WallaceThompson, DUP member, former advisor to Nigel Dodds, and secretary of the Evangelical Protestant Society, has called on all Protestants to “unite in opposition to a papal visit” to Northern Ireland.
“We call on all Protestant politicians, churches and organisations, including the loyal orders, to unite in opposition to a papal visit and we will be doing all we can to encourage and develop such united opposition.”
Quite apart from the sheer bigotry involved in such a call, which seeks to deny the right of an elderly German to visit Northern Ireland purely because he is the head of a different religion to Mr Thompson, the call reeks of unionist hypocrisy.
Far from creating a Northern Ireland where all religions, beliefs and political opinions are respected and freely expressed, Mr Thompson seeks to block a significant event for his Catholic fellow citizens ... purely because they are Catholic. He does not intend to promote, or even tolerate, mutual respect. Instead he, and by extension the DUP (who have not denounced their member’s views) are seeking to deny Northern Irish Catholics an opportunity to see their spiritual leader – for no reason other than irrational hatred.
On another level Thompson, and those who support him, display the sort of “little-Ulster” hypocrisy that is typical of the DUP. He is not calling on Protestant bigots in the UK to protest against the pope – he is calling only for protests against a visit to Northern Ireland, thereby demonstrating again that he sees ‘his country’ as being Northern Ireland, and not the UK. Logically there is no reason why a papal visit to Northern Ireland should upset Thompson any more than a papal visit to Bournemouth. But if the pope went only to England Thompson would be fairly quiet, because, of course, England, to the Ulster Nationalists, is not their country.
Thompson and his sort are repulsive bigots and should be denounced by all reasonable people. Silence by the unionist parties on this can only be construed to be tacit agreement with him, and his own party, the DUP, bears a particular responsibility to show that it does not share its member’s bigotry – but so far silence is all we have heard.
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8 comments:
Interesting...
I can think of a few different responses that a Unionist could give to counteract this article.
I wonder if Andy McCann will actually give a proper argument or if he will resort to bigotry.
Come on Andy, there is an easy Unionist argument to make..
I await every Orangeman rising up to protest against dangerous attempt to restrict civil and religious freedom
Ulster Tory
"Instead he, and by extension the DUP (who have not denounced their member’s views) are seeking to deny Northern Irish Catholics an opportunity to see their spiritual leader – for no reason other than irrational hatred."
Whether it's irrational or not is a matter of opinion. Perhaps they don't want to expose Catholic children to the influx of priests that would accompany this ex-Nazi
on his proposed visit...
One of the curious footnotes of history is that the then Pope blessed William of Orange and his army prior to the Battle of the Boyne. A battle that was fought to ensure religious freedom and tolerance and a part of the Glorious Revolution which did so much to influence the thinking of the Framers of the Declaration of Independence. Let him come, Northenr Ireland is part of the UK and if the Pope wishes to visit ALL regions of the UK, so be it
Loki you are the perceptive one. A visit to Ireland as part of a visit to the UK is an insult to all right thinking Irishmen.
The Pope should of course tour Ireland as part of a separate visit to Ireland
I for one would totaly support Mr Thompsons campain. The pope is a dictatior and the position of pope the antichrist as he claims to be Gods representive on earth and inflauble which he is not. If so y do different popes have different oppions on issues if they r speaking for God who is all knowing and therefore does not change his mind. A vist by the pope would be a backward step to the days of preistcraft and despotism. Long live protestantism and the freedom it has gave the rest of the world through its belief that people are not told how to think by a pope but think for themselves and come to there own conclusions and usher the day when the power of the catholic church will be no more and their inslavement of man shall be over.
Now, there is no answer to that, is there. God help us.
MPG .....
That dimwit of the 28/9/2009(23.57)typifies the pre-historic thinking of those bigots we endure and unfortunately have to share this fair isle with..come along with the majority of the people onwards and into the 21st century..
One cannot critisise Pope followers or claim to be individualists when one is probably a member of a group of clowns with bowler hats -who bends the knee to the royal family and practices bigotry from a book of fairy stories ..
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