we have to continue to build trust, to encourage one another, and to take risks for the sake of the Good News of Jesus Christ. We owe nothing less to Christ, and we owe nothing less to a rising generation.
I would however make it very clear that offering variety and recognising diversity is not to let go of essential faith values. In a multi-faith and multi-cultural society we must not be embarrassed to seek the core Christian values. A value system cannot be based on the lowest common denominator of all faiths or even upon an agenda of human rights. A value system must go deeper than that. If we have to admit that such is no longer achievable in society as a whole, then as churches we have an even greater responsibility than ever to pass on Christian values and to ensure that we are advocates for values that really challenge the market place of values currently on offer, many of these values so materialistic as to be dehumanising, so ruthless as to be utterly destructive.
THE INTERNTATIONAL COMMUNITY
I would also want to make it clear that we do not on the other hand seek to suggest that Ireland is to be inhospitable to those of other faiths and cultures who make their home on this island. Making a home in another place and in another country does of course mean that one would expect to be heard and respected, but it also means that those coming here to be truly at home must be given an opportunity to integrate and to be able to see and indeed to identify with things that matter to Irish people. If those who welcome the foreigners to these shores have themselves no identity that they are proud to possess then the welcome itself will be pretty shallow. A truly Christian welcome is one that is open to the newcomer, conscious of the need for space and for diversity, but also willing to share what really matters in the place of welcome.
?DISCOVERY?
In this diocese, this last year, a group gathered at my invitation, have been considering how the churches of the diocese can overcome racism and really welcome those coming to our shores. They have produced a report which is being released today and I want it introduced to every parish in the diocese. This report has not come from ?talking?. It has arisen out of listening. The writers have listened to the experience of Christians from overseas encountering Irish churches. They have been involved in what is now the Diocesan Discovery project centred on the parish of St.George and St.Thomas, and they have themselves been working with great dedication in their own parishes to make their parish a place of welcome for all. This month too we have welcomed to the diocese Obinna Ullogwara and Chika his wife and their young family. Obinna is from the diocese of Lagos, where he has been a Canon of the Cathedral. He will be working in the context of the parishes of Whitechurch and Tallaght. He will be learning about the Church here, but also interpreting what he finds as he ministers in a special way to Nigerians and other Africans who are in those parishes and then throughout the diocese. This pioneer work will take time.
VALUES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
I have mentioned two special areas of Diocesan concern, our responsibilities to the rising generation and our responsibility to the wide variety of people from many countries now living in this country. I have linked them not only because both areas of work are sponsored by all of you in one way or another, but also because they each in a very striking way leave us with the question as to what sort of world, what sort of Ireland, are we passing on to our young adults and to the new Irish who have come here whether it be from Africa, Eastern Europe, or China and other parts of Asia. The issue that confronts us in the diocese, confronts all Christians in Ireland, and indeed all those in this country who are seriously asking not primarily about the economic success of Ireland, nor its strategic importance in the new Europe, but are asking what values can sustain us, and indeed what values can truly make a difference.
Members of these Diocesan Synods of Dublin and Glendalough, I urge you to think very carefully in your parishes, in your study groups, and in your prayers of the responsibility that we have as servants of Jesus Christ to live Good News ? that is the real value system that we are talking about ? and to pass on Good News. This is at the heart of the vocation of your parishes, and this is at the heart of all our work as a diocese.
LIFE OF THE DIOCESE SINCE LAST DIOCESAN SYNOD
In the Diocesan Councils Report and in that of the other committees and Boards we will be hearing much of the story of the United Dioceses in the last twelve months through references to various decisions. Looking back over my own diary, I notice several entries that I would like to mention. I think of parishes like Monkstown and Kill o?the Grange embarking on major projects, of a new Parish Centre in Clonsilla, a totally refurbished Rectory in Swords, a refurbished hall in Celbridge, and many other parish and school developments at an advanced stage of planning throughout the United Dioceses. I think too of initiatives such as the group for Toddlers and their parents/minders in Athy, new Youth ministries in Clontarf, in Newcastle and Bray, in Greystones, Delgany and Powerscourt. I think of the new pastoral ministry with retired clergy being developed by Canon Cecil Hyland. I mention too the beginning of the work of the Director of Lay Ministry, Canon Ricky Rountree, and the official appointing to lay chaplaincies in hospitals and nursing homes of Mrs Joan Kirk and Mrs.Desiree Prole. These are but examples of many exciting ventures and initiatives. We have had many special events in our parishes and our Cathedral. Recently the Primary Schools service in the Cathedral arranged under the auspices of the Board of Education was a wonderful experience for us all who were there ? I have never seen so many people coming out of a church service so radiantly joyful, except perhaps after that Discovery service in June when Archbishop Desmond Tutu inspired us all. I have only given a sample of some of what is going on, and many others of you could tell today of development and of new life in your own parishes.
I would also remind you that the going can be difficult too, and there are parishes who are struggling and some of those are not in retreat by any means, but at the moment they are facing difficulty. The parishioners of Christ Church, Leeson Park have faced with courage the fact that Sunday worship in the Church under their auspices has come to an end, though the weekday worship and ministry of the parish continues. They have been very welcoming to the Romanian Orthodox Church. As we share what is being renewed, let us also do all that we can to help and encourage those for whom the going is tough at the moment, some in the country, some in the city, some even in what others see as comfortable suburbia.
CLERGY COMING TO THE DIOCESE
We have welcomed to the diocese since the last Synod twelve licensed clergy, whilst saying farewell to almost the same number. We welcome Michael Thompson to St.Bartholomew?s and Leeson Park; Jonathan Kissell to CORE; John McKay to St.John?s Sandymount; Edward Vaughan to Crinken; Peter Campion to the Kings? Hospital; Kevin Brew to Howth; Gary Dowd to Glenageary, Issac Delamere to Narraghmore. We also include those newly ordained, Elaine Dunne for Castleknock and Clonsilla, Darren McCallig for Monkstown, Stephen McElhinney for Kill o?the Grange, and Pat Taylor for Wicklow.
Through retirement four more have changed to another list, Gordon Linney, Cecil Hyland, Ginnie Kennerley and Olive Boothman, whilst Alex Jensen, Craig McCauley, Sandra Pragnell, Alan Matchett, Robert Whiteside and Kevin Moroney have gone to work in other dioceses, whilst Ken Kearon works in London, but on behalf of all the Anglican Churches worldwide, remaining a licensed priest of this diocese. To our great sorrow, our Diocesan chaplain, Ron Watts died during the year. Shortly Olivia Williams will be moving to Carlow as Rector and Ann Wooderson will be retiring from Celbridge in the New Year. I would want to pay tribute to each and every one of those named, but it would not be practical in this address.
Among those retired priests of the diocese who have died in the past year are Dean Maurice Stewart, Canon Charles Lloyd, Canon Albert Stokes and Dean John Paterson, Canon Desmond Murray, and indeed Bishop Edwin Owen who as a young priest served here and Bishop James Moore a son of this diocese. One of our most faithful laity serving on Diocesan Council and several other Diocesan committees right up to his death was Commandant Arthur Cronhelm. May they rest in God?s peace to rise in his glory.
At this stage I want to thank those who serve with me in the leadership and in the administration of the diocese, Archdeacons David Pierpoint and Edgar Swann, Dean Desmond Harman; The Chancellor, Her Honour, Mrs Justice McGuiness; our Diocesan Secretary, Keith Dungan and his assistant Mary Linton; the Registrar, Canon Victor Stacey; The Revd Ted Woods, Director of Ordinands; Greg Fromholz, the Diocesan Youth Officer and the Communications Officer Garrett Casey; and indeed the members of the Diocesan committees and boards. I mention those who assist in so many ways, Alan McCormack as my chaplain for national events; Ricky Rountree as Director for Lay Ministry; and until recently as Warden of Readers, Ginnie Kennerley; Sonia Gyles as convenor of Continuing Education in Ministry and before her Bernie Daly; Anne Taylor and Olivia Williams together with Alan McCormack who have assisted me as chaplains on many important diocesan occasions. Anne Taylor has also taken on an important part-time role for the development of Sunday Schools under the auspices of the Sunday School Society. Alan Rufli has taken over from David Pierpoint as Diocesan Liturgical Officer. These are but some of the many tasks that make the running of this diocese a real team effort. Closer to home, I would mention Mrs.Helen O?Neill who served three archbishops as private secretary, and her knowledge of the diocese and her friendship meant so much to my wife and myself as we returned to Dublin some three years ago. Judy Lee, my personal assistant for the last six months is already well settled in her new role, to say nothing of the new offices so magnificently provided by the Representative Body at the instigation of our own See House Committee under the chairmanship of Carole Pappin
I have obviously forgotten some whom I should mention and I ask for their forgiveness. It is a privilege to serve with you all. My wife, Betty, and I feel tremendous warmth as we travel around this diocese, as we visit your parishes, and are made so much a part of all your lives. Betty?s own active support and patience with me, and constant accompanying of me throughout the year is at the heart of my own ministry, and this ministry is made all the easier among people whom we really know to be not only friends, but friends in the service of Jesus Christ. May God give us all the strength and courage to move forwards in the service of the Kingdom yet to be revealed, but of which we catch many a glimpse as we see God at work in all our lives.
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Garrett Casey
Diocesan Communications Officer
Dublin and Glendalough
Tel: +353 1 6106447
Mob: + 353 87 2356472