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Archbishop Gary Beaver Requests
British Government to Review Racial and Religious
Hatred Bill
The Old Catholic Church of Great
Britain has raised concerns with the government’s
Racial and Religious Hatred Bill as it is “seriously
flawed”.
Archbishop
Gary Beaver of the Old Catholic Church stated “we
must call for a commission to explore the wider
issues of hate speech and freedom of expression” as
an all-party amendment passed by 260 votes to 111 in
the House of Lords today.
In an official church response to the
contentious bill, which would make incitement to
hatred on the grounds of religion a crime,
Archbishop Gary says that present public order
legislation can and should be used to outlaw
religious harassment and suggests a reconsideration
of present civil offences, rather than reinventing
the wheel.
The Old Catholic Church have exposed
five of the “foremost difficulties” with what has
been put forward by the writers of the bill– issues
of definition, legal consistency, scope,
accountability and how the law will be applied.
Further concern is that the proposed
bill gives unique protection to the Church of
England, from the statute. All denominations and
members of faith communities that make up the Church
Universal should enjoy the same protections and
rights as others in civil society, and there should
be no difference whether one is Protestant, Catholic
or Muslim.
Many of the smaller denominations
have criticised the government’s intention to use
the Parliament Act to push through a law which has
attracted such vast opposition from faith and
secular organisations, as well as many members of
the legal profession.
“There is no question that all faiths
and minority groups face a growing level of menace
and harassment, and there needs to be lawful
protection. This is exactly what public order and
civil provisions are there to provide” Said
Archbishop Gary.
The Old Catholic Church of Great
Britain opposes the proposed law of blasphemy on
theological grounds. Any faith is corrupted when its
loyalty or defence is legally required by the
state. Archbishop Gary stated “We must be careful
that we do not unintentionally paint ourselves into
a legal corner that becomes a matter of religious
oppression.”
Let us all remember that Jesus
himself was tried and executed by a union of
political and religious forces who objected to his
subversive message. |
