Opinion

Letter: Godless fools don’t deserve to be called Protestants - Wallace Thompson

Letter to the Editor: Those chanting about the Virgin Mary and the Pope in Coleraine FC social club have little interest in the Bible or theology

A statue of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, Bosnia.
A statue of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, Bosnia
By Letters to the Editor

I have read with interest Fr Sean McManus’s letter in which he bemoans the silence in Protestant circles about alleged chants at Coleraine FC social club regarding the Virgin Mary. I must confess that I had not been aware of this until now.

If these chants were, as reported, they deserve to be condemned without reservation by all decent people. Protestant leaders in church and state need to make their voices heard.

As an evangelical Protestant, I have spoken out publicly on several occasions to condemn sectarian chants and singing, such as “we’re up to our necks in Fenian blood” or grotesque ‘songs’ about the tragic death of Michaela McAreavey.

Songs such as ‘Ooh ah up the Ra’ only add fuel to the fire.

While Sean McManus and I might disagree on many things, including our theology on Mary, evangelical Protestants hold her in the highest esteem as the mother of our Lord and we regard her as a blessed lady.

I suspect that those who allegedly chanted the words referred to in Coleraine have little interest in the Bible or theology. They are godless fools who don’t deserve to be called Protestants.

Wallace Thompson, Belfast BT5
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