I have received the following from a friend. It is a communique from The Christian Institute and merits our close attention and prayers.
More news on this and another similar case can be read at the Daily Mail.
You can tell which side the British Government is on as the legal fees of the "gay couple" in question are being paid by the government funded Equality and Human Rights Commission whereas the Christian Institute is funding the Bulls' defence.
The Christian owners of a Cornish guesthouse are due to appear in court on Monday because they restrict double bed accommodation to married couples. Peter and Hazelmary Bull are being sued by homosexuals, Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall, who claim the policy is discriminatory. The guesthouse is not just a business, it is also Mr and Mrs Bull's own home.Amen.
The case will be heard at Bristol County Court on Monday 13 December and is scheduled to last for two days.
The claim is brought under the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations, the same laws that have caused faith-based adoption agencies to close down or drop their religious ethos. If the claim against the guesthouse is successful, Mr and Mrs Bull may be ordered to pay up to £5,000 to Mr Preddy and Mr Hall for injury to their feelings.
Mr Preddy and Mr Hall's legal fees are being paid by the Government-funded Equality and Human Rights Commission. The Christian Institute is funding Mr and Mrs Bull's legal defence.
This case could determine whether Christians are permitted to operate B&Bs that restrict double bed accommodation to married couples.
Please pray:
- For Peter and Hazelmary Bull, that they will know God's love and support during this difficult time.
- For the judge, that he will come to a just decision.
- For our legal team, that they will present the case clearly and persuasively.
- For the news media, that they will publish balanced and accurate reports.
- For the staff of The Christian Institute, as we support and advise Peter and Hazelmary.
Just another sign of the times we live in. Pity there isn't a "conscience clause" for people who operate B&B's like we still have in the hospitals. There is no end to the brazeness of gay people who don't seem to realize that they are putting decent Christian people in a dilemma. It's all about them! Sick of it... And I will pray for the Bull's that they win their case.
ReplyDeleteThe Daily Mail report says this:
ReplyDelete"In August 2008, the Bulls received a letter from Stonewall, the gay rights organisation, saying it had received a complaint and warning the hotel it was breaking the law.
The following month Steven, from Bristol, rang to book a double room for two nights, but did not mention he was part of a homosexual couple."
I always say, if we Americans just look across the pond, we can see our future if we don't do something about it. Euthanasia, the homosexual agenda, etc--it's all coming if we don't continually fight and work to reform hearts and minds. If we do that successfully, then cultural change will happen naturally.
ReplyDeleteThe Christian Institute have lost every single case they have ever taken up so the future for this couple doesn't bode well!
ReplyDeleteIs it necessary to pray for these people? I mean, accepting that the homosexual lifestyle is morally disordered, do I have to support a bigot who cannot show compassion? Surely there is a difference between refusing to offer communion to a continuing homosexual and not letting one on your business premises because you dislike them. I mean, if an Anglican refused me a bed in his hotel because he didn't like Catholics I would take him to court. If he refused to let me participate in his sacraments (of course, I wouldn't want to!) then that would be a different matter - he would have a point. It seems like these hotel owners were operating a 'no room at the inn' policy to those they did not like, which seems to me to be in contradiction of our duty to love the sinners
ReplyDeleteWhen are seriously held beliefs bigotry? This couple have sincerely held beliefs that homosexual relations are disordered and immoral, which is what the Catholic Church and all truly Christian communities believe and teach. They simply do not want to facilitate those disordered practices on their premises. I am sure they would not object to renting single rooms or a room with single beds to the men in question. It is the men's request for a double bed that they refused to fulfill.
ReplyDeleteYour example of religious differences is quite different.
Of course we should love the sinner, but we should not co-operate in or facilitate the commission of sin. Rather, we should seek to prevent the sinner from sinning.
Fair enough Father, thanks for the clarification. *But*, would I not also be advised to prevent a Muslim from praying? That after all is a sin (breaking the first commandment), and I would be allowing him to practise it if I were to let him into my (hypothetical) guest house.
ReplyDeleteNot at all. There is nothing intrinsically disordered in a Muslim praying. In fact, it is natural for man to pray. It could also be argued that since he too is praying to the God of Abraham, he is not breaking the first commandment. Certainly, in his mind, he is worshipping the one God and not any strange god(s). The fact that the Muslim does not have the benefit of having received or accepted the revelation of Jesus Christ as God incarnate means that there is no sin being committed.
ReplyDeleteThanks again Father, yes, you're right, the God of Abraham is also the God of Islam. Really sorry to ask again (I am curious about the theological implications here, but will make this my last question): would this hold for one who HAD been received into the Holy Mother Church but denied its fundamental Truth? Would an apostate who had renounced the faith and moved to, say, Buddhism, or Scientology, or Atheism be covered? They would surely be committing a conscious sin against Natural Law.
ReplyDeleteEmail me privately for further answers to your queries. There is no moral problem in the cases you have suggested as I can explain privately.
ReplyDelete