Southport’s gay community are looking for leadership from MP Damien Moore (above, right) after a vicious attack by former Conservative Party chairman Lord Tebbit branding a gay clergyman as a ‘sodomite’.
Lord Tebbit has been attending services at
St Edmundsbury Cathedral near his home in Bury St Edmunds for nine years. But he haspublicly declared that he will no longer go to that athederal when the recently appointed Dean of the Cathederal, the Reverend Canon Joe Hawes is officiating.
Canon Hawes is in a public gay relationship with his long term partner Chris Eyden (above. left).
‘Sodomite’ is a medieval biblical term which is considered as unacceptable by the homosexual community and more widely considered to be a nasty insult.
Former Cabinet Minister Lord )Norman) Tebbit was an outspoken critic of the Coalition Government’s introduction of same-sex marriages in 2014.
He said: “ I find it difficult to accept a sodomite as a member of the clergy. I stand by what is written in the Bible, which is the basis on which the cathedral was built. It says the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God.”
”It cannot be a sin to be born homosexual. It is what one is. What I can’t accept is the activity. I use the expression sodomite.”
Lord Tebbit’s comments have immediately divided the Conservative Party nationally and exposed the Tories to accusations of intrinsic discrimination tendencies at the same time as Labour is reeling from anti-Semitism allegations.
Prominent gay Conservative Ivan Massow, the former Tory London Mayoral hopeful has called for
Lord Tebbit to be thrown out of the party.
He said: “Theresa May needs to do that. You can’t hold Jeremy Corbyn to account for anti-Semitism and not hold your own party to account.”
Mr Massow has also been backed by Tory MP Crispin Blunt, who is gay and chairs the Foreign Affairs Select Committee but other Tories are hoping the incident will be allowed to blow over. The significant homosexual community in Southport will be looking to the town’s new MP to take a firm stand on the matter.
A spokesman for the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich added:
”It has been clear for more than a decade that clergy are entitled to be within civil partnerships. Lord Tebbit is welcome to his views.
“Under Church of England rules, gay clergy who enter into civil partnerships should remain celibate but are banned from same-sex marriages. The issue has also ,caused deep divisions within Anglicanism.
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