The Church and the conflict in Northern Ireland : a case for Corrymeela? : an assessment of an ecumenical organisation working toward peace and reconciliation

Abstract

The conflict in Northern Ireland is one of the longest conflicts in post-war
 Europe. It is often described as a sectarian conflict between Catholics and
 Protestants. Certainly, there is no other religious division in the English-speaking
 world such as that which is witnessed in this British province.
 Although there is a formidable amount of literature on this subject, there is
 limited discourse on the relationship between the major confessions and the
 relationship between the Churches and the conflict. In order to gain an
 understanding of this relationship, and for the purposes of clarity this study
 attempts to define the terms 'religion' and 'politics'. Moreover, this study
 examines the relationship between religion and politics and between Church
 and State in a variety of experiences. Such an inquiry identifies patterns of
 ecclesiastical and political behaviour. In order to demonstrate this, a
 historical-comparative method is employed, accompanied with an
 investigation of the Irish experience from early times to the contemporary
 period. Thus, in this instance, it is a case study.
 However, in the latter part of the twentieth-century, we witnessed efforts at
 attempting greater church unity. The meeting of the Second Vatican Council,
 held between 1962 and 1965, was a concerted effort by the Roman Catholic
 Church to achieve this end. Interestingly, this Council was held before the
 eruption of the current conflict. Thus, this study also examines the
 ramifications of Vatican II, particularly in the context of Northern Ireland.
 Also, in 1965, the Corrymeela Community was founded in Belfast as an
 ecumenical organisation. Its latter objectives focus on peace and reconciliation
 in Northern Ireland, which also means religious and social healing between
 the Protestant and Catholic communities. Peace movements and
 organisations seeking social justice are not altogether new phenomena in
 Northern Ireland. Nevertheless, it is necessary to examine the variants, which
 exist in a changed Irish society, since the beginning of the conflict. These
 variants include phenomena such as demographical changes, European
 Union membership, secularisation, constitutional amendments, paramilitary
 criminality and denominational intransigence. Thus, some of these variants
 can be viewed as 'adversities' that confront the Corrymeela Community. This
 examination also enables this study to assess the viability and potential of the
 Corrymeela Community, not only as an ecclesiastical actor, but also its
 position in the political sphere. In other words, this inquiry also considers the
 Community's efficacy in a political environment, which has experienced
 several significant popular developments, such as the Peace Process, and the
 referendums held in the Republic of Ireland and in the province of Ulster in
 1998. At the same time however, the above do not necessarily detract from the
 Corrymeela Community's efforts of achieving peace and reconciliation.