The day of Fr. O'Donnell's installment, around 50 people showed up protesting, carrying anti-Catholic signs reading "No Popery."

David McLaughlin, secretary of the Government and Morals committee of the Free Presbyterian Church, helped organize the protest and said it was to defend "the doctrine of justification by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone" -- a doctrine introduced by Martin Luther, a Catholic priest who broke from the Church in the 15th century.

"We have no doubt that his appointment will lead to a further dissolution of the Protestant faith within the Church of Ireland cathedral," McLaughlin added. "How soon will it be until the Mass, the confessional, worship of Mary, prayers for the dead, penance, are all introduced into the life and witness of the cathedral itself?"

The Rev. Ian Brown, from the Martyrs Memorial Church in South Belfast, claimed the appointment of Fr. O'Donnell was a "retrograde step." Brown said that ecumenism, a movement that promotes cooperation and better understanding among different religious denominations, was just a way for "Rome to suck others under her skirt, with her having to be the dominant partner." He complained that the Pope has already made statements "tantamount to the Protestant churches not being the true church."

Father O'Donnell responded to the protest by saying he understands that this will be a challenge for Protestants and Catholics and that he recognizes it was "bound to cause ripples on both sides."

John Mann, Dean of St. Anne's Cathedral and the one who informed Fr. O'Donnell that he and the Cathedral Chapter had elected him as an ecumenical canon, said, "I am delighted that Father Eddie O'Donnell has accepted nomination as an ecumenical canon of the cathedral. He is a priest for whom I have great admiration and his presence in St. Anne's will be a source of strengthening the already important ecumenical bonds that we have. Our unity in Christ is important to us both."

Mann continued, "The Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church have established ecumenical relationships." He added, "Naturally we don't agree on everything, but our unity is based on the love of one Christian for another, as prayed for by Christ Himself."

Father O'Donnell said at the time of his election, "I recognize that for St. Anne's Cathedral community, and for the Catholic community of Belfast, that this is a significant step, perhaps even historic, but more so, I recognize the generosity of the dean and chapter in inviting me, as a representative of the Roman Catholic Church, to be an ecumenical canon."

"I look forward very much to working with them and making a contribution to the Christian life of our city," he went on. "Our common faith in Jesus Christ commits us to strive for reconciliation and unity."

The Church of Ireland has already appointed Catholics in Armagh and Dublin to work on reconciling the two churches, where relationships between the cathedrals and a number of Catholic parishes are improving.

Hostility has existed between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland for many years, with one of its worst periods during the 1970s and 1980, culminating in riots and multiple civilian deaths. Although the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 helped restore some measure of peace and order, tensions continue to remain between the two major religious groups.

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