Covid-19: Derry Bishop in tribute to those who keep society running

Dr Donal McKeown, speaking on Sunday at the concluding ceremony of the Novena to St Therese of Lisieux, said one of the striking features of the last eight weeks had been the dedication of those who had kept society running.

He said: “The medical services have inspired, the Council employees are out from 6am keeping our streets clean, the Post Office staff go from door to door and those in shops so often greet us with a smile. And I am amazed at how active our parishes have remained. There is both great creativity and a huge level of response on various media platforms.”

The Bishop added: “After two months as enforced migrants to this strange new world, I want to thank all those clergy, religious and laity who have done so much to bring encouragement and hope in confusing times. That work should not surprise anyone.

“We would do a great disservice to history if we forget that so many quiet heroes of the conflict were those who held parishes, communities, schools, workplaces, hospitals, sports clubs and entertainment together despite the chaos all around. It is easy to destroy. But real heroes are those who build in hope, trusting that they can lay apparently unspectacular foundations on which others can erect an unseen future.”

Speaking earlier on Sunday, the Bishop referred to the “dangerous mixture of politics and religious identity” which, he said, had contributed to much conflict down through the last five centuries.

“There is a need for specific reconciliation about what happened before and during our conflict,” he added... “When we can learn to tell an honest shared language about God’s workings in the past, we can face a shared future together.

“Perceived victory and defeat are all that can come from an ongoing war by historical political narrative. Reconciliation needs a new language, not merely recycled old hang-ups,” he added.