Greg DalyThe head of the Holy See’s peace council has praised the Church in Northern Ireland for its work to bring peace to the North.
Speaking at Belfast’s annual St Brigid’s lecture, Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said after many years in which “images of violent conflict have flashed across the world from this divided city”, it was “a great joy to witness at first hand the enormous efforts being made in the search for reconciliation and peace among the people of this city and between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland”.
The cardinal cited his experience in presiding over his native Ghana’s National Peace in recognising that “the journey to peace rarely travels along a fast road” and “much requires God’s help”.
He acknowledged the huge effort involved in working towards a reconciled and peaceful future, recalling how in Evangelii Gaudium Pope Francis said “the new evangelisation calls on every baptised person to be a peacemaker”.
“Churches, community groups, business leaders and entrepreneurs all have vital sources of experience, wisdom and influence that can assist and contribute to the political effort to build a cohesive and reconciled society,” he said.
Highlighting tensions over symbols of identity and parades, the cardinal asked how we could “accommodate for differences while we pursue the greater common good” and said he was glad to have the opportunity to learn from the North.
“The rest of the world,” he said, “particularly those parts that continue to wrestle with long-running conflict, look at your journey towards peace with great interest and hope.”
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Cardinal Turkson said in the lecture he had wanted “to commend the Irish Church in Northern Ireland and other Christian groups for the initiatives they’ve taken and for how they’ve helped to bring the experience of Northern Ireland to where we are now, on the doorstep of peace, though there is still a lot of work left to be done.”