President highlights our sectarian legacy
President Mary McAleese, coming from a strong nationalist background, has admirably prioritised a healing agenda since her election.
We in Reform welcome the clarification of her recent remarks, while sadly recognising that her comparison of unionists to Nazis was out of keeping with her bridge-building pledges.
On a positive note her comments may help us to think about how we can work to overcome more than four and a half centuries of sectarianism.
The fact that sectarianism is very much alive in this country was revealed recently by Matt Cooper on his radio programme, The Last Word.
He reported that 90% of calls and emails supported the president’s comments, and other radio programmes show a high degree of ignorance among younger people about the position of southern Protestants who have been marginalised.
Also the Catholic church’s previous Ne Temere decree, and its present refusal to recognise mixed religion marriages which do not take place in its own churches, show arrogance and intolerance towards other religious beliefs.
Reform works for a pluralist, post-nationalist future where we have a tapestry of cultures, following the Canadian example.
We believe church and state need to be separated, particularly in our schools where a non-denominational ethos is to be encouraged.
Educate Together is doing very good work here.
We also need to make social civics a compulsory school subject, North and South, where respect for different traditions and religions is taught.
In fact, no better person than Mary McAleese to encourage such an approach.
Robin Bury
Chairman
The Reform Movement
Killiney
Co Dublin
