Pope attacks British human rights reform

BY PAOLA TOTARO

The Pope has attacked Britain's reform of human rights and equality legislation, saying religious employers should be allowed to discriminate against homosexuals.

In an unprecedented move, the Pope commented directly on the laws of a Protestant state, claiming that the proposed legislation threatens religious freedoms and violates ''natural law''.

The Pope urged Catholics in Britain to fight back against the legislation with ''missionary zeal'' in a speech delivered on Monday during a visit to Rome of the 35 Catholic bishops of England and Wales.

''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,'' he said.

''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.''

The Vatican confirmed on the same day that the Pope will visit Britain in September.

The broadside follows a report last week that an adviser to the Queen, Earl Peel, the Lord Chamberlain, secretly met the leader of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, to express concern over the Pope's offer for disaffected Anglicans to convert to Rome.

The new laws would finally remove the ability of religious organisations and schools to use religious freedom arguments to stymie the hiring of gay men and women. However, last week Anglican bishops successfully pushed for amendments in the House of Lords in an effort to haul back these changes.

When state governments in Australia moved to widen anti-discrimination legislation religious organisations and churches fought against moves they feared could result in prosecution if, acting on religious belief, they refused to employ gays or transsexuals. In Britain, there has also been argument from the Catholic hierarchy that it might be forced to employ women priests.

The Pope urged the British bishops to insist on their rights to ''participate in national debate through respectful dialogue'': ''In doing so, you are not only maintaining long-standing British traditions of freedom of expression and honest exchange of opinion, but you are actually giving voice to the convictions of many people who lack the means to express them: when so many of the population claim to be Christian, how could anyone dispute the Gospel's right to be heard?''

The Times has reported that the Catholic bishops of England and Wales will issue another challenge to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and to Britain's political parties, that argues that traditional argument for Catholics on social welfare and thought must be widened to also argue for religious freedom, not just care for the poor.

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