Justice in a Time of Cutbacks.

The Greeks are very angry! As I write there are riots on the streets of Athens, violence and tear gas.  The people protest as the government bringing in even more severe austerity measures.

We Irish are very tame in comparison even if this country is in a similar situation. Many more harsh cut backs are coming down the line.

The heaviest burdens are being imposed on the weakest among us. As always the powerful, the wealthy are able to protect themselves and their interests only too well.

I am not advocating riots on the streets. But I have been disappointed by the silence of our Church leaders in all of this. Surely in this situation there is something to say from the Gospel perspective.  Communion with Christ and his Holy Spirit helps us view the world in the light of the Gospel. That perspective presses us to accomplish God’s will, to work for the truth and justice of his Kingdom.

This was something Archbishop Romero, the martyred archbishop of San Salvador, admitted he had to learn. In one of his sermons he said: 'I am a shepherd who, with his people, have begun to learn a beautiful and difficult truth: our Christian faith requires that we submerge ourselves in the world.'

We pray to see the world with God’s eyes, and then in communion with God’s Spirit we are emboldened and motivated to act. There is a need for a clear Christian voice that calls for justice and fairness in a time of cutbacks.