sirenianshores

In case we ever forget religious fanaticism is not the sole preserve of the Middle East. Here’s some bigotry from our own backyard relating to the recent murder of a Catholic teenager by a group of loyalist thugs:

Mr Gillespie, a Protestant evangelical, made his comments after the McIlveen family invited Ian Paisley, the DUP leader and North Antrim MP, to the funeral. Mr Paisley, the leader of the Free Presbyterian church and a staunch opponent of Catholicism, has yet to respond to the offer. If Mr Paisley does attend, he will face fierce criticism from within his own church, particularly from hardliners such as Mr Gillespie. Speaking to Daily Ireland yesterday, Mr Gillespie said his party leader had to decide for himself whether to attend the teenager’s funeral. The borough councillor said: “I won’t be going to the funeral. Stepping foot in a Catholic church is against my religious beliefs. “The Pope is the Antichrist and is the head of the Catholic church, which is not a true church or faith. I’m not going to listen to Mass in a Catholic church. I don’t care if it’s at a funeral, wedding or whatever else.”

The Sunday Times has a balanced article on the current situation:

Apparently the family was mixed Protestant/Catholic. Michael was considering joining the British Army when he left school later this year, according to friends and relatives. People from both sides of the religious and political divide have offered condolences to the family.

Gillespie’s colleague and party leader, Ian Paisley is an old friend of the family and has been welcomed by them to attend their Michael’s funeral. The signs are that Paisley will attend. Paisley has done his fair share of Catholic baiting in the past, but he seems to have moderated a bit in recent years, unlike some of his party colleagues.

It has also emerged that the family of Michael McIlveen, who are originally from Ardoyne in north Belfast, had been the subject of intimidation by republicans during the late 1990s. When they moved from Antrim’s Rathenraw estate to Ballymena, Ian Paisley, the Democratic Unionist party MP, helped them to find a house, according to his son, Ian Paisley Jr.