Rev David Bruce: 'Racism is an evil that needs rooted out'

The Reverend David Bruce has been installed as moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

The new moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has compared racism to sectarianism in Northern Ireland and said it must be "rooted out".

Rev David Bruce was commenting on the Black Lives Matter movement sparked by the killing of George Floyd.

He also revealed that he often repents for his own attitudes "which perpetuate difference and division".

"I do not believe the Christ I follow died to perpetuate such divisions, rather to heal them," he said.

'An ugly thing'

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Sunday Sequence programme, Rev Bruce said: "If in my own heart, attitudes which may be sectarian or racist, this sin is uncovered, then the only legitimate response for me as a Christian is to bow before God and repent.

"That's a call I make to myself personally. If others hear and resonate with it, that's a good thing."

He added that in Northern Ireland, "for over 40 years, the sin of sectarianism, which is not identical, but has similar roots to racism, [has been] an ugly thing".

"It's a disease that infects us all and it needs to be named for what it is and rooted out," he said.

The 62-year-old, from Banbridge, is secretary to the Church's Council for Mission in Ireland and was installed as the new moderator on 1 June after being selected following a vote in February.

He is the first moderator in more than 20 years to come from a position outside of parish ministry.

The father-of-four is the 175th person to hold the office since 1840.

'Reinvention'

His installation at the Church's Assembly Buildings was attended by just four people due to the coronavirus pandemic, but was streamed online.

Due to the pandemic, it was the first time the assembly has not taken place in the church's 180-year history.

Rev Bruce told Sunday Sequence churches have been "reeling with reinvention" in recent months.

The bereaved are "having to cope with not being able to process [death] as families because of the restrictions placed on funerals".

He said it had been a difficult time for churches, but the pandemic "has drawn out both the best and the worst of us", and that examples of "extraordinary kindness and self-sacrifice" have been "so encouraging".