A lay-Catholic leader from Dublin has backed a Presbyterian church decision to rebuke a cleric who took part in an RTE Pride church service.
Rev Dr Katherine Meyer has been rebuked for taking part in an RTE Pride church service in 2023.
It is understood she is also under investigation over claims she attended the Dublin Pride parade this year.
Now retired, she was formerly minister at Christ Church, Sandymount, in Dublin.
Dublin-based Paddy Monaghan, Secretary of the Evangelical Catholic Initiative, backed the Presbyterian decision to rebuke a cleric in the city for taking part in a Pride service on RTE.
In a report, a court of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has since concluded that her participation in the RTE service was "unwise and inappropriate".
It added: "By her actions, Dr Meyer did not give due regard to either the previous censure she received nor to her need to strive to preserve the peace and unity of the Church and especially that of the Presbytery of Dublin and Munster."
(It is understood she had previously been censured because an elder at Sandymount was in a same sex relationship - Steven Smyrl.)
"Therefore, having considered the censures available to it... the Judicial Commission formally rebukes the Rev Dr Katherine Meyer for her poor judgement and her actions."
Paddy Monaghan pointed to a march of 9,000 Christians in Dublin at the weekend, which he said was intended to try and restore Christian heritage.
It also urged her to "reflect on its meaning and in so doing to accept that her judgement and actions were wrong and to desist from such actions and behaviour in the future".
The News Letter contacted Rev Meyer, however she declined to comment due to ongoing investigation.
A spokesperson from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland said: “Judicial matters in any organisation or context, are often sensitive and usually also complex. It is rarely appropriate to comment on past findings of the Judicial Commission and of course it is never appropriate to comment on whether there are fresh issues to be considered.”
However, Dublin based Paddy Monaghan, Secretary of the Evangelical Catholic Initiative, firmly backed PCI.
"At a time when our society has rejected much of our Judeo/Christian heritage it is sad to see a Minister of the gospel affirming the lifestyle of same sex couples," he said. " I hope and trust that the Catholic Church and indeed all our Churches will follow the example of the PCI.
"On Saturday 9,000 Christians from across the divide took part in a March for Jesus from the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin to the Dail and the leaders led the people in repentance for how our society had gone away from its Christian heritage. I would be confident that those 9,000 Christians would be saddened by Dr Meyer lending credibility to the RTE Pride Service."
Ulster University Director of Community Engagement and Professor of Politics, Duncan Morrow, was angered by the rebuke.
"As a member I am mortified and horrified by my Church," he said. "And if they want to come for me - as a lay person they’ll hardly bother- they know where I live. I can only see her opponents as a baying, crucifying mob, held back from stoning only by the secular law of the land."
Steven Smyrl, who was previously ejected as an elder from Rev Meyer's church on account of being in a same sex relationship, was also annoyed.
"This latest complaint hasn’t come out of nowhere. It’s now the fourth such complaint, and at this stage it must constitute a vendetta," he said.
Lisburn doctor, pastor and theologian, Dr Paul Coulter, Executive Director of the Centre for Christianity in Society, said the issues raise important questions about Christian identity and inclusion.
"Hundreds of Bible-believing churches across Ireland are seeking to be like their Lord,” he said. “That is why people of all beliefs find a warm welcome to their public services and receive help through their social projects.
"It is also why they seek to maintain biblical standards of behaviour for their members. I think many people today struggle to understand that it is not unkind to disagree with someone or unloving to hold to a different understanding of truth from them."