Clonoe priest will ‘continue to pray’ for Michelle

A PRIEST in the native parish of the First Minister designate – Michelle O’Neill – has said the Sinn Féin Vice President appears to regard “prayer as something akin to gay conversion theory”.

Fr John McCallion from Clonoe, hit out at the Mid Ulster MLA saying she had helped ban prayers being said outside abortion centres. The cleric, who made the comments in a letter to this paper, said he would continue to pray for Michelle O’Neill as she was “an ex- parishioner”.

His comments are in response to an interview given by Mrs O’Neill in which she recounted how she was “prayed over” at school when she became pregnant as a teenager.

The priest – who has previously singled out Sinn Fein politicians from the altar over their pro-choice stance, said, “How that prayer was conducted in the case of Mrs O’Neill, I do not know, but I would believe that it was offered with a genuine desire to help.

“Sadly, Mrs O’Neill, by her comments, seems to see prayer as something akin to gay conversion theory or the blessing of new mothers.

“Mrs O’Neill concludes with incidents of discrimination. Given that it is now a crime to offer prayer in public and even in silence here and in the Republic outside abortion centers, which Sinn Fein was instrumental in supporting, is this last statement somewhat hypocritical?”

The priest was referring to a bill passed at Stormont that would ban anti-abortion protests at health settings in Northern Ireland, making it an offence to protest against abortion within the 100m “safe access” zones, argue or harass people who may be attending the clinics and obstruct access to the premises in question.

Fr McCallion continued, “That she has recently stated that there was no alternative to IRA violence, it seems that regarding abortion, there is likewise no alternative to abortion in the mindset of Mrs O Neill, which is very sad! I would like to remind her that abortion is murder… I will continue to pray for her and that this support for abortion which seems to have become an article of faith for her, will make her and all who support this barbarity somehow come to their senses.”

The Dungannon Herald contacted Sinn Fein over the comments made by the priest, but the party declined to comment.

In the interview with Mark Carruthers, as part of a new series of Red Lines podcasts on the BBC, the Clonoe politician revealed the discrimination she suffered at St Patrick’s Girls’ Academy in Dungannon, when she became pregnant at 16.

“It was actually when I’d just got pregnant. It was nearly like, you know, that I had sinned and therefore I must be prayed upon which obviously was not the right approach,” she said of her time at the school.

“I remember turning up for sixth form having achieved my GCSEs and the required amount to go back in to do A-levels and I remember the school creating a huge fuss that I hadn’t asked for permission to come back to the school.”

Over the last week, Michelle O’Neill has also been criticised by unionists for her remarks that there was “no alternative to violence” during the Troubles.

Responding to a question during the sam Red Lines podcast, she said, “I think at the time there was no alternative, but now thankfully we have an alternative to conflict, and that is the Good Friday Agreement – that is why it’s so precious to us all.”