Brandon Scott
Emergency personnel work September 30, 2024, at the site of an Israeli attack on the Lebanese city of Ain Deleb amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces. As the Israel-Hamas war expands into Lebanon, the Catholic Near East Welfare Association announced October 3 it has launched an emergency campaign to provide humanitarian aid to thousands displaced from their homes in southern Lebanon. Photo: OSV News/Aziz Taher, Reuters. A Wexford priest who has served as chaplain to the Irish Defence Forces in the Lebanon has urged all parties involved in the recent escalation of conflict in the country to actively cooperate and ensure that the “hatred, division and war” that plague the state are ended once and for all, adding that even in the face of despair, “peace is always achievable”.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Fr Patrick Mernagh of Kilmore Parish said that from his experiences in the country, the periodic conflict that breaks out has always been down to political differences and never religious.
“All religions got on so well,” he said. “It was probably the best example of faith working in action regardless of what faith you were. One thing we tend to forget is that there was never any friction between faiths in the country, it always had to do with politics, unfortunately. My heart is so saddened to see the way things are now panning out at this moment in time.”
Citing the de-escalation of conflict in Northern Ireland as an example of “peace being achievable”, Fr Mernagh said that it’s imperative all parties involved sit down and negotiate for peace.
“I think you need to go back, because I worked in Northern Ireland as well from 1992 to 1994 in Newry,” he said. “When you think the impossible is not possible, that’s when you need to dream again. Peace is always achievable, even in the midst of total chaos and mistrust. My wish would be through a third body or agency, that’s acceptable to all parties, that somebody needs to sit everybody down and bring them together to say that it’s time to work to end this hatred, division and war.”