WASHINGTON (CNS): As British and Irish government leaders work to revive the Good Friday peace agreement, ordinary people on both sides must continue to work for peace, said Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland.
The archbishop, who was visiting Washington in late April to attend an international meeting on English translations in the liturgy, said lack of hope would be people’s worst enemy.
“We have to go back and acknowledge what has been achieved,” he said, referring to the Good Friday agreement, which suspended 30 years of sectarian clashes and allowed for home rule in Northern Ireland.
However, the peace process stalled over the issue of disarmament of the Irish Republican Army guerrillas, so Britain suspended Northern Ireland’s new power-sharing assembly.
Archbishop Brady said one side blames the British Government for insisting on decommissioning as a part of the peace agreement, while others “fail to understand why some gesture could not have been made” by the IRA.
The archbishop said one of Church leaders’ chief jobs “is to support the peacemakers, who have been very courageous and (have) taken risks”. He also emphasised that peace must be built “on fair foundations, like truth, respect”.
