A chara, – For all of us who lived through the Northern Troubles, the image of Fr Alec Reid praying over the body of the murdered British soldier in Belfast in March 1988 (Home News, November 22nd) recalled a defining moment. It came only a few short months after we had witnessed the heartbroken Gordon Wilson declaring to the world "I bear no ill will. I bear no grudge" following the murder of his daughter Marie in the Enniskillen bombing.
Here were two deeply committed Christians reacting to the horrors that had been inflicted. With heroic fortitude and forgiveness these two men reached out to the other side. At a critical time in the Troubles these images struck a powerful chord with people. They asserted the sacredness of human life and the common ground of our Christianity when denominational tags threatened to tear us apart. – Is mise,
JOHN GLENNON,
Hollywood, Co Wicklow.