OUT of the ashes of New York and Washington may come the catalyst to stop the wholesale murder of innocent people throughout the world, in the name of religion.

Whichever God you worship, you cannot sanction that this grotesque, hideous sacrifice of human lives is done in His name. Nowhere in the Bible, or indeed any religious book, could one find any justification for this latest atrocity.

Thousands lost their lives on Tuesday, but if you were to add up the number of innocent people killed by terrorists in recent times, the figure would be greater than the slaughter experienced on Tuesday. The grief at the loss of a loved one, killed by terrorists for "THE CAUSE", is just as great -- whether it be one person or thousands.

Surely there couldn't be a better time to show to the civilised world that human beings can rise above this cowardly act of indiscriminate slaughter, by starting a new wave of compassion on our own doorstep. I am making therefore an earnest plea to the people of Northern Ireland with these word -- "You are NOT Catholics, you are NOT Protestants, you ARE human beings. Please, please, give up your arms, sit round the table as civilised human beings, and, IN THE NAME OF GOD, bring peace to at least one corner of this troubled world." Maybe, by so doing, this would hopefully cause other terrorists around the world to think again about their inhumane actions.

The people of Northern Ireland have a heaven-sent opportunity to set the ball rolling, and maybe stop this holocaust which is hurtling down the road to complete oblivion of the whole world.

Mrs Rita M Riding

Armadale Road

Ladybridge

Bolton