Sectarianism is a virus at the heart of our society. It is a cancer which continues to eat into the very soul of our community, undoing much of the good work that individuals and groups undertake to tackle its pernicious effects.
The vicious sectarian murder of Kevin McDaid in Coleraine shows it's time to make removing division in our society a key priority.
The challenge of overcoming sectarianism is, perhaps, the most important collective issue facing our political leade
rs.
Unless they successfully meet this challenge, they will have failed to deliver the most fundamental aim of the Good Friday Agreement, namely, "a new beginning' to relationships between the people of Northern Ireland based on parity of esteem, human rights and equality."
The scale of the challenge is considerable. Despite real progress in partnership politics and many programmes and initiatives by individuals, community groups, church and educational authorities, sectarianism persists with devastating effects across our communities.
Confrontations over flags and emblems on our streets as well as in the Assembly and Council chambers sharply expose sectarian attitudes.
When politicians can't agree over the flying of flags, can we really be surprised that community tensions rise with the proliferation of Union flags, tricolours and paramilitary flags and, in many places, no lamppost or kerbstone is left unpainted or unclaimed.
Like racism in other societies, sectarianism persists in all sections of our society.
Its elimination is, therefore, a responsibility of all.
Countering sectarianism also requires something we have hitherto not been very good at - taking account of each other's identities, of each other's histories and traditions, and, above all, of the different understandings of those histories.
While there are no easy answers, there are steps we can take which in time will lead society to the day when neither nationality or religion is a cause of contention.
But gestures and one-off events will hardly prove sufficient. Sustained, genuine cross-community approaches to activities and initiatives directed at economic, social and cultural renewal are essential to the total elimination of sectarianism.
It is only such approaches that will challenge and finally destroy the sources from which sectarianism springs.
It is a shared problem. It requires a shared vision of parity of esteem, equality and human rights in a society with a worthwhile future for present and future generations.
