THE Rev Dr Norman Hamilton hopes that the engagement modelled by Pope Francis's response to his Irish News article about a papal encyclical will encourage further challenging conversations across Ireland.
Dr Hamilton, a former Presbyterian Moderator, said last night he had enjoyed a "very good day" with "a lot of really positive feedback" after this newspaper reported that, in a unique development, the Pope had written personally to him.
Pope Francis told Dr Hamilton he wanted to express his appreciation "for the thoughtful observations you made in your article on my Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti in the Irish News".
Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin, who drew the article to the Pope's attention, described it as "perhaps unprecedented in the context of Northern Ireland and its history".
"I also think the Holy Father would be extremely pleased to know that a minister of the Presbyterian Church is open to giving his views on the Holy Father's encyclical in a newspaper that is widely read by those of the Catholic faith," he said.
Dr Hamilton, who played an important role mediating in the Holy Cross dispute and has a long commitment to civic engagement and building civic relationships beyond the Church, said the fact that the Pope himself had written to him emphasised the importance of being open to dialogue.
"I hope this would help start a conversation and ongoing debate on the full range of issues that affect us all," he said.
Churches had a tendency to talk about familiar issues and while these were important, he said it was vital that the Churches "also contributed to discussions on loneliness, social justice, poverty and the sorts of issues raised in Fratelli Tutti".
"I want people to think properly about the things that come their way, and to be able to talk about them properly with each other," he said.
Dr Hamilton said Protestant and Catholic clergy were among those to contact him about his correspondence.
Archbishop Martin said it was a "kindly and significant gesture from Pope Francis, in the spirit of Fratelli Tutti" while Belfast priest Fr Martin Magill said it was "lovely to see a good news story make the front page".
