Two senior Church of Ireland prelates yesterday called on all political parties in Northern Ireland to continue their efforts in the peace process. The Church of Ireland Primate, Dr Robin Eames, urged politicians to "leave no stone unturned" in their efforts for peace. But he said that stability in Northern Ireland would depend ultimately on the attitude of the people. The prospect of a "return to the darkness" was unthinkable.
The Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Rev Walton Empey, praised the "courageous" stand of the Ulster Unionist Party in staying at the Stormont talks.
In a speech prepared for the Armagh Diocesan Synod, Dr Eames said that as he reflected on his years as primate he was left with "one firm conviction" about life in Northern Ireland. "Stability will not depend on entirely constitutional agreements alone, stability will not depend on political talks alone, stability will not depend on legislation alone. Stability will ultimately depend on the attitude of people.
"Human reaction and attitude are the real determining factors for the future. Acceptance or rejection of change will depend on the attitude of confidence or the attitude of a lack of confidence of people at the grassroots. If that attitude is to be one of never-ending suspicion and mistrust, nothing will be gained . . ."
In his presidential address to the synods of Dublin and Glendalough, Archbishop Empey called for continued prayer that all parties "will realise that the tactics of the past have failed and that the only way forward is face-to-face discussion".
The archbishop said that, following comments he made in his first presidential address last year, he had been invited to meet the rector of Drumcree, the Rev John Pickering. "I was treated very courteously, and while we did not agree on a number of points, we certainly listened to each other and cleared up some of the understandings", he said.