‘Gay rights’ madness
Pilgrim Homes, a Christian charity that has been caring for older Christians for more than 200 years, has lost thousands of pounds of funding because of its religious beliefs on homosexuality.
Brighton & Hove City Council wanted the home in Brighton to ask its elderly Christian residents about their sexual orientation every three months. The council also wanted the home to use images of homosexuals in its promotional literature and show a Stonewall presentation on ‘gay rights’ to staff.
Among the residents at the Brighton home are a number of elderly Christians aged over 80, including former missionaries and a retired church minister. Managers at the care home explained that to comply with the demands would unduly distress the elderly residents and undermine the home’s Christian ethos.
They pointed out that people of this age consider sexual matters to be a private issue and regard questioning of this kind as hostile and intrusive. But council officials accused the home of ‘institutionalised homophobia’ and pulled £13,000 of funding which was being used to provide warden services in sheltered housing.
Pilgrim Homes has spent months seeking to resolve the matter with the local authority. But having reached an impasse, it has told the council of its intention to take legal action for religious discrimination. The case is being backed by the Christian Institute’s legal defence fund.
