February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
A few loyalists, however, taunted Catholics in Belfast by playing sectarian tunes in the hours after the pope’s death Saturday and daubing sectarian graffiti on walls and shop fronts.
Books of condolence and special Masses were said throughout Northern Ireland, focusing particularly on Armagh Cathedral and St. Peter’s Cathedral in West Belfast.
The Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, said people throughout Ireland had “a close affinity” with the pope “since his historic visit here and there will be deep sorrow across the country.”
The SDLP leader, Mark Durkan, said he had “very fond memories of the pope’s visit to Ireland” in 1979.
“His powerful spirituality inspired us all at that time and ever since,” he said. “His impassioned plea for peace touched the heart of our nation and left a deep impression on me and countless others across Ireland. This is a sad day, not just for all Catholics, but for people of all faiths.”
British Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy, himself a Catholic, said the pope’s “courageous and forgiving attitude during many difficult times was an inspiration to all.”
The Union flag flew at half-staff at Stormont and Hillsborough Castle, the seats of British rule in Northern Ireland, in common with other official buildings throughout England, Scotland and Wales.
The Rev. Ian Paisley, who regularly referred to the pope and his predecessors as “Old Red Socks” or the “Anti-Christ” (and once shouted this at John Paul II during a visit to the European Parliament at Strasbourg), said: “We can understand how Roman Catholics feel and we would want in no way to interfere with their expression of sorrow and grief at this time.”
Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble said the pope’s 26 years in the pontificate “will undoubtedly be seen as a memorable period for the Catholic church, and so his passing will be a time of sadness for Roman Catholics across the world.
“Karol Wojtyla’s life as pope was varied, colorful and he was an influential figure on the world stage, but we will all remember him for his time as a Cardinal in Poland and the Polish Catholic Church’s role in standing up to and ending communism,” Trimble said.
A small number of loyalists in Belfast, however, celebrated the Pope’s death by striking up sectarian songs along peace lines in the north, east and south of the city.
Graffiti reading “No Pope in Rome” was daubed within eyesight of Holy Cross church in North Belfast and in other parts of the city, including a loyalist housing estate in the east.
Meanwhile, there have been calls for the resignation of a Presbyterian minister after the Daily Ireland newspaper claimed he admitted making anti-Catholic jokes and mimicking the pope while he lay dying in the Vatican.
The Rev. Stephen Dickinson, who is grand chaplain of the Orange Order, was speaking at a gospel rally attended by several senior DUP figures, including the Lagan Valley MP, Jeffrey Donaldson.
According to the newspaper, the minister launched into an impression of the pope’s speech, affected by his Parkinson’s disease. Dickinson confirmed the incident took place but said he had not intended to cause offense.
The SDLP’s Patricia Lewsley said if Dickinson doesn’t resign, “the Presbyterian Church should kick him out.”
Dickinson said: “All I did was make a couple of light-hearted remarks and do an impression. If people want to try and twist it, that is up to them.”