Make room at the inn, President pleads
PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins has used his annual Christmas address to speak up on behalf of those facing a bleak Christmas without a home – and to ask us all to ‘make room at the inn’.
In his first Christmas speech since being re-elected, the President said Christmas is a time to remember those who are facing vulnerabilities, whether it be in the lack of availability of health services, education or housing.
‘Christmas is a time to remember the vulnerabilities that should be shared and addressed by us all,’ he said, ‘In particular vulnerabilities experienced by those who are at risk, excluded and so many for whom there is no place at the inn.
‘In Ireland today, far too many of our people are missing the necessary securities of home.
‘There are those who are concerned for their access to health services and education; for the right to voice their concerns, and experience full participation in our Republic.’
The President also used the occasion to raise the issue of the ‘changing pattern of migration’ into Ireland and how the country should welcome it in the spirit of openness and hospitality. ‘We must also ensure there is room in our inn for those who, like Mary and Joseph 2,000 years ago, have undertaken long and difficult journeys in search of safety and a future of hope,’ he said.
‘Hospitality is the great universal and unifying value that connects all of the faith systems and language of the world.
‘It is appropriate then that we should respond to the changing pattern of migration into our country in the spirit of openness and hospitality, welcoming and supporting those who wish for a better life or simply a life free from fear.’
‘Let us ensure that all those who are vulnerable, in Ireland and across the world, do not walk alone but know that we are willing to travel beside them on their difficult journeys, their journeys of hope,’ he asked.
The President also sent his special thanks to all the Irish peacekeepers abroad and their families at home, along with all those who will make this Christmas safe and enjoyable for everyone else.