MOURNERS at the funeral of Mr John Slane, shot in his Belfast home last Friday, were told by a bishop that it was a "cowardly add callous" deed and those in positions of leadership must act to prevent a feared escalation of violence.
No one has admitted responsibility for the killing of Mr Slane, a father of 10 children. However, the Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr Patrick Walsh, said his murder had engendered a "fear that violence will escalate".
"There is an enormous responsibility at the present time on all in positions of leadership and influence to exert every effort to prevent this," said Bishop Walsh.
"They must take every opportunity to engage in dialogue, lines of communication must be kept open and, indeed, new ones opened up. There is so much at stake - human life is at stake," he told the congregation at St Paul's Church on the Falls Road.
The 44 year old murder victim was preparing a bottle of milk for his twin baby daughters when at least one gunman opened fire.
At the funeral were his wife, Martha, and children, Sean, Barry, Christopher, Declan, Joseph, Michelle, Theresa, Louise, Kelly and Cloe. Mr Slane had four grandchildren, Patrick, Amy, Leah and Naoimi.
Bishop Walsh asked: "Can one imagine anything more cowardly and callous than to shoot dead a father in front of his young children? A father's life snuffed out in an instant, young children scarred for life by what they witnessed.
"The murder of John Slane in Thames Court was morally evil, the murder of Stephen Restorick - in Bessbrook was likewise morally evil," Dr Walsh told the mourners.
Among them was the Sinn Fein president Mr Gerry Adams, who said: "It is obvious that the threat and use of violence from the unionist and loyalist groups will not affect their participation in the talks, while Sinn Fein, with its significant mandate, remains excluded. The application of double standards is clear..."
While no one has admitted responsibility for the murder of Mr Slane at Thames Street in the Broadway area, local residents and Sinn Fein believe it was carried out by loyalist paramilitaries operating from the Village area.
Loyalist sources claim an element within the UDA was responsible, although it was a case of mistaken identity. Mr Slane had no political or paramilitary associations.
However, Progressive Unionist Party representative Mr Billy Hutchinson said the murder was not carried out by loyalists and was not sanctioned by the Combined Loyalist Military Command. "They would all act in unison, they would all take decisions together and if the ceasefire was over then they would announce it," he said.
A statement from the INLA has warned unionist representatives to stay out of nationalist areas. "No more representatives of the fringe loyalists or unionist parties can be permitted to participate in activities or functions within nationalist areas. Their unhindered sightseeing tours will also stop," it said.
Mr Hutchinson, who is involved in cross community work in west Belfast, described the murder of Mr Slane as "senseless". Asked if the loyalist ceasefire was phoney, Mr Hutchinson said: "It looks very like that. I couldn't disagree with that. What I can assure you is that we work very, very hard to ensure that, the loyalist ceasefire is in place.