In its 2,800 word submission the Church calls out both the deficiencies it sees in the current arrangements and also the limitations of the institutions set out in the consultation paper. At the same time it proposes revisions of the proposals in the consultation to enable them to be a means of improving the current arrangements, as the Church believes the status quo is not acceptable and a new approach is needed. It also warns that a rejection of the proposals will likely set the issue back for many years – if not forever - adding even more distress to victims and survivors.
The Church, which is one of Ireland’s largest Christian denominations, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland, states clearly that there was never any moral justification for the illegal taking up of arms by paramilitary organisations. It goes on to say that history cannot be rewritten in an attempt to portray as legitimate what was morally wrong and totally unjustified.
The submission points out that, ‘As the consultation paper states, there is broad agreement that current arrangements are not delivering enough for victims, survivors and wider society. There are undoubtedly significant shortcomings in terms of truth, justice and care for people who have been physically and mentally injured during the Troubles. Meaningful discussion about reconciliation and related concepts of forgiveness, grace, remorse and repentance is also worryingly absent. We therefore agree that a new approach is required to address the legacy of the past. The choice we face as a society is between shaping a new approach and retaining the status quo.’ (para 7).
10 key points to take away from the legacy submission
- PCI is acutely aware of the limitations of the institutions set out in the consultation paper. However, we believe that the broad framework - investigations, information recovery, historical analysis/storytelling and a reconciliation aspect - with revisions, represents a potential opportunity to create a system that could provide some degree of closure to victims and survivors and bring a measure of healing to our society
- A rejection of this broad framework now would most likely set this issue [legacy] back by many years or potentially forever, and in doing so add even more distress to that already endured
- It is impossible to quantify the suffering which violence has visited on so many innocent people. There was never moral justification for the illegal taking up of arms by republican and loyalist paramilitary organisations
- History cannot be rewritten in an attempt to portray as legitimate what was morally wrong and totally unjustified
- A serious effort must be made to deal with the sense of moral and judicial outrage and hurt caused by the current legal definition of a victim which makes no definition between the perpetrators of violence and those attacked. This is morally unacceptable
- There is broad agreement that the current arrangements are not delivering enough for victims, survivors and wider society
- The sad reality is that, while the pursuit of truth and criminal justice are important elements of addressing the legacy of the past, it is likely that there will be few prosecutions and many families will not receive the information they seek. In this context it would be wrong to raise the expectations of victims and survivors
- The much-awaited Mental Trauma Service and a pension for severely physically injured victims should also be included in any package of measures
- The governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland should cooperate with any legacy process and be prepared to acknowledge any wrongdoing by the British and Irish states
- Any suite of measures which fuels a culture of recrimination at the expense of reconciliation will have failed. PCI believes that reconciliation is fundamentally about the restoration of broken relationships. This will be the ultimate standard by which the success or failure of any new institutions is judged.
Rev Tony Davidson, minister of First Armagh Presbyterian Church and a member of the group that worked on PCI’s submission said, “We have already said publically that the status quo in relation to dealing with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past is deficient and that the Secretary of State’s proposals are not currently acceptable and need considerable change. Given that, we believe that the proposed broad framework does represent an opportunity to find an agreed and acceptable process which could command cross-community support.
“We hope and pray that being able to address the past effectively will enable us all, as we say in our submission, ‘to reimagine and create a better future based on a more reconciled community at peace with each other’.”
You can read the full submission here.
In September the convener of the Council for Public Affairs, Very Rev Dr Norman Hamilton, wrote an article in the News Letter on PCI's legacy submission. You can read it here.