Anglican Mainstream

From Guido Fawkes

By Peter Saunders, CMF

Two British Christians who refused to act contrary to conscience have lost their legal battle at the European court of human rights in a move that demonstrates that ‘gay rights’ trump ‘conscience rights’ when the two conflict.

By J C von Krempach, JD, Turtle Bay & Beyond

Like other European countries, Croatia is currently governed by a left-wing (in this case: ex-communist) government that, instead of implementing the economic reform policy that the country needs, has set the destruction of public morality as its first and foremost priority. But the population does not accept this.

This week, parents have obtained a major victory, with the Constitutional Court declaring a government-sponsored sex-education program, which inter alia alleged the “equality” and “normality” of homosexuality, as unconstitutional. The court stressed the primary role of parents as the educators of their children, which excluded this kind of indoctrination with anti-values.

At the same time, a parents’ initiative „U ime obitelji“ (In the Name of the Family) has collected 215.000 signatures in only four days in support for a proposal to change the constitution in order to clarify that “marriage” can only mean the union between one man and one women. This is a remarkable achievement in a country with only 4.5 million inhabitants. If more than 380.000 persons (i.e. 10% of the electorate) sign up to the initiative, then the government will be obliged to do what it fears most: to call a referendum that would likely set an end to all projects for introducing same-sex “marriages”.

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Read also:  Update on Croatia: Petition to protect marriage wins huge support

By Christopher Booker, Telegraph

In view of the devastation inflicted on the Tory party by the gay-marriage issue, it is remarkable how little interest has been shown in the story that lies behind David Cameron’s desperation to get a measure – that was not mentioned in his 2010 election manifesto – on to the statute book by no later than June this year.

As I recounted here on February 9, the drive to get same-sex marriage into law was masterminded from 2010 onwards by an alliance between Theresa May, the Conservative Home Secretary, Lynne Featherstone, the Lib Dem equalities minister, and gay pressure groups, led by one called Equal Love. They pushed the issue forward, not in Westminster, but through the Council of Europe, culminating in March last year with a day-long “secret conference” chaired by Miss Featherstone in Strasbourg. With the public excluded for the first time in the Council’s history, it was here that – with the active support of Sir Nicolas Bratza, the British president of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) – a deadline was set for their planned coup of June 2013. If, by this date, “several countries” had managed to put gay marriage into law, Sir Nicolas pledged that his court would then declare same-sex marriage to be a Europe-wide human right. Hence the recent rush for several countries to oblige, including France, where gay marriage has brought thousands of protesters out on to the streets. And hence last Tuesday’s unprecedented revolt in the House of Commons, when 133 Tories voted against their government.

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By Peter Baklinski, LifeSite News

The Manitoba Teachers’ Society (MTS) passed a resolution on Saturday to lobby the provincial government to revamp its entire spectrum of existing curricula to include “LGBTQ” (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) issues, people, and values.

By Edward Malnick, Telegraph

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Baron Carey of Clifton, has criticised an Oxford college which suggested a conference he addressed was “intolerant”.

Trinity College apologised for hosting the event following complaints that the Christian organisation which organised it encouraged homophobic views.

Sir Ivor Roberts, the college president, said staff had “unwittingly” hosted the conference by Christian Concern, which campaigns against gay marriage, because it was booked under the name of a second organisation, the Wilberforce Academy, saying that Trinity wanted to maintain a reputation as “open” and “tolerant”.

But in a letter to Sir Ivor, Lord Carey accused the college of intolerance towards Christian groups. “Christian Concern is not an extreme organisation that opposes diversity or equality.

It is mainstream and many of its concerns are shared by the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church and other bodies,” he said.

“Diversity means 'difference’. In a democracy people are not going to agree on everything. Respect, tolerance and understanding are required so that minorities do not face discrimination.

"Ironically, your statement seems to withdraw that tolerance from Christian groups.”

The three-day event, held in March, was described as a “Christ-centred leadership” conference for students and young professionals. It was also addressed by the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester.

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As the House of Commons vote to allow same sex marriage in England and Wales, here's a selection of stories and teaching resources to explore the issues in class.

(Includes information on setting up gay/straight alliances in schools.

Read here

by J.C. von Krempach, JD,  Turtle Bay & Beyond

“… it is not possible to confirm to what extent the sample obtained in the FRA survey corresponds to the true characteristics of the LGBT population.”

by Peter Le Barbera, Life Site News

May 23, 2013, was a sad day for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), and another tragic day for an America in decline. The Scouts’ corporate-driven leaders in their folly put sexual morality up for a vote, and when it was all over, the Scouts as we once knew them – a God-fearing, wholesome organization – were finished. Now, truly “morally straight” organizations (to quote the Scout Oath) will rise up to compete with the corrupted BSA, and parents by the hundreds of thousands will migrate with their sons to these trustworthy alternatives.

by Nicholas Watt, Guardian

Francis Maude to show commitment to equality agenda by allowing flag to be flown from cabinet office next month

by J.C. von Krempach, JD, Turtle Bay & Beyond

“For this survey, the FRA has followed the most un-representative approach that could have been imagined: they put a questionnaire on the internet and invited all non-heterosexuals to participate, in particular relevant pressure-groups. Thus thoe outcome is not a representative study of the situation of LGBT people, but simply a collection of data. And theoretically it is even possible that all questionnaires were filled out by one single activist with a well-written computer program. (…) The teaching manual ‘Social Research on the Internet’ says as much: ‘when the respondents themselves decide whether they want to be part of the sample, the result of the survey only provides insights on those participants and are therefore useless.’”

Half of MPs vote to reject gay marriage.  Jeremy Paxman presses Maria Miller.  Councillor Mary Douglas talks about legislation of which a 'tinpot dictator would be proud'. 

Watch here (available until 11:19pm Mon, 27 May 2013

By John Blake,CNN

When Peter Sprigg speaks publicly about his opposition to homosexuality, something odd often happens.

During his speeches, people raise their hands to challenge his assertions that the Bible condemns homosexuality, but no Christians speak out to defend him.

“But after it is over, they will come over to talk to me and whisper in my ear, ‘I agree with everything you said,’" says Sprigg, a spokesman for The Family Research Council, a powerful, conservative Christian lobbying group.

We’ve heard of the “down-low” gay person who keeps his or her sexual identity secret for fear of public scorn. But Sprigg and other evangelicals say changing attitudes toward homosexuality have created a new victim: closeted Christians who believe the Bible condemns homosexuality but will not say so publicly for fear of being labeled a hateful bigot.

As proof, Sprigg points to the backlash that ESPN commentator Chris Broussard sparked recently. Broussard was called a bigot and a purveyor of hate speech when he said an NBA player who had come out as gay was living in “open rebellion to God.” Broussard said the player, Jason Collins, was “living in unrepentant sin” because the Bible condemns homosexuality.

“In the current culture, it takes more courage for someone like Chris Broussard to speak out than for someone like Jason Collins to come out,” says Sprigg, a former pastor. “The media will hail someone who comes out of the closet as gay, but someone who simply expresses their personal religious views about homosexual conduct is attacked.”

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by J Matt Barber, LifeSite News

Under President Obama, “justice” is anything but blind. Neither is it deaf. In fact, based on recent revelations, it appears to be watching your every move and listening to your every word. Still, if you happen to be a federal employee, now it’s even listening for your silence.

• “DON’T judge or remain silent. Silence will be interpreted as disapproval.” (Italics mine)

By Damian Thompson, Telegraph

It's a measure of just how messy and convoluted the gay marriage debate has become that opponents of same-sex marriage will tonight vote for an amendment supported by Peter Tatchell.

I thought Tatchell might back away from his support for heterosexual civil partnerships, given that it's inspired a "wrecking amendment" – but I should have known better. Tatchell (whom I know and like, while vigorously disagreeing with him on most subjects) does not abandon causes for political expediency. Here's his statement:

"The Government’s decision to oppose the legalisation of civil partnerships for heterosexual couples is hugely disappointing. It is a sad betrayal of the principle of equality. Nevertheless, I hope a majority of MPs will rebel and next week vote for the parliamentary amendment to open up civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples. Every MP who supports straight equality should vote for the amendment."

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By Damian Thompson, Telegraph

The results of the 2011 Census, published last year, were pretty devastating for Christianity, indicating that it will be a minority religion in Britain by 2018. This week we were given a more detailed breakdown of the figures. I took one look at them and thought: OMG.

That’s short for “Oh My God”, in case you didn’t know. It’s an acronym popularised by young people on Twitter. Young people who, increasingly, don’t believe in the God they’re invoking.

For the first time, the proportion of under-25s who don’t describe themselves as even nominal Christians has risen above 50 per cent. Also, the new breakdown shows that the rate of decline in British Christianity has been masked by the presence of 1.2 million foreign believers in this country. Take them out of the picture, and we can see that home-grown Christianity has shrunk by 15 per cent in just a decade. To quote the demographer Prof David Coleman of Oxford University, “It is difficult to see whether any other change in the census could have been remotely as big.”

Take a bow, Anglican and Catholic bishops. I don’t know if the British Humanist Association hands out awards, but you certainly deserve one – a statuette of Polly Toynbee, say, for untiring efforts to water down the Christian message to the point where it’s not worth believing in.

Consider the following story from this week’s Daily Telegraph. A five-year-old boy at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Wimbledon called another pupil’s shoes “gay”. The head, Sarah Crouch, called in Stonewall. Whether she was doing this to protect miniature footwear from homophobic abuse or as part of a wider programme of thought reform is not clear. But we do know that Stonewall conducted a “training day” at the school – with the blessing of the Archbishop of Southwark, Peter Smith, who apparently chose to gloss over the fact that Stonewall is 100 per cent opposed to Catholic teaching on homosexuality.

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By J.C. von Krempach, J.D

A reply to Sirpa Pietikäinen and Sophie in ‘t Veld

Why can’t those nasty conservatives not just be reverently silent when the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) solemnly pontificates on “LGBT discrimination”? Why can’t they stop using critical thought??

“I respect conservative Catholic groups’ freedom of opinion, including on women’s and LGBT rights—but I don’t appreciate their way of criticising research even before it is published. In any case, they receive very little attention, even from centre-right MEPs.”

“I find it sad that these groups find any reason to criticise the work of the Fundamental Rights Agency whenever it promotes the rights of women or LGBT people. Their knee-jerk reflex shows that this survey is highly needed, and that unfortunately, equality still has a lot of opponents.”

by Anne Fleck, MercatorNet

The EU's largest-ever survey of hate crimes and discrimination against LGBT people claims that they labour under a terrible burden. But the figures don’t support the conclusions.

By John Smeaton, SPUC

The Telegraph, The Evening Standard, the Protect the Pope blog and other media have reported on the scandal of a Catholic primary school in Wimbledon which invited Stonewall, the UK's main homosexual lobby, to train its teachers how to deal with 'homophobic bullying'. Antonia Tully, the coordinator of SPUC's Safe at School campaign, was quoted in the reports, saying:

“Many parents will be very concerned that a gay rights organisation is considered to be an appropriate source of advice on how to deal with children using inappropriate language in the playground.

If a primary school takes on Stonewall’s agenda, young children will be exposed to homosexual issues, which they are too young to understand properly. Parents expect a school to provide an education, not subject their children to gay propaganda.”

The Catholic Herald reports that an unnamed source close to the school:

Read here

By John-Henry Westen, LifeSite News

A new Toronto District Catholic School Board motion up for vote on May 23, seeks to reject the Ontario Liberal Government’s enforcement of homosexual activist clubs in Catholic schools. "The Anti-Bullying Clubs Policy Change" motion supports the anti-bullying program recommended by the Archdiocese of Toronto, which opposes bullying of any type in school, thus rejecting Premier Dalton McGuinty’s insistence on homosexual-focused anti-bullying clubs. (See the motion here)