Church leaders could play role in Troubles legacy 'truth recovery' gathering hears

At the Irish Council of Churches (ICC) centenary service in Belfast Cathedral on Sunday, ​Archbishop Eamon Martin said the longed-for peace, reconciliation and forgiveness on this island “can only be progressed if we bring to light the truths about our troubled past that remain hidden and festering”.

The ICC service takes place during the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on the theme, ‘Celebrating our Reconciling Vision of Hope’.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, Belfast Lord Mayor Christina Black, and Irish Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister Simon Coveney were among the guests.

Archbishop Martin said: “Peace, reconciliation and forgiveness on this island can only be progressed if we bring to light the truths about our troubled past that remain hidden and festering, and engage in respectful conversations across our communities about what we mean by a shared future.

"It may seem ambitious, but might we in the churches offer to help develop an agreed truth recovery process to address the legacy of pain and mistrust that continues to hang over us?

"And might our churches also work together to create spaces for dialogue at parish, 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.”

Also addressing the centenary gathering at St Anne’s, Rev Dr Harold Good spoke of the Christian churches bringing “humility and hope” to realising a vision of reconciliation.

“Let us not under-estimate the impact of the words of the late Queen Elizabeth during her historic visit to Dublin, when in humility she spoke of things which could have been done differently, or not at all,” he said.

"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.”

Dr Good added: “Hope looks at the world as it is and responds with a determination to change it. The shared hope of which we speak is rooted in the unshakeable conviction that if we say and do and be the people that we are called to be, God will not be found wanting.”

The former president of the Methodist Church in Ireland also referred to the forthcoming 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and 60th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, and added that “at the centre of our shared faith is the unshakable belief in resurrection. And, as the Easter people, it is to us that God has entrusted this gospel of hope.”