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Ireland: Church issues appeal over rising suicide levels


The Catholic Church in Ireland sent out a pastoral letter to be read at all Sunday Masses yesterday, and a letter to households throughout the country, appealing for help in reducing the levels of suicide. In the letter, entitled 'Life is for Living', the Bishops say recent economic success has been accompanied by a weakening of faith and loss of emotional support. They say that efforts to remove the stigma of suicide from bereaved families have taken away the recognition that it is still "an unthinkable option". Suicide is the second highest cause of non-disease deaths for young people in Europe, according to the World Health Organisation. Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Conor Donal McKeown said society needs to look at what can be done to help support people who feel "on the edges". In an interview with BBC Radio Ulster he asked: "How can we create some sort of community that is supportive of people? How can we contribute to what really is a huge wound in our society? "Not condemning those who do take the ultimate step, but how can we create some sort of society that seems to cherish life, that seems to looks for those that are struggling rather than treat them as nuisances?" The pastoral letter says that recent reports and publications have underlined the extent of the issue in Ireland, which it describes as a "dark cloud" over the country. In particular, it says, the ratio of young males to females who commit suicide is approximately four to one. Bishop Donal said the church wants to strike a balance between not condemning people, and creating a culture where there is a love of life. He said the letters are being sent to houses in the north and south of Ireland, rather than have the message received only by Mass-goers. "The idea is to go beyond the regular church goers and try to ensure we make a contribution to the welfare of society," he said. "This is not a particularly Catholic document, as such. But it is specifically saying - how can we contribute to what really is a huge wound in our society, where lots of people of all ages, but specifically the younger males, seem to be facing a very despairing future? "It is a very dangerous world out there for young adults, particularly for young males."

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