ENTERPRISE minister Nigel Dodds has distanced his office from comments made by his special adviser that the Pope is the Antichrist by stating they "do not represent the views" of his department.
The DUP MP was speaking after his special aide, Wallace Thompson (54), caused outrage by labelling Pope Benedict the antichrist and saying he would "totally oppose" a possible visit by the pontiff to Northern Ireland.
Mr Wallace, a married father-of-three, made the comments on RTE radio's LiveLine show on Tuesday, provoking an-gry calls for an hour afterwards.
Speaking on air, Mr Wallace said: "The Pope is the anti-christ... a lot of Protestants may not hold [that view] but it is still enshrined in the standards."
On the prospects of a Papal visit to the north, he said: "We would totally oppose that visit. We would have to say we do not want the Pope to come to Northern Ireland."
Mr Thompson, pictured, who was a civil servant for 28 years before being appointed special advisor to Mr Dodds, last year, is also an elder in the Knock Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Belfast.
Speaking last night, Mr Dodds said: "As minister, I cannot comment on an individual's beliefs.
"Wallace Thompson's comments were made in a personal capacity as secretary of the Evangelical Protestant Society.
"They were not made as a special adviser nor do they represent the views of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment."
The Church of Ireland last night issued a statement distancing itself from Mr Thompson's description of the Pope as the antichrist.
The sale of rosary beads in one of its cathedrals, St Pat-rick's in Dublin, sparked the initial row, with Mr Thompson objecting to a Catholic aid to prayer being sold in a Protestant church building.
In its statement, the Church said: "The Church of Ireland wishes to point out that no such description of the Pope is contained in any of the formularies or the historic documents of the Church of Ireland."
The Church of Ireland's foundation document is the 39 Articles of Religion and although it does not describe the Pope as antichrist, it does highlight what it believes are errors in Catholic teaching.
Article 19 says "the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of ceremonies, but also in matters of Faith" and Article 22 says "the Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardons, worshipping and adoration is... repugnant to the Word of God".
The Westminster Confession of Faith, the Presbyterian Church's basis of faith, does describe the Pope as the antichrist, however.
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