Cardinal accused of scaremongering

A Catholic cleric who hit out at the "madness" of the Government's gay marriage plans has been condemned for "scaremongering".


Cardinal Keith O'Brien attacked plans to
'redefine marriage for the whole of society
at the behest of a small minority'

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, accused the coalition of trying to "redefine reality" and claimed the proposals were a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right."

...Margot James, the first openly lesbian Conservative MP, criticised the "apocalyptic language" used by the Cardinal and accused him of "scaremongering"

"I think it is a completely unacceptable way for a prelate to talk," she told BBC 1's Andrew Marr Show. "I think that the Government is not trying to force Catholic churches to perform gay marriages at all. It is a purely civil matter."

Labour's Deputy Leader Harriet Harman said she hopes the comments would not end up "fuelling or legitimising prejudice". "We have had prejudice, discrimination and homophobia for hundreds of years, that doesn't make it right," she told the show.

"I don't want anybody to feel that this is a licence for whipping up prejudice."

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