Irish youths build friendships in U.S. internship program

Published: 2004-07-22

ARLINGTON, Va. (CNS) -- Religion is not important to them -- but that's good. Instead of letting religious differences divide them, 29 Catholic and Protestant youths from Ireland are spending their summer as interns in the United States. As participants in the Washington Ireland Program, they are honoring diversity, gaining friendships and learning perspectives that will lay the foundation for a brighter future in their homeland. "The Ireland of yesterday is gone," said Andrew McCann, a member of the program's management team. "It's all about unity these days." In an interview with the Arlington Catholic Herald, newspaper of the Arlington Diocese, McCann said that "religion is not the only source of identity. The religion question is not a very big factor for people in the program." He explained that Protestant-Catholic relations in Ireland are still locked in the American mind-set, but the interns are showing they are able to get along with people despite their religious differences. "Faith tells us to love one another," said Padraigin Creen, an intern from Trinity College in Dublin.

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