Washington, D.C., December 20, 1995 -- May
peace encircle the entire earth this Christmas, especially Ireland.
This is the Christmas message from the Irish
National Caucus, the Irish lobby in Washington.
"Because of brave men and women in
Ireland, North and South -- Protestant and Catholic -- there is peace
this Christrnas," said Fr. Sean McManus, Caucus President. "Those
who are making the peace 'shall be called children of God."'
"To me, the peace-process is the only
process. All other alternatives have been tried and failed,"
Fr . McManus explained. "The peace-process is the greatest
development in my life time. All of us must surely do our utmost
to make it succeed. Helping the peace-process is the greatest good
we can do and hurting it is the greatest wrong we can do."
"This Christmas our hearts must go out
to all who have been hurt or killed in the Troubles. We must love
and forgive our enemies -- just as Jesus Christ came to love and forgive
us. We must not forget the prisioners -- Loyalist and Republican
--who in a unique way are symbols of our tragic conflict."
"And, finally, we all must dedicate
ourselves to nonviolence and to working for justice and reconciliation
-- in truth. My wish is that peace will encircle the entire earth this
Christmas, especially Ireland," he concluded.
