Call on Presbyterians to vote

Dr John Dunlop, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, yesterday urged people to vote in the Northern elections and the referendums in the Republic today.

Speaking to the church's General Assembly he said: "We ought not to overlook the quite dramatic improvement in much of our shared life in Northern Ireland. "The European Union is the outcome of negotiated conciliation which involves the loss of some sovereignty but which may avoid further European wars. The Belfast Agreement is an attempt to conciliate a more local but deeply intense conflict."

He also warned against majoritarian rule. "Minorities need to be protected from the tyranny of the majority, even if that majority is democratically elected," he said.

A report presented to the General Assembly "strongly" encouraged the church leaders "to seek a meeting with the Government of the Republic of Ireland at the highest level, to bring to its attention the serious implications for the churches of the 1999 Local Government (Planning and Development) Act."

Guidelines circulated to the churches by Duchas, the heritage agency, appear to be restrictive, the report said, particularly a statement that "changes to the interior of a place of public worship, even if required for liturgical reasons, should be subject to the planning process."

"The seriousness of the implications of the legislation for church developments, worship and the continuing ethos of Presbyterian places of worship as meeting houses needs to be impressed upon the Government of the Republic of Ireland at the highest level," it said.

The Assembly also discussed a report from the Inter-Church Standing Committee on mixed marriages.