The Church of Ireland
Diocesan Press Release

The first thing to say is that you and I must be very clear that terrorism wherever it may happen is still terrorism – our version in Ireland is just as evil as that which assaulted America, and it does not matter from which direction it may come. Any turning of a blind eye - in the interests of peace - to those who will kill the innocent in order to make a political point is to connive at the massacres in New York or Washington. Whether it is Warrington, Omagh or Glengormley, there can be no distinction between terrorism that is labelled as total evil and the terrorism that is hedged around and half-condoned with that word "but .." or the ridiculous phrase, "we need to see the big picture". There is only the obscene picture of innocent suffering.

Secondly we must make the real effort to pray for all those who have suffered, and not just in the tears of emotion but also in the cold light of reason, and not just today but for the future. Many people’s lives will never be the same again.

But to sustain our sadness and horror is not easy, because yes, we have to admit that at one level the truisms regarding 11th September have already become weary.

Yes, we will always remember what we were doing when we learnt that hi-jacked passenger planes had been flown deliberately into the World Trade Centre in New York.

Yes, there do seem to be parallels with the Japanese attack on the American fleet in Pearl Harbour in 1941, in terms of the effect of the American nation.

Yes, it was like watching a disaster movie on television and there was a sense of unreality and even detachment as we watched the Twin Towers on fire and then saw them collapse.

The truisms are like all truisms, true but what happens next?

We must indeed pray, as we pray for those who are suffering directly, for those in authority - and in particular the President of the USA - will react in a way that is not only effective against what was, literally, the absolutist inhumanity that lay behind the events of that terrible Tuesday, but also that the response will be morally defensible. That is never easy in time of war and in the grip of what is anti-cerebral emotion. One invites insult even to say that, but it must be said.

In Christian terms, there can be no moral blank cheques for anybody. Many of you will have seen the television advertisement for the NSPCC, which shows a little boy trying hard not to cry but then his lip quivers and the tears begin. If tens of thousands of children weep and die, wherever they may be and of whatever people they may be, as the result of what we are encouraged to call "collateral damage", will right have prevailed?

What is globalisation? Is it good, bad or just inevitable and, in any case, what can a few Christians do about it? It is of course, being global in scale, too immense a subject to cover in an address or even an entire conference but if we only begin a longer reflection in the diocese at this point, it will not have been a waste of time, yours or mine. But what is it? It sounds good at first hearing. It is the removal of barriers around anything and everything – trade, economy, communications, culture. Everywhere and everything is open to everything…

Globalisation affects everything we do. In relation to economic policy or even economic stability in this country, Ireland has no independence. We are more in the grip of the American Federal Reserve than under the control of our government. Our Celtic Tiger is someone else's kitten, and people do, sadly, dispose of kittens when it suits them.

Globalisation affects communication. We saw those images of the horrors in America as they were going on because of globalised communications. We can see news as it happens. But there is a flip side. Because communication has moved out of the ambit of the local environment, it can be controlled by unseen and unscrupulous forces. We will see what we are meant to see, and we will not see what we are not meant to see. Communication has, whether we like it or not, become totally commercialised in every arena. What is written in newspapers (even supposedly quality newspapers) or what is seen on TV is what will make people buy particular newspapers or watch this or that TV programme. The forces of the free market prevail. It was always so to a degree in the media, but that tendency has increased exponentially. And what keeps the punters buying your paper or watching your TV programme is that you make them "feel good about themselves", morally or intellectually. Ironically, for all the possible dangers of the Internet, this may well be the only form of communication which no-one can "buy".

Globalisation means greater ease of travel. Crossing the Atlantic, in terms of average income, costs a fraction of what it would once have cost. Holidays have become cheaper for those who can afford them in the first place. But migration is also more of an option than it was in the past. Economic migration – something the Irish have done for generations – is now within the grip of more people. Others are following our example. Refugees and asylum seekers can travel further in search of a new home. This is something about which I have spoken often in the past because I believe that we must turn the attitudes of many in this country to those who seek refuge here. As Christians, we must, by word and deed and by a refusal to remain silent, confront the dreadful wickedness that encourages hatred against those of other cultures and nationalities.
The reality is that cultures are becoming far less separated from one another than ever before. There is less uniformity in a country or community. Religions and faiths are no longer isolated from each other. "What we are" is something that looks different and more difficult to define.

Globalisation influences what we buy. There is a fascinating debate going on at present about "logos" and huge companies. As we all know, many corporations have a higher turnover than the GNP of several countries out together. Sometimes their logos, and the life-style those logos convey, are immensely powerful. People are no longer buying a product. They are buying a philosophy of life. Sports equipment like Nike - "just do it.." does more than advertise a brand. It subliminally offers a lifestyle, a tone - effort will bring results to you. In a different area, telecommunications, it was calculated that when Vodaphone bought out Orange, only 10% of what was paid could be regarded as relating to the real visible assets of Orange, by which we mean the equipment, bricks and mortar, bank accounts, etc. The remaining 90% was the image - "I have seen the future and it is Orange.." - a picture, even an ideology of hope in a brighter future. This relationship of brands or logos to life-style ideologies is deeper than advertising stunts, and more dangerous. It is argued that the visible identity of the huge corporations in their logos makes them more vulnerable - you can lead a campaign against MacDonalds or Nestlé because everyone knows who you are talking about. But the effect of large corporations is greater in countries that are less able to respond in this way.

Globalisation affects us socially. In an area which traditionally was a farming community, you do not need to be told how present economic trends have sent people in their thousands out of the country and into the cities and suburbs. The internationalisation of farming has made the livelihoods of many people less certain than ever before.

The overwhelming sense is that we are not in control of our world any longer. Indeed large countries, let alone small local neighbourhoods, are not in control of their destinies. Communities, small and large, are equally dwarfed by global economic factors. But it is in terms of justice between the haves and have-nots of the world that globalisation has its most distressing effects. Because economic power is so centralised and so much of it is in the hands of such a small percentage of the people of the world, people can be and are enslaved. The so-called "free market" gives far more freedom to those who have wealth to increase their wealth, and at the expense of those who had none to begin with. And what can we do about it? We are trying to do something about it through the Jubilee campaign, which is still going and which still needs all our commitment and our support.
But often there is a sense of futility in the face of globalisation. Can we really effect change? and if we could bring down the economic structures that are there, have we anything to replace them with? Would the end result be worse than what we have, not only for us but also for everybody else?

In the Bible, the image in the book Genesis of the Tower of Babel still carries power and insight. (May I make it abundantly clear when I speak of the Tower of Babel that I am not intending parallels with the towers of New York.) You will know the story - people combine to build a tower in the hope of building up to heaven but the end result is that they more scattered and divided than ever. We have there the perfect picture of globalisation. In trying to unify and centralise in the name of economic progress and an ever-increasing market (and, of course, an ever-increasing profit) we succeed only in dividing people from one another and, what is worse, increasing the gap between the rich from the poor, more than ever before.

What can we do? As Christians, even a small flock which we represent as Diocese and as individual parishes, yes, we can do something for good. Returning to the events in New York and Washington, we know that very few people may well have carried out that action of terrifying evil, but it was an action which has changed the world. That can work both ways and in both directions. We have seen what can be done by the dedication of the few to a cause fuelled by hate. What of a cause fuelled by love? Has it really become only an empty piety to point out that Jesus Christ started out with a rather unpromising dozen?

If we look at the political scene in the Republic of Ireland, one of the things we should have learnt in recent months (and particularly with regard to the referenda in June) is that those political parties, however small they may be, who will mobilise themselves and actually put the hard work in, knocking on doors and distributing leaflets, will prevail against considerably larger forces.

What are we afraid of? What are our real convictions as diocese or as individual parishes? That our main efforts are to be focussed on making sure that our buildings and structures are still in place, as they are at present, for another decade or two? Is that your highest ambition for the Church of Ireland in your surroundings? If that is the case I hope that God will help you, for no-one and nothing else can.

In South America, Christians came together for what they called "base communities" - small groups of Christians not house groups as such, but small church communities that wanted change - that demanded Christian commitment and justice at the local level, at the small level. That is how change happens in an over-centralised world, a world that has lost its soul in its desire for ever-greater growth of the wrong kind. In speaking of the small local Christian communities, the Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff once wrote beautifully that "Faith generates commitment to the transformation of society as a way of preparing material for the kingdom here and now - for this kingdom is already beginning, here on earth". And would anyone seriously disagree that Irish society does indeed need transformation at every level. Environment (in its fullest sense) and underlying justice are two issues that affect small communities as much as large. And things can be done. The individual with courage and commitment should speak out against individual injustice - the individual or the family being ill-treated in any way. There is also injustice within the system that can be tackled. An issue which combine both justice and environment very often is whether public money should be used on extravagant gimmicks in the community just because "the money is there and we have to use it", when at the same time hundreds of children are still sleeping rough in our towns and cities.. Can we set ourselves in the months ahead as parishes to look at what effect, if any, the local Church community is having on the society in which it is set? If the answer is "none", then is the reality that the local church community is nothing more than a pastime?

Over the past five years, I have tried to stress the need to work together as a Diocese in order to use our resources more effectively. I do not apologise for that. But of course we can never replace the local faithful Christian community. But faithful to what and to whom? What are the real convictions that drive us? That is our challenge. Let it not be the judgement upon us.

Globalisation is a reality that affects almost everything we do each day. That should not make us afraid. It should make us vigilant. It should make us as individuals, as base Christian communities, as a Diocese or as a Church, seek to counter its evil and dehumanising effects.

The globalising influence of the Roman Empire, two thousand years ago, empowered the spread of the Gospel, but only because of the commitment of the few. The Word then remains the Word today – "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom."