|TOP|The issue of reconciliation and the role of ecumenical relations were central to an Irish Interchurch Committee meeting which took place in Dundalk, Ireland, Tuesday.

Canon Ian Ellis, rector of Newcastle, Co. Down, and one of the key speakers at the event, encouraged participants to look beyond the Northern Ireland context, saying there was a tendency in Ireland to think of reconciliation “in terms of our own problems within this island”.

Canon Ellis, who is also editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette, cited numerous recent incidents of violence, including the recent riots in France and the continuing divisions in the former Yugoslavia.

He said: “In the Europe of which we are more and more a part there is a great need for reconciliation on so many fronts. We are, understandably, inclined to think of reconciliation in terms of our own problems within this island, but Europe is awash with situations that cry out for reconciliation.

|QUOTE|“We belong to a Europe that is in much need of reconciliation. Our problems in Ireland are serious, but it is salutary to place them in the context of the great need for reconciliation in other places such as those that are part of the Europe of today.

The rector of Newcastle made the comments while speaking on the implications of the European ecumenical document, Charta Oecumenica, published in 2001 to bring the churches in Europe into ever closer unity.

He praised the document co-written five years ago by the Conference of European Churches and the Council of European (Roman Catholic) Bishops’ Conferences.

“I believe that we in Ireland must take this document to heart and in fact set in place some way of monitoring our ecumenical life in relation to the ideals set forth in that document,” said Canon Ellis.

|AD|He went on to stress the need for churches to unite: “In Ireland we are only too aware of our divisions, but our credibility as churches now very much depends on our ability to witness together.

“Certainly the more established churches, which are the ones with the history, must show that they can indeed overcome barriers of all sorts and so illustrate that the Gospel we proclaim is the real, powerful and life-giving Gospel of love and peace.”

During the Interchurch Committee meeting, Canon Ellis warned of the “enormous challenges” emerging for the churches “not only in their relationships with one another but also with other faith communities”.

He urged, however, that ecumenism and reconciliation went hand in hand.

“Of course, we have long recognised the way in which the churches have been a part of the division and alienation in Irish life, but the example of so many communities of reconciliation over the years of the Troubles is a reminder and a sign to us that ecumenism and reconciliation are indeed inextricably linked,” he said.

He called on churches to examine themselves in terms of the future of ecumenical relations.

“In the Charta Oecumenica there is much food for thought for us as Christian churches in Ireland. It constitutes a real call to examine ourselves, where we are ecumenically, where we are going ecumenically, setting a standard against which, in the months and years ahead, we can measure our progress.”