Presbyterian committee paper criticises Orange Order over Drumcree

A report to be presented to the Presbyterian General Assembly next week strongly criticises the Portadown District of the Orange Order over Drumcree.

The Church and Government Committee report says: "It is to be regretted that the clear advice of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, of its General Board and its Church and Government Committee, have been so comprehensively ignored by an organisation which claims to be Christian and which enjoys the hospitality of many Presbyterian Churches."

It continues: "When people come out of a service of Christian worship and confront the security forces and precipitate the whole of Northern Ireland into a predictable crisis which has cost millions of pounds, seen the burning of churches and Orange halls and caused people to be driven from their homes, this commends neither Protestantism nor the Christian faith to the millions who watch all over the world and the millions throughout the United Kingdom who have to pay for the consequences of such activity."

The report gives thanks "that individuals are free to go to worship anywhere and at any times in this country. However, parading to and from church is not a similar absolute civil and religious right since it impinges on the rights of other people. The rights of residents' groups are not absolute either."

Deploring the events at Drumcree, the committee report points out that had all concerned heeded the call of the Church's General Assembly and that, no local accommodation being reached, had the decision of the Parades Commission been obeyed "violence and widespread civil disorder would have been avoided".

It commended the leadership shown by the Rev William Bingham and the chaplains of the Orange Order in their calls for the protest to be abandoned, and called on the leadership of the Orange Order "to implement their own stated aims and principles of `liberty under the law' and to call off the protest at Drumcree and all other associated protests . . . "

The report, introduced by Rev Dr John Dunlop, also spoke of the failure of the unionist and nationalist ideologies to provide everyone in Ireland with a sense of belonging while militant republicanism and militant loyalism visited untold damage on thousands. The opportunity now exists to move "beyond these exclusive and excluding ideologies to arrangements which will provide us all with a sense of being accepted and honoured. Both parts of this island ought to be places where people from different backgrounds feel at home; where we provide each other with a sense of belonging; where no one feels like a stranger and where responsibilities and opportunities are shared."

A booklet to be presented to the General Assembly will emphasise compassion and a non-judgmental approach towards people of a homosexual orientation.

Speaking at the press conference, Rev Norman Cameron said it was hoped the booklet would be pastoral in tone, emphasising support for all who struggle with sexual morality. The document will maintain the traditional approach to homosexual acts pointing out that they are condemned in both Testaments.

Rev Cameron also said the church opposed a reduction in the age of consent from 18.