Church has responsibility to lead mature reflections on partition – Archbishop Martin

Archbishop Eamon Martin said in a podcast that the Church has a responsibility to lead mature reflections during the centenary of partition.

In a podcast organised by the church leaders’ group, the archbishop of Armagh added that “there were some people within my own community that criticised me” if he said anything about the year.

“I got a lot of emails and letters, saying we want nothing to do with the year, 2021 – 1921 for us is simply something we regret, we see it as a terrible moment of grief and separation,” Archbishop Martin explained.

He said that while he “in many ways shared those views”, he also felt that “we have a responsibility to lead serious mature reflection on who we are”.

“I had a responsibility to encourage members of my own flock to enter into this period of reflection, bringing with us all of our concerns and worries and regrets about the past,” Dr Martin said.