Bishop pleads for world peace as a fitting memorial

The Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, the Right Rev Paul Colton, has said that building peace would be a fitting memorial to all who died on September 11th last year.

Speaking at a 12 noon service in Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork, yesterday, he said: "There is heated debate about what should be done on the site of the Twin Towers at Ground Zero. However, the most fitting memorial we can build to those who died then and in wars since is the peace of the world founded on justice for all. This task is local as well as global,"

Religious ceremonies took place throughout the country to mark the event yesterday, usually involving the emergency services, particularly the Fire Brigade, and often with relatives of some of those who died in the Twin Towers attack in attendance.

The President, Mrs McAleese, who was attending a memorial lunch in Enniskillen, spoke of the resilience and courage of Americans in the face of such tragedy. Behind September 11th was "mankind's most potent weapon, hatred", she said. "Its causes are complex, its effects catastrophic, as we in Ireland know only too well," she said.

In Dublin, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern attended a special Mass to mark the event, which was concelebrated by the Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, Dr Raymond Field. Dr Field said the attack had changed forever the way we lived, but also showed we were "all brothers and sisters". He called for new initiatives to relieve "the scandalous situations of gross injustice, oppression and marginalisation" in the world.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the American Embassy in Dublin for the 1.46 p.m. minute of silence yesterday, while inside the Taoiseach and several Government Ministers took part in a commemorative ceremony. Observance of the minute's silence was requested in public places by notices and by staff in many pubs and restaurants. And while observance was generally good indoors, it was less pronounced on the streets.

Meanwhile the national spiritual assembly of the Baha'is of the Republic of Ireland has circulated a letter to 40 leading Irish bishops, clerics and religious leaders, appealing to them "to play a full part in averting the danger of worldwide conflict by making greater efforts to promote religious equality and toleration".

Part of an international peace initiative by the Baha'i community worldwide, the letter warns that "rising fires of religious prejudice will ignite a worldwide conflagration, the consequences of which are unthinkable". Irish bishops and other religious leaders are urged to make a fresh approach "towards encouraging consciousness among their followers of the basic oneness of all religious faith".