I felt the need to respond to John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford, if you excuse the pun, “coming out” against ‘gay marriage’.
His predecessor Lord Richard Harries, in comparison, had a rather ‘liberal’ and compassionate take on homosexuality; his interview with Prof Richard Dawkins for the television documentary The Root Of All Evil showed a rather more empathetic Church of England than the present Bishop of Oxford has.
As a homosexual Conservative man, I am proud that this coalition Government is now introducing a law that will give everyone the opportunity to marry equally. Britain prides itself on having a tolerant and welcoming society – if we wish to continue as such, the legalisation must happen. If the Church wishes to be truly tolerant, it must stop the archaic rhetoric that reinforces the incumbent homophobia that exists in our culture.
JASON FIDDAMAN (Cllr), Preston Road, Abingdon
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