The Archbishops of Armagh and Dublin and the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral have called upon the Afghan men occupying the cathedral to end their hunger strike and protest.
In a joint statement this afternoon, the Most Rev Robin Eames, the Most Rev Dr John Neill and the Very Rev Dr Robert McCarthy said the protest was a cause "of great concern to us".
Archbishops' statement today
"We had hoped that Tuesday's meeting between representatives of the asylum seekers and the Department of Justice officials or yesterday's meeting with Mr Manuel Jordao, representing the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, would have resulted in the opening of dialogue that could have led to a resolution," the statement said.
"However, this was not so. As Christians, we are deeply moved by the humanitarian plight of this group, who have been on hunger strike since Sunday.
"We fully acknowledge the extensive formal process that exists to facilitate asylum seekers making application to have their status legally approved to remain in Ireland. We also see the deep hurt and sense of lost human dignity among this group of people.
"We must appeal to all of the asylum seekers at this stage to end their hunger strike and protest before matters deteriorate further," the archbishops said.
The statement said St Patrick's Cathedral must remain closed while the situation remains unresolved. They asked for prayer for all those involved "in this difficult situation".
The statement was made to the asylum seekers by the Archbishop of Dublin at lunchtime.
Some 41 Afghan asylum seekers are on the hunger strike, which entered its fifth day today.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) said in a statement this morning it was "actively monitoring the situation", in particular the minors involved.
"We have personnel on the ground and have medical monitoring in place in respect of the minors. Tests are being performed on a regular basis," a statement said.
"We believe the situation with respect to the minors to be stable at the moment and will be reviewing matters further today."
Yesterday, the Dublin representative of the UN High Commission for Refugees said the men should stop their protest. Some are continuing to refuse water as well as food.
Manuel Jordao, who visited them last night, described their action as "unacceptable", adding that the asylum system here was "just and fair".
He rejected claims that Afghanistan was wholly war-torn and unstable and that no one could be deported to there.
Public representatives are continuing to visit St Patrick's Cathedral, which has been closed to the public since Tuesday. The president of the Labour Party, Michael D. Higgins, who spent almost three hours with the hunger strikers yesterday, said he had asked them to stop the fast and had offered to pursue each of their cases with the Department.
Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe said their action underlined how desperately concerned many asylum seekers were at how the process treated them
He said their concerns were legitimate, and he urged the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, to listen to them.
A spokeswoman for the Minister said his position had not changed since his statement on Tuesday that the asylum system "won't change under duress".
She added: "Everybody gets courteously treated and fairly treated in the process, and nobody gets any advantage by any gestures of the kind that we have seen in the last while."