Paul Goggins MP Visits Senior Representatives In The Vatican - 08/03/2010 |
 Wythenshawe and Sale East MP Paul Goggins has visited senior representatives in the Vatican to discuss international relations and update them on political developments in Northern Ireland.
Mr Goggins met Cardinal Turkson and Archbishop Mamberti. He also wrote an article for the Vatican Newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano which is printed in full below.
Speaking back in Manchester after the visit, Northern Ireland Minister Paul Goggins said: “Next Tuesday (March 9) there will be a very important vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Members of the Assembly will be asked to back plans for the devolution of policing and criminal justice powers. If passed this will see those responsibilities transferred to Stormont.
“This is the final piece of the jigsaw – a crucial step in the peace process that is now fully embedded. A small minority are still committed to violence but they will not succeed. The people of Northern Ireland are determined to build a fair and prosperous society which will leave the past behind.”
The full text of the article by Paul Goggins is as follows:
Northern Ireland is on the cusp of a new chapter in its political history.
On Tuesday, March 9, politicians in the Northern Ireland Assembly will vote on a motion to transfer policing and criminal justice powers from London to Belfast.
The proposal must secure cross community support – 50% unionist, 50% nationalist. If agreed, this would lead to the transfer of powers on April 12.
As a Minister in the Northern Ireland Office I have learned not to take anything for granted but I remain optimistic that local politicians will vote for the transfer of these powers.
Next Tuesday’s vote really is a watershed in the history of the Northern Ireland political process.
It is possible only because of hours of intensive and painstaking talks earlier in the year which culminated in the Hillsborough Agreement. Over 10 days and often into the small hours of the night, working hand in hand with ministers in the Irish Government, we facilitated talks amongst the parties which led to the Agreement.
Its significance cannot be underestimated. Tuesday’s vote is another example of politics in Northern Ireland making things possible, of building a better future.
It means completing devolution, putting in place the last piece in the jigsaw which started over a decade ago with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
There are some – although few in number – who remain opposed to the peace process and who are still prepared to resort to the bomb and the bullet in an effort to drag Northern Ireland back to the past.
They will not succeed, there is no going back. Northern Ireland today is a different and better place and the people are determined that the remarkable transformation that has been achieved will not be destroyed.
That transformation was underlined a year ago in the response by First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness to the brutal murder of two soldiers and a police officer.
They sent a clear signal around the world that Northern Ireland has changed and there is no turning back. They have stood firm in the face of further, more recent attacks.
International leaders have spoken out in condemnation of this violence. From the Vatican to the White House, words of sympathy to the families of the bereaved and condemnation of those behind the attacks have been heard loud and clear.
No-one is under any illusion that there are difficult issues which still need to be resolved; and finding a successful resolution is not always easy.
What has changed and is fundamentally different today is a recognition that the answers lie in the hands of locally elected and accountable politicians, working together in a devolved government.
As Northern Ireland creates its own future, the Church has an abiding and important role to play.
Through all the troubled years Northern Ireland’s church leaders have spoken consistently and with one voice in their condemnation of violence. The relationship that the churches have forged will continue to influence and shape a future which is good for all the people of Northern Ireland.
At the start of this year I attended the funeral of Cardinal Cahal Daly, the former Primate of All Ireland.
He was a great man and an inspirational figure to many. During the darkest days of the Troubles, Cardinal Daly always challenged and condemned those involved in violence. He lived a life of Christian peace and constantly reached out to others outside the Catholic Community.
It was no surprise to me that senior representatives from all the other Christian denominations attended the Cardinal’s funeral service in Armagh to pay their respects to a very special man.
Northern Ireland has travelled a long way in recent times. Many view it as a source of inspiration for those engaged in conflict resolution elsewhere; a beacon of hope for other regions lost in violence and with no end in sight. Next Tuesday local politicians have the opportunity to take this remarkable journey to a further stage.
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