Derry Bishop: Atheism has reduced life to an ‘irrelevant accident of history’

Speaking at Mass in Derry recently, Dr Donal McKeown said that, if we reduce faith to what we understand, we destroy everything good.

“In fact, the cultural drift towards non-belief in God has not heightened our respect for humans,” he added.

“The focus on everything being in our control has led us to disregard everything that does not suit my own little agenda and comfort.

“Far from raising our esteem for human life, atheism has reduced human life to little more than an irrelevant accident of history.

“The infallibility of my wants has become the new article of faith.

“Truth is reduced to blindly following whoever can advertise their wares or beliefs most successfully.

“In a world where every adult human becomes god and defines the world in a way that is limited by our narrow imagination, we become our own worst enemy, measuring the value of life before it is born and before it can die.”

The Bishop cautioned people against becoming “a prey to the loudest, most powerful voices in society who want us to believe in them”.

Dr McKeown said that, at a time when the Church was being widely attacked and condemned, it was easy to believe “we must defend the institution, its reputation and its power in society”.

“Our task as missionary disciples is to be open, not to recreating a world of decades ago but to reaching the people of our time and place,” he added.

“Unless our synodal conversations focus on our mission as Church, we will be getting the wrong answers because we are asking the wrong questions”, said Bishop McKeown.