On Wednesday Father Martin Magill, the Parish Priest at St John’s Parish, Belfast, told the packed St Anne’s Cathedral: “Why in God’s name does it take the death of a 29 year old woman with her whole life in front of her to get us to this point? As Christians recalled the death of Jesus on the cross, we remembered that his death was not in vain but was for us the doorway to eternal life. I dare to hope that Lyra’s murder on Holy Thursday night can be the doorway to a new beginning.”
Fr Martin received a standing ovation and on Friday it was announced that there will be new talks to re-establish power sharing at the Northen Ireland assembly.
Reverend Brian Anderson, who is a Methodist minister in Belfast, says Father Martin Magill may have played a significant role in finding a way to end Northern Ireland’s political deadlock.
The Northern Ireland Assembly collapsed more than two years ago, and talks up until this point have failed to restore it. Northern Ireland’s two biggest political parties have failed to reach an agreement that would allow the Assembly to reconvene.
Rev. Anderson is hopeful the reaction to Lyra’s death, and Fr Martin’s words at the funeral, will help create an opportunity for political progress: “In some ways, what he said will allow them off their hooks and out of their corners – because there’s a momentum now.
“Let’s work towards a…
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