CARDINAL John O'Connor of New York has strongly criticised Britain's position on decommissioning of weapons in Northern Ireland, saying that it "defies basic logic". In an article in Catholic New York, the cardinal said a hand-over of arms before peace talks was unheard of historically, except in cases of unconditional surrender.
"My business is not with politics, but with morality, and while some might accuse me of meddling again in political life in Northern Ireland, I feel an obligation to respond to the many Irish American New Yorkers who ask my perspective," wrote the cardinal, who discussed the issue with Sinn Fein vice-president, Mr Martin McGuinness, in New York three months ago.
There could be no question that peace must become a permanent way of life and that all violence and killings must cease, whatever the alleged justification, he stated. "The question is how to get from here to there.
It had been argued by some parties that disarmament must be the first step. "It seems to me to defy basic logic to expect any party to a conflict to hand over any arms before peace talks even commence; before any substantial discussion of the issues which led to the taking up of arms in the first place.
"Furthermore, such handing over of arms is unheard of historically, except in cases of an unconditional surrender. Yet this is what could be perceived as being demanded in Northern Ireland."
Cardinal O'Connor cited Cardinal Cabal Daly's Christmas message when he said the use or threat of weapons must be excluded by all.
"Everyone in the entire community in Northern Ireland must exclude weapons and threats and accept the principle of disarmament, not merely one side or the other", he wrote. Both loyalist and republican paramilitaries had weapons and "an extraordinarily disproportionate number of gun licences are held by the `majority' in comparison to those held by the `minority'.
It was not human nature to expect total unilateral disarmament on either side, argued the cardinal, who last year was honorary grand marshal of the St Patrick's Day Parade in New York. "A consensus would seem most unlikely unless and until there is a bilateral acceptance of a sincere agreement to progressive, balanced, controlled and verifiable disarmament on both sides in what we should view as a common community regardless of the longstanding divisions into `majority' and `minority'.