Photograph: Antoine Boureau/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty ImagesIt is unlikely the Presbyterian Church will enjoy a happy new year or a happy period for quite some time to come. The sudden resignation in November of former Moderator, Rev Dr Trevor Gribben, over safeguarding issues made headlines. The trigger for this was the revelation last May that a former voluntary youth worker in a Belfast Presbyterian church had been sentenced for offences against children. The favoured expression from Church House in Belfast has been the need for “a settled position” on all major issues. The once independent-minded Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) has often shown this dissent.

Source: The Irish Times January 18, 2026 13:46 UTC