Gerry Adams cuts out middleman with ‘Protestant’ beliefs
By Lynne Kelleher
The Sinn Fein leader confesses his faith is not unquestionably Catholic
Gerry Adams has admitted that his religious beliefs are more compatible with Protestantism than Catholicism. The Sinn Fein president has revealed that he has not gone to confession “in years”, preferring to speak directly to God.
“I have formed an opinion — and it’s probably a Protestant thing — that the notion of having some sort of middleman isn’t altogether necessary,” Adams said in an interview to be broadcast tonight on RTE television.
He also expresses admiration for Protestant churches, and believes that Christian churches should be united. “I think the Methodists are the best, but I love the democratic nature of the Presbyterian church,” Adams told Gay Byrne, the presenter who conducts the interview. “I also think it’s downright nonsense that Christian churches are so divided. I think it’s madness.”
Asked if the host at holy communion is the real body of Jesus Christ — a central tenet of Catholic faith — Adams replied, “Who knows?”
The interview is part of a series in which Byrne, the former Late Late Show host, questions public figures about their spiritual beliefs. Adams says that he retains his faith and still attends mass.
“I just resolved that I wasn’t going to stop being a Catholic. I took succour. I went to mass in Long Kesh when it wasn’t the thing to do,” he says. “I like the gospel. I do think that Jesus Christ was a mighty man. I’m entirely taken by so many of the parables.”
The first time they came to face to face for the television cameras, Byrne refused to shake hands with the Sinn Fein leader but the veteran broadcaster appears best of pals with Adams in tonight’s show, entitled The Meaning of Life.
In 1994, in a highly charged edition of The Late Late Show, Byrne refused to formally greet Adams. The broadcaster, now 74, has claimed that he was told not to do so by station chiefs. However, he still disagrees with everything the “Provisional IRA stands for and everything Sinn Fein stands for.”
Adams again insists that he has never been a member of the IRA, while accepting that he was not absolved of “responsibility” for what happened during the Troubles.
“There were many civilians killed, including by the IRA, that’s where I would have the greatest cause for concern. And regret, of course,” he said. “I do accept a responsibility by being a person who has played a leading role in all of this. I have been the president of Sinn Fein for the past God knows how many years. I don’t want people to think I want to absolve myself. I accept my responsibilities.”
Adams says the IRA was right, but not always. “Was everything they did right? No.”
He regrets missing out on two decades of family life. “I had been interned and released, and then re-interned, so I was in prison when Gearoid [his son] was born. I came out of prison and he was there with his mother [Collette], waiting for me outside. He was 4½ . He won’t like me saying this but he wet his trousers with excitement,” the Sinn Fein leader said.
Adams says that he has been meeting the families of IRA victims in private for several years. “I meet a lot of people who come to me in these more peaceful times who did lose loved ones to the IRA, who come to me privately and who want to talk about that.
“We do talk about it, and in so far as I can if they have questions to ask and issues to vent, I think I have a duty to help them to come to closure.”
