Pope's Ulster visit protest vow
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
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Senior Free Presbyterians have said they will protest at any visit to Northern Ireland by Pope Benedict XVI.
The Pope has received an invite to visit the province. Irish Catholic
Bishops are keen that he would visit the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland
to complete the pastoral visit by Pope John Paul II in the autumn of 1979.
On that occasion the Pope was unable to visit Armagh due to the security
situation.
The Rev David McIlveen of Sandown Road Free Presbyterian
Church has told the Belfast Telegraph that he and his colleagues would not
welcome such a visit.
"If he does come, we would protest
against his visit because of what he stands for theologically," he said.
If the Pope did accept the Irish Bishops' invitation, he would be likely to
visit Northern Ireland after First Minister Ian Paisley steps down, as
expected, as Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church in the near future.
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