Loyalist attitude is slowly changing, says Primate

The Church of Ireland Primate has said there is evidence that "slowly, very slowly, the pendulum of loyalist attitude is changing" in the North. Dr Robin Eames said there was a new sensitivity by loyalists to relationships between the two communities. Change was also occurring among republicans, he noted.

"While it (republicanism) has yet to really understand the depth of unionist fears or the real reasons for them, and while it has yet to really understand Protestantism, I detect a growing consciousness that a simplistic view of Protestantism and unionism is no longer adequate."

He wondered whether "we are seeing the first tentative moves towards a new openness and a new era of more understanding of each other."

Giving the Hugh Kay memorial lecture in London, to the Christian Association of Business Executives, he spoke of "the vital importance" of human reaction and attitude as the determining factor for the future of Northern Ireland.

It was possible of late "to detect a shift in emphasis" on both sides in the North as regarded their own aspirations, he said.

"Recent statements by nationalist and republican spokespersons appear to acknowledge that while the long-term objective (of a united Ireland) remains, there are intermediate stages such as equality, justice, and fair treatment."

Meanwhile unionism "increasingly talks of consent."

The churches must divorce themselves from sectarianism and be open in their dealings, he said. They needed to recognise the part they played in fostering division and divisive attitudes.

For this reason the Church of Ireland was at present engaged in "a deep analysis of sectarianism as it appears in our ethos and life."

Neither community must be allowed go into the future harbouring deep resentment or anger; unemployment, poverty and feelings of injustice existed among the Protestant community too. Further, he felt that Protestantism in the North "is not always recognised as the diverse grouping it is."

However, within that community there must be a new era of self-confidence, he said, and that would come if they felt they had a future in the land of their birth no matter what changes were proposed. The "British Irish" had as much claim to justice and fair treatment as everyone else living on the island, but they had to embrace a new attitude of understanding of what equality and fair treatment meant in practical ways.

Reform or change affecting them depended for success on the response at grassroots level of a community "which is inherently suspicious of anyone or anything who will be perceived as undermining their constitutional position."

He said "new trust" was essential. "Ireland is changing slowly but surely," but the quality and pace of that change depended on "human attitude, human outlook, and human reaction."