It is not the role of the churches to attempt to influence political opinion, much less to tell people how to vote in a referendum, the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Dr James Mehaffey, said yesterday.
"In responding to any agreement we have each to answer the question, `will the proposals help to promote reconciliation and peace?' " he told the congregation at St Columb's Cathedral in Derry.
Christian people should refuse to give a knee-jerk reaction to the Northern Ireland Agreement, he said. Instead, they should "take time to think and pray" about what is proposed.
"Christian responsibility demands of us that we try to build a society in which the rights of everyone are respected and safeguarded," he said. "In our increasingly pluralist society Christians need to see such diversity not as a threat but as a potential enrichment of our common life."
Pastor Robert Dunlop of the Baptist Church, Brannockstown, Co Kildare said Christian believers should not hesitate to attribute the achievement of the agreement to the guidance and blessing of God.