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Superorangeman

A square-jawed superhero clad in a purple cape - and without a bowler hat - has been unveiled by the Orange Lodge to win a new generation of supporters.

The rebranding was prompted by the realisation the organisation's image - middle-aged men in navy-blue suits and white gloves - did not appeal to the "PlayStation generation".

Now Scotland's 20,000 Orange Lodge members have been asked to name the superhero. He is appearing on the order's Christmas cards,dubbed "Santa's Little Helper", and features in children's pop-up books on the history of Orangeism. There are also plans to use him as a logo on pencils and erasers.

Ian Wilson, the grand master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, said the character was an attempt to capture young people's imaginations. "We know we've got to move with the times to retain our young membership," he said. "We might even have to enter the blogosphere and get into computer games with our superhero."

Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said: "It is entirely up to the Orange Order how they promote their interests, using a superhero or not.

"The Catholic Church has had some contact recently with the Orange Order in Scotland, and Ian Wilson has, in our recent experience, been constructive and keen to engage.

"Protestantism and the Reformation are an important part of Scottish history, and rather than leave it to individual groups to promote, we would rather it was on the national history curriculum."

Full story at The Scotsman.