Sir, - While your correspondent, Patsy McGarry, may have ruffled a few feathers with his comments (May 19th), he did in my opinion hit the nail on the head. As a Church we did indeed take the easy way out. I am a member of synod but did not have the opportunity to speak to the debate on Tuesday. In its wake I am despairing.
The resolution which came from the synod was weak and ineffectual and confirms the word abroad about the Church of Ireland. We do not have the necessary courage to face the inevitable internal pain that will come from honestly confronting this issue. We would rather, it seems, let that pain be felt by others who will once again fall victim to sectarian violence provoked by the Drumcree service and all that surrounds it.
There is no easy way around Drumcree. There is no formula that will please all parties, because at the end of the day and contrary to the tone of the Standing Committee Report, on the issue of the Church of Ireland and the Orange Order we are dealing not with differences but incompatibilities! On this issue we cannot be all things to all people.
The right to march and protest is not compatible with the worship of Almighty God, which is, in my understanding, about reconciliation and healing. The former is however about division and triumphalism and I do not see how the members of the Orange Order can in all honesty distance themselves from the behaviour of thugs who will inevitably be roused and provoked by their marches.
Whatever the intention and motivation for marching, by the law of cause and effect the Orange Order is in some way accountable for the behaviour of its followers. In the same way, the Rector and Select Vestry of Drumcree Parish Church cannot ignore the consequences of allowing the Order lay siege to the church and grounds. It is at best irresponsible and at worst an abomination.
But at the end of the day, the difficulty we have as a church in facing up to the situation of Drumcree is one of authority, and we have a really serious problem with that in the Church of Ireland. At the lower levels we have a deep distrust of it and at the higher levels we have an all pervasive insecurity about exercising it. Even the Committee on Sectarianism fell ill with this affliction and could not recommend an extension in Bishops powers. And why? Because it was seen to be contrary to the ethos of the Church of Ireland. My experience to date of the ethos of the Church of Ireland is that it is a mythical entity behind which we hide when really courageous and difficult decisions need to be taken. The ethos of the C of I is a bit like the emperors new clothes: an illusion and a sham.
We do not need an ethos but we do need strong leadership, and we need leadership that is not afraid to make unpopular decisions and not afraid to exercise authority. We are all of us under authority; it cannot be avoided and for those who are in positions of leadership in our Church its exercise is a moral imperative. The Report of the Sub Committee on Sectarianism, in defending the restriction of episcopal powers, talks of the delicate balance of individual freedom and corporate responsibility as something not to be jeopardised lightly. I have one observation. It has long since perished on the hill at Drumcree. - Yours, etc., Rev Stephen Neill,
Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary.