The row over Section 28 of the UK Local Government Act - which bans the promotion of homosexuality - gained momentum yesterday as Scottish Catholics hit back at their leader's recent condemnation of gays.
Cardinal Thomas Winning caused a storm of controversy when he asserted that homosexuality was a "perversion" last week. "All over Europe, an active and militant homosexual lobby is pushing for greater power and the threat to the Christian family is very real," Cardinal Winning said in Malta.
As Conservative figures moved to retain the disputed clause, the Scottish Communities Minister, Ms Wendy Alexander, asserted that its abolition was necessary, claiming that the law was making it impossible for teachers to tackle bullying. The retention of Clause 28 also acted to legitimise prejudice, she said. Ms Alexander first announced the move to repeal the clause last October as part of the forthcoming Ethical Standards in Public Life Bill.
Opinion polls in Scotland suggest that while approximately 60 per cent of people are in favour of retaining the clause, a similar percentage also feel that children should be taught that homosexuality is neither right nor wrong. It is expected that the repeal of Section 28 in Scotland will lead to its abolition throughout Britain.
The Labour MP, Mr George Galloway, stated that he was revolted by Cardinal Winning's use of the word "perversion" and added his voice to those calling for abolition. "In England it is recognised that this clause 28 was inspired by Thatcherites deliberately to create a new whipping boy . . . People knew that it had nothing to do with promoting homosexuality in schools. Nobody has ever promoted homosexuality in schools, how can you promote such a thing? A person is either homosexual or they are not."
Father Gordon Brown, of St Margaret's Church, near Edinburgh, also spoke out yesterday, indicating that many of Cardinal Winning's own priests were prepared to oppose him. "There are a large number of gay priests like me throughout Scotland and the feeling is that enough is enough . . . There are some who are fairly militant by nature and want to publicise the stance," he said.
Father Brown said a network of gay priests had been set up to offer each other support and told Cardinal Winning he was "wrong".
"I've been a priest for 30 years, but I've been gay for longer," he said.
Cardinal Winning, meanwhile, said that he regretted any offence his affirmations had caused. "In presenting the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on this issue I constantly return to the principle of loving the sinner while rejecting the sin," he said.
Last night, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, said section 28 was "a matter of concern" to him. "I condemn totally prejudice against anyone on the basis of sexual orientation," he said. "But I also resist placing homosexual relationships on an equal footing with marriage as the proper context for sexual intimacy."