Pledges demanded by the Church of Ireland have been routinely broken at Drumcree, writes Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent
After last Sunday there should never be another Drumcree.
There is now an overwhelming moral imperative on the leaderships of the Orange Order and of the Church of Ireland to get together and sort out this local row before it becomes responsible for any further mayhem or is allowed to threaten the peace of our island again.
That it has been allowed do so is criminally irresponsible.
Poor leadership from the top - or none at all - where both institutions are concerned has allowed a rabid tail wag a cowed dog for eight inglorious summers.
A dog which barks in similar tones after the event each year, seemingly shocked and surprised yet again by the entirely predictable.
There has been enough of such virtual reaction and its sanctimonious langauge, now as much part of this unholy annual ritual as the parade out from Portadown, the service in the Church of the Ascension and the impassioned speeches at the barricade.
The leaderships of the Church of Ireland and the Orange Order abrogated their responsibilities - and for the worst reasons - for Drumcree a long time ago.
And so the evil associated with the event continues year in year out.
Both leaderships have shown a common, deeply held fear of confronting the issue seriously, and for the same reason - both are terrified of possible consequences.
They fear that to do so could have turbulent repercussions within.
It might cause division, a split, even drive some to other institutions. Forget the moral obligation.
Better to do nothing.
Better that such turbulence be borne by the police and army; by people in divided communities across the North; and by innocent society.
Better plead that what could be done has been done and ask, with more than an echo of Pilate, "what more can we do?".
What both institutions might do - jointly - is address the select vestry at Drumcree, which conducts the parish's affairs. They might approach the two-thirds (plus) Orangemen who make up that select vestry and remind them of their broader responsibilities to both institutions, whose reputations they have brought into such disrepute.
They might remind them too that they have a duty to uphold the law and avoid creating circumstances where the law is likely to be broken.
The Orange Order should advise them (with the support of the Church of Ireland) to persuade their Portadown brethren to talk to the Garvaghy Road residents, as it is widely agreed a formula could be found which would allow the parade continue along its traditional route.
They might even suggest that in future, if there is trouble at Drumcree, the select vestry, its rector, and the Portadown district officers ought to bear the costs. No doubt the state would be glad to co-operate with such strategy.
At its 1999 General Synod the Church of Ireland called on the rector and select vestry at Drumcree to endorse three pledges where the conduct of those attending the parade was concerned.
These called for "the avoidance of any action before or after the service which diminishes the sanctity of that worship; obedience to the law of the land before and after the service; respect for the integrity of the Church of Ireland by word and action and the avoidance of the use of all church property or its environs in any civil protest following the service."
It was further requested that should the lodges decline to adhere to the pledges, their invitation to attend the service be withdrawn by the rector and select vestry.
The General Synod also resolved that the only flags specifically authorised to be flown on church buildings or within the church grounds of the Church of Ireland were the cross of St Patrick, and the flag of the Anglican Communion.
"Any other flag flown at any other time is not specifically authorised by this Church," the motion said.
Both motions were passed by a three quarters majority of the General Synod, including the unanimous vote of all the church's bishops.
They have been ignored at Drumcree, where all three pledges have been routinely broken since 1999; where the invitation to attend the service still stands regardless; and where two union flags continue to be flown every July from the church steeple. And this rebellion has been without consequence.
The select vestry and rector at Drumcree have ignored the will of their church and continue, annually, to drag it into the mire, because they have been allowed to do so. Meanwhile mild attempts by the Orange Order leadership in 1998 to bring Portadown District on line collapsed in a flurry of timidity.
Where both the Orange Order and Church of Ireland are concerned a leadership which allows such undermining of its own authority, and of the broader reputation of the institution it serves, deserves all the criticism that comes its way.
If only for their own sakes both institutions must get to grips with this increasingly ridiculous and always dangerous situation.