Catholic church urges RUC reform
The north's Catholic bishops have told the Patten Commission that the
RUC must be reformed if it is to ``secure the necessary levels of
support from the Catholic community''.
During a private meeting with the Commission on Wednesday 9 December
the bishops called for a ``new beginning to policing in Northern
Ireland''.
According to reports the main focus of the submission was the under
representation of Catholics in the RUC and the removal of British and
Unionist symbols.
While the bishops recognised ``the need for a police service which
enlists the consent of the whole community which is fundamental to
the development of a just and stable society, the priority must
remain the establishment of a new, representative and fully
accountable police service for the people''.
To this end the bishops told the Commission that any new `police
service' must have 40% nationalist representation to be accepted by
the nationalist community.
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