Archbishop urges new efforts to restore Northern Ireland government

Published: 2004-12-13

MAYNOOTH, Ireland (CNS) -- Following the collapse of political talks to restore a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, a prominent Irish archbishop has called on all parties to renew efforts to complete what might be the final stage of the peace process. "I believe that the progress which has been made to date is extraordinary," said Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland. "That progress shows that the parties are able and willing to work together. But the breakdown just short of the finishing line is disappointing. It tells us that more trust has to be built. The lesson may be, in all of this, that all parties who intend to go into government together need not only to talk, but to listen to each other. Otherwise their governing will not be as effective as it might be and will not necessarily be for the good of all the people," the archbishop said in a statement released Dec. 9 by the Catholic Communications Office in Maynooth. On Dec. 8, officials of the British and Irish governments announced that talks on restoring the power-sharing government had stalled over whether an official photographer could take pictures of the outlawed Irish Republican Army destroying its weapons.

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