Fr Sean McManus A prominent Irish priest has criticised remarks made by a DUP founder concerning Protestant church leaders’ welcome of a papal visit to the North of Ireland this August.
The criticism comes after Wallace Thompson, secretary of the Evangelical Protestant Society, told the Belfast Newsletter that a visit to the North by Pope Francis for the World Meeting of Families (WMOF) would not promote peace and reconciliation and would have the potential “to cause divisions”, adding that Protestant Church leaders should not be “pandering” to the head of a Church with whose teachings they should not be in agreement.
In response to these comments, Irish priest Sean McManus said: “What would Americans think if there were a campaign to stop the Pope from visiting the United States? Wouldn’t it be rightly regarded as a horrible expression of religious bigotry, which all decent people should condemn?”