Drumcree rector would accept good behaviour pledge from Orangemen

The rector of Drumcree has said he has "no problem in principle" with a proposal that Orangemen making the annual parade to Drumcree church would be asked to pledge good behaviour.

A motion to go before the Church of Ireland General Synod in Dublin next week would require Orangemen who parade to Drumcree Parish Church to pledge to obey "the law of the land before and after the service".

They would also have to promise to avoid "any action before or after the service which diminishes the sanctity of that worship" and to avoid "the use of all church property or its environs in any civil protest following the service".

The Rev John Pickering said he would have "no problem whatsoever with the pledges". However, he was reluctant to be drawn on the motion's requirement that "the invitation established by custom to the Lodges to attend Morning Service be withdrawn" if they declined to adhere to the pledges.

"I'm on record as saying that public worship is open to everyone and I won't prevent anyone from attending the worship of Almighty God. I don't have the answer to Drumcree. I'm going to the synod to listen and maybe they can provide me with some help."

Earlier the Church of Ireland Primate, Dr Robin Eames, admitted the synod debate on the Drumcree crisis would be difficult.

Speaking at a pre-synod press conference in Dublin, Dr Eames said the debate on Drumcree and sectarianism would be "a defining moment for the church in the last synod of the 20th century."

"We are looking for a really indepth examination of where the church fits in to sectarianism. We cannot of ourselves change and cure sectarianism but we have a moral obligation to look into a mirror." He said such a process could be "painful, sensitive, hurtful and divisive" but he believed it was the right thing to do.

Dr Eames said he had been in contact with the Orange Order at least three times about Drumcree, but had yet to get a response to his representations. He said it would be very helpful if the Orange Order gave its view on the proposed pledges. "It would also be very helpful if they responded to the other plea that I've made on more occasions than I care to remember for direct dialogue with the residents on the Garvaghy Road."

He said "a very strong pastoral situation" would arise if the pledges were approved by the synod but rejected by the select vestry or the rector of Drumcree. Such an eventuality would "question the whole relationship of an action by the general synod with the whole church and one parish of that church." Any resolution of the synod was "an important and a very, very significant event", he said.

"The Church of Ireland's mission has suffered immensely from the way in which the events of Drumcree have been perceived . . . That's one of the reasons the whole Church of Ireland is now addressing this issue the way it is," he said.