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	Protection of Children Now Contained in Church's Constitution By John Cooney Irish Independent May 11, 2006 http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3? ca=9&si=1611509&issue_id=14023 THE Church of Ireland has become the first national province of the worldwide Anglican Communion to incorporate 'good practice' child protection measures in its constitution. The decision was described by the Bishop of Cork, Paul Colton, as "an innovative lead within Anglicanism on the part of the Church of Ireland". The three-day General Synod - the Church's parliament - which ends today also made provision in its ecclesiastical laws for the funding of two child protection officers, one full-time in the North, the other part-time in the Republic. It also emerged at the Synod that the election for a successor to Archbishop Robin Eames, who will retire as Primate in December, will take place early next year. But the favourite to succeed him as Archbishop of Armagh, Dr John Neill, currently Archbishop of Dublin, declined yesterday to say if he would be a candidate. The synod also approved a progress report on its 'Hard Gospel' initiative to combat sectarianism both within society and the Church's own structures. The Dean of Armagh and chairman of the Hard Gospel committee, Patrick Rooke, told the Synod that sectarianism, like child poverty, violence, mistrust, alienation from Government, identity crisis, the flight of the middle class from political and civil life were not limited to Northern Ireland. But the Synod fudged on whether membership of clergy and members of the Masonic Order was consistent with being a Christian. It recognised that the religious aspect of Freemasonry, "as far as it could tell, did not equate with the fullness of the Christian teaching of the Church of Ireland". But it accepted that "membership of, and participation in, Freemasonry is a matter of free choice and conscience for members of the Church of Ireland". Dr Eames yesterday singled out former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds for special praise as one of the key architects in the peace process in the North. As he continued his lap of honour at the synod, he spoke warmly of his high regard for Mr Reynolds and John Major as the two leaders who gave impetus to the peace process in the North. He identified the Downing Street Declaration signed in 1992 by the two leaders as a landmark event that helped to unlock the impasse that had polarised the two communities in the North, he said. Dr Eames described Mr Reynolds as "a man with whom it was easy to do business. Albert Reynolds was a doer," he added. "We could trust each other." The Primate also expressed admiration for Taoiseach Bertie Ahern but said that he had not got to know him as well as Mr Reynolds.
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