BLACK MONDAY - A SAD AND SHAMEFUL DAY FOR LOYAL ULSTER PROTESTANTS

DUP Leader Rt Hon Dr. I.R.K. Paisley in smiling pose with other leading party members Peter Robinson, Gregory Campbell, Nigel Dodds and Arlene Foster sits down for face to face discussions with Archbishop Sean Brady - R.C.Primate of "All Ireland" and a delegation of the Romish Hierarchy.

It is more in sorrow than in anger that we deal with this issue. If any other Unionist leader from O'Neill to Trimble had done this, can't you imagine the roars of protest and the cries of Lundy?

Now in the interests of being fair we reproduce Dr. Paisley's statement on the meeting.

DUP LEADER IAN PAISLEY'S STATEMENT

"THIS is a meeting between the DUP, as the largest political party in Northern Ireland, and a delegation led by Archbishop Brady from the Northern Ireland Catholic Council on Social Affairs. Our topics of discussion were social, economic and political. I welcome the opportunity that this meeting has provided. We have had a very good and useful exchange of views across a range of issues. It is in the interests of everyone to develop the foundations for stability and prosperity for all the people of Northern Ireland. During our discussions we touched on a very wide range of subjects including the need to address issues of poverty and social need in our province, the necessity to build a strong local economy, the benefits that can be derived for the whole community from achieving stable devolutionary arrangementsfor Northern Ireland and developing support for law and order across the community. Today's meeting is the latest in a series with Church leaders and civic society and we look forward to further discussions with Archbishop Brady and his colleagues in the coming months."

NOW WE ASK:-

Are these men not of the type described over the years in various sermons by Dr. Paisley as "The Batchelor Priests of Rome?"

Is Archbishop Brady not the Pope's representative in Ireland. To give recognition to him is surely to recognise his master in the Vatican who the Westminster Confession of Faith brands as Anti-Christ - Man of Sin, Son of Perdition.

Some would say that as Roman Catholics are now 43% of the population such a meeting is inevitable. We would say that such a meeting gives a status to the Roman Church which is unjustified. The majority of Roman Catholics are Nationalists and Republicans who wish to see Ulster submerged into a United Ireland.

There should have been a clear statement ahead of any such talks, that the Roman Church recognises the democratically expressed wishes of the Ulster majority to remain British.

The position of Romewatch could best be summed up as follows:-

"Ulster people need to learn how our Province has come to its present state of disaster. This did not happen overnight. The enemy had carefully sown the tares and we are now having the dreadful reaping. The ancient enemy, the Papacy, and the Roman Catholic hierarchy are responsible for the anti-Protestant and anti-British hatred which those tares have produced.

We have witnessed the result of the teachings of Rome. No wonder no IRA murderer in Ireland has been excommunicated from the Church of Rome."

Now we only ask Dr. Paisley and the D.U.P. to say if they agree with this.

We need to remember:-

The I.R.A. men never ex-communicated for their crimes, given a full R.C. funeral service and sometimes lauded by the Priests of Rome as heroes.

We need to recall the claims of former I.R.A. men of the help given on occasions by some Priests of Rome.

We need to recall the allegations of Rome's involvement in the atrocity at Claudy.

We need to say "NO PEACE WITH ROME TILL ROME MAKES PEACE WITH GOD" - a slogan carried by Dr Paisley some forty years ago.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Contact the D.U.P.and in a lawful and mannerly way express your disgust and outrage.

Pray that Dr. Paisley will see his mistake and will end his days as a hero of Ulster Protestants and not as a latter day Petain.

If still in doubt, ask yourself would Dr. Paisley's hero, D.l. Nixon (MP for Woodvale, 1925-1949) have sat at the table in talks with Rome.

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A RIGHT ROYAL DISGRACE

First Member of Britain's Royal Family to marry in the Vatican since the Reformation

British royal history was made recently when the least known and most private of all the members of the royal family became its first to marry in the the Vatican City State. The Duke and Duchess of Kent's youngest son, Lord Nicholas Windsor, 37, sealed his six year relationship with British born Croatian noble Paola Doimi de Frankopan, also 37, in what close friends described as a deeply moving two hour nuptial mass. Although already legally married after a register office ceremony in Westminster last month, the devout couple saw the service in Rome as their true and spiritual union. Chosen by them for its simplicity and privacy, the historic yet intimate Church of Santo Stefano degli Abissini, set in the stunning papal gardens, played host to more than 200 of the couple's closest friends and family. Chief among them were the groom's parents the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Lord Nicholas's siblings the Earl of St Andrews and Lady HelenTaylor, who was accompanied by her husband Tim Taylor and their four children. It was therefore particularly fitting that the historic occasion was sealed the day before when they were granted an audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican City, joined by Paola's parents.

It was clearly an emotional moment for the couple as the Holy Father extended a personal blessing, "evoking the abundance of joy and peace upon you in your Christian married life and entrusting you to the care of our Blessed Lady, The Queen of the Family" Vatican sources said

Many acknowledge that Nicholas's conversion to Catholicism and meeting Paola have heralded a joyous new beginning for this most retiring member of the royal family. He was once said to suffer from an eating disorder and in his teens was cautioned for possessing cannabis.

But he has recently managed to find his place in the world and it's thought the couple would like to start their own family as soon as possible. A source close to the newlyweds commented: "They are clearly very in love and they will take note of the fact that the Pope in his dedication dedicated them to the Virgin Mary, "The Queen of the Family."

The two-hour nuptial mass- the culmination of the couple's six-year relationship was conducted in English and Latin by Westminster based Bishop Alan Hopes, a Catholic convert like Lord Nicholas. Bishop and the Pope's representative at
the mass, Archbishop Angelo Comastri.

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ORANGE CHANGE NEEDED

A former senior Orangeman has claimed that "an island of equals" can be built by thawing inspiration and direction from the fundamental tenets of both the 1916 Proclamation and Orange tradition in Ireland.

The Reverend Brian Kennaway was speaking at a weekend book signing event as part of this year's Feile an Phobail
programme in west Belfast.

The signing symbolically took place on the Falls Road in the Culturlann a converted Presbyterian church and now one of
west Belfast's best known cultural centres. The building was once home to the Broadway Defenders Orange Lodge.

Mr Kennaway, an Orange Order member for 42 years, resigned his position as convener of the organisation's education
committee in 2000, following the Drumcree marching dispute. He later argued that the order had been taken over by paramilitaries, political opportunists and those ignorant of the order's authentic religious values.

The Presbyterian minister is based in Crumlin, Co Antrim. In May, he published his book The Orange Order: A
Tradition Betrayed. He said the book had not set out to "demonise" the order but had "placed its present position of decline in historical context."

WHAT WOULD MEN LIKE DAN WINTER, JOHNSON OF BALLYBEG OR SIR JOSEPH DAVIDSON SAY IF THEY LIVED TODAY. MAYBE THEY MIGHT ASK BY WHOM IS ORANGE TRADITION BETRAYED?

Addressing a packed hall, Mr Kennaway said the book dealt with organisational problems facing the order. He said
addressing these issues would help bring about "a new dispensation within an island of equals" in Ireland.

Among these problems were a lack of leadership and discipline, as well as ignorance among Orange Order members about the "Orange tradition" that had extended to the "workings and behaviour of its institutions." Another problem had been the maligning of the order by those outside its ranks, "stating malevolently what the institution stands for."

Mr Kennaway told the Feile audience that the order stood for equality and civil and religious liberty and that many of its tenets were similar to those found in the 1916 Proclamation.

"The order's written position of upholding 'civil and religious liberty for all and special privileges for none' is not dissimilar to that of the 1916 Proclamation 'guaranteeing religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities to all its citizens', and 'cherishing all of the children of the nation equally'. Both traditions can build an island of equals," he said.

"We do not have a religious organisation with a political element any more but a political organisation with a religious element;" Mr Kennaway added.

He said that a "fundamental change of Orangeism" had to be initiated, including reversing a process that had "substituted" faith with culture. This must be attempted by using 'spin'. In an age where transparency is demanded, no one wants spin. "You cannot change the image of an institution without changing its practice," he said.

Roy Garland, a former Belfast unionist councillor turned commentator, accompanied Mr Kennaway on stage at the Culturlann event. Mr Garland commended Mr Kennaway's book as a "sympathetic but critical" appraisal of the Orange
institutions. Emphasising the order's Irish identity and history, Mr Garland said many of it members had wrongfully assumed that its laws "were unchangeable" and had used much of these to reinforce a "narrowly conservative" agenda based on "fear, siege and conservatism".

Veteran Belfast republican and community activist Sean "Spike" Murray chaired the Culturlann event.

Mr Murray has been involved in negotiations with unionists with regard to the Orange Order's parade in the Springfield area of west Belfast.

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CRUMLIN PROTESTANT CHURCH DESECRATED AGAIN

The problem of young street drinkers urinating outside a Co Antrim church is so bad the grounds have had be hosed down ahead of a Sunday service.

SDLP South Antrim assembly member Thomas Burns has condemned ongoing vandalism attacks on Protestant churches in the majority Catholic village of Crumlin which both he and the police do not believe are sectarian.

Mr Burns said the incidents are being down to "plain vandalism" carried out by young booze gangs.

A police spokesman said they now believe the attacks in Crumlin to be plain vandalism as opposed to anything sectarian after saying last week that although they believed it was just vandalism but sectarianism could not be ruled out.

In the latest incident, the caretaker of St John's Church of Ireland Hall, Lurgan Road, Crumlin, reported to police that the front door of the hall had been kicked in sometime during the night. A large window had also been smashed.

It followed two other vandalism attacks at Crumlin Presbyterian Church on the village's Main Street and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church at Lurgan Road earlier this month when a large number of windows were broken.

Mr Burns condemned the attacks and said:

"There are too many young ones out drinking and it wasnit sectarian but anti-social behaviour. These gangs are all roaming about and these attacks are disappointing. I would condemn any vandalism on any place of worship. It would be great if the young ones would have a bit of respect and leave the churches alone. They go into the grounds and drink and they will attack anything that does not have shutters on."

If the attacks are merely vandalism and not motivated by a vicious sectarian spirit, we ask - why are only Protestant Churches defiled, yet no attacks on Roman Catholic property?

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PRIEST NUMBERS FALL BY ALMOST A QUARTER

THE Dioceseof Cork and Ross has now fewer priests working in parishes that it did in 1900, and almost a third less than it had just over 25 years ago. And, although the population of the diocese has increasedby 21.6 per cent since 1975, the number of its priests has fallen by 23.5 per cent. And for the first time, there are no new students from the diocese going for the priesthood this year, while just four men studying at Maynooth are from the diocese, an all time low for Cork and Ross.

Figures for first year enrolment at Maynooth are not yet available for this year, but it is expected the total number of students at the seminary will be around 60 this year, exactly a tenth of the 600 who attended there 30 years ago and the lowest number at the College since it opened in 1796.

The figures are published in the recent issue of the Fold, diocesan magazine of Cork and Ross Diocese. In the editorial
Father Tom Hayes asks whether the drop off in vocations generally is affecting the Irish economy. He wonders if it is
coincidence that health and education, now in crisis, are the two areas where religious had their greatest commitment of
personnel. It was evident in both areas "that our culture has moved away from seeing any value in doing something for others without claiming financial reward for it."

This culture of doing nothing for nothing was perhaps "one of the consequences of not appreciating what was done so
selflessly in the past", he suggests, while the religious "who did so much more outside of their roster to assist and care for patients, pupils and families, are now often derided for their dedication. Yes, a very small fraction of their number committed awful sins against those in their care. But thousands of their number gave remarkable service to their church, their communities and the state as a whole," he writes. It was also remarkable that so many now at the forefront of the growth of the tiger economy in Ireland were educated by religious. Justice needed to be done "to those who serve now, and those who have served in the past".

VATICAN AUTHORITY DENIES "INTELLIGENT DESIGN"

Vatican Observatory Director George Coyne, an Astrophysicist, who is also ordained said:-

"The Intelligent Design Movement belittles God. It makes God a designer, an engineer. One of the biggest problems that teachers face is Evangelical Christianity based on the literal interpretation of the Scriptures. Biblical interpretation is a plague in our midst."

PRIEST STEPS DOWN AFTER ALLEGATION

A Priest has stepped down from a parish in the mid west of the country amid allegations of child abuse, it was confirmed
recently. Bishop of Kilialoe, Dr Willie Walsh, asked the priest to step aside from regular parish duties while an allegation related to an incident around 20 years ago is investigated.

"A previous allegation was made in Britain some eight years ago in relation to the same priest," a statement from the Diocese of Kilialoe, which includes portions of Counties Clare, Laois, Limerick, Offaly and Tipperary, said.

"Both he and the diocese of Killaloe fully cooperated with the investigation undertaken by the British authorities at that time. These authorities decided not to proceed with any charge in relation to that particular case."

The diocese said the issue was raised in relation to child protection regarding a priest in a parish ministry in recently.

A LESSON FROM HISTORY

Catholic priests and bishops salute at a 1933 Berlin rally. Pictures like these from our files answer the current smears on Martin Luther that his teachings gave rise to Hitler.

The above shows the Roman Catholic Nazi link.

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PRIEST KILLED NUN IN RITUAL STABBING

A PRIEST was sentenced to life with a mandatory 15 years by a court in Toledo, Ohio for the ritualistic murder in 1980 of a
Catholic nun as she prepared his hospital chapel for Easter services.

Killer priest, Gerald Robinson, left, and his victim,Sister Margaret Ann.

Sister Margaret Ann Pahi, 71, was strangled and stabbed 31 times through an altar cloth with a sword shaped letter opener. Father Gerald Robinson, now 68, formed an upside down cross in the cloth with the punctures and anointed Sister Margaret Ann with a dab of blood on her forehead to humiliate her in death. And to rub salt in her wounds, he then officiated at her funeral mass.

Looking frail in shackles and wearing a dog collar, the priest displayed little emotion as he was led away. He had always
protested his innocence.

An ambitious man, he had been frustrated by his failure to become a military chaplain and unleashed his anger on Sister
Margaret Ann whom he considered to be domineering during the years they worked together at the Mercy Hospital in
Toledo. His frustration reached boiling point on Holy Saturday as she prepared the chapel for the Easter services and he
attacked her in the chapel sacristy.

"Robinson performed a bastardised version of the Last Rites on Sister Margaret Ann to degrade her, to mock her, to humiliate her," prosecuting counsel, Dean Mandros, told the jury.

Although the priest had been an early suspect he was not arrested until two years ago after investigators used new forensic
techniques to link the murder weapon to stains on the altar cloth. The insignia of the Washington Capitol on the letter opener had been branded in blood on the cloth.

During the three week trial an expert in the occult testified that only a member of the clergy would have the specialised
knowledge of Catholic rituals that were apparent in the killing.

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STATEMENT OF POLICY

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