Irish bishops welcome report on Bloody Sunday

June 16, 2010

The Catholic bishops of Ireland have welcomed the June 15 publication of the Saville Inquiry report into the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, in which members of a British army regiment killed or wounded 26 unarmed protestors and bystanders. The Saville Inquiry, established by Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998, found that all of the protestors who were killed were unarmed and posed no threat to the soldiers.

Responding to the report in a June 15 statement, the Irish bishops said that they “share the joy and relief of the families of those killed and injured on Bloody Sunday.” They paid tribute to the clergy and political leaders who contributed to the restoration of peace in Northern Ireland, and called on “all those who are still committed to violence to recognise the futility of this approach.”

Bishop Séamus Hegarty of Derry, in his own statement, praised “the unequivocal and strong language used in it to confirm the innocence of the victims,” Bishop Hegarty said that “two key words came across again and again: ‘innocence and justice.’ May God bless the relatives and friends of the victims. Today is their day and it is a very significant day for the people of Derry.”

 

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Further information:

• Bishops welcome The Report of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry (Irish bishops' conference)
• Protestant leaders to meet families of victims (Irish Times)
• 'Bloody Sunday' victims exonerated (Washington Post)
• Bloody Sunday (1972) (Wikipedia)