Edges Magazine Issue 22: A Sign Of Hope In Northern Ireland

EDGES MAGAZINE Issue 22

July 2000

A SIGN OF HOPE IN
NORTHERN IRELAND

Fr Jim McCartney Director of T.H.O.M.A.S.
& Editor of Edges

I can still remember vividly being held at gunpoint as a young boy. I was aged 12 and was unaware of the brutality of terrorism. I had gone to buy some sweets with my cousin.It was a small country post officedeep in the heart of South Armagh,Northern Ireland.This is a place known as the bandit country. On that day my childhood was interrupted by masked men with guns,who held us up while they robbed the safe. I return to Northern Ireland each year to visit my father's grave. He is buried in a most tranquil place, in a graveyard situated on the top of a hill.Generations of my family have worshipped in the small rural church that still gathers the farming community each Sunday as they celebrate the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

We walk through another period with a fragile peace in a land accustomed to so much bloodshed,butchery and carnage. The national religious and social conflict in Northern Ireland has cost over 3,500 people their lives.This week I have spent some time speaking with a man who is the brother of Eamon Molloy. His was the first body to be found last year after being executed by the IRA in 1975.Twenty-five years on,he was given a Christian burial.This took place last July. Eamon was 21 when he was killed.Mick's other brother was shot by the Loyalists he was aged 18.This family has fallen victim of the terrorist from both sections of the community. Mick was lucky;he managed to leave the barbarous and inhuman attitudes behind as he crossed the Irish Sea to build a new life. His heart is not hardened.His mind is not bitter. He believes reconciliation is the only way to bring peace to a land,which has been captivated for so long by the intolerant temperaments of a certain few.

Northern Ireland has a wonderful people from all sections of the community.Yet it provides a constant reminder of what we can do to each other as human beings. The Old Testament also speaks the language of destruction.It recalls the time in which the Hebrews were conquered by the Babylonians. For a time Israel ceased to exist as a nation. Jerusalem was destroyed and those who survived were deported to Babylon as slaves.The Israelite people have a history rooted in the destruction of the Temple. So too the Son of God fell victim to the ruthlessness of humankind.Nevertheless,in the Gospels we are reminded that God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world,but so that through him the world might be saved (John 3:14-21).

Jesus speaks about the man who lives by truth coming out into the light.As human beings we need to follow what we believe to be right.However, because we are human our thought patterns are limited.As a people we can and we do, inflict anguish and discomfort on those who surround us.The United Nations Manifesto 2000 bears the signatures of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.It emphasis the year 2000 as a new beginning,with an opportunity to transform all together the culture of war and violence into a culture of peace and non violence.

Northern Ireland is on our doorstep. It needs our prayers.The transformation of that land demands the participation of everyone. In recent weeks we have seen the reluctance of certain people to engage in this activity.We need the David Trimbles and the John Humes of our world.They continue to keep their Nobel Peace Prize alive as they search for a lasting peaceful solution to their homeland.The situation in Ulster brings us home to the human condition of scepticism.We build up our defense mechanisms based on the history of our yesterdays.Cynicism gives birth to a suspicion that becomes the enemy of motivation for change.

In my work as a Priest I communicate with people all over the U.K.I direct an organisation,which is rooted in reconciling people with each other. This is a difficult task because generally we are a people who can become set in our ways.We need the prophet of today. Over the years Northern Ireland has had its share of them.These are brave people who have not allowed the barbarity of the terrorist to wreck their mission of hope.

Colin Parry, the father of Tim Parry, the boy ruthlessly killed by a bomb at Warrington in 1993,is among those brave people who are an inspiration to the world.Since the death of his Son he has worked endlessly for peace and reconciliation.He says "I think that to remain sane is to remain positive with a sense of purpose and a clear set of goals". Northern Ireland continues to keep Good Friday aliv e. Two years ago the Good Friday agreement was conceived.Although the peace process is delicate the message of Good Friday is still keeping a glimmer of hope alive. I wonder why?