The Head of the Roman Catholic Church; Pope Benedict XVI, has come under enormous criticism for his arguments against the Government’s proposed equality legislation that was recently defeated in the House of Lords.

The legislation, which was voted down by a majority of thirty eight, would have prohibited Christian Churches and organisations from taking sexuality into account when making appointments.

Sexuality is an important part of church teaching but contrary to popular opinion “the Catholic Church does not hate gay people.” There has always been an important difference in Catholic doctrine between the sin and the sinner. The sin is to be hated but the sinner (as we all are) is to be loved. The church teaches that the most natural form of love is that between a man and a woman since this is the only relationship in which procreation is possible. I do not want to focus on the doctrinal reasons for the Church’s stance on sexuality as it was not the immediate focus of the Pope’s remarks, although you could be excused for thinking of it in the way it was reported in the media.

In reality it is highly unlikely that a person of bi or homosexual disposition would have even applied for that kind of role given the church’s teaching on the matter. Not to mention that cases of discrimination would have been extremely difficult to prove and potentially explosive if ever a prosecution was brought to bear.

The Pope’s comments went much further than just addressing sexual ethics, they struck right at the heart of debates surrounding religious freedom in this country.

The last decade has seen legislation brought in that has directly challenged the rights of Catholics to practice their faith freely. Laws relating to adoption agencies, education, church- schooling and now employment have all been in direct opposition to Catholic morality and teaching in what is no less than a gradual erosion of our liberty.

The Pope’s fierce criticism of the equality legislation must be seen against this backdrop. It was fuelled more by a desire to protect the freedom of Catholics and all religious groups to be able to maintain and practice their faith and not out of any perceived notions of homophobia.

Greater equality is undoubtedly a desirable goal. The greatest commandment is that we love our neighbour as we would ourselves and the Pope has spoken out repeatedly about the need to address the global wealth divide and promote better rights for women. It is just a shame that these efforts never make it to the pages of our newspapers. With this said we are now pursuing equality to such an extent that our efforts are becoming increasingly negative as we are not looking at society as a whole. So concerned are we not to offend or discriminate that we have become embarrassed by our Christian heritage and are trying to remove its morality from every aspect of our society.

It is sadly ironic that at a time when our government is trying desperately hard to improve our society, it is weakening one of its biggest strengths and sources of morality. Religion in all forms is now seen as part of the problem and not part of the solution to the challenges we face. If we are serious about the need to improve or (if you believe Mr Cameron), rebuild our society then we must accept the need for a moral code and the role that faith groups play in providing it.

It should be possible to balance religious morality and a commitment to equality. The balance is a fine one and I get the impression that in recent years it has tipped against religion. However much we yearn for equality, the passing of laws that directly infringe against religious belief is something that as a country I hoped we had turned our back on.

At a time when our news has been dominated by expenses scandals, bankers bonuses and imminent environmental disaster perhaps it is time that the balance was once again restored and religion and morality regain their rightful places in our society.

Published on page 17 of the Core in Volume 32, Issue 9.