Paisley - A Leap of Faith

In all the commentary that has covered the lead up to the return of devolved powers it is interesting that little of it seems to centre on the fact that the new First Minister in waiting, Dr. Paisley, has in the past proved to be the most vitriolic speaker against the Catholic faith this nation has known.
The man who has referred to at least two leaders of the Catholic Church as the anti-Christ (Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II) and who has called the Catholic Church the "harlot of Babylon" will be expected to lead Northern Ireland for the benefit of all its people. While Dr. Paisley's speeches were used as recruitment propaganda by the IRA it is also widely believed that Loyalists were inspired by his remarks to take action against the Catholic community.
The splits that have occured in the Republican community have been to do with the recognition of the PSNI (and the implied recognition of the Crown forces). There seems to have been no outcry over the fact that the Catholic (Republican/Nationalist) population will have to accept as their leader, which a head of Government is, a man who preached hated for their beliefs for many decades. This contrasts sharply with the splits in Unionism which are centred mainly on the fact that Dr. Paisley has seen fit to enter into a working partnership with Sinn Fein, which most Unionists view as the intwined with the IRA.
It may well be that while the Republican/Nationalist electorate always recognised that progress towards a peaceful solution(i.e. devolution) could not be achieved without the DUP, and Dr. Paisley onboard, sections of the DUP never expected, despite the many signposts which they passed, that Paisley would sit in Government with Sinn Fein. The fact remains that while Sinn Fein have prepared their support for each stage in the process towards recognition of the PSNI, the DUP support has in many ways been surprised at the speed of its acceptance of Sinn Fein as a partner fit for sharing office.
While the Catholic community have to take this leap of faith that Paisley is now a man for all the people, despite his past, it is a pity that some in the Unionist community can not do the same about Sinn Fein.