Politicians and clergymen have condemned an arson attack on a Presbyterian church in Co Down. The main hall of Ryans Presbyterian Church near Rathfriland was badly damaged in the attack early yesterday morning.
The arsonists broke into the church by smashing a window at around 2.30 a.m. They piled up items in the hall before setting fire to them. The hall was to be used for a Bible study club this week, and children arriving for the club had to be sent home yesterday.
The church's minister, the Rev John Noble, said he was "shocked, saddened and dismayed" at the attack, which he believed to be sectarian.
"We had three attacks on Protestant churches in the area over the weekend so all the signs would point towards it being a sectarian attack . . . the attack is not just an attack on our church, but on the broader community as well," he said.
The SDLP MP for the area, Mr Eddie McGrady, said: "I wholeheartedly condemn the arson attack at Ryans Presbyterian Church Hall this morning. This attack was obviously sectarian in nature and was carried out with the intention of heightening tension in this rural area," Mr McGrady said.
He added that it was important that there was no retaliation and called on the entire community to "rally round in support of the Presbyterian congregation who has suffered this appalling attack".
The Sinn Fein Assembly member for South Down, Mr Mick Murphy, appealed for an end to attacks on Protestant and Orange Order property in the area.
"I appeal to whoever was responsible for these sectarian attacks to desist immediately. They are a grave disservice to the entire nationalist community," Mr Murphy added.
In a separate attack on Saturday night, 17 windows were smashed in the Orange Hall at Ballyroney, Co Down, and 10 windows broken in the church hall next door.
Later the same night, a number of windows were reported broken at the Free Presbyterian Church at nearby Moneyslane. Police believe the same gang could be responsible for all three attacks.
The Rev Noel Ward of Ballyroney Prebyterian Church said he was sure sound relations between the two communities in the area would withstand the attempt to raise sectarian tensions. Meanwhile, a man was seriously injured in a shooting incident at his home in Newtownabbey in north Belfast.
Two men broke into the man's house in the early hours of yesterday morning and tried to force their way into one of the bedrooms in which the man and his wife had barricaded themselves.
When their efforts were unsuccessful, the assailants fired two shots through the door, hitting the man in the arm. They then ran off in the direction of O'Neill's Road.
The injured man is believed to be a friend of Mr Raymond McCourt, whose son, Raymond, was killed by loyalist paramilitaries and who has repeatedly spoken out against so-called punishment attacks.
Two men have been arrested after the discovery of two pipe bombs in Antrim town. The RUC say the men were seen acting suspiciously in the Rathenraw estate around midnight on Sunday. The pipe bombs were later defused.
A 49-year-old man had a lucky escape when two petrol bombs were hurled at his house in Larne, Co Antrim, at around 1.30 a.m. on Monday. One of the devices damaged a shed and a rear wall while the other caused damage to a shower. The man was only woken when fire officers entered his house.