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06.12.05 |
Northern Ireland: A course in peace and reconciliation
 S. Shadewal rscj
Truth and Mercy have met together,
Justice and Peace have kissed.
The importance of each of these in the journey towards reconciliation was explored though a role play in a day’s workshop organized by the Dungannon Area Churches' Forum . Four groups were formed (ten in each group) and each group was designated as Truth, Mercy, Justice and Peace. We had to imagine the concept as a Person. We asked the question: What is Truth? They were then asked to consider what they most needed from Mercy etc most concerned about in a conflict? Each group chose a person from their group to play the part of their character, and they had to be prepared to tell the large group what they as Sister/Brother Truth, etc was concerned about in a conflict.
After each character had indicated what their concerns were, they were invited to say which of the other characters they feared most and why. They were then asked to consider what they needed most from each other. Finally they were asked to name the place where they could stand together.
Each of the above questions were discussed in the groups and feedback given to the large group. There was great freedom of expression as people talked either within their Personage group or within the four Personage groups. The most feared personages were Truth and Justice, as their demands were at times too inflexible. Truth and Justice both found that they needed the softening qualities of Mercy and Peace. Peace could only be achieved if the demands of Truth and Justice were met. So we discovered that each group needed the others in order to reach a sustained Peace.
The questions that followed were more easily tackled because of the work in groups, showing me the importance of preparing the ground before asking hard questions, especially in a context like N Ireland. With the help of the facilitators, who gave input on conflict resolution and a possible time scale for this, we looked together at the issues of Social Change and the Desired Future within the context of sustainable reconciliation. These are complex issues, and it was suggested that the Belfast Agreement, which had tried to address the totality of relationships, North, South, British, Irish, Protestant, Catholic may take at least five years yet before the actual political structures necessary are in place.
The following core elements of a Praxis of Reconciliation, which is holistic and leading to sustainable reconciliation, were looked at before we left the gathering:
Dismantling the culture of Violence
Living with compassion and Justice
Promoting Human Rights
Developing a culture of pluralism, respect and solidarity
Living in harmony with the environment
Living beyond sexism, with gender equality
Cultivating the Spiritualities of Reconciliation.
We left the gathering much enlightened but with no illusions as to the programme over the next few generations in Northern Ireland.
Kathleen Friel rscj
Province of Ireland – Scotland
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Última modificación ( 06.12.05 )
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