The Church and the Conflict in Northern Ireland: A Case for Corrymeela? An assessment of an ecumenical organisation working toward peace and reconciliation. by Ted Cichon BA (Hons.), RN (Psych.) Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Political Science School of Government, University of Tasmania September 1, 2000 Declaration This dissertation does not contain any material which has been accepted for the award of any other higher degree or graduate diploma in any tertiary institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the dissertation represents my own work and does not contain any material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the dissertation. Ted Cichon September 1, 2000 This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance , with the Copyright Act 1968. i Acknowledgements My thanks go out to the people who assisted me in my research; pointing me in helpful directions and the like. These include the staff of the Corrymeela Community in Upper Crescent Belfast; Dr Gerard McCann, administrator of the Morning Star Hostel in Belfast; Father Joseph Martins, chaplain at the University of Tasmania and Professor Richard Davis, who gave their time for discussions. For other aspects of my research, I thank Brett Johnson, and Julie Lawless for their donation of journal articles, as well as useful Internet sites. My thanks go to Kevin Tomkins for his assistance with technical support. I also thank Sean Allen of Belfast and Michelle Conklin of Detroit in the United States, for their comments on some of the contemporary issues of this thesis topic. My thanks also go to Michael McNeill of the Central Survey Unit in Belfast, for providing essential statistics on mixed marraiges and church attendance. This information played a central role in this study. My thanks go to the staff at Document Delivery, Morris Miller Library at the University of Tasmania. I must also thank my mother, Dr Jennifer Jackson and David Stannard for their encouragement and support. Finally, my sincerest thanks to Dr William Bostock for his invaluable guidance, advice and supervision, and indeed Associate Professor Baogang He, for his complementary input, without which this study would not have been possible. i i Abbreviations AIA Anglo-Irish Agreement AIP Association of Irish Priests AOH Ancient Order of Hibernians AP Alliance Party CIA Central Intelligence Agency CIRA Continuity Irish Republican Army CRA Civil Rights Association CRM Civil Rights Movement DCAC Derry Citizen's Action Committee DRC Dutch Reformed Church DUP Democratic Unionist Party ECONI Evangelical Contribution on Northern Ireland FAIT Families Against Intimidation of Terror IMC International Missionary Council INL Irish National League INLA Irish National Liberation Army IPLO Irish People's Liberation Organisation IRA Irish Republican Army ITUC Irish Trades Union Congress LYE Loyalist Volunteer Fighters MI5 Military Intelligence (Section) 5 NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NI Northern Ireland NICRA Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association NIO Northern Ireland Office OIRA Official Irish Republican Army OUP Official Unionist Party PIRA Provisional Irish Republican Army PSF Provisional Sinn Fein PUP Progressive Unionist Party RHC Red Hand Commandos RIRA Real Irish Republican Army/ Real IRA RSF Republican Sinn Fein RUC Royal Ulster Constabulary SDLP Social Democratic Labour Party SF Sinn Fein 111 UDA Ulster Defence Association UFF Ulster Freedom Fighters UK United Kingdom UN United Nations US United States UUP Ulster Unionist Party UVF Ulster Volunteer Force UWC Ulster Workers' Council YMCA Young Christian Men's Association YCWA Young Christian Women's Association WCC World Council of Churches iv To the twenty-nine people who lost their lives in Omagh, County Tyrone, on Saturday August 15, 1998 A Note on Terminology The use of the term Republican Movement means Provisional IRA and Sinn Fein. The term Movement is used by the Republicans to mean IRA. In fact, to the Provisionals, the Republican Movement means the IRA -- not the IRA and Sinn Fein. In this dissertation, the use of non-denominational terms Nationalists/nationalists (for Catholics) and Unionists/unionists (for Protestants) are used interchangeably. Loyalist is the term generally given for more extreme Unionists. Also it is noted here that there is no distinction intended by using lower or upper case in the above terms, as most literature on this subject uses the two cases interchangeably. The fact that these identities coincide with the religion of those who wish to maintain union with Great Britain (unionists/loyalists) and those who aspire to a united Ireland (nationalists/republicans) is a legacy of history. This exchangeability of terms extends to ' the six counties', (upper or lower case), Ulster, 'the province' (upper or lower case) --- all meaning Northern Ireland. Some writers, (as well as usage in the spoken language) refer to the same province, that is Ulster, as the north of Ireland. Similarly, 'the Republic' generally means the Republic of Ireland, as well as the twenty-six counties. Most literature uses upper and/or lower cases, for North/South to mean Ulster and Ireland. Finally, the above interchangeability is often used for the term 'the troubles', which means the conflict in Northern Ireland since 1968. In this thesis, to avoid confusion, references to the Irish Republican Army (IRA) will also mean that the dominant republican paramilitary organisation is the same organisation as the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). It is acknowledged that a split took place in 1970, and the former group was known as the Official IRA. Similarly, Provisional Sinn Fein (PSF), is the political counterpart of PIRA, but is also referred to as Sinn Fein. vi Abstract The conflict in Northern Ireland is one of the longest conflicts in post-war Europe. It is often described as a sectarian conflict between Catholics and Protestants. Certainly, there is no other religious division in the English- speaking world such as that which is witnessed in this British province. Although there is a formidable amount of literature on this subject, there is limited discourse on the relationship between the major confessions and the relationship between the Churches and the conflict. In order to gain an understanding of this relationship, and for the purposes of clarity this study attempts to define the terms 'religion' and 'politics'. Moreover, this study examines the relationship between religion and politics and between Church and State in a variety of experiences. Such an inquiry identifies patterns of ecclesiastical and political behaviour. In order to demonstrate this, a historical-comparative method is employed, accompanied with an investigation of the Irish experience from early times to the contemporary period. Thus, in this instance, it is a case study. However, in the latter part of the twentieth-century, we witnessed efforts at attempting greater church unity. The meeting of the Second Vatican Council, held between 1962 and 1965, was a concerted effort by the Roman Catholic Church to achieve this end. Interestingly, this Council was held before the eruption of the current conflict. Thus, this study also examines the ramifications of Vatican II, particularly in the context of Northern Ireland. Also, in 1965, the Corrymeela Community was founded in Belfast as an ecumenical organisation. Its latter objectives focus on peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, which also means religious and social healing between the Protestant and Catholic communities. Peace movements and organisations seeking social justice are not altogether new phenomena in Northern Ireland. Nevertheless, it is necessary to examine the variants, which exist in a changed Irish society, since the beginning of the conflict. These variants include phenomena such as demographical changes, European Union membership, secularisation, constitutional amendments, paramilitary criminality and denominational intransigence. Thus, some of these variants can be viewed as 'adversities' that confront the Corrymeela Community. This examination also enables this study to assess the viability and potential of the Corrymeela Community, not only as an ecclesiastical actor, but also its position in the political sphere. In other words, this inquiry also considers the Community's efficacy in a political environment, which has experienced several significant popular developments, such as the Peace Process, and the referendums held in the Republic of Ireland and in the province of Ulster in 1998. At the same time however, the above do not necessarily detract from the Corrymeela Community's efforts of achieving peace and reconciliation. vii Disclaimer Although every effort has been taken to ensure that all Hyperlinks to the Internet Web sites cited in this dissertation are correct at the time of writing, no responsibility can be taken for any changes to these URL addresses. This may change the format as being either underlined, or without underlining. Due to the fickle nature of the Internet at times, some addresses may not be found after the initial publication of an article. For instance, some confusion may arise when an article's address changes from "front page", such as in newspaper sites, to an archive listing. This dissertation has employed the Australian English version of spelling, but where other works have been cited, the original spelling has been