This article is from page 4 of the 2006-12-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE BISHOP of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh has hit out at people from wealthy backgrounds indulging in drug taking.
Speaking in Ennis last Friday, Dr Walsh said the drugs culture was not confined to areas of deprivation and there was a growing number of people using drugs in the more wealthy parts of society.
“We use the word ‘recreational’ in relation to drug taking but drugs really are not recreational at all. They are destructive and the people using drugs in the better off areas are contributing to the violence we have recently seen in Dublin.”
“There is no doubt that there is a very serious growth in violence in society and this is very often related to justice issues. Take our prisons for example where the vast majority of prisoners come from areas of deprivation, particularly in our cities.”
“When you speak about violence, you have to speak about justice as well.”
Dr Walsh’s comments come against the background of a doubling in size of the Clare’s drugs unit in recent months with substantial drug seizures being made in a number of locations in the county.
Dr Walsh cited the statement on violence released by the Bishop’s Conference last Thursday.
“Our social fabric is being torn apart by a culture of violence that leaves people dead on our streets and gunned down in their own homes. Our society seems to be growing numb to human loss and suffering as yet another murder or assault is reported, another family devastated by a road death, and certain housing estates, themselves the subject of poor planning and inadequate maintenance, are constant reminders of the destructive culture of violence on an almost daily basis.
“Fundamentally, our society needs a moral revolution to replace a culture of violence with a renewed ethic of justice, responsibility and community. New policies and programs, while necessary, cannot substitute for a recovery of the old values of right and wrong, respect and responsibility, love and justice,” Bishop Walsh concluded.