Fr Timothy Bartlett is the Parish Priest of St Mary’s Parish in Belfast and recently organised the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland.
Speaking at a Mass in Knock Shrine on Saturday, he said his own Irish identity had faced “violent opposition” in the past and that Catholics today feel they must “keep their heads down.”
The event was a pilgrimage for Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Ireland, a charity working with persecuted Christians in 140 countries, for which Fr Bartlett serves as Ecclesiastical Assistant.
“Here, in our own country, we will soon have an important public debate in the run up to the election of our next President,” he said.
“Sadly, though I am told I am an Irish citizen, and even though I have deeply treasured that identity since I was a child, even in the face of violent opposition, I am not entitled to vote in that election.
“But I will still watch the debate and follow the positions of the various candidates with great interest.”
He said of particular interest was how “state-funded media institutions meant to represent all of the people” would deal with the issue of religious freedom.
This includes how a “growing number of people of faith who feel they are being told, however softly, though increasingly aggressively, to keep their heads down.”
He went on to criticise the media for indulging in crude caricatures about people of faith that were “long out of date and, at times imbalanced and unjust.”
“I encourage every person of faith to encourage our state media, and candidates for the next President of Ireland, to actively highlight the issue of religious freedom, respect and tolerance in our society, and to give a voice, not least to those increasing number of young people of faith in our country who tell me, and others, that they feel excluded, marginalised, unwelcome, cancelled or misunderstood, simply because their faith is important to them,” he said.
He said this could manifest with religious stereotyping and exclusion, including in public funding policies and the approach to religion of state-funded media.
The presidential election is expected towards the end of October, as it must take place in the 60 days before the second term of President Michael D Higgins ends on November 11.
With the vote open to Irish citizens over 18 who are ordinarily resident in the Republic, the left-wing independent Catherine Connolly is so far the only candidate to secure enough support to get on the presidential ballot paper.
The former Dublin GAA football manager Jim Gavin has emerged as Fianna Fail’s most-likely candidate, having secured the support of party leader and Taoiseach Michael Martin - but MEP Bill Kelleher and former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern have not ruled themselves out.
Heather Humphreys and Sean Kelly are also competing to secure the Fine Gael nomination while Sinn Féin are yet to say if they will run a candidate or support Ms Connolly.
The former SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has ruled himself out, while the MMA fighter Conor McGregor and Riverdance star Michael Flatley have also announced their intention to run – although they would first need to be nominated by either 20 members of the Oireachtas or four local authorities.