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Ian Paisley guida la protesta anti-Papa

Ian Paisley heads Pope protest

Ian Paisley

The founder of the Free Presbyterian Church, the Reverend Ian Paisley, is to lead a 60-strong delegation to Scotland to protest over Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Britain.

Rev Paisley, now Lord Bannside, told UTV it was his responsibility to lead the demonstration in Edinburgh where the Pontiff is due to receive a state welcome from the Queen on Thursday morning.

On Saturday, the Free Presbyterian Church took out a half page advertisement in the News Letter and published a booklet to explain their reasons behind the protest.

Ian Paisley says he objects to the Pope’s visit because it wasn’t properly debated at Westminster and will cost a lot of money.

He also wants to show his support to the victims of clerical child sex abuse.

“I’m going to Scotland to register our opposition to this visit”, Rev Paisley told UTV.

The former First Minister, who now sits in the House of Lords, said the first state visit by a Pontiff to Britain was not dealt with in a “democratic way”, as it was not announced nor debated at Westminster.

“If you can’t put your views inside the Parliament then you have no other option but to go outside it”.

“We’re shut up in the place where we should be allowed to speak and I don’t like that the government is doing things behind the back of the people”.

At the weekend, the Reverend Ron Johnson challenged other Protestant church leaders to join their protest.

“We’re simply re-stating the creeds of the historical Protestant churches”, the current Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church told UTV.

“Really every Protestant church in Northern Ireland ought to be supporting our stand. Sadly I know all ministers will not – but they’re going against their ordination vows.”

Beatification

The Free Presbyterian Church strongly objects to plans to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th century convert to Roman Catholicism, in an open-air Mass in Cofton Park, Birmingham on Sunday.

“The man actually left the Church of England – an attempt to split the Church of England and it seems to be a very strange thing that the Pope would say I’m going to make this man a Saint,” Rev Paisley told UTV.

In 1988, Ian Paisley was ejected from the European Parliament after he denounced the then-Pope, John Paul II, as the “anti-Christ”.

Rev Paisley said members of the group were not planning to confront the Pontiff this week.

They will hold a service in the Magdalene Church, which was used by John Knox – the founder of the Presbyterian denomination in Scotland – to hold the first ever Presbyterian Assembly.

“We’ve got the permission to use the building for a religious service. So we’ll be having a religious service where the Church of Scotland was founded,” Rev Paisley explained.

“We will then go outside that building with a banner”.

“It will register the fact that this is still a protestant realm with a protestant community”.

“No-one would expect anything else from Ian Paisley”, he laughed.

“You expected that this would happen!”

Catholic Primate of Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien – originally from Ballycastle, Co Antrim – said he accepted the desire by some groups to protest against the Pope’s visit to Britain.

Asked about the planned visit by the Rev Paisley, he said: “I’m from the north of Ireland myself, and Ian Paisley is, or was, a Member of Parliament in my home area in the north of Antrim.

“Basically, if Ian Paisley didn’t come, I wouldn’t have thought the visit was worthwhile. It just shows how important this visit is that Ian Paisley’s coming along to protest.”

Pope Benedict XVI’s state visit comes 28 years after the six-day pastoral trip by Pope John Paul II to England, Scotland and Wales in 1982.

His visit will include trips by “Popemobile” – in Edinburgh, London and Birmingham – which are expected to attract thousands of onlookers.

The taxpayer is expected to pay up to £12m towards the cost of the visit with the Catholic Church contributing up to £10m. The policing costs could reach £1.5m, it was estimated last week.

A spokesman for the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland has asked those with opposing views to keep an open mind and an open heart ahead of the visit.

Papal protest

Ian Paisley is to lead a protest against the visit of the Pope to the UK later this week. The former leader of the Free Presbyterian Church will travel to Scotland where the Pontiff is due to meet the Queen on Thursday.
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Interview: Ian Paisley

Ian Paisley Senior is to lead a protest against the visit of the Pope to the UK later this week.
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René Querin

Di professione grafico e web designer, sono appassionato di trekking e innamorato dell'Irlanda e della sua storia. Insieme ad Andrea Varacalli ho creato e gestisco Les Enfants Terribles.

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