Loyalist leaders and senior Roman Catholic clerics met on Friday, pledging to work together to prevent a return to full-scale violence in Northern Ireland.
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The joint commitment followed a ground-breaking meeting in Armagh between the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland and representatives from the Ulster Political Research Group, which is linked to the paramilitary Ulster Defence Association.
Cardinal Sean Brady said he had been reassured by a pledge from the loyalist delegation that there would be no violent retaliation in the wake of last month's dissident republican murders of two British soldiers and a policeman.
After the meeting at his official residence at Armagh Cathedral, Cardinal Brady said: "We conveyed to the UPRG the real fear that exists within the Catholic community about the possibility of future violent activity by Loyalist groups.
"We appreciate and are greatly encouraged by the assurance given by the UPRG today that there is no going back to the past, that together we are building a new future."
The meeting was the latest stage in a series of efforts to persuade Loyalist paramilitaries to enter the political mainstream.
These have included contacts between Irish President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin with the UDA Brigadier in south Belfast Jackie McDonald.
Decommissioning
Unlike the IRA, the UDA has yet to decommission its arsenal of weapons and political pressure on them to do so is intensifying.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Shaun Woodward has threatened to end the long running amnesty for those handing in guns if significant progress is not made by the Loyalist groups within months.
Mr Gallagher said decommissioning was not raised during the talks.
"We did not speak about anything to do with that," he said.
"That's the business of the UDA. There is a process there and that's sorted out within that."
He added: "We acknowledge the concerns expressed by Cardinal Brady of the fears that exist within the Catholic community as many of the Protestant community share similar fears from extreme Nationalist elements," he said.
"These elements want to take us back to a bloody past where many lives were lost; we hope that today's meeting has gone some way to alleviating those fears and understand that a lot more work is still to be done.
'No going back'
Mr Gallagher was joined at the talks with fellow loyalist representatives William McQuiston, Colin Holliday, John Howcroft and David Malcolm.
Cardinal Brady was accompanied by the Bishop of Down and Connor, Noel Treanor, and the auxiliary Bishop of the Arch Diocese of Armagh, Gerard Clifford.
"We agreed to the meeting first and foremost because we are followers of Christ, committed to building peace, understand and reconciliation in our society," said Cardinal Brady.
"We wanted to help in any way we can to address fears and build trust, we especially wanted to better understand the concerns and hopes of the Loyalist community.
He added: "There is no going back. The only viable future for Northern Ireland is a totally peaceful and reconciled future based on mutual respect and a shared commitment to peaceful and democratic means of dealing with age-old political differences.
"Our meeting today with the UPRG is, in my view, a reason to be hopeful about the future."
Mr Gallagher said the meeting was part of a broad consultation by loyalists with religious and political leaders across Northern Ireland and elsewhere.
"The meetings are aimed at sharing our vision but also listening so we can explore ways in which we can work in partnership with wider civic society to address many of the issues that impact on us all."
© Press Association