Following in the footsteps of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Ian Paisley, former First Minister of the Northern Ireland Assembly and current MP, is expected to announce that, having decided to leave parliament at the next election, he is also to abandon the Free Presbytarian Church and convert to Catholicism.
The 83-year-old firebrand politician, who once famously declared the Roman Catholic Church to be “the whore of Babylon”, and described John Paul II as “the anti-Christ”, insisted that as a politician you sometimes say things in the heat of the moment, and at the time, he had been advised by his spin doctors that “we don’t do Popes”.
Now, however, Paisley is free to pursue his beliefs without fear of being labelled “a nutter” and can declare his fondness for the ritual and ceremony of the Catholic faith, which crystallised in recent years during his fireside chats with Deputy First Minister and senior Sinn Fein politician Martin McGuinness. “It was a revelation to me,” admitted Paisley, “but I’ve always believed you should never say ‘never, never never!’.”
Deputy First Minister McGuinness was said to be pleased but surprised by the news, commenting “you’ll be telling me he’s not a real doctor next.” Meanwhile Pope Benedict XVI was under pressure from the Catholic community to take a stand against the baptism of Paisley into the Church of Rome, but said that under current Church laws his hands were tied. “Since we let Widdecombe in, we’ve been on shaky ground in terms of membership,” said a spokesman for the pontiff, “And it’s not as if Paisley started an unlawful crusade in the Middle East or was in the Hitler Youth, or anything…”
Quick links: NewsBiscuit Home • Chat Room • Writers' Room • Top Ten
Paisley to resign as MP, convert to Catholicism
(2 posts) (2 voices)
Current rating::
-
Leclair
offlineMemberPosted 3 years ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.