Press Releases08 Oct 18

Church leaders meet with Secretary of State

The leaders of the main Churches in Ireland met with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP, today (Monday 8 October) at Stormont House, Belfast. The meeting took place as the Secretary of State also met with the main political parties to discuss restoring devolution.

Following the meeting, the Church leaders said, “We welcomed the opportunity this morning to meet with the Secretary of State as part of the ongoing process of seeking to restore devolution to Northern Ireland.

“Our discussions today came on the back of our meeting with the political parties a week ago, where we discussed our concerns over the impact of the absence of devolved government in Northern Ireland and the importance of relationships and building trust.

“We also impressed upon on the Secretary of State those same concerns, as we did last week with the party leaders, and reiterated our willingness and desire to assist and support where we could in the challenges that lie ahead. We also emphasised the imperative to find space for ongoing dialogue.”

The Church leaders present were: The Most Rev Dr Richard Clarke (Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland), the Rev William Davison (President of the Methodist Church in Ireland), the Most Rev Bishop Noel Treanor, Bishop of Down and Connor (representing the Most Rev Eamon Martin, Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland), the Right Rev Dr Charles McMullen (Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland), the Rt Rev John McDowell, Church of Ireland Bishop of Clogher and past president of the Irish Council of Churches (ICC) (representing the Rev Brian Anderson, ICC President).