BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT CARDINAL CONWAY, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, has described Mr. Callaghan's reform programme for Ulster as "an enormous step forward — something that would have been inconceivable a year ago."
In a weekend statement, the Cardinal said he felt confident that the reforms would be carried out, and that they would really. amount to a "new deaf" for the Northern. Ireland minority. They would bring both justice and peace.
At a Friday night news conference, on the eve of his return to London, Mr. Callaghan outlined his proposals in five main points:
• An immediate U.K. grant of £250,000 to aid Ulster families whose homes and businesses had been harmed by fire and looting;
• The appointment of an N. Ireland Government minister for community relations;
• A British mission to N. Ireland to consider economic and industrial improvements;
• A Protestant-Catholic committee to investigate grievances; • A British-N. Ireland team to investigate the causes of the recent disturbances. Commenting later on the programme, Cardinal Conway urged all moderately minded people "and they are the overwhelming majority here" —to make sure their influence would predominate.
'BREATHING SPACE" "There should be," he said, "a period of calm between now .and October when the Home Secretary (Mr. Callaghan) returns. This breathing space is vitally important. A further outbreak of violence could have consequences too horrible to contemplate. Even a spark could produce an explosion-.
"It is, therefore, the solemn duty of every citizen to avoid doing anything or saying anything which could provoke that spark."
In the weekend BBC-TV programme, "Ulster: In the Name
of God," Cardinal Conway
said that, if N. Ireland Catholics were asked to vote on whether the IRA should remove the Border by force, 98 per cent of them would say "No."
in an interview with Malcolm Muggeridge, he said that
before asking the people in the Belfast areas of recent conflict to remove their barricades, he would try to find out how far their fears of a further attack were justified.
The two per cent of the population who did not want peace could do a lot of harm, the Cardinal added, but even they were not bad; they were suffering from ignorance and fear.
Mr. Callaghan arrived in Dublin on Wednesday last week. The same night, Cardinal Conway joined him for dinner with the Presbyterian Moderator, Dr. Carson. and other prominent figures, including Sir George Clark, a former Grand Master of the Orange Lodge.
The next morning, the Cardinal, with Bishop Philbin of Turn to P.2