U.K. Catholic Clergyman Apologizes for Anti-Marriage 'Adam & Steve' Slam

As an anti-marriage equality battle cry, the slogan "It's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve" sounds more like it belongs on an elementary school playground than cropping up in serious discussions on the issue. Indeed, it was in a spirit of jest that a Catholic deacon in England, the Rev. Frank Wainwright, used the slogan during a sermon in what he called a "flippant joke."

But parishioners and British GLBT equality advocates weren't laughing, according to a March 9 article in the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph. The article said that five complaints were made from churchgoers, while rights groups denounced the sermon as "homophobic."

Only last week Britain's House of Lords voted to strike down a ban on religious ceremonies for same-sex couples entering into legal civil unions. The law had denied even open and affirming churches the option of blessing same-sex unions with a religious ceremony. The vote, which took place on March 2, passed 95-21, and was hailed by GLBT equality advocates. Peter Tatchell, the leader of OutRage!, issued a statement on the vote, calling it "another advance for gay equality and religious freedom," a press release from the group said.

"Allowing faith organizations to make their own decisions on whether to conduct same-sex civil partnerships is the democratic and decent thing to do," Tatchell continued. "By banning religious civil partnerships, the current law is denying religious bodies the right to treat gay couples equally. It is forcing them to discriminate, even when many of them do not want to.

"The Quakers, Unitarians, Metropolitan Community Church and liberal synagogues wish to conduct civil partnership ceremonies and should be allowed to do so," Tatchell pointed out, going on to note that, "Following a change in the law, we expect civil partnerships will be conducted by gay-affirmative religions, including the Unitarians and Quakers, and some Anglican churches and liberal synagogues."

Even as lawmakers are moving toward true family parity, opinion polls show that the country is ready to embrace gay and lesbian families as fully equal to heterosexual unions. An article from last June 27 in UK newspaper The Times showed that a solid majority--61%--were in favor of full and equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian families.

Moreover, in stark contrast to the United States, where marriage equality has been rescinded in two states after anti-gay activists aired ads claiming that children would be taught about gay families in school, a majority in the U.K.--51%--approve of students learning about non-heterosexual households. An even greater majority--68%--say that GLBTs should have "full equal rights" that put them on the same footing in society and before the law.

With public opinion so solidly in favor of equal rights for the U.K.'s gay and lesbian citizens, the article said, religious denominations that sought to impose restrictions on the liberties of GLBTs were looking "out of touch."

Remark 'Not Homophobic'

Wainwright said in his sermon that the Catholic church does not recognize civil unions as marriages, the Telegraph reported. Wainwright denied that the comment was meant to disparage gay families. ''The comment is obviously not homophobic and it was just intended as a joke. My duty is to preach what the church preaches that marriage is between a man and a woman."

The Catholic church holds that gays and lesbians do not "choose" their sexual orientation, but nonetheless says that sexual contact between individuals of the same gender is "inherently evil," and promotes the view that gays and lesbians are sexually "disordered" individuals who are called upon by God to eschew family life and live in celibacy.

''I have plenty of gay friends and I have no problem at all with them but as a Catholic minister I must preach that marriage is between a man and woman and nothing else,." Wainwright said, adding, ''I can see why people are upset by the comment because it was flippant. I totally accept that I have caused offence and I am apologizing for that.''

In his Jan. 17 sermon, Wainwright said that, ''Sometimes within the church we have to hold our heads above the parapet and say what we believe as Catholics and sometimes in saying that we will be marginalized and put down. For example, in adoption a child has a right to want a mother and father. That marriage is between a man and a woman and it's a life-long commitment and usually only ended by death, as it was in the beginning and ever shall be. Marriage is between Adam and Eve--not Adam and Steve.''

The Gloucestershire Gay and Lesbian Community group accepted the apology, but said that "we are living in a different world and one would hope that anyone who is in a loving relationship would be accepted. In this country, it is legal for people of the same sex to enter into a civil partnership and that is not necessarily a religious relationship." Added the group through a spokesperson, ''But we appreciate he has apologized for the remark and we would not want to stir anything up.''

Across the pond in America, participants at the conservative chart site FreeRepublic.com, where gay news is frequently discussed at length, discussed the reverend's "controversial" remarks, with one "Freeper" writing, "Exactly what part of that statement is controversial? "

Wrote another, "No apology required here but this is the UK and the Deacon doubtless feared a visit from Her Majesty's Constabulary as 'hate speech' is a criminal offense." A third chimed in with, "I find the word 'homophobic' to be offensive."

The comment about "hate speech" may have been a reference to a proposed change in British law that would classify religiously based anti-gay claims as hate speech. Currently, such comments that emanate from churches and religious leaders are exempt from hate speech laws. The law is seen by GLBT advocates as needed to counter a rise in anti-gay hate crimes, but Christians fear that without specific protections from prosecution, they might be taken to court for expressing opposition to marriage equality or other issues involving gay equality.

Christians Fear 'Persecution' if Gays Gain Equality

Proponents of such protections point to cases in which individuals who expressed anti-gay sentiment based on their assertion of Christianity were questioned by police. In one incident, a grandmother, the wife of a revered, wrote to local authorities to protest a gay Pride event she had witnessed. 67-year-old Pauline Howe, who lives near Norwich, England, condemned the Pride parade as a "public display of indecency" and "offensive to God," in her letter, going on to make a number of broad claims, including the assertion that same-sex intimacy had "contributed to the downfall of every empire" and "was a major cause of sexually transmitted infections."

In her letter, Ms. Howe declared that, "It is shameful that this small but vociferous lobby should be allowed such a display unwarranted by the minimal number of homosexuals."

Local officials sent a pair of Norwich policemen to investigate, since the letter raised concerns about hate speech. In a letter to Ms. Howe, county official Bridget Buttinger explained that, "The content of your letter has been assessed as potentially being hate related because of the views you expressed towards people of a certain sexual orientation," and advised Mrs. Howe that, "Your details and details of the contents of your letter have been recorded as such and passed to the police."

The visit from two officers came later, and the policemen clarified for Ms. Howe that her choice of wording made her missive appear to be an example of hate speech.

However, Ms. Howe insists that her invective was not hate-based. "The officers told me that my letter was thought to be an intention of hate but I was expressing views as a Christian," she told the media. The Christian Institute saw the visit from local authorities as a possible example of religious freedoms and free expression being trampled.

A similar case in which a married couple in Lancashire professed their Christian beliefs in anti-gay language and were visited by the police resulted in a payout to the couple.

Christian Institute spokesperson Mike Judge told the press, "People must be free to express their beliefs--yes, even unpopular beliefs--to government bodies without fear of a knock at the door from police," and went on to assert that, "It's not a crime to be Christian but it increasingly feels like it."

The Norwich police said that they were simply doing their job in looking into the letter, stating, "We investigate all alleged hate incidents. In this instance the individual concerned was visited by officers, the comments discussed, and no further action was taken."

In the United States and elsewhere, similar arguments are made that religious liberties and full legal equality for GLBT citizens are bound to clash. Religious individuals who believe that scripture condemns homosexuality chafe that anti-discrimination protections might mean that they are breaking the law when they speak out against gays. Such possible conflicts between faith and law are seen by some people of faith as further reason to deny GLBT individuals and families full equality before the law.