Sandie Seward
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Ruth Kelly causes cabinet uproar
Ruth Kelly causes cabinet uproar
Stewart Who?, GAY.COM
Monday 22 January, 2007 11:16 |
Ruth Kelly is once again in the eye of a storm which pitches religious beliefs against the rights of lesbians and gays.
The Independent on Sunday claimed Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly is currently scheming to allow Catholic adoption agencies to turn away same-sex couples.
Her department, keen to play down the drama said "no decisions" had yet been taken on the detailed rules.
The row centres on the Equality Act passed last year, which bans discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on the basis of sexual orientation in a similar way to rules on sex and race discrimination.
According to reports, Ms Kelly has secured the backing of Tony Blair but their apparent affinities with religious groups have riled many in the cabinet.
Lord Falconer told BBC television's Sunday AM programme: "We have introduced laws which prevent discrimination against people on the basis of their sexual orientation; those laws should be given full effect.
"We do take the view in this country that you shouldn't be discriminated against on that basis and think that applies to everybody, whatever your religion."
It’s not the first time that Ms Kelly has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons. As Education Secretary, she had responsibility for a £1 billion research budget, but opposed motions on embryo research in Parliament and is reported to have told Tony Blair that she could never support stem-cell research.
Only last week, she infuriated many staunch Labour supporters after she enrolled one of her children at an elite £15,000-a-year private prep school.
Veteran backbencher Austin Mitchell spoke for many when he said: "We should expect Labour ministers to put their children through the state system. I deplore others transferring their children out to go private
Ms Kelly’s membership of the spooky Opus Dei- a Masonic Lodge for papists, inspires widespread concern that she’s unduly influenced and perhaps a little mad.
An aspect of Opus Dei that proves consistently disturbing is the practice of "corporal mortification". Devotees are given a spiked garter to wear round the thigh for two hours a day, and a whip for their own back or arse.
These exercises, explains the Opus Dei constitution, are "for the purpose of chastising the body and reducing it to servitude". Members are also encouraged to take cold showers every day and spend several hours in silence. Ms Kelly hasn’t yet confirmed if she flagellates her bum, though many agree she should spend more time in silence.
She has repeatedly refused to say in interviews whether she thinks homosexuality is a sin, but insists that her adherence to the group is a "private spiritual" matter that has no bearing on her job. When she worked at The Guardian, colleagues claim she went to mass daily.
Out of 14 votes during the Blair government that have concerned equal gay rights, Ruth Kelly has only been present at two. Some speculate that she may have been too busy arse-whipping or worshipping the Virgin Mary to attend.
Many see her new role as Minister for Women and Equality as a seriously unfunny joke. On hearing of her appointment, gay-rights activist Peter Tatchell commented: "Tony Blair would never appoint someone to a race equality post who had a lukewarm record of opposing racism".
Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, said: "The Catholic Church has been exerting enormous pressure on Ms Kelly. The Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols, even went so far as to threaten to close Catholic adoption agencies if gay couples were permitted to adopt."
Aside from the glaring issue of blackmail, which is what the latter threats amounts to, many observers are shocked that the Church would willingly throw orphan children onto the street merely to uphold their highly questionable beliefs.
The relentless menacing of the Government on this issue seems to fly in the face of the Church’s claim that they’re ‘acting in the interest of the children’.
Angela Eagle, the vice-chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, said that a special exemption would drive a "coach and horses" through laws designed to end anti-gay discrimination. Chris Bryant, MP for Rhondda, said the move would have the effect of denying vulnerable children "a loving home".
More than one in five UK lesbians and one in ten gay men are already parents and 3% would like to adopt children during the next five years, recent research shows.
3% of lesbians and gay men who took part in the 'Out Now Diva and Gay Times Readers Surveys' stated that they intend to seek adoption of children during the next 5 years.
Ben Bradshaw, Minister of State (Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare), who is gay, said yesterday: "This is an issue of equality. It's exactly the same as saying you can't have a child for adoption because you're black, or because you're a woman, or because you're disabled."
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