The Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr Patrick Walsh, has called on politicians in the North to unite in condemning "each and every murder in unequivocal and absolute terms". Speaking yesterday at the funeral of loyalist murder victim Mr Larry Brennan, Dr Walsh said the voices of elected leaders were "fragmented" in their condemnation of recent killings.
"Let us hear a united voice condemning all murder, each and every murder, in unequivocal and absolute terms as morally wrong in itself - no fudging, no blurring of the edges," Dr Walsh said.
He said it was not a question of strand one, strand two or strand three, but a question of "the one absolutely vital strand, the strand of life, the strand on which there cannot be divided opinions".
Dr Walsh added that a united voice was needed to restore hope and to lift morale. "This is the most essential, the fundamental confidence-building measure."
Mr Brennan (51), from the Markets area of Belfast, was shot as he sat in his taxi outside the offices of the Enterprise taxi company, on the upper Ormeau Road in the south of the city on Monday night. He had worked there for more than 20 years, and Protestant drivers with the firm were among his closest friends.
He was also engaged to be married to a Protestant woman, who has since had to leave her home in a strongly loyalist area of Belfast. It is believed she also stayed away from the funeral because of loyalist threats.
The RUC Chief Constable, Mr Ronnie Flanagan, said yesterday he believed UFF gunmen had carried out the attack. The UFF/UDA is linked with the Ulster Democratic Party.
Mr Brennan's remains were removed yesterday from his family home in the Markets area, a working-class nationalist enclave close to the centre of Belfast. Hundreds of people joined the funeral cortege as the coffin was carried the short distance from the house to St Malachy's Church, which was packed for the service. Four young camogie players, wearing the black and amber kit of St Malachy's GAA club, led the cortege, and a club jersey was draped across the coffin. Mr Brennan was an active member of the club.
Mourners were led by Mr Brennan's mother, Mary (72), his sister, Mrs Eilish O'Reilly, his brother, Patsy, and his two grownchildren, Clare and Patrick. Mrs O'Reilly's plea earlier in the week for no retaliation for her brother's murder was commended by the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair.
Mrs Brennan was supported by her daughter and a family friend, Dr Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP. His party colleague, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Mr Alban Maginness, also attended the funeral, as did Mr Steven McBride, of the Alliance Party and the Rev Jim Barnes, of the nearby May Street Presbyterian church.