An English Jesuit who left his order to become a diocesan priest in Northern Ireland has been honored by England’s Queen Elizabeth II for his services to a community wrought by sectarian violence.
Father Paul Symonds, a priest of the Belfast-based Diocese of Down and Connor, has served for four years in Ballymena, a predominantly Protestant town known for anti-Catholic sectarianism. Father Symonds is especially known for his work with Catholics and Protestants in Ballymena’s Harryville section, where Catholics have been subjected to sustained campaigns of intimidation. As recently as the summer of 2005, Masses at Our Lady the Mother of Christ Church in Harryville were canceled because of such intimidation.
Source: Catholic Review - "English priest receives awards for work in Northern Ireland", 5 Jan 2008, http://www.catholicreview.org/article/faith/vocations/english-priest-receives-award-for-work-in-northern-ireland
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