Canon Mark Harvey brings Romanist priest into Lurgan Church of Ireland

There was much consternation last month after it was revealed that a Romanist priest had been brought into a service marking the addition of more than 200 people who lost their lives during the two world wars to the war memorial in Lurgan, County Armagh.

The pro-abortion and ardent fan of liaising with Popery, Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie, brought the matter to light in his rage against any who would seek to defend Biblical Christianity.

It would appear a service was held at the war memorial before a further service then took place in Shankill Parish Church in the town. At this service, a leading Papist, Canon Liam Stevenson, was then asked to take the pulpit and lead part of the service in the supposedly Protestant church, where the minister is Canon Mark Harvey.

Taking to Twitter in what appeared to be a risible, politically motivated rant, Doug Beattie lambasted DUP politicians who did not stay for the church service, although of course any who didn’t stay for it were entirely correct to do so.

Equally, any who did stay for it should hang their head in shame.

Ranting on his Twitter page, Doug Beattie said: “Disappointed that some DUP councillors couldn’t attend the church service after the War Memorial dedication because it was cross community. It was cross community in the trenches… maybe they need to remember that.”

Now of course Doug Beattie is correct to say people of all religious persuasions fought in the trenches, but that is to miss the point.

The issue at stake here is religious purity, and to invite an emissary of the false religion of Rome to take part in a church service is to endorse that system and to present it as an acceptable form of religion and as an appropriate church with which to share worship.

It is manifestly untrue for anyone to say Rome is anything other than a false religion, giving false hope to its hundreds of millions of adherents.

And any of the dear Roman Catholics who were killed in the war who were clinging to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church were doomed to hell by the priest who taught them the lies they were placing their faith in.

And it is just the same today, any dear Roman Catholic placing their faith in what the Roman Catholic Church is teaching them is facing the same lost eternity.

To share a podium or attend a meeting where such a deceiver is given the floor is to endorse his deceit and join in the bloodguiltiness of that Papist preacher.

2 John 1:9-11 says: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

Canon Mark Harvey, rector of Shankill Parish Church, gleefully made himself partaker of the evil deeds of Rome, and not only that, all who sat through that Papist taking the platform were also made partakers of the evil deeds of Rome.

It is no surprise to see Canon Mark Harvey inviting such a character into the pulpit he usually occupies, as we have previously written about his brazen, God-defying ecumenical conduct.

Last summer, he was among the speakers at the ungodly New Wine Conference in Sligo, at which no less than three emissaries of Papal deceit were invited speakers.

And we also revealed that Canon Mark Harvey is an ecumenical canon in Down Cathedral, being installed in 2015 together with a Romanist Benedictine monk. The picture at the top of this article shows Canon Mark Harvey in the middle, with the Papist monk pictured to the left.

Not only that, earlier this year, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Canon Mark Harvey had the former UK Ambassador to the Pope himself, Catholic layman Francis Campbell, in Shankill Parish Church to speak.

Disgracefully, this event was organised by the Royal British Legion, demonstrating the shameful neglecting of the defence of Protestantism being carried out by so many organisations entrusted with that very responsibility.

Shame on the Royal British Legion in that area for arranging for an emissary of Papal deceit to take part in that event.

However, while Canon Mark Harvey, Doug Beattie and others were busy doing obeisance to Romanism, there was a band which refused to enter into the church when they realised a Papist was taking part.

In the comments following his initial Twitter rage, Doug Beattie felt the need to lambast the band for refusing to enter the church, however, this was the living embodiment of that Scriptural stance outlined in Hebrews 13:13, which says: “Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.”

The band in question is Moneyslane Flute Band, based in County Down, and they are to be commended for taking their stand and refusing to have any fellowship with the works of darkness.

One must assume there is a Christian influence within that band and we wholeheartedly praise them for refusing to consort with or wink at Popery.

However, Doug Beattie is like those in Romans 1:18 who “hold the truth in unrighteousness”.

When anyone takes a stand for the truth of Christ, they can expect opposition and criticism to come.

Regardless of the opposition, let us follow the advice of Paul to the Galatians, when he wrote, under the inspiration of God, in Galatians 5:1: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

Sadly, so many are letting go and esteeming not the glorious privileges they have inherited from their forefathers.

Once again we can see Ulster being entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

The reversal of the Reformation, which is the aim of the Papacy and of a shameful number of allegedly Protestant clerics and their followers, is picking up pace.

The freedom which came through the glorious Protestant Reformation and through various other revivals throughout the centuries since is slowly being frittered away.

It is up to those of us who are saved, as God’s children to stand in the gap and ensure no more ground is ceded to the enemies of Christ, and even strive, under God, to reclaim lost territory to the workers of apostasy and ecumenism.

Let us even follow the example set out by Eleazar, one of the mightiest of David’s mighty men.

So determined was he to defend the land God had given him and his people, he refused to concede even a small patch of ground where barley grew.

It may not have been considered overly important to others, but this was the land God had promised the children of Israel, and he was not willing to let it fall into the hands of the enemies of Christ.

1 Chronicles 11:12-14 says: “And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighties. He was with David at Pas-dammim, and there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley; and the people fled from before the Philistines. And they set themselves in the midst of that parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines; and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance.”

We need a great deliverance in our day and generation, and that can only be obtained if the people of God take their stand for Christ.

It will not be obtained by compromise with the enemies of Christ.