The President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Rev Ken Todd, has added his voice to calls by Protestant church leaders for a stop to the Drumcree-related violence in the North for the past four nights.
"Unless a bold, creative and generous step is taken by some group, greater violence could result in loss of life. Because the confrontation at Drumcree is bringing disgrace to the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world and is being used as an excuse for violence on the streets in Northern Ireland, the district lodge should reconsider its position, walk away from the violence and defer the parade until another agreed time." While the Methodist Church recognised Portadown District's "genuine efforts" to resolve the situation and understood its disappointment at the ban, "sinister developments" in recent days had damaged the cause of the Orange institution, the Methodist President said.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach has appealed for calm following the increasing violence in the North in the run-up to Drumcree.
Mr Ahern said he has expressed the Government's concern, through the British-Irish Secretariat, about nationalists living in isolated areas.
"Hopefully we can get through these difficult days and get on with the very positive political agenda," Mr Ahern said.
Mr Ahern welcomed the extra security arrangements that are being made and agreed with David Trimble and David Ervine that everybody should be calm.
"What is happening is not the will of the vast majority of people anywhere in the North," he said.
Asked about Mr Gerry Adams's concern that the RUC allowed the free movement of UFF personnel between Belfast and Portadown, the Taoiseach said: "There are lots of legitimate concerns."
"It is a very difficult few days and we all just have to be cautious and careful and try to see that people who are looking for trouble, people who are looking for violence are isolated."
Sinn Fein has condemned decisions by the Parades Commission allowing a number of controversial Orange marches on west Belfast's Springfield Road and in Lurgan, Co Armagh, to go ahead on July 12th and 13th. The party described another decision banning a parade on Belfast's Lower Ormeau Road on July 12th as "inevitable". The party's vice-president, Mr Pat Doherty, also accused the RUC of colluding with loyalist protesters in blocking roads in Belfast and Kilkeel, Co Down.
"The difference in the RUC treatment of Catholics and republicans going about their daily business compared to their treatment of masked loyalists laying siege to a nationalist village underlines the RUC's partisan approach to the marching season," Mr Doherty said.
An SDLP north Belfast councillor, Mr Martin Morgan, also criticised the RUC for failing to keep main roads throughout Belfast open. "Yet again schoolchildren - in some cases as young as eight years of age - have been able to block key arterial routes in Belfast with apparent ease. Yet the RUC seems to be incapable of preventing these minor acts of vandalism which are used to cover paramilitary activity from growing into major acts of disorder and bringing about traffic gridlock in Belfast," he added.