The Archbishop of Cashel, Dr Dermot Clifford, has said that advertising linking alcohol with young people's pastimes and pursuits should not be permitted. He also said a national ID card scheme would have much to recommend it.
In a pastoral letter for Temperance Sunday, read at weekend Masses in the diocese, he pointed out that Ireland has the highest proportion of non-drinkers in the EU - 24.5 per cent of men and 36.3 per cent of women. He suggested that they might join the Pioneer Association in this its centenary year.
Dr Clifford also said he would like to encourage the practice of giving up drink during Lent, which begins on Wednesday. "It reassures drinkers that they are still in control of their drinking. When it is joined to prayer and the donation of some of the money saved to a charity such as Trocaire, one has the main elements of keeping a good Lent," he said.
Describing the abuse of alcohol as a major problem in many parts of Europe, with between 20 and 40 per cent of admissions to psychiatric hospitals in the EU being for alcohol-related diseases, Dr Clifford said it carries enormous social and economic costs.
He believed it could best be tackled through the co-operation and concerted action of parents, schools, gardai and licensees, with parents having the primary responsibility. "It is their example that counts most of all," he said.
Temperance was a difficult virtue to practise in our culture, yet many people still adopted a sensible approach to their drinking. "They are the moderate drinkers and are to be highly commended," he remarked.
He observed that wine is thought to be good for health, but only in small amounts and that Jesus himself drank wine. He "even established the Sacrament of his Presence among us in the form of bread and wine."
But another precious gift from God was our mind. "The taking of substances, such as alcohol or drugs which have the power to inhibit or take away the functioning of our mental faculties, is an assault on this unique God-given gift." The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association was not on an anti-drink crusade, but was "simply against the abuse of drink and, above all, what its abuse can do to people. Indeed, they wish to support people who suffer because of alcohol abuse."
