While the war may be over in the North, conflict about its identity and future "is alive and well", the Catholic auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor diocese, Dr Donal McKeown, said yesterday.
"Therefore it can be unhelpful just to talk of a divided society here without acknowledging the elephant in the corner, the reality of a deep identity crisis waiting to be exploited in a thousand ways. Thus the challenge of making peace here, of going beyond ceasefires and stand-offs, is as real as ever," he said.
Bishop McKeown was speaking in Belfast at the launch of a report on "The Irish Churches and Peace Education - overview and evaluation of the scope and quality of peace education in Northern Ireland and the border counties".
The report was prepared by the Churches Peace Education Programme with research conducted by St Mary's University College and Stranmillis University College. It examined programmes run from 1978-2004 by the Churches Peace Education Programme and concluded that there a was "a continuing obligation" on churches to be involved in educating for peace.
It also said the churches were "uniquely positioned to facilitate the development of a culture of peace". The Churches Peace Education Programme, with Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant members, was closed last September while trustees reflected on its future.
