The churches must "urgently reassess how they speak to the world and how they view their responsibilities," the president of Dublin City University, Dr Ferdinand von Prondzynski, has said.
Speaking at the Citizenship Service in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral yesterday, he said: "The churches have risked falling into disrepute and losing the respect even of the faithful when, apparently, they have given more priority to lifestyle issues than to social justice issues.
"The entire social fabric has been subjected to enormous stress as prosperity has been successfully `individualised' and collective responsibility has been marginalised," he said.