Gay Christians march against Church homophobia
LGBT History Month will be marked in Canterbury this weekend with a protest against homophobia in the church.
The “End Christian Homophobia” demo will take place in Longmarket in the city centre on Saturday 17th February, 10am-12pm.
The protestors will demand that the Archbishop of Canterbury provide equality for gay and lesbian Anglican Christians worldwide, and for the Catholic church to end homophobia, particularly in the light of the recent gay adoption row.
Organisers also hope to influence the current row about Canterbury Christchurch University’s ban on gay partnership ceremonies on their premises.
They call on the university to “apologise for the existing and covert ban recently revealed, and henceforth openly welcome gay couples seeking partnership ceremonies in its chapels.”
The demonstration calls upon Christians of any sexual orientation, as well as members of other faiths, to speak out against homophobia within religion and work towards reconciling faith and sexuality.
The Archbishop Rowan Williams attending a conference of bishops in Tanzania, which started on Wednesday 14th February, in order to try to patch up the bitter dispute over homosexuality within the Anglican church.
Many feel, however, that not enough has been done for gay rights. The protestors demand that:
“The Archbishop of Canterbury must stop appeasing Anglican homophobes in the UK and worldwide, such as Archbishop Akinola of Nigeria and heed Archbishop Desmond Tutu who recently re-iterated that the church should stop worrying about gays and deal with the world’s real issues.”
This year’s History Month sees a wave of interest in faith and homosexuality, with similar events such as the first ever Faith and Homophobia conference taking place on 17th February in Bethnal Green.