An influential Church of Ireland voice has called on Ian Paisley jnr to resign from the Northern Ireland Executive, or apologise, following his recent remarks on homosexuality. Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent, reports.
An editorial in the current edition of the Church of Ireland Gazettesaid "not only should Mr Paisley apologise but, if he cannot, he should resign as a junior minister in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, the department which is charged with promoting equality in Northern Ireland.
"His comments are a complete disgrace to the Stormont administration and reflect sheer crassness." It recalled that Mr Paisley's remarks about gay and lesbian people in a recent Hot Press interview "were entirely unacceptable." It said that "despite calls for an apology for his comments, at the time of going to press Mr Paisley has not issued one.
"In fact, speaking last week on the BBC's Let's Talkprogramme, he compounded his offensiveness by saying that expressing regret about his words would be 'the worst thing I could do'."
While noting that the Anglican Communion's 1998 Lambeth Conference concluded that homosexual actions were "incompatible with Scripture", it pointed out that it had also called on members "to minister pastorally and sensitively to all irrespective of sexual orientation".
The editorial said the same resolution affirmed that many with a homosexual orientation were members of the church seeking pastoral care and moral direction.
It continued: "We commit ourselves to listen to the experience of homosexual persons and we wish to assure them that they are loved by God and that all baptised, believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ . . ."
The editorial recalled that the Church of Ireland bishops, in a September 2003 pastoral had, clearly rejected the "demeaning" of those attracted to others of the same sex.
The editorial concluded that "gay and lesbian members of the Church, as well as those of other religious outlooks, and of none, have every right to feel affronted by Mr Paisley's comments.
"If not withdrawn, his words will do nothing to encourage them, or surely any of us, to have confidence in an administration of which he is part."