Reconciliation in Londonderry: The Challenges and Constraints Experienced by Protestant Clergy

Abstract

Northern Ireland is a place that is more peaceful due principally to the cessation (although imperfect) of republican and loyalist paramilitary violence in 1994. While the violent excesses of ethnic dispute in Northern Ireland no longer saturate media reports, there remains much fear, distrust, and insecurity between Protestant and Catholic communities. This article conducts a microexamination of church‐led attempts at cross‐community reconciliation by Protestant clergy in the city of Londonderry. These attempts are often hampered because of factors that affect both the clergy and the wider Protestant community within which the clergy discharge their pastoral duties. The constraints in their ecumenical activity and interfaith contacts that Protestant clergy experience highlight other factors that hinder the evolution of a more peaceful society. It also causes one to reflect carefully upon the effectiveness of ecumenism and interfaith dialogue as a model for advancing society towards peace and reconciliation. The findings of this paper are based upon a qualitative methodology that involved eight semistructured interviews with clergy of the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, and Methodist traditions.