Madam, - I read Patsy McGarry's article on the forthcoming Presbyterian General Assembly (June 2nd) with dismay as, not for the first time, he implicated the Presbyterian Church in Ireland with the DUP and its leading lights.
The fact is that Ian Paisley jnr is not a member of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and his recent comments on homosexuality have nothing to do with the impending debate at the General Assembly - a debate that was scheduled a year ago.
Moreover, the report to be debated is specific to the pastoral responses for those who are homosexual and for their families.
It is not a reconsideration of the church's stance on homosexuality, as stated at the General Assembly in June 1979; indeed, it assumes that sexual relations are permissible only between a man and woman within a monogamous marriage.
The Presbyterian Church acknowledges the stress and hurt experienced by homosexuals and appreciates the Christian duty to respond in love and truth.
The debate in the assembly will be part of the process towards improving our response. - Yours, etc,
Rev ALAN BOAL, Co-convener, Church and Society Committee, Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Griffith Avenue, Dublin 11.