The gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has praised the “liberal” Catholic bishops of England and Wales for challenging the “outdated, bigoted” attitude of the Vatican towards homosexuality.
Speaking on behalf of OutRage!, the hardline lobby group that in the past has adopted the appalling tactic of disrupting Masses, Tatchell strongly welcomes a Bishops’ Conference leaflet that urges the faithful to use the bidding prayers “to express appreciation for the gifts that homosexual Catholics bring to their faith community”.
Personally, I can’t think of anything worse than being patronised from the lectern by someone reading out a bit of politically correct doggerel from Eccleston Square. Still, I’m sure some gay activists linked to the Bishops’ Conference will be delighted by his endorsement.
The bishops, on the other hand, spend a lot of time trying to pretend that their teaching is identical to that of the Holy Father. How embarrassing for them that Peter Tatchell has revealed the vast gulf between Eccleston Square and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
As he says in his press release: “The Vatican identifies homosexuality as a deep-seated personality disorder and psychological flaw; variously condemning same-sex acts as ‘grave sins … objectively disordered … intrinsically immoral … (and) contrary to natural law.’ Even men who have a gay orientation but abstain totally from sex are condemned by the Pope as possessing a ‘tendency towards an intrinsic moral evil.’
“This leaflet challenges these outdated, bigoted attitudes. It reflects the growing acceptance of loving, loyal, long-term same-sex relationships by grassroots Catholics.”
Kicking A Lion 