Kenilworth, 28 April 2012 — The Pope’s representative in Britain has urged Roman Catholic leaders to form a united front with their Muslim and Jewish counterparts to oppose gay marriage. Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Apostolic Nuncio, has called for closer co-operation with other faiths as well as Christian denominations to put pressure on the Government over its plans to allow same-sex couples to marry.
At the same time the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Southwark, Peter Smith, has defended the right of Catholic schools to promote the Church’s position on marriage following accusations of “political indoctrination from secular and humanist campaigners”. The British Humanist Association (BHA) has threatened to take legal action.
This further move by the Roman Catholic Church has been roundly condemned by the UK gay humanist charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT), whose secretary, George Broadhead, said: “This move by the Papal Nuncio should come as no surprise. After all, Islamic groups and Orthodox Judaism are as hostile to LGBT rights as the Roman Catholic Church is. It is no more surprising to learn that the Archbishop of Southwark is defending the action of Catholic schools. It is outrageous that children attending a state school paid for by taxpayers are being encouraged to be homophobic. Let’s hope that the BHA carries out its threat.”