THE Archbishop of Armagh, Dr Sean Brady, has appealed to the IRA to restore its ceasefire.
In his World Peace Day message yesterday, he said there was "a great fear at the prospect of a return to violence".
New Year was a time for heart searching. "Let all of us ask ourselves what we can do to prevent a return to a situation which is a recipe for misery and disaster. Let those who are tempted to go back to the use of physical force realise that a just and lasting peace could never be produced by such a means.
There was another way to solve the problem. "It is the way of dialogue and negotiation," he said.
Despite the obstacles, there was still hope that those contemplating a return to violence would see the futility of that approach and reject the temptation to inflict suffering. There was still hope that loyalist paramilitaries would maintain their ceasefire and ensure that they continue to make "their very commendable contribution to the search for peace".
Dr Brady said peace would not necessarily be a victory for the strongest over the weakest. It would be a victory for justice over injustice, truth over falsehood, and a victory over tyranny and over every form of intimidation and oppression.
A "healing of memories was needed. We could not remain prisoners of our past as Pope John Paul had reminded us in his World Peace Day message. "This does not mean that we forget the past. It means looking at the past with a new attitude."
The Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr Patrick Walsh, also appealed for a renewal of the ceasefire. The community in Northern Ireland must ask itself whether it was prepared to begin the journey towards a lasting and authentic peace. "We all know that the journey is made all the more difficult if violence holds the stage. There must be an absolute and total and convincing cessation to all violence. This is a precondition.
Every person must make the journey and not wait for others. Each one must shed the baggage of history by excising the cancer of prejudice, intolerance, bigotry and distrust.
How often, he asked, had they heard the words "the peace process"? They had become almost a cliche. A new phrase was needed and he suggested the one - "a journey towards peace" - used by the Holy Father. They should reflect on that journey and what it meant for everybody in Northern Ireland.
As on any journey, they should not take too much baggage. One obvious way to lighten the load was to travel without the burden of history. "We so easily imprison ourselves in the past or allow ourselves to be imprisoned. The past, with all its negativity, is kept alive by marching feet, by graffiti on walls, by the steady drum beat of hateful slogans, stirring memories rather than healing them."