The Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop Robin Eames, claims a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission would not be appropriate for Ireland.
In his Presidential address to the General Synod in Armagh today, he said that there were fundamental differences to the situation in South Africa, and that his chief reservation was how such a system would adapt to the community in Ireland.
He pointed out that in South Africa the conflict was over and that there was immunity from prosecution for those who chose to speak out freely.
Above all there was a new desire "to trust each other".
He said: "At the root of our current political impasse, there is the question of the on-going activities of paramilitary organisations.
"There is also the key issue of an absence of trust."
He said that he agreed with Archbishop Brady's recent comment that Northern Ireland was a society "pervaded with distrust".
He said: "The real legacy of our past 30 years has been the absence of trust. Slowly we are beginning to build that trust, but we have a long way to go."
Archbishop Eames said that it was possible that at some point "some structure could help the process of healing here, but much needs to happen first.
"Chiefly, we need to recognise what it is we want such a structure to achieve, and we need to recognise how much memory of the past dictates the present and the future.
"Without a great deal more thought, to progress along such lines now would probably open more wounds."