We want to bring hope and reconciliation, Northern Ireland clerics say

A Church of Ireland minister and a Catholic priest have said they want to “bring hope and reconciliation” as they discussed ongoing tension in Northern Ireland.Dean of Enniskillen the Very Rev Kenneth Hall and the Rt Rev Monsignor Peter O’Reilly, who work in two churches located on the same street in south-west Northern Ireland, received honours from the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.They were both made Officers of the Order of the British Empire in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to reconciliation and peace building in Enniskillen and Co Fermanagh.The Very Rev Kenneth Hall said: ‘We need to listen and understand and respect’ (Andrew Matthews/PA)PA WireThe pair had previously said they saw the honours as “belonging to many people across our community who, over many years, have chosen friendship over suspicion, encounter over separation and hope over fear”.Asked what they meant by that, Mr Hall told the Press Association on Wednesday: “It’s just to give people hope where there is fear.“Particularly in the province at the moment, it’s not good at the moment, you know, and there’s that tension in the background, and we want to bring hope and reconciliation and understanding and respect.“You don’t have to be like each other, but all you have to do is have tolerance and respect and understanding.“It’s when that goes out the window, then that’s when the whole thing breaks down.”He added: “We need to listen and understand and respect.”Mgr O’Reilly said: “(It is) being able to see past difference towards what is genuinely human.”The Rt Rev Monsignor Peter O’Reilly was made an OBE at Windsor Castle (Andrew Matthews/PA)PA WireHe added: “I think the important thing in life is we don’t always have to agree totally with each other, but we do need to hear each other.“The thing is, if me being me means you can’t be you, there’s no future in that for any of us.”In a public show of unity, the two clerics welcomed the late Queen for a historic walk between their two churches in 2012.They jointly hosted the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, which marked the first time the British monarch stepped inside a Catholic church on the island of Ireland.Mgr O’Reilly said of the late Queen’s visit: “What she did was to make visible a level of connection.”Read MoreAsked if connection is what people in Northern Ireland need at the moment, he told PA: “I would say there’s already a level of connection there.“People are already friendly… and we just need to continue.“You mightn’t always be able to win against those who disagree with you, but you could lose. It’s important.Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh accompanied by Dean Kenneth Hall (left) walking between St Macartin’s Church of Ireland (Anglican) Cathedral and St Michael’s Catholic Church Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, in 2012 (Julien Behal/PA)PA Media“What we and others, and particularly the people we represent, have already been doing all the years along, maintaining a level of friendship, is building a space where we can be families, where we can be friends, where we can, you know, live our lives and be.”The clerics built on the historic late Queen’s visit, hosting joint services between St Macartin’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Church in Enniskillen, in contrast to Northern Ireland’s long battle with sectarian division.They also visited Buckingham Palace together in October 2012 and Windsor Castle in 2014, for the first state reception for an Irish president in England since Irish independence in 1921.They continue to facilitate shared services between their churches, with the congregation being invited to cross the street to conclude the service in the other location.In a joint statement after the ceremony on Wednesday, the clergymen said: “Looking back, much of our work has not been about creating a new reality but about recognising and giving visibility to the goodwill and friendship that already exist.“We hope this recognition will encourage that spirit of neighbourliness and strengthen our shared commitment to a future in which people can remain faithful to their own traditions while respecting and valuing those of others.”