Sir - I gladly accept David Rose's invitation to comment on the "parents issue" relating to last year's protest on Ardoyne Road (October 2nd). Thankfully, this year the pupils of Holy Cross Girls' School are daily going to and from their school in a more normal way.
The public and sustained abuse over three months last year of schoolchildren along with their parents, relatives and priests, coupled with death threats to teachers, cannot be explained by reference to other events. Even when prior events are verifiable, they do not justify or explain what happened to those vulnerable and impressionable children.
However, the time has come to move on and look forward not back. The path of healing for the children of Holy cross and their families will take a long time. But it has begun. I hope the same healing is taking place in the Glenbryn community. The challenge facing all of us is to turn hatred and conflict into peace, forgiveness and eventual reconciliation.
If I could meet David Rose we could explore together what would create a better life for us all. Face-to-face dialogue, key to mutual understanding, may bring us nearer to the truth we are both seeking. Maybe a future letter on "Sectarian Attacks in the North" in The Irish Times will be signed by David Rose and me together?I hope so. - Yours, etc.,
Father AIDAN TROY, CP, Holy Cross, Crumlin Road, Belfast 14.