THE leaders of the four main churches want next Sunday to be a national day of prayer for peace. The call was made in a message from Cardinal Cahal Duly which was read at a peace rally in Navan yesterday afternoon.
A crowd of about 2,500 attended the rally, at which students from secondary schools across Co Meath read messages and poems calling for peace and the restoration of the IRA ceasefire.
In his message, also read by a student, Cardinal Daly said the people of this island had sent a clear unequivocal message to the men of violence that they would not allow a return to violence. He said the four main Christian churches would be calling all the people of Ireland to a national day of prayer on March 10th.
Archbishop Robin Eames also sent a message in which he said people of all traditions who were seeking a way forward to peace were supporting the rally.
The Taoiseach was represented by his wife, Mrs Finola Bruton, who read a letter from him. In it he said the restoration of the ceasefire was the necessary next step in the peace process.
He said it was time for Sinn Fein and the IRA to make their renewed effort for peace. Without any further preconditions the IRA should reinstate its ceasefire.
Two Ministers of State, Ms Joan Burton and Mr Austin Currie, attended, along with local TDs and councillors, as well as representatives of both communities in Northern Ireland.