An Executive Minister has called into question a senior Stormont adviser's attack on the Pope as the Anti-Christ. Wallace Thompson, a chief aide to Enterprise Minister Nigel Dodds, also said he would oppose a visit to Northern Ireland by the Pope but emphasised he was speaking in a personal capacity.
Employment and Learning Minister Sir Reg Empey warned, however, the remarks could damage the potential to win more investment - particularly in the run-up to the major international conference planned for May.
"People are entitled to their personal beliefs. However, if you are in a key position, especially in the run-up to a conference like the investment conference we are planning in May involving American businesssmen, then great care has to be taken in how you express those views," the Ulster Unionist leader said.
"The reality is that there are other places potential investors can invest in. Hopefully they will invest on the basis of what makes sense economically.
"But we do know comments can be taken out of context and they can be used by competitors against us. People have to take great care over the language they adopt. We are about trying to make people as comfortable as possible."
His comments came as Mr Dodds entered the controversy in a statement distancing his Department from the comments.
Mr Dodds said: "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."
Mr Wallace, who also criticised the sale of rosary beads at St Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral in Dublin, yesterday told the Belfast Telegraph there was "no connection" between his job and his personal views on spiritual matters.
"I know the code of the civil service and I know what it states. It does not bind the conscience. I have made no political statement whatsover," the 54-year-old father of three said.
The Church of Ireland, meanwhile, issued a statement of clarification in relation to Mr Thompson's depiction of the Pope as the Anti-Christ.
The statement said Mr Wallace had suggested his view of the Pope did not conflict with the main teachings of the main Churches.
"(We wish) 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," it said.
On Joe Duffy's RTE Liveline radio show, Mr Thompson said: "The Pope is the Anti-Christ... a lot of Protestants probably might not hold (that view) but it is still enshrined in the standards," he said.
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