Some thoughts on Britains pending Equality Laws...

I just came across this from an article in Christian Today.  Pope Benedict has spoken out against pending equality legislation in Britain.  The legislation would guarantee equal rights to homosexuals.  A reason the church is so against this legislation is that it would make it illegal for a church to discriminate in its hiring practices.  While the Catholic Church deems homosexual activity as a sin, they would be unable to use that as a reason to not hire an individual that came looking for work.  To take that a step further, refusing to ordain an individual because of sexual orientation would also be illegal. 

The Pope had spoken out against this legislation.  In the article quoted above, Chief Rabbi Jonathon Sacks supports the Pope's condemnation of the legislation.  He writes, “We may not agree with the Vatican line on homosexuality. But the State is trampling on our rights as individuals.”

Here is an excerpt from the article...

There are times when human rights become human wrongs. This happens when rights become more than a defence of human dignity, which is their proper sphere, and become instead a political ideology, relentlessly trampling down everything in their path,” he said.

“This is happening increasingly in Britain, and it is why the Pope’s protest against the Equality Bill, whether we agree with it or not, should be taken seriously.”

He said the dismissal of a nurse for offering to pray for a patient, the closure of Roman Catholic adoption agencies for refusing to place children with same-sex couples, and the branding of a Jewish school’s admissions policy as racist were evidence that Britain was entering “dangerous territory” over human rights.

“When Christians, Jews and others feel that the ideology of human rights is threatening their freedoms of association and religious practice, a tension is set in motion that is not healthy for society, freedom or Britain,” he said.

“Rather than regard the Pope’s remarks as an inappropriate intervention, we should use them to launch an honest debate on where to draw the line between our freedom as individuals and our freedom as members of communities of faith. One should not be purchased at the cost of the other.”

Something to think about...