Cardinal Sean Brady, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, will meet loyalist leaders in Northern Ireland for the first time this week.

He is due to meet with a delegation from the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), which is connected with the paramilitary UDA group. The meeting is to take place at his residence in Armagh.

A spokesman for the Church said that the Cardinal would encourage them to “reject violence once and for all", reports the BBC. It is also believed that dealing with social disadvantage will be a major topic of discussion.

According to Fr Tim Bartlett, who helped arrange the meeting, the Cardinal is expected to say, "Can you give us any reassurance that you will use all your influence to remove the gun and the fear of loyalist retaliation once and for all?

"Liberate us all from that fear and work with everybody else to free our whole society from criminality, from drugs, from alcohol abuse, and improve our social conditions together."

Frankie Gallagher, spokesman for the UPRG said, "In terms of weaponry, we can give reassurance to the Cardinal that it is being managed by the UDA.

"We need people to have a little patience but I think this year will be good for the whole society of Northern Ireland.”

"I can go as far as to say the UPRG is working towards creating an environment where political violence is no longer a viable option and weapons are a thing of the past."