The Church of Ireland is to begin a process of listening to clergy and lay people in parishes across Belfast in an attempt to overcome the recent spate of violence within the loyalist community.
The recent riots and violence that surged across Belfast were heartily condemned by Northern Ireland’s church leaders.
The dialogue, to be led by the Bishop of Connor, Alan Harper, and the Bishop of Down and Dromore, Harold Miller, is the latest step in church efforts at reconciliation.
Bishop Alan Harper expressed his concern at the lawlessness and violence that had occurred during and following the Whiterock Parade two weekends ago but said that both bishops were “deeply concerned to understand better the issues and frustration that underlay the descent into chaos”.
Bishop Harold Miller added: “We want to discover how much the Church of Ireland can assist in enabling those underlying issues to be addressed.”
The Bishops said: “We reject violence as a legitimate means to express grievances. We call upon all persons in the community to respect and abide by the law, not least to enable legitimate grievances and fears to be identified and addressed.”
We want to discover how much the Church of Ireland can assist in enabling those underlying issues to be addressed.
Bishop Harold Miller
“We also want to draw attention to the suffering of those who have been injured and traumatized during these past days and to ask for prayer for them.
“Finally we call for an end to the unseen intimidation that goes on within and between communities – the stones through windows, the finger pointing, the whispering and the subtle violence that is as real as the riots we have watched on our TV screens in recent days.
"It is time to move beyond this and to create genuine processes that engage more than a handful of people in our land in determining the future.”
