Dr Barry (63), a native of Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, will take over from the Rev Rob Craig
as moderator of the Presbyterian Church in June after he was elected on
Monday night.
A former schoolteacher from a seafaring family, who is
married with two daughters, Dr Barry began studying for the church when
he was 29.
He was ordained as assistant minister
in First Larne Presbyterian Church in 1982 and was installed as minister
of his current church, Sandys Street congregation in Newry, in 1985, on
the night the IRA fired a mortar bomb that killed nine RUC officers in
Newry.
“It was a very sad occasion for many people and in some respects that has flavoured my ministry over the years,” he said.
He
welcomed the fact that some people from the Catholic community had
welcomed his appointment, noting that Sinn Féin in Newry had also
congratulated him, which he found encouraging. In relation to US
diplomat Dr Richard Haass’s proposals on parades, the past and flags, Dr
Barry said people “hold their flag very dearly”.
“Perhaps
we need good leadership from our politicians,” he added. “We need to
get to the stage where the flag itself is not the one all-important
issue. Whether I am British or Irish does not depend on what flag is
flying.
“The past is a very delicate situation
and there are people who are hurting who have lost loved ones. I would
be very slow to say to them forget about the past and move on; you can’t
do that.”
However, he added, “in some respects
we have got to move forward. The question is how we do that, whether it
is by a truth commission or whatever, but we need to find some way of
dealing with it. “We can’t just leave it hanging in the hope that all
these people will eventually die out and there will be no one to
remember. It needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later.”
On
the issue of what constitutes a victim, which particularly exercises
some unionists, Dr Barry said he saw nothing wrong with praying for the
families of paramilitaries who were killed in the Troubles.
“A
wife, whether it’s the wife of an IRA terrorist or of an RUC policeman,
will suffer and the church will pray for them and ask for God’s comfort
for them.”
Dr Barry said he would describe
himself as a “conservative” or “traditionalist” Presbyterian who, while
he would not participate in a Catholic Mass, was happy to work with
Catholic clergy and people in civic society. He had attended weddings
and funerals in Catholic churches, he added.