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Interview with Archbishop Alan Harper on the Challenges of Dealing with Difference
Interview with Archbishop Alan Harper on the
Challenges of Dealing with Difference
The Church of Ireland Primate has warned that churches in Ireland can no longer rely on having “a place as of right” to exert influence in the public arena.
In this week's edition of the Church of Ireland Gazette, Archbishop Alan Harper says the changing role of the churches in society means that the weight of numbers is no longer sufficient to ensure the churches' voices will be heeded in public affairs. Instead, the power and quality of their case's argument, and strength of analysis, would be the litmus test.
The primate says: “We (the Churches) can no longer rely on having a place as of right in terms of public affairs, or the influence that the Church used to exert simply by being the Churches. We have now to command that, as a result of delivery and providing a critique of society that others can take with a degree of respect...persuading people by the power and quality of our argument and the genuine strength of our analysis, rather than merely by weight of numbers.”
Archbishop Harper makes his comments during a wide-ranging interview on the challenges of dealing with difference. It was conducted by the Revd Earl Storey, Director of the Hard Gospel Project. Founded by the Church of Ireland following the Drumcree crisis in Northern Ireland, the project seeks to address the issues of sectarianism and community divisions, and to find ways of creating a shared future in today's Ireland.
As well as focussing on living with “historic neighbours” the primate speaks about the challenge of living with new neighbours resulting from “the social changes of the Celtic Tiger and record inward migration”. He also calls for “an honest but generous conversation” within the Church of Ireland about how its institutions are serving both its members and those outside it.
The full interview with Archbishop Harper can be seen in the latest edition of the Church of Ireland Gazette.
For further information please contact:
Revd Earl Storey
Director
The Hard Gospel Project
Church of Ireland House
Church Avenue
Rathmines
Dublin 6
Mob: 07752841802
Visit our website: www.hardgospel.net or have your say on thehardblog