Pope Criticizes Pending British Equality Bill

Pope Benedict XVI yesterday, while confirming he would be making an Apostolic visit to Great Britain in September, challenged the Equality Bill now working its way through Britain's Parliament. Yesterday's London Times reports on the Pope's remarks (full text) to the bishops of England and Wales who were completing their five-year "ad limina" visit to Rome. The Pope said in part:

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. 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.... Continue to insist upon your right to participate in national debate through respectful dialogue with other elements in society.... [W]hen so many of the population claim to be Christian, how could anyone dispute the Gospel’s right to be heard?

Both the Catholic bishops and the Church of England have been concerned that the Equality Bill will require churches to employ gays and transsexuals or to admit women to the priesthood. In recent weeks, the House of Lords has agreed to broader exemptions than those originally proposed for religious organizations. (See prior posting.) Now the Church of England and the bishops will work together to prevent the European Commission from pressuring Britain to again narrow those exemptions.