A comment by the Pope believed to be aimed at a proposed bill amendment, whereby the church would be forced to employ gay people, has caused a media sensation and protests over his forthcoming state-funded visit.
The Equality bill, which protects against discrimination in employment on grounds of sexuality, was criticized by the pontiff as imposing unjust limitations on the freedom of the church to act in accordance with its beliefs.
New provisions in the bill would have narrowed the special exemption enjoyed by churches allowing them to exclude people whose lifestyles do not fit in with the religious ethos of an organisation when hiring staff.
In a communiqué to Catholic bishops in England and Wales the pontiff said: “Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society.
"Yet as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed."
He goes on to urge bishops to defend the church’s “moral teachings” and says “Fidelity to the gospel in no way restricts the freedom of others – on the contrary, it serves their freedom by offering them the truth.”
The statement has caused a media storm in the past week with a petition protesting against a state-funded papal visit, scheduled for September, attracting over 7,000 signatures.
The National Secular Society predicts the visit could cost the tax payer up to £20 million. President Terry Sanderson told PinkNews.co.uk he expected to see 10,000 signatures on the petition by the end of this week.
He said: : "I don't think the government and the church have realised the level of anger from the public – not just over the Equality Bill but also the child abuse scandal. There has been no apology to victims, no compensation.
"And the Catholics in the pews just don't abide by what the Pope says. They are appalled at the aggressiveness of the church towards homosexuality and also over the church's pronouncements on condom use against AIDS in Africa.
"This is a PR disaster for the Pope, and he specialises in them. His reactionary nature drives people away."
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