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Church leaders jointly condemn
arson attacks
06.10.14
CHURCH leaders have
joined together to condemn a spate of arson attacks
on Orange Halls in Co Donegal.
In a joint statement, the leaders of the Catholic,
Methodist, Church of Ireland and Presbyterian
churches in counties Derry and Donegal said the
malicious fires were "deplored" by the entire
community.
Signatories to the weekend statement were the
Catholic Bishop of Raphoe, Philip Boyce; the
Catholic Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown; the Church
of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Ken Good;
Acting Superintendent of the North West Methodist
Mission, Paul Gallucci and Moderator of the
Presbytery of Derry and Donegal, John Hanna. |
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Catholic Bishop of Derry Donal
McKeown, left, and the Church of Ireland Bishop of
Derry and Raphoe Ken Good. |
Their message follows
an arson attack which destroyed the Orange Hall in
Kiltoal, Convoy, Co Donegal, in the early hours of
Friday.
The blaze, which was discovered about 4am, gutted
the main hall of the building and destroyed the
roof.
An attempt to burn down Convoy's Presbyterian Church
the same night failed when the fire did not catch
hold.
Both incidents followed a malicious fire which
destroyed the Orange Hall 14km away in
Newtowncunningham, Co Donegal, on September 14.
Most of the roof, interiors and many items of Orange
Lodge memorabilia were ruined in the blaze. The hall
was also attacked by arsonists in 2010.
"Malicious fire damage to two Orange Halls and a
Presbyterian church in Co Donegal within a two-week
period is a very unfortunate and regrettable
development," the church leaders said in their
statement.
"The people of Convoy and of Newtowncunningham most
affected by the wilful damage to these buildings
have been assured that these incidents are deplored
by the whole community.
"It is heartening to hear local political, community
and church leaders speaking with one voice in
condemning the attacks and in acknowledging that
such incidents cause distress and sadness to
themselves as well as to the whole community," the
statement concluded. |
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