[07
NOV 00] COVENTRY CATHEDRAL NEWS
Statue Takes Peace Message To Ulster
A
duplicate of a statue that represents Coventry’s commitment to peace
and reconciliation is to be unveiled in Belfast today to encourage the
different sides in Northern Ireland to keep searching for common
ground.
THE STATUE IN
COVENTRY CATHEDRAL RUINS
“Reconciliation”
is to be presented to senior Ulster politicians in the grounds of
Stormont Castle by a party from Coventry Cathedral.
Other
copies of the statue, which features a young man and woman kneeling to
embrace across a divide, stand in Hiroshima, on the site of the Berlin
Wall and in the ruins of Coventry Cathedral.
The
copies of Reconciliation, by sculptress Josephina de Vasconcellos have
been funded by Sir Richard Branson.
The
statue was offered to the people of Northern Ireland through Secretary
of State Peter Mandelson earlier this year.
It
will be presented by the acting Dean of Coventry Cathedral, the Rev
Canon Stuart Beake, and its Director of International Ministry, Canon
Andrew White.
The
First Minister David Trimble, Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon,
Lord Alderdice and other political and civic leaders will be present.
During
the ceremony, embassy representatives from Japan, Germany and Israel
– where the next statue is planned - will throw pebbles from their
respective countries into the statue's surrounding water garden, and
stone boulders bearing the names of each country will be situated by
the water's edge.
An
inscription on the statue will read:
"These
sculptures remind us that human dignity and love will triumph over
disaster and bring nations together in respect and peace."
Ordinary
people from Northern Ireland's different communities, including school
children, will witness the event.
They
have been invited on the Cathedral's behalf by Trevor Williams, the
leader of the Corrymeela Community, based in Belfast and on the Antrim
coast, one of Coventry Cathedral's many "Cross of Nails"
centres of reconciliation across the world.
Canon
Andrew White said:
"The
Statues of Reconciliation have brought hope to various communities
around the world who are on the long journey towards reconciliation.
“We
hope that the statue here will be a powerful symbol to all peoples
of Northern Ireland as they work to live in peace together across
their traditional divisions."
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