A number of people walked out of a Sunday Mass in Dublin in protest at references to the Islamic religion in the priest's sermon.
Father Aidan Carroll, who delivered the sermon at 11 a.m. Mass in University Church on St Stephen's Green, has denied criticising Muslims in any way.
According to a member of the congregation, Mr Tony Foley, who called the Joe Duffy Show on RT╔ Radio 1 yesterday, a dozen people walked out of the church in protest at Father Carroll's comments. However, Father Carroll said he saw only four people leave the church.
Mr Foley said he thought it was wrong for a priest to express such opinions to his congregation.
"To my mind, he was a Catholic fundamentalist. He took out of various texts what he wanted to say himself", Mr Foley told the station. "If Bertie Ahern stood up on a Fine Fβil platform and said this, he'd be lynched, he'd be castigated, he'd never be re-elected."
Father Carroll said he had quoted from the work of the Catholic historian, Hilaire Belloc. "I want to reassure everyone that I wouldn't in my wildest dreams say that Muslims should be 'banished', " he said. "Over the last two weeks I have prayed for Muslims and urged people to show them nothing but respect."
Father Bruce Bradley, director of communications for the Catholic Church in the Dublin archdiocese, said he had not heard the radio broadcast.
"We would deplore anything that would create feeling against the Muslim community in our city and our country", he said. "Muslims are not to be tarred with a brush, just as we would not want Christians to be tarred with a brush."
Father Bradley referred to last week's joint statement from Dublin's two archbishops, Cardinal Connell and the Most Rev Walton Empey, condemning attacks on Muslims in Ireland.
