THE Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Connell, has said joint action towards Christian unity is made even more urgent by the worldwide view of Ireland as a Christian country, and sometimes even as one where a religious war is being fought.
The Church of Ireland Bishop of Tuam, the Right Rev John Neill, said the luxury of paying lip service to ecumenism was no longer possible. It was now a "stark choice" between ecumenism and sectarianism, with the latter rearing "its ugly head" again.
Both men were preaching sermons at services to mark the opening of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Giving his first address in Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral, Dr Connell said that in Ireland "we have a conflict aggravated by historical memory that calls for ambassadors of reconciliation and peace.
"Joint action on the part of the churches," he said, "is an initiative made all the more urgent by the fact that the protagonists are identified worldwide as inhabitants of a Christian country - sometimes even believed abroad to be fighting a religious war."
Dr Connell said Christian unity was the basis of the programme for the year 2000 drawn up by the Catholic church's Central Millennium Committee in Rome, to which the World Council of Churches, the Greek Orthodox" Church, the Church of England and all the main Protestant denominations had sent representatives.
He also spoke of the "great warmth and friendliness" which had characterised the official visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Carey, to Rome last month. "It concluded with a Common Declaration, committing both leaders to work for full visible unity and giving the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission a new and wider mandate to deal with all areas where differences remain."
Bishop Neill, preaching in Templeboy Catholic church in Co Sligo, said: "For 25 years it has been taken for granted in most circles that one should be ecumenical - it might be called the `politically correct' attitude. The question that faces us is whether we are prepared to take this ecumenical spirit seriously enough.
"The luxury of parting lip service to ecumenis aid, "is no longer ours quite simply because we live in a situation where the spirit of sectarianism is a more potent force - it feeds on fear, distrust and distortion."