A POLITICAL group associated with the UDA has told the Catholic primate “there is no going back” to a bloody past.
The Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) leadership told Cardinal Seán Brady and two senior bishops it was working to build a new future.
It was the first time talks were held between the leadership of the Catholic Church in Ireland and the loyalist group led by Frankie Gallagher.
The cardinal said the two-hour talks were “highly significant”, and were “important in its symbolism as well as in its substance”.
Dr Brady said: “We conveyed to the UPRG the real fear that exists within the Catholic community about the possibility of future violent activity by loyalist groups. We appreciate, and are greatly encouraged by, the assurance given by the UPRG that there is no going back to the past, that together we are building a new future.”
Speaking to The Irish Times after the talks, Mr Gallagher said the loyalist community had shown a great maturity in its non-violent response to dissident republican murders last month.
“Our political leadership in the First Minister and Deputy First Minister filled the vacuum very quickly, the Roman Catholic Church filled it very quickly, the Protestant churches, which we are meeting next week, filled it very quickly.
“I think that civic society stepped up to the mark so it was up to us . . . to step up to that mark as well and create a new environment where violence is no longer a viable option.”
Asked about UDA decommissioning, Mr Gallagher said the meeting with the Cardinal and two bishops did not discuss the issue.
“We did not speak about anything to do with that. That is business for the UDA and there is a process there and that is sorted out within that.” Cardinal Brady said the meeting dwelled on the need for civic and religious leaders to close ranks to address the legitimate fears of both Protestant and Catholic communities, especially in the face of continuing or threatened violence.
Echoing the UPRG statement, Dr Brady said: “There is no going back. The only viable future for Northern Ireland is a totally peaceful and reconciled future based on mutual respect and a shared commitment to peaceful and democratic means of dealing with age-old political differences.
“Our meeting with the UPRG is, in my view, a reason to be hopeful about the future.”