Visit to Holy Land “Harrowing But Not Hopeless” – Archbishop Harper’s Presidential Address to the General Synod

Archbishop Condemns Car-Bomb Attack on PSNI Officer

In his Presidential address at the opening of the three day General Synod of the Church of Ireland, the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Alan Harper will reflect on the recent visit by the four Irish Church leaders to the Holy Land at the invitation of Trócaire and Christian Aid. Archbishop Harper joined Cardinal Seán Brady, the Revd Roy Cooper, President of the Methodist Church and the Revd John Finlay for a four day visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem (29 April – 2 May).

For the full text of the Archbishop’s Presidential Address please click here.

In his address the Archbishop will describe his visit as “harrowing but not hopeless” adding that he was “deeply moved by the resilience of West Bank Palestinians in circumstances of intolerable hardship, denial of dignity and severe restriction of freedom of movement.”

Drawing particular attention to the plight of Palestinian Christians the Archbishop will say “the Christians of Israel and Palestine are steadily reducing, both in numbers and as a proportion of the population of both Israel and the West Bank. I should make it clear that Christians express no sense of any threat from Islam. Rather what threatens is the intolerable conditions in which they are forced to live together with opportunities for a peaceful and prosperous future elsewhere.”

Elsewhere in his address, the Archbishop strongly condemned the car bomb attack on a PSNI Officer in Spamount Village, near Castlederg. He said that he prayed that those in political influence and responsibility “will not allow themselves to be diverted by the abhorrent assassination attempt last evening on a member of the PSNI at Spamount near Castlederg.” He continued, “Our first concern in this Synod must be to pray for the full recovery of the officer concerned. Our second is to thank God for the courage of the member of the public who pulled the officer from the wreckage. Our third is to declare unequivocally that such actions by whomsoever perpetrated are totally unacceptable, an affront to God, to human decency and to the democratically expressed will of the overwhelming majority of people in Ireland today. The perpetrators are yesterday’s men, They do not represent the aspirations of any significant body of opinion in Ireland. The future will not be determined by violence, it will be determined by building on trust, respect and consensus.”

The Archbishop will also outline a vision for the Church of Ireland in the 21st Century developed by the House of Bishops with particular reference to changes in the training of clergy for ministry in the Church. Summarized by the terms “Growth, Unity and Service” he said that the Bishops “offer our vision so that each diocese and parish in its own way can consider its individual expression of God’s mission in the light of a vision for the Church as a whole. We offer our vision also in the profound conviction that a vision is an empowering thing, inspiring engagement, energizing intent and directing action.”

During the address, the Archbishop will break with the traditional approach by playing a video of the work of the Jethro centre in Lurgan, a Church of Ireland facility described as “Northern Ireland’s most integrated parish centre” which provides facilities for young and old of both communities in the area.

For further information contact:
Garrett Casey, Synod Press Officer
Mobile: +353 ()087 2356472