Jim Molyneaux’s early links with Catholicism

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/12/lord-molyneaux-early-links-catholicism

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Your obituary of Lord Molyneaux (10 March) contains one serious error. The former Ulster Unionist party leader was not “a long-serving elder” of the Presbyterian church but a lifelong member of the (Anglican) Church of Ireland. As your obituarist notes, Molyneaux was educated alongside Catholics at his local elementary school. What he does not mention is that in later life Molyneaux recalled that as a young boy he used to coach his Catholic schoolfellows in their catechism. Perhaps it was this early exposure to Catholicism that, along with his memories of witnessing a dying priest celebrate mass at Belsen, ensured that he was free from the sectarian prejudices that characterised some of his unionist contemporaries.Colin ArmstrongBelfast