Bishop's refusal to sign petition causes outrage in Derry

A row has broken out in Derry after its bishop declined to sign a petition calling on dissident republicans to disband and decommission.

Bishop Seamus Hegarty's spokesman said he felt the petition was time-specific and the Catholic Church condemned all violence, irrespective of who was responsible.

After the murder of Derry man Emmett Shiels on June 24, local people began a petition calling on the Real IRA, the Continuity IRA and the INLA to disband.

Thousands of people have signed it, but Bishop Hegarty declined to sign it, with his spokesman, Father Michael Canny, saying the church's stand against violence of any kind had always been clear.

The petition made no reference, he said, to those who had used violence in the past.

But Maureen Wilkinson, the dead man's sister, said that she doesn't understand why he won't sign and has called on him to come up with alternatives.