Pro-Palestinian protest interrupts cathedral service

Protesters interrupted a service at St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh on Sunday to "highlight the silence from the Catholic church on genocide in Palestine".

In a livestream of the service shared on the parish social media, about 30 protesters can be seen entering the cathedral holding placards.

Speaking in a video posted online, one protester Deirdre Murphy Linder, said they are "a group of cross-community Christians" who held a "silent a dignified procession at the end of communion".

Following the protest, the priest taking the service accused the demonstrators of using the Mass for a photo opportunity.

Addressing his congregants immediately after the protest, Father Barry Mathews said the church is "not a political organisation, rather we are an organisation who trusts in God's plan and trusts God is present".

Father Mathews noted the donations that members of the church have made "for the care of children in Gaza".

"We here as a parish community have given £5,000 pounds from your donation."

"We don't use Mass as an opportunity for a quick snapshot," he said.

"Let us not use the church for a place of political statement."

Father Mathews received a round of applause from his congregants following his statement.

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Armagh said: “Archbishop Eamon Martin, and other Irish bishops, have spoken out on the issue of the horrific devastation and loss of life in Gaza, most recently in the Bishops’ Conference’s pre-election statement of two weeks ago."

"Archbishop Martin dedicated his 2024 New Year message to this issue and has since given various media interviews on the topic and will continue to do so," the statement added.

Ms Murphy Linder said the protesters want "to know why the church, the Christian churches are silent".

"They were very vocal when Russian invaded Ukraine, and rightly so, their condemnation was extremely strong," she added.

She said that Christian church leaders were "betraying the faith of billions" by not speaking out more forcefully on the situation in Gaza.

"We are waiting 14 months, looking at horrific images and a genocide."

Israel has vehemently denied that its forces are committing genocide in Gaza.

In November, a UN General Assembly special committee released a new report that says Israel’s warfare methods in Gaza are “consistent with the characteristics of genocide, with mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians there”.

Human Rights Watch has also accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

About 1.9 million people - 90% of Gaza’s population - have fled their homes over the past year, and 79% of the territory is under Israeli-issued evacuation orders, according to the UN.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 44,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.