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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| DUP due to meet Catholic leader | DUP due to meet Catholic leader |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| DUP leader Ian Paisley is due to hold his first formal talks with Ireland's most senior Catholic cleric. | DUP leader Ian Paisley is due to hold his first formal talks with Ireland's most senior Catholic cleric. |
| Mr Paisley, moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church, is to meet Archbishop of Armagh Dr Sean Brady at Stormont. | Mr Paisley, moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church, is to meet Archbishop of Armagh Dr Sean Brady at Stormont. |
| The discussions at Stormont come just two days before multi-party talks in St Andrews, Scotland, aimed at brokering a deal on devolution and policing. | The discussions at Stormont come just two days before multi-party talks in St Andrews, Scotland, aimed at brokering a deal on devolution and policing. |
| Mr Paisley once described the Pope as the "anti-Christ". | |
| The DUP said the meeting was one of a series being held with church leaders. | The DUP said the meeting was one of a series being held with church leaders. |
| Mr Paisley's decision to meet Dr Brady was welcomed by nationalists. | Mr Paisley's decision to meet Dr Brady was welcomed by nationalists. |
| The DUP delegation includes deputy leader Peter Robinson and MPs Nigel Dodds and Gregory Campbell. | |
| The archbishop's delegation will include Bishop Francis Lagan, the auxiliary bishop of Derry, and Father Timothy Bartlett, secretary to the Northern Bishops. | |
| The DUP is also meeting the Independent Monitoring Commission on Monday to discuss its latest report on IRA activity. | |
| Separately, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will meet Sinn Fein and the SDLP in Dublin. | |
| 'Famously denounced Pope' | |
| BBC Northern Ireland political editor Mark Devenport said the meeting would be about politics. | BBC Northern Ireland political editor Mark Devenport said the meeting would be about politics. |
| "Archbishop Brady wants to address a range of issues," he said. | "Archbishop Brady wants to address a range of issues," he said. |
| "They include sectarianism, racism, the political process and ethical questions like abortion and euthanasia. | "They include sectarianism, racism, the political process and ethical questions like abortion and euthanasia. |
| "As the moderator of the Free Presbyterian church, Ian Paisley once famously denounced the Pope as an anti-Christ. | "As the moderator of the Free Presbyterian church, Ian Paisley once famously denounced the Pope as an anti-Christ. |
| "But the DUP insists Monday's dialogue will be about politics not religion." | "But the DUP insists Monday's dialogue will be about politics not religion." |
| Mr Paisley's son, Ian Paisley Junior, said the pair would not be discussing theological matters. | |
| He told the BBC: "If you want to talk theology, the Pope thinks all Protestants are heretics. | |
| "He thinks I'm going to hell. That's (what) the leader of his church thinks. But that's not what the discussion's about. | |
| "If we were having a discussion with a person who was, say, a non-Christian, maybe a Muslim, they too would have a very different point of view, but we're not discussing each others' religion." |