Editorial: Spring Fever
Anna Rankin

Comment: What is Reconciliation?
Michael Whitley

From the Director: Ireland is changing and so are we!
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The Whole Gospel for the Whole World (and beyond...)
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Rwanda Ten Years On
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Anglo-Irish Relations
Russell & Katherine Norton

The Hard Gospel
David Chillingworth

Interview with Robin Eames: RECONCILIATION - A View from Armagh
Anna Rankin

Interview with Sean Brady: RECONCILIATION - A View from Armagh
Anna Rankin

Church-based Peacebuilding
Maria Power

Evangelism & Reconciliation - are they irreconcilable?
Patrick Mitchel

Dogville and the Drama of Redemption
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Blessed are the Peacemakers?
Drew Gibson

Review: Bitter Fruit
David Buckley

Review: The Colour of Darkness
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Review: The Lost Message of Jesus
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Review: The Futures of Evangelicalism
David J Montgomery

Review: Evangelicals in Ireland: An Introduction
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RECONCILIATION
A View from Armagh

The Most Rev Dr Seán Brady is Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland and is currently President of the Irish Bishops’ Conference. A native of Co Cavan, he taught at St Patrick’s College for 13 years before serving as Vice-rector and Rector at the Irish College in Rome until 1994.

How do you see the current situation? Are we more divided than ever?
Last week I was speaking at the reopening of St John’s Church on the Garvaghy Road and I took the text from Isaiah chapter 2 about the swords and spears, the symbols of war, being battered into ploughshares and pruning hooks. I thought it was appropriate for this time when we are talking about decommissioning. There is a call to all of us, not to just leave it to politicians, to examine our own attitudes towards people who are different to us and see what in our own attitudes has to be hammered into ploughshares. The people of Northern Ireland have waited patiently for the type of peace envisaged by Isaiah in chapter 65, where the hunter and the prey, wolf and lamb, lie down together. I was appealing to everyone in our society to continue to hope and to work towards that hope.

I am quite hopeful about reconciliation. The people in Northern Ireland have made a remarkable journey. Some might be getting weary and believe that nothing more can be done or has to be done, but we must continue to hope that generosity and new approaches to old problems can bring a brighter future.

I do believe that new relationships are possible – in some cases they already exist. They must be marked by generosity, understanding, patience and forgiveness. If these hopes were to be dashed again the cynics would win and the losers would be the people who believe that we are quite capable of dealing with our own affairs through locally elected politicians. We are once again at a delicate moment and that is why I am urging people to keep that hope alive.

Is reconciliation still about Protestants and Catholics?

As our society becomes more pluralist the issues of how we welcome people from other countries arise. It really is about how we deal with difference that is important. When people are confronted with difference they often feel threatened and therefore do not welcome people from other countries as they should. Jesus always extended the boundaries of expectation, especially in terms of the diversity of unexpected people he welcomed into his company. St. Paul also tells us to make hospitality our special care.

I suppose the big divider here is still the religious/political one but great progress has been made. The term reconciliation is a difficult one. On a personal level, say within a family, when attitudes harden and hard words are spoken, reconciliation is difficult. Reconciliation is also difficult at the societal level, especially in an era when people don’t seem to take personal criticism too well or reflect critically on their attitudes and actions. I think we need to evaluate ourselves and examine ourselves more.

Have we adequately addressed the issue of sectarianism?
We have grown in our awareness of sectarianism and do give it increased consideration but sometimes people don’t see it as an urgent matter. They feel there are more urgent things to be dealt with, like the implementation of the Belfast Agreement; they would see that as important.

The situation is improving and not just at the church level. I was at a function last week where the GAA chairman for Armagh, Joe Jordan, referred to the fact that Annetta Flanagan had been released and there was a spontaneous outburst of applause which I thought was fantastic. Maybe we are too much inclined to keep it at the cerebral level, it has to come down into the emotions of people so people can identify with the suffering. People identified with the suffering of that family. There was a spontaneous empathy and compassion for the person concerned. That is cathartic; that is purifying.

We are, I think, realising that sectarianism is something that has to be grasped and addressed and overcome. What we need to ask is, ‘Have I more Protestant friends or more Catholic friends than I had years ago?’ ‘How often do I meet them?’ There is an awareness people are not just content to settle for tolerance of each other. I think they are quite right to have higher ambitions. We can enrich each other with our different traditions – not just living side-by-side in a tolerant coexistence. I think the future will have to be shared or it won’t be a real future. There is no other future on offer to us.

There are problems still to be solved, but they are the sorts of problems which often arise in post-conflict situations. Maybe you do hear some stories of hardening of attitudes but I think what we are seeing these days is something truly historical. Opponents are sitting down and talking and revealing their potential to move and to change and hopefully to deliver us devolved government, and hopefully good government, applying their energies and delivering policies to which the whole community can sign up. That’s my hope.

What do the churches need to do?
We need to remember that one of the objectives of every follower of Christ is to be a peacemaker, and to strive for the kind of unity that Christ desires. Everyone who is in Christ is a new creation. Reconciliation is a vital challenge for the churches.

2 Corinthians 5 says we are ambassadors for Christ: God reconciled us to himself in Christ and gave us the work of handing it on. We cannot avoid that challenge and I think civil society quite rightly looks to the church and to church leaders to be ambassadors of that reconciliation. The questions we have to ask ourselves are, ‘Am I a fit person to be such an ambassador?’ ‘Am I a conciliatory kind of person?’ ‘Am I sensitive to other people?’ ‘Have I the capacity to stand in the other person’s shoes or walk the road alongside them?’ We need to be self-critical and examine if we are using all the opportunities available to us to be reconcilers and bridge-builders.

There are certainly many more meetings between clergy, but also at parish level. In Cookstown there is a church forum as well as a clergy forum and they come together and exchange visits and organise trips away. More and more of that needs to happen so that we grow in our understanding.

In my first years up here I addressed a service at Fitzroy Presbyterian church and we said the Creed together and, to my shame, it was the first time I had really realised how much we have in common – all of those great truths that have come down through the centuries, chiselled out in the first millennium. That unites you and me, we are in Christ.

As followers of Christ, we are interested first and foremost in the peace of Christ, which is reconciliation with the Father. But it is also tied to reconciliation with our brothers and sisters because the forgiveness he offers is tied to the forgiveness which we offer to those who trespass against us. We have to be bearers of hope, and signs of hope in a time where there is a lot of tendency to despair.

How can we remember the past in a way that doesn’t reinforce sectarian divisions?
When I was reflecting on this I thought of the Lord’s command to us ‘do this in memory of me’ at the Last Supper, when he was talking about the Eucharist. Now he didn’t intend that to be done in memory of him to recall the injustices that were perpetrated against him. I think, rather, he is calling us to remember the love he had which enabled him to overcome that injustice and the unjust suffering and death that was inflicted upon him. Through his love and through the love of the Father he was raised up and he overcame evil and overcame the injustice and somehow in there are indications for us for how to remember.

Memory is very important. Discovering the truth is very important because the truth shall set us free. Not by recalling in an acrimonious way but in a healing way; facing the reality of the situation, but also facing the reality of our own situation, our own limitations, our own sinfulness and weakness and trying to extend understanding of the situation.

I think some kinds of ritual of remembrance are very important because within the ritual there is the possibility of healing. In our church we have the Sacrament of Confession where people recall their sins and confess them not alone to God but to the church. Because if I sin, if I kill somebody, I’m not alone offending God, I’m sinning against my neighbour and the wider body of the church, therefore it is only right and fair that I should seek forgiveness from them. The big thing that has to be emphasised in reconciliation is the need for forgiveness. We are reluctant to do that because we are reluctant to admit that we, in fact, are sinners and need forgiveness. I think that is crucial.

Reconciliation is a big challenge and yet Christ has set out the way for us. He forgave those who put him to death. I think we can remember faithfully and honestly what has happened not in a spirit of recrimination or bitterness or blame but in sure confidence that God can draw good out of any situation. ‘For those who love God all things work together onto good.’

Is there a link between inability to deal with sectarian division and the rise of racism in our society?
I’m not too sure whether it is inability, maybe it is unwillingness. Difficulty coping with difference is not confined to Catholics and Protestants; it is part of the human condition. We live in a very broken society.

The number of incidents against people from other countries is shameful. Of course it is linked to our reluctance to welcome difference whether it is different religion, different race or different colour of skin. Racism is a disgrace wherever it happens, especially when followers of Christ do it, but it is part of this fear of people who are different and a lack of appreciation of their dignity in the sight of God. They are made in the image and likeness of God, as we are, and we are equal in the sight of God. We have to try and change attitudes and improve our appreciation of the value of every human being. In God’s eyes we are equal. We are not the same – or else the world would be very boring – but we are equal in dignity.

I think people are becoming ever more conscious of their own personal dignity. They know when their dignity is being offended. Everyone has the right to be respected. Dignity is the basic motif in matters of religious freedom, for example. No one may be compelled, we believe, to act against his or her conscience and no one can be prevented from acting in accordance with their conscience; that is the basis of religious freedom. I think that fact needs to be underscored.

Do you see a need for reconciliation in other areas?
I am totally opposed to the irresponsible use of the resources of this earth. The environment is something created by God, God saw that it was good. It is given to us to help us on our pilgrimage through life. We shouldn’t divinise or absolutise the environment in the sense of giving it a value that the creator didn’t give it. But it is something good and certainly not to be exploited irresponsibly. That is one of the limitations of the consumer society, people are being urged to consume, consume, consume. It is a disgrace how much energy certain parts of the world consume. We appreciate the gifts of this earth, we should be thankful for them but we should be very respectful. One of the things the Africans can teach us is a frugal lifestyle, the advantage of simplicity of lifestyle. We need to hold this relationship in a proper balance.

The gap between the rich and poor in the world is the biggest threat to world peace. The poor have a right to a share in the goods of this earth and it is only basic common sense, even in terms of providing for our own security, to take steps to ensure a fairer division of the goods of this earth. Progress has been made, but more needs to be done and we need to be aware of that. God’s will is for justice, the work of justice is peace and the work of peace is justice. That’s the basis of peace: truth, justice and solidarity with the weaker nations of the world.

There are also inequalities between the sexes which should be addressed. The Lord created the human race male and female, different but equal. That equality needs to be recognised, accepted and appreciated. The ability to procreate and bring children in the world would point to a complimentarity of the sexes, that man and woman are called to co-operate not to compete.

Marriage and the family, for me, is God’s plan for the world because every generation comes from a union of men and women. That plan is very important and very sacred. The harmony of relationships is crucial I think to the stability of society, to peace, to giving children a fair chance in life, to their education and their emotional development. When a man and a woman bring a child into the world it is a great privilege but also a huge responsibility. In God’s plan they are to co-operate not just in bringing a child into the world but in rearing and educating that child.

We need to be aware of the importance of reconciliation when conflicts arise, as they do in all family situations. People need to seek to achieve reconciliation rather than walking away which seems to be the common solution. The number of shattered relationships is frightening. Some people, especially children, are paying a very high price for these divisions, our inability to cope with difference and our inability to accept our own limitations.

I am greatly touched by the image from the Book of the Apocalypse in chapter 5, verses 1-7. The angel asks, ‘Is there anyone worthy to open the scroll?’ The elder suggests the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David. But it is not the lion, who has triumphed, it is the Passover lamb, who has suffered and who represents not one tribe but all the people, who has the mandate to open the scroll and reveal God’s secret plans. The movement in this passage is from the few to the many, from the aggressiveness of the lion to the sacrificial self-offering of the lamb. I believe that Christian disciples have always glimpsed this dynamic in the Lord Jesus and his attempt to embody that for the peace of the world. Even though we might keep slipping back occasionally, my prayer is that, especially at this crucial moment in the quest for peace and reconciliation, we have to keep coming back to that image of the lamb. We all still have a lot to learn from this startling vision.

I am very grateful to you for this opportunity to speak to the readers of lion&lamb.

ARCHBISHOP SEAN BRADY was interviewed by Anna Rankin on 1st December 2004.

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