Sir, - Could I congratulate your columnist, John Waters, for his brilliant comment (April 16th) on Tony Blair's views of a society based on Christian values. When Blair became leader of the Labour Party in Britain. he immediately signalled what he stood for. John Waters rightly says that Irish society, like British society, is sick of meaningless Right Left ideological approaches to life. He sums it up so well when he writes:
"Tony Blair offers a chance to salvage truth from the wreckage of ideology. What is important is that what he offers is sensible and good, rather than that it is Christian. But then again, have we departed so far from the true meaning of Christianity as to be surprised by this `coincidence'?"
I have come to a number of very firm conclusions from my work over the past quarter century in trying to apply Catholic social teaching to reality. A few of these are:
The rediscovery of a sense of place is fast becoming a central tendency in European thought, as people grope for psychological security and meaning.
The systems which claim to be inspired by Right/Left ideologies have failed to mobilise the natural talent of people, and we are drifting in a kind of national mindlessness.
It is of major importance to a genuine Christian community that its theology and its Christianity come to have a serious influence on public life and social reality. Christianity has been too preoccupied with theoretical issues about belief and truth. Our society has become obsessed with "technology", "expertise", "specialisation". This obsession has significantly outstripped the spiritual, human, caring needs of humanity. Left to itself, this obsession with science and technology is likely to reap havoc in our society. A tot of the "progress" we rate so highly has brought with it a loss of human values, and a terrible loss of respect for truth.
it is not a new idea that Christians must pray, but the contemporary challenge seems to be that we must recover a way of deep prayer that will bring us into a spiritual harmony with our God, creation, one another and oneself.
it is good that both Tony Blair and John Waters two people who have the opportunity to communicate with many - are at a deep level of awareness that Christianity can work, if we only put it to the test. - Yours, etc.,
Shannon,
Co Clare.