As Ireland celebrates the 100th anniversary to mark the Easter Rising centenary, Irish bishops,amid fears have said there needs to be a renewed allegiance to peace.
One hundred years after the Easter Rising, 2016 needs to be the year for “a radical culture of peace”, they said.
The remarks were made during the Irish episcopal conference commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising of 1916.
The Easter was the first major armed uprising against the British Empire in the 20th century and is being marked 100 years later in Ireland as the turning point establishing an independent Ireland.
The bishops said that the events of the Easter Rising had a “profound impact on national identity and shaped the political landscape in ways that can still be felt” today. Upcoming commemorations they say, have the potential to stimulate much-needed reflection on where we are as a society and what we want to achieve for the future.
The bishops added the Church has an important role in “nurturing healing conversations” which comes to the forefront when we remember such events.
The message was concluded with a plea to commitment to peace and providence for a transparent society in order that obstacles could be fought to the barest minimum.
