Photo: Hugh Russell 
Pope Francis’ letter to Northern Irish Presbyterian Rev. Norman Hamilton “modelled respectful dialogue” as the North faces “fraught times”, said Fr Martin Magill.
Fr Magill, a Belfast-based priest and organiser of 4 Corners Belfast, praised the letter for “modelling dialogue and respectful dialogue”.
“I welcome it especially because we are in another of our fraught times here in Northern Ireland,” he told The Irish Catholic.
Over the weekend, there were riots in loyalist parts of Derry and Belfast as tensions boiled over.
Five police officers sustained injuries after being pelted with petrol bombs and masonry in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus, near Belfast, on Sunday night.
It brings the total number of police injured in incidents in Derry and Belfast over the Easter weekend to 32.
Pope Francis personally sent a letter to Rev. Hamilton to thank him for the “thoughtful observations you made in your article on my Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti in The Irish News”.
Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin, who drew the article to the Pope’s attention, described it as “perhaps unprecedented in the context of Northern Ireland”.
Actions
Fr Magill said the actions of Rev. Hamilton and Pope Francis contrasts the absence of a “spirit of co-operation amongst our politicians”.
“I really welcome the fact that Pope Francis will actually go ahead and send such a significant letter,” Fr Magill said. “And credit to Rev. Norman Hamilton for his reflections in the first place, which of course was the piece that sparked off the letters.”
Fr Magill said their interaction modelled the kind of dialogue Pope Francis encouraged in Fratelli Tutti.
“Norman’s particular concern is about wanting to build the likes of justice and peace, his concern for the vulnerable – and here the two of them are, they’re able to find common ground,” Fr Magill continued. “That’s sending out a very positive message.”
