Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham Criticises Sexual Orientation Regulations

The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham has warned that the Northern Ireland Sexual Orientation Regulations fail to strike a fair balance between the rights of homosexual people to be treated with dignity and the rights of Christians to live according to their faith.

A challenge to the regulations mounted by Lord Morrow failed earlier in the week, despite a huge protest by around 1,000 Christians, Muslims and Jews outside the House of Lords.

Speaking in the House of Lords earlier in the week, the Rt Rev George Cassidy welcomed the "very proper protection against injustice" provided by the regulations.

He said, however, that, "The regulations clearly demonstrate the need to strike a fair balance between the rights of homosexual people to be treated with dignity and respect and the rights of Christians and other people of faith to manifest their religious beliefs, including in relation to sexual conduct.

"In the view of a number of us on these benches, these hastily prepared regulations fail to do that."

He continued: "Instead, they run the risk of facing significant numbers of people, as we have heard earlier in the debate, with the choice between complying with the law or with their religiously informed conscience.

"Whether that is the intention of the Secretary of State, or simply the unintended consequence of regulations produced with inadequate consultation, is unclear. But it causes many of us great concern."

Bishop Cassidy also expressed his disbelief that provisions on harassment were inserted into the legislation "at the last minute and without warning".

The government has come under fire from critics for fast-tracking the regulations in November after a consultation period breached Cabinet Office requirements by its short duration.

Bishop Cassidy questioned "why it has been thought necessary to proceed with such haste in one part of the United Kingdom when the government's sensible decision for elsewhere has been to study the matter at greater length as part of the discrimination law review".

He continued: "Most Christian denominations and other faiths are not able in good conscience to make their places of worship available to those who wish, for example, to have their same-sex relationships or partnerships blessed and celebrated. Nor are they willing to make their church halls available to organisations that seek to promote the acceptance of homosexual relationships as equivalent to heterosexual ones. Nor can many Christians accept that children in church schools should be taught that same-sex relationships are just as valid as heterosexual relationships based on marriage."

He warned, however, that the regulations did not make clear which kind of restrictions that religious organisations might wish to impose would actually be protected.

Bishop Cassidy, expressed concern that a "very wide" general duty had been imposed on educational establishments without any special provision for faith schools. He appealed for reassurance that a Roman Catholic school, for example, teaching the traditional Roman Catholic view of marriage would not be at risk of legal challenge.

"If that is not the government's intention, the regulation should have made that position clearer. The potential for bringing such claims risks putting schools in an unnecessarily difficult position."

He added, "In the regulations for Great Britain, it is important that this matter is put beyond doubt. In the mean time, I can only express very real concern that the regulations for Northern Ireland do not deal with this matter satisfactorily."