Church leaders offer their 'services' in truth recovery process

Church leaders in Northern Ireland have used their addresses at a special service at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast to offer to develop a truth recovery process to address the legacy of the Troubles.

Archbishop Eamon Martin said 'peace, reconciliation and forgiveness' can only be 'progressed if we bring to light the truths about our troubled past that remain hidden and festering.'

Rev Harold Good, who oversaw IRA decommissioning, described the peace process here as an 'unfinished journey'.

The former President of the Methodist Church told UTV: ''I remember George Mitchell saying that the easy task was to come to an agreement. The challenge was to implement it and to take it forward.''

''We have been entrusted with this responsibility and privilege and we within the churches must play our part along with other people in society,'' he added.

The Catholic Primate of Ireland Archbishop Martin said the churches still had a significant role to play.

''I'm suggesting that the churches might be in a good place to create safe spaces for dialogue, for sharing and for bringing out the hidden and sometimes festering truth about our past,'' he said.

''Therefore I'm proposing the churches offer our services to those who are perhaps seeking a truth and recovery process in order to address the awful pain of the legacy that is still hanging over us.''

''At a congregation and community level so that all voices can be fully heard about the kind of society and values we want for our children and grandchildren."

The Secretary of State and Irish minister Simon Coveney attended the event to mark the start of Christian unity week.

Chris Heaton-Harris is expected to face criticism for the government's controversial legacy legislation when he travels to Washington later after it emerged it was described in a letter by 27 members of the US congress as 'dangerous'.

The Catholic Primate and other church leaders have already criticised the proposed law.

''The churches are already on the record as saying the current legacy bill is not fit for purpose,'' Archbishop Martin said.

''It certainly will not promote reconciliation but at the same time all of us must play our part and that's what we are trying to do in these messages today.''

In his address Dr Good also recalled the late Queen's historic visit to Dublin.

"Let us not under-estimate the impact of the words of the late Queen Elizabeth when in humility she spoke of things which could have been done differently, or not at all.''

''Just imagine if following this service, each of us was resolved to acknowledge the hurt which collectively - if not individually - we have inflicted upon each other and for which we now seek to be reconciled," he added.

The service was led by the Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev Stephen Forde.

Representatives from 16 all-Ireland denominations were present, including the Greek and Indian Orthodox churches, the non subscribing Presbyterian Church, the Salvation Army, and the Lutheran Church.

The service also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Ballymascanlon Talks in Louth, between the Irish Council of Churches and senior members of the Catholic Church which led to the establishment of the Irish Inter-Church Meeting.

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