‘Turbo consumer’ world making us ‘slaves’: Bishop of Derry

Dr. Dónal McKeown issued his warning against the modern culture of excess during his St. Brigid’s Day homily earlier this week.

He told Mass-goers in Carnhill that the “destructive temptation” to “obey your thirst” seemed increasingly enticing to people in every situation.

“Being a slave to your thirsts and pandering to those hungers does not liberate us,” he said.

“We become slaves to the animal within.”

According to the Bishop, society is struggling to hold together because there is a “fading sense” of what people agree is “true, beautiful and good”.

“If ‘my right to choose’ is the only measure of all good and bad, then nothing is right or wrong,” he added.

“What I decide becomes ‘the truth’. It is infallible and you are not allowed to make me feel uncomfortable by questioning the wisdom of my choice.

“The ‘I am worth it’ philosophy builds barriers and loneliness because only I am important and I should live in my own virtual world... Life is valued not by what we have gathered but by what we have shared. For the consumer, everything is possession. For the believer, everything is gift”, said Dr. McKeown.

During his St. Brigid’s Day homily, the Bishop paid tribute to the “genius of women” who, he said, had “so often been the unsung heroes of our history.”

He said: “Too often men tried childishly to win battles, build power bases and boast of their achievements.

“It has always been the strong women of this country who have built up communities and belonging.

“It often fell to them to build up where men had destroyed.”