Belfast: Church leaders appeal for calm after riots following attack on Stephen Ogilvie

Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ. Image: CCO

Source: Irish Catholic Media Office, Church of Ireland

In the wake of the violent attack on Stephen Ogilvie on Monday evening and the street riots and destruction of migrant homes that have taken place since, church leaders have issued statements appealing for calm.

Belfast-based Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ, Bishop of Down and Connor said:

'My thoughts and prayers are firstly with Stephen Ogilvie, who sustained life-changing devastating injuries in a brutal and horrific attack on Monday evening. I also pray for his family and pay tribute to their appeal for calm as they support Stephen. The quick response of the local community and the statutory authorities coming to his assistance undoubtedly saved his life.

Over recent days, the streets of Northern Ireland and beyond have been marred by riotous behaviour and social disorder targeting family homes and businesses of migrants. People who have lived among us for years as good neighbours, friends and co-workers are now living in terror, for themselves and for their children. So many newcomers make an outstanding contribution to our communities, including our parishes. They are our friends. As a community we must stand in solidarity with them.

Coordinated acts of senseless violence and destruction seek only to heighten tension across the community and must be condemned. Shame on all those who have sought to mobilise, agitate, weaponise and politicise the fear and concerns of others over the last few days. All of us have a responsibility to de-escalate societal tension rather than stoke the flames of racism.

As a society, we also have a responsibility to address the real and tangible community concerns regarding safety and accountability, fears that demand honest, respectful attention. However, the destruction on our streets and the attacks on homes will not resolve any underlying issues, and violence will have to give way to dialogue and engagement. Into this space of meaningful conversation, politicians, community leaders and statutory agencies need to listen and act. In appealing for calm, I also call for support for the police and for community leaders.

As a society, we in Northern Ireland have journeyed too far on the road to reconciliation and paid too high a price in a legacy of suffering to risk retreating into conflict and racial oppression.

I ask that, in all our parishes this weekend, we pray for healing and peace and that the sacred dignity of each human person be upheld by all.

Church of Ireland Archbishop John McDowell said:

'The scenes of violence which have taken place over this week in some of our towns are a source of great shame for Northern Ireland. Hiding behind the figment of "legitimate concerns" but in fact motivated by crude racism, groups of young men (and the shadowy and unaccountable people who control them) planned and carried out attacks on civil society and on democracy. The damage they have caused is not just material; it cannot be simply swept away.

'As disciples of Jesus Christ, called to respect the dignity of every person made in the image and likeness of God, we should put ourselves in the shoes of someone trapped inside a house or a hostel while an angry mob gathers outside. It must be utterly terrifying. Imagine the lasting impact of such terror on a child.

'The people who are the target of such squalid protests have come to this country to make a new life and to make a living. Just as we would rightly refuse to be judged by the criminal actions of any individual who happens to be from the same nationality or ethnicity as us, so we should question those who do so of others.

'As with many people I, too, have legitimate concerns. I am concerned that when family members can no longer care for themselves and are at their most vulnerable, there won't be skilled assistants and carers to help look after them. Or that when I go to hospital, there won't be nurses and doctors from around the globe to provide expert treatment and care. Or that so many of the industries crucial to a flourishing Northern Ireland - from agriculture to the arts, from restaurants to R&D - will wither without workers being respected and valued, regardless of their background.

'I have also a legitimate concern that the scapegoating of people whose skin is a different colour, who speak different languages or who practice a different faith, will allow policymakers to continue to ignore the actual, deep-seated problems which make Northern Ireland a place of low productivity and social and political unease.

'Above all, I have a concern that speaking about other people and cultures in sub-human and certainly sub-Christian terms, and acting towards them as though they are in some way inferior to me, will deaden my soul to the love of the God of all nations, whose Son allowed Himself to be bowed to the ground to bring an end once and for all to every ethnic division.'

Irish Catholic Bishops Conference

At the end of their meeting at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, the Irish Catholic Bishops 'expressed concern at the attack on human life and the wider violence and social disorder that has taken place in Belfast and in some other places across Northern Ireland over the last 48-hours.

'Bishops prayed for peace and that the sacred dignity of each human person would be upheld by all. Reports that the focus of these violent attacks was family homes and businesses of migrants, is all the more disconcerting. The true measure of a just society is one which effectively welcomes newcomers, combats racism and rejects divisive political rhetoric. Bishops call for support for the police and for community leaders across throughout the summer months.'