Michael Kelly

Cardinal Seán Brady has appealed to dissident republican paramilitaries to end their campaign of violence and adopt exclusively peaceful means.

He also appealed to Catholics in the north to ''redouble their efforts'' for peace.

Dr Brady was speaking against a backdrop of increasing dissident violence that has seen several Catholic police officers targeted.

He urged Catholics to ''continue to show your support for those courageous women and men from every background who seek to serve our society with impartiality and a concern for the human rights of all in the Police Service of Northern Ireland''.

''I appeal to all to reject any attempt to entice a new generation of young people into the futility, misery and evil of violence,'' he said.

He called on all parties to respect the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 where the people made it clear ''that their will is to resolve the historic differences that have plagued this island for centuries through peaceful and democratic means alone.

''They rejected the use of violence once and for all,'' he said.

Injustices

Referring to the civil conflict in the North, the cardinal went on to ''There is no room for a convenient forgetting of the evil and horror of the violence of injustices of the past.

''Now, more than ever, we need to reject any glorification of violence and any resort to violence,'' he said.

Dr Brady's appeal came as part of a special issue of The Irish News newspaper aimed at convincing dissident republicans to give up their terror campaign. In a front page editorial the newspaper said ''Dissident republicans tell us today they don't care that they have no support. Before more victims are killed and more young people end up in jail, we say stop''.

The newspaper's call is backed by civic society leaders as well as the leaders of the four main Christian Churches in Ireland.