"When we feel daunted by the
problems which face this community as we look ahead into a new
year let us all take fresh heart when we remember two facts:
- How far we have come in a relatively short time
and
- The inherent decency of the vast majority of people in
both our main traditions.
Even a few years ago few would have imagined that the
political structures we now have would have been possible. We
have come a very long way despite the temptation to cling to or
turn back into the old familiar but failed paths of the past. We
face great problems to secure a lasting and just peace. The pain
of change for many of our people has been almost unbearable. The
price of peace has been immense. At times that price has
demanded forbearance and courage of the highest order.
Acceptance of those we disagree with calls for the questioning
of attitudes which were a protection of what we believed
essential to our own individual tradition. The cost of progress
forced us all to think deeply about priorities. Those who carry
with them into this new year painful memories of past hurt must
never be forgotten. Memories are a crucial ingredient of our
lives. But it is what we do with those memories which marks us
out as individuals made in the image of God.
I have long believed in the inherent decency of the vast
majority of Protestants and Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland.
That decency, at times hidden behind events over which we have
felt little control, has time and again brought us back from the
brink. We deserve a future of peace and justice for all
traditions. The best of those traditions is what we must hold on
to in 2001. Clear minds and a determination to seek justice not
just for our own tradition but for what is important to others
must be the vision we take with us into this new year. It is
surely also the basis for a future for all who call themselves
Christians."
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