Chai Brady
New DUP leader Edwin Poots. Photo: PA Media/BBC EXCLUSIVE
The incoming DUP leader Edwin Poots has refused to say whether or not he would be willing to attend Mass if invited.
A spokesman for Mr Poots told The Irish Catholic that the party has worked with the Catholic Church on a number of issues.
However, when asked whether or not Mr Poots would accept an invitation to attend Mass, the spokesman failed to answer but instead said that “Mr Poots is heartened that people of all faiths are able to return to congregational worship and has received a number of invitations from the faith community which he will consider in due course”.
Mr Poots is a member of the Orange Order which forbids members from taking part in Catholic ceremonies. However, previous DUP leaders have in recent years steered the party away from this hard-line attitude.
Peter Robinson attended the funeral Mass of murdered Catholic PSNI officer Constable Ronan Kerr in 2011. And in 2017, Arlene Foster attended the requiem Mass for the former deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in Derry.
Mr Poots is also a member of the Free Presbyterian Church founded by Ian Paisley which has frequently been critical of ecumenism and denounced moderate Protestant clerics who attended Catholic ceremonies.
If he reverses the policy of his immediate predecessors and declines invitations to attend Mass, it is likely to increase fears from some observers that Mr Poots wants to bring the DUP back to its traditional roots.
However, the DUP spokesman also pointed to areas of common concern between the Church and the party insisting that “The DUP has worked with the Catholic Church on many issues from freedom of worship through to protecting the life of the unborn”.
Mr Poots caused controversy last year after claiming that Covid-19 cases in nationalist areas outnumbered those in unionist areas “around six to one”.
Sinn Féin labelled his language “sectarian claptrap”.
However, Mr Poots claimed the controversial remarks about coronavirus were not sectarian because “most Sinn Féin leaders don’t attend the Catholic Church on a regular basis”.