Northern Ireland's three main Protestant churches give their reaction to death of Pope Francis
All three of Northern Ireland’s main Protestant churches have now responded to the death of Pope Francis.
The Presbyterian Church and the Methodist Church have added their voices to those from the Church of Ireland, which issued a statement earlier this morning (click here), “praising the pope’s brotherly affection for Christian people of all traditions, and for the whole of humanity”.
The Presbyterian Church said its moderator Dr Richard Murray, has written privately to Catholic Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin following the pontiff’s passing.
And a statement from Dr Trevor Gibben, the Clerk of the General Assembly and PCI’s General Secretary, said: “In offering the condolences of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland to Archbishop Eamon, we want to acknowledge the grief felt by many people on the island of Ireland who will be greatly saddened at this particular time, especially our Roman Catholic friends and neighbours, who mourn the death of Pope Francis, who died today.”
Meanwhile the Methodists issued a statement jointy from its president Dr John Alderdice and lay leader Elaine M Barnett.
In it, they extended the “sympathies and prayers of the Irish Methodist people”.
Their statement read: “As a Church we are grateful for Pope Francis’s faith and for his leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. We give thanks and appreciation for his ecumenical spirit and openness to other leaders in the global Christian Church.
"We commend his advocacy for social justice, his desire to prioritise care for the poor and the most vulnerable in society as well as his call for all people to embrace their role as ‘stewards of creation’.
"We extend our deepest sympathies and prayers of the Irish Methodist people to our brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic community and to all those who mourn. May the late Pope’s legacy of faith continue to inspire generations to come."