The people of Ireland can learn lessons of reconciliation from South Africans, says the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Samuel Kobia (pic'd here).Kobia, a Methodist from Kenya, was speaking after leading a seminar on "Reconciliation and the Healing of Memories" at the Irish School of Ecumenics in Dublin.
Among those at the meeting were the Rev. John Neill, the Anglican archbishop of Dublin in the Church of Ireland, a member church of the WCC, and his Roman Catholic counterpart, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.
"The way South Africa went through the process towards peace and reconciliation I think could be relevant to the situation in Ireland," Kobia told Ecumenical News International after the 30th. April seminar.
"I would clearly recommend that the Irish people try to learn from the people of South Africa." Kobia heads the world's largest grouping of churches which was set up in 1948 to promote Christian unity in faith, witness and service to the world.
His visit to Dublin came during a 12-day trip to Britain and Ireland.
Both archbishops of Dublin in attendance at the seminar noted that Kobia raised issues relevant to Christianity in Ireland.
"His themes, which are very much on reconciliation and forgiveness, are very much an area that we are exploring, and one of the key areas is how you deal with the aftermath of generations of division and violence in this land" Anglican Archbishop Neill told ENI.
"I think he brought out very clearly that its very easy for someone to say 'I forgive' - there is such a thing as cheap forgiveness - but in fact real forgiveness is very difficult to offer." Martin remarked: "Ireland is a place of inter-religious tension but also has always been a workshop of reconciliation."
He noted: "The experience that the World Council of Churches has gathered over the years is extremely rich."
The Catholic archbishop added: "And it's also extremely important that we be encouraged never to give up hope in the task that we're all working together about coming to a form of unity among the churches, but also working together as much as we can on the level of unity we have achieved, to witness the love of Jesus Christ in a world which is very torn and where we need more reconciliation."
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