Archbishop Robin Eames, Primate of the Anglican Church of Church of Ireland”, has completed his term as Archbishop of Armagh and tendered his resignation. During a sermon marking his retirement in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Northern Ireland, he made an end-of-the-year appeal to unionists and nationalists to “capture the future” and find a peaceful way of living together. He also signed a declaration a few days ago together with the leaders of four of the most important Northern Irish Christian churches calling for an end to sectarianism. At the age of 69 Eames will now enter the House of Lords at Westminster where he will continue to defend the peace process. Over the last twenty years, Eames has been a key figure in the dialogue between Protestants and Catholics and it is also owing to him that this tormented province of the United Kingdom now finally sees a glimpse of real peace on the horizon. The ecumenical appeal for “an end to prejudices and sectarianism in the year ahead” and “a rejection of words, attitudes and actions that fuel them” was signed, apart from Eames, by the Catholic Primate Sean Brady, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church, David Clarke, and the President of the Methodist Communion, Ivan McElhinney. The four Christian leaders explained that Northern Ireland is about to face a decisive year that “will either take us towards a shared future of progress or leave us trapped in a past of resentment and prejudice”.
