They have been living in a social housing project which is supposed to be a flagship cross-community development. People of various religions live there.

One of those who fled said police had visited his home on Tuesday night, telling the family they were being threatened.

He says the police explained they had information that Catholics were unwelcome in the area. They advised the family faced violence if they did not leave.

Until then, the family say they had enjoyed living in the area and got on well with their neighbours. They say feel "stunned" by the threats, which seem to have come "out of nowhere".

Sinn Féin says the threats came from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) says the paramilitary link to the threats is a "very clear line of enquiry".

They would not speculate on who was behind the threats, although a spokesman says: "Whoever it is clearly has no regard whatsoever for what the people of east Belfast want in terms a community that can work effectively together and without division.

"We want to work with the residents in that area to make sure this doesn't happen again."

He denied police had asked the families to leave their homes, adding that the job of the police was to "keep them safe".

The sinister threats have left other residents wondering if the cross-community scheme was too ambitious.

"It's primitive [the hatred of Catholics] - it's like saying people with blue eyes have to get out but people with brown eyes can stay," a Catholic tenant who lost a relative in a UVF bomb says.

Source

• BBC
• Belfast Telegraph
• NewsLetter
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Belfast Telegraph

The former Holy Rosary Church which will host the movies has been closed since 1980 and is no longer owned by the Catholic Church.

While McCafferty says he has no problem with the church building being turned into an Italian restaurant, which is on the cards, he draws the line at horror movies invading the once-sacred space.

"What is their motivation for showing those types of films in what was once a sacred building that will have such special memories of spiritual occasions for lots of people?"

"Should they not be sensitive to the fact that many people in that area have fond associations and is sacred to the memories of many people that were baptized or married or buried there?"

The Belfast Film Festival organisers are defending their choice of venue, saying the locations chosen will add an extra dimension to the screening.

"We think the stone cold surroundings of an abandoned church will make for a suitably chilling viewing experience for The Exorcist," a spokesman says.

Catholic film critics have said that for the most part, The Exorcist tries to portray a real exorcism as authentically as possible.

Catholic reviews of The Omen tend to urge caution, as the film can be seen as depicting evil in a victorious light.

Source

• CNA
• The Tablet
• Catholic Register
• Image: belfastfilmfestival

Parish priest Anthony Alexander said it was the fifth incident in the last year.

"I just can't work out why it is happening - I can't guess why they are doing it and I find it hard to understand why people would vandalise somewhere, let a lone a place of worship," he said.

"The police and members of the local community and other churches have been very supportive and helpful."

Sinn Féin councillor Gerry O'Reilly said the attack was "despicable and completely sectarian".

"I'm calling for those within unionism to stand shoulder to shoulder with St Mary's parishioners and use whatever influence they have to end the attacks."

"I'm calling for those within unionism to stand shoulder to shoulder with St Mary's parishioners and use whatever influence they have to end the attacks," he said.

Sources

BBC

Belfast Telegraph

Image: BBC

Bishop Noel Treanor of Down and Connor, whose diocese includes Belfast, said he is dismayed that Marie Stopes International was scheduled to open a clinic in Belfast on October 18.

"The opening of this facility further undermines the sanctity and dignity of human life in our society where the most vulnerable and defenseless human beings are already under threat," Treanor said in a statement quoted by the Catholic News Service.

"Not only must we show compassion for women who find themselves facing an unwanted pregnancy, but we should support them to explore avenues which provide care while respecting the life of their child in the womb. We should enable them to respond to such situations in a life-affirming and positive way," he said.

"It is with great concern and dismay that I, like many fellow citizens who value and seek to protect human life, received news of the decision to open a Marie Stopes Clinic in Belfast where medical abortion will be offered," Treanor said.

Forty percent of Northern Ireland's population is Catholic. All but one party in the legislature there has members in the All Party Pro-Life Group.

The report said the clinic will only offer medical, not surgical, abortions and will only terminate pregnancies up to the first nine weeks of pregnancy, as per Northern Irish law.

Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, where abortions can be performed up until the 24th week of pregnancy, the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply in Northern Ireland.

Sources

• CNS/National Catholic Reporter
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: The Journal