Former IRA hunger striker attacks Orange Order

Yesterday the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland issued a statement saying the Pope is not welcome in the United Kingdom.

A spokesperson stated: "The Pope claims himself to be the vicar of Christ on earth, a title which assumes supreme and universal supremacy both in honour and jurisdiction over all - church, state, the world.

"Any who would welcome him are in danger of appearing to acknowledge his primacy and universal supremacy in all of these matters.

"We take this opportunity to call on all the people of our land to examine the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, especially on the matter of eternal salvation, and to see that the teaching of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church is at total variance with the Biblical message that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

"We therefore call on all the citizens of the United Kingdom, and especially members of the Loyal Orange Institution, to demonstrate their opposition to the Pope's visit to England and Scotland, and to oppose any future invitation to visit Northern Ireland.

"At the same time, we call on all members of the Loyal Orange Institution to refrain from any uncharitable acts or sentiments against our Roman Catholic fellow countrymen.

"Furthermore, we urge all members of the Institution to examine their own relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, to make sure that they have a saving faith in Him.

"Finally, we encourage all our members to pray for a visitation to our land, not by the vicar of Christ, the holy father, as the Pope claims himself to be, but by the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, that both Protestant and Roman Catholic, as well as others from whatever background, may be brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man."

Now Mr McCartney who spent 17 years in jail and was at one stage the IRA's officer commanding in the Maze has accused the Orange Order of being sectarian and akin to the British far right.

The Sinn Fin Assembly member said "that the mask had slipped on the Orders claims to be little more than a cultural organisation."

He commented: "For sometime now the Orange Order have been bogusly claiming to be a non threatening cultural club.

"They have been claiming public monies to promote their activities as open to all.

"However the reality is they are an anti-Catholic organisation. This statement calling for protests against the papal visit to Britain confirms this.

"They are now firmly in the camp of the British far right in organising opposition to this visit.

"The mask has clearly slipped and the recent public relations efforts of the Order now lie in tatters.

"At a time when politicians and others are trying to put together a better way of dealing with contentious Orange parades this statement is extremely unhelpful.

"The Orange Order must recognise that this sort of sectarian intervention will inflame tensions especially as we head into the marching season.

"Given this reality many people will be rightly questioning the motivation behind this statement at this time."