The leader of the Irish Church has expressed concern over the possible return of a hard border within Ireland and the impact this will have on the peace process.
In an interview with Vatican Insider, Archbishop Eamon Martin, whose diocese straddles both sides of the border, described himself as “nervous”. He also paid tribute to the European Union’s principles of peace, reconciliation and harmony which had shaped the peace process in Ireland.
Asked about the consequences of a border returning following the UK’s vote for Brexit, he warned that the freedom of movement would be at stake.
“As one Church, we want to have assurances that the possibility to move between the North and the Republic will remain the same as today,” he said.
According to the Archbishop, the Church wants to be a peaceful voice of reconciliation amid the risk of returning to the old divisions that have inflamed the past.
His comments were made as voters in Northern Ireland prepared to go to the polls on 2 March to elect a new power-sharing government.
Last month, the North’s bishops issued a statement appealing to politicians to “reject the temptation to retreat into partisanship” at a time of growing divisions in political life and in the negotiations on the UK’s status in the European Union.
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