Hiding Behind the Flag
Gladstone said that failure to achieve a British-Irish reconciliation was 'the one and only conspicuous failure of our political genius'. After the First World War Churchill commented that despite the upheaval of most of Europe the enmities of Northern Ireland remained firmly in place. Until we are prepared to make the leap of imagination which puts us into the other man's position, and puts us on to the other side of the divide, they will stay in place. Unless we enter into the insecurity, hurt, and history of the other players we will have no chance of understanding the origins or nature of the conflict. The temptation is to run away from this issue - it is easier to care about far-away places - to 'leave it to the Irish', or to hide behind worn-out slogans and clapped-out rhetoric about a 'United Ireland' or 'United Kingdom'. Neither position can lead to reconciliation because either way, one part of the community loses. Either way, someone will feel unable to wrap themselves in the other person's flag. This is where the British-Irish cities, with their extraordinary mixture of culture, faith, and conflict, can teach one another a thing or two. Although Liverpool's Archbishop Worlock rightly points out that there are still plenty of examples of mindless conflict and division in Liverpool, the city can take great heart from the painful process of reconciliation personified by its three church leaders. Writing in the summer 1990 edition of Corrymeela Link, Ray Davey commented on this visit of Archbishop Worlock and Bishop Sheppard to Ballycastle, when they gave the 'Witness For Peace/Corrymeela Lecture'. Davey says that the lasting memory was the 'very genuine relationship of respect, trust and friendship' between the two men. 'Surely here is a timely reminder for us to grasp again the potential of a personal relationship as a starting point, and a very natural one, in our divided society. It is the only way that trust, understanding and harmony can begin among us.' Davey was struck that for Worlock and Sheppard the Gospel was not something apart from the rest of life but an intimate ingredient in every aspect of life: 'Phrases that came through several times were "the importance of being with people" and "Willingness to be there".'
A Tale of Three Cities
From the bitter experiences of its sectarian past Liverpool's Christians have learnt how to coexist and how to co-operate on a whole range of issues. Glasgow, meanwhile, has turned around an image based on negatives. Belfast's planners and