Justice & Peace Europe mourns the death of former President Mgr. Noël Treanor

It is with great sorrow that we received the news of the passing of Archbishop Noël Treanor. Much can be said about his outstanding ministry and service at a number of important Church institutions, all of which led to his final appointment as Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union. This is important and will be mentioned in many obituaries. But to the European Justice and Peace Commissions, he was a mentor, a priest and a friend, and most of all a person who had lived through The Troubles and was using that personal experience in service of peace. In 2017 the European Justice and Peace Commissions met in Larne on the island of Ireland, to learn and discuss how peace had developed after The Troubles and to understand the challenges Brexit posed to the Good Friday Agreement. Seeing Archbishop Noël at work in his native land, it was obvious how much he loved his parish, his country and all his countrymen. He was not guarding his words or trying to be diplomatic, he just had a strong charism, and it was obvious that in his heart he truly loved peace and had great respect for all people. Also, he had a great gift of bringing the periphery to the center, a gift he truly used in his work with the European Union. Archbishop Noël was twice elected President of Justice and Peace Europe: The first time was in 2018 at the General Assembly hosted by the Spanish Commission in Barcelona and Manresa. During his first term as President, he was engaged in peace work at all levels, for example in presenting the Holy Father’s Annual Peace Message, celebrating he Human Rights Day, organising conferences on themes such as ‘Justice and Truth’, hosted by the Slovak Commission, ‘The Common Good and our Common Oceans’ hosted by the Danish Commission, ‘Peace as the Fruit of Justice’, hosted by the Hungarian Commission and many other activities. However, two events especially marked his first term as President: First the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, and the Justice and Peace Commissions were posed with new challenges for equality in health, the role of the state, and how to engage in a just recovery after the pandemic. Second, the war in Ukraine broke out, and again, Archbishop Noël was using his quiet charism to keep dialogue constructive between commissions. In 2022 he was re-elected President of Justice and Peace Europe for a second term, but soon after we were all very sad to see him leave the post early, due to his latest appointment as Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union. Even in his new position, he remained a close friend and promoter of Justice and Peace Europe. Our last engagements with him were in January this year, when he presented the Holy Father’s Peace Message along with the current Co-President Maria Hammershøy at a prayer and breakfast event at COMECE and in July, when his very last contribution to Justice & Peace Europe was a brilliant analysis of the European Parliament election results at a Justice and Peace breakfast. The European Justice and Peace Commissions have lost a great friend and a true promoter of Justice and Peace, and we shall miss him dearly. May he rest in peace.

Archbishop Antoine Hérouard and Maria Hammershøy, Co-Presidents of Justice & Peace Europe

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