Irish church leaders meet in Rome to celebrate 25 years on the journey towards peace

29 September 2023 • Persistent link: iarccum.org/?p=4475

The Church Leaders Group (Ireland) attended a special ecumenical service to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Shown here: Rev David Turtle, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland; Revd Dr Sam Mawhinney, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; Bishop Andrew Forster, President of the Irish Council of Churches; Archbishop John McDowell, Anglican Archbishop of Armagh; and Archbishop Eamon Martin, Catholic Archbishop of Armagh
The Church Leaders Group (Ireland) attended a special ecumenical service to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Shown here: Rev David Turtle, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland; Revd Dr Sam Mawhinney, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; Bishop Andrew Forster, President of the Irish Council of Churches; Archbishop John McDowell, Anglican Archbishop of Armagh; and Archbishop Eamon Martin, Catholic Archbishop of Armagh (28 Sept. 2023). Photo: Martin Browne/Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity
The Church Leaders Group (Ireland) offered a blessing during a special ecumenical service to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Shown here: Rev David Turtle, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland; Revd Dr Sam Mawhinney, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; Bishop Andrew Forster, President of the Irish Council of Churches; Archbishop John McDowell, Anglican Archbishop of Armagh; and Archbishop Eamon Martin, Catholic Archbishop of Armagh
The Church Leaders Group (Ireland) offered a blessing during a special ecumenical service to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. Shown here: Rev David Turtle, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland; Revd Dr Sam Mawhinney, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland; Bishop Andrew Forster, President of the Irish Council of Churches; Archbishop John McDowell, Anglican Archbishop of Armagh; and Archbishop Eamon Martin, Catholic Archbishop of Armagh (28 Sept. 2023). Photo: Martin Browne/Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity
The Church Leaders Group (Ireland) attended a panel discussion at the Pontifical Irish College to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement
The Church Leaders Group (Ireland) attended a panel discussion at the Pontifical Irish College to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (28 Sept. 2023). Photo: Martin Browne/Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity
Francis Martin, Church Times

Church leaders from Ireland have gathered in Rome to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

In a joint statement, the Irish and British Ambassadors to the Holy See, Frances Collins and Chris Tott, said that they were delighted to welcome the leaders from several denominations.

“For decades, the Churches have played an important role in supporting peace and reconciliation,” they said, expressing hope that visit would “serve to inspire other church and faith-based leaders as they work to support peace and reconciliation around the world.”

The group from Ireland includes the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd John McDowell; his Roman Catholic counterpart, the Most Revd Eamon Martin; the head of the Prebyterian Church in Ireland, the Revd Dr Sam Mawhinney; and the president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Revd David Turtle.

A statement from group said: “We must remember that the signing of the Agreement was not the end of the journey to peace in Northern Ireland.

“It simply marked the first faltering steps down a very long road to a new, brighter, and shared future … shaped by tolerance and respect for our differences, and a recognition of the need for greater understanding and reconciliation.”

On Thursday afternoon, the group participated in a a seminar held at the Pontifical Irish College, at which the part in reconciliation played by faith was discussed.