Racism is a ‘grave sin’, warn Irish bishops amid Belfast violence

Speaking after a week of violent unrest in Belfast sparked by the attempted beheading of a healthcare worker by a Sudanese man, Archbishop Eamon Martin said the international Mass he was officiating at was an opportunity to celebrate richness and diversity and pray together following “such a traumatic week”.

Racism “is a grave sin” and Christians must “stand against it”, the leader of the Irish Church has warned. On Saturday, thousands of people gathered in Belfast city centre for an anti-racism rally.

It followed the burning of homes and vehicles by gangs of masked protestors at locations across Belfast.

At Mass in Portadown and in Lurgan on Sunday, Archbishop Martin told the congregations, “In recent days, we have seen again how fear can be stirred up, how difference can be treated as threat, and how people can be targeted because of their race, background or identity.”

The vicious assult in the north of Belfast left Stephen Ogilvie seriously injured.

The Archbishop said he was “very conscious” of the fear and anxiety that many were feeling after the brutal knife attack. He condemned the “orchestrated violence against the homes and businesses of migrant communities in towns and cities” which followed the incident.

“On behalf of the many good people in our communities, I want to express our shock and horror at the hatred and violence that has been shown on our streets to friends and neighbours who have come from around the world to live, work and pray among us here in Ireland.”

He said Ireland has long been known as a place of friendliness and welcome and perhaps this was because migration has been a major feature of Irish history for generations.

He noted that during the height of the famine years almost two million people left Ireland and that migration has been a common and constant pattern in Irish life since with young people leaving to look for jobs and a fresh start in life, especially when times were tough. 

“Even today, many of our talented young people still leave our island to seek new skills and experience and perhaps to earn enough money to return and put down a deposit on a home for their future.”

But now, the Archbishop of Armagh stressed, “we hear angry and hate-filled voices, especially on social media, calling for us ‘to close our borders and our hearts to the newcomer’. Ironically, that reminds us of the way that during some dark days, our own Irish emigrants abroad were suspected and unjustly targeted.”

Archbishop Martin highlighted Pope Leo and Pope Francis’ teaching that ‘to welcome the migrant is to welcome Christ himself’, who ‘is present in the sister or brother in need of our help.’

“We are also called to go beyond merely ‘welcoming’ newcomers. We are challenged by our faith to do everything we can to support and integrate new arrivals here and help them to become valued members of our communities who can participate in our parishes, and be our neighbours and friends.”

But he also noted Pope Leo’s words to migrant communities in which he told them, “To open yourselves with trust to the community that welcomes you, to learn its language, to respect its laws, to get to know its customs, to participate in communal life and to offer your gifts with gratitude.”

The Archbishop said the International Mass was a sign of another possibility and a faith-filled vision – of people of many nations, languages and cultures standing together before the same Lord, sharing the same Eucharist, and recognising one another not as strangers, but as brothers and sisters in Christ. 

“Let me be very clear today: racism is a grave sin and Christians like us must stand strongly against it,” he stressed. 

Racism, he emphasised, “seeks to divide and to exploit anxieties by spreading fear, often through misinformation.”

Archbishop Martin’s message follows the strong words of Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ, in whose diocese Belfast is located.

In his message, the Bishop of Down and Connor asked all parishes to pray for healing and peace this weekend and to pray that “the sacred dignity of each human person be upheld by all”.

He said his thoughts and prayers were firstly with Stephen Ogilvie, who sustained life-changing devastating injuries in the brutal and horrific attack on Monday evening.  He also prayed for Mr Ogilvie’s family and paid tribute to their appeal for calm. 

Elsewhere in his message he said that over recent days, the streets of Northern Ireland and beyond have been “marred by riotous behaviour and social disorder targeting family homes and businesses of migrants”. 

“People who have lived among us for years as good neighbours, friends and co-workers are now living in terror, for themselves and for their children,” he highlighted. 

He said so many “newcomers make an outstanding contribution to our communities, including our parishes. They are our friends. As a community we must stand in solidarity with them”.

Bishop McGuckian strongly condemned the “coordinated acts of senseless violence and destruction” and said they “seek only to heighten tension across the community”.

“Shame on all those who have sought to mobilise, agitate, weaponise and politicise the fear and concerns of others over the last few days. All of us have a responsibility to de-escalate societal tension rather than stoke the flames of racism,” he stressed.

He said that as a society, there was a responsibility to address the real and tangible community concerns regarding safety and accountability, fears that demand honest, respectful attention. 

However, the destruction on the streets and the attacks on homes would not resolve any underlying issues, and violence would have to give way to dialogue and engagement. 

“Into this space of meaningful conversation, politicians, community leaders and statutory agencies need to listen and act. In appealing for calm, I also call for support for the police and for community leaders.”

He stressed that as a society, Northern Ireland has journeyed “too far on the road to reconciliation and paid too high a price in a legacy of suffering to risk retreating into conflict and racial oppression”.

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