Like many people I'm not quite certain what to make of Peter Tatchell. He is variously described as a "human rights" activist and a "gay rights activist". He was a Labour Party candidate at a by-election in the early 80s and was on the nasty end of the UK's "free press". He also tried to make a "citizen's arrest" on Robert Mugabe and ended up being badly beaten. We have one or two friends in common who speak very highly of him.
Last week I was a little surprised to see him mentioned in an official Methodist Church press release. I did not know Peter Tatchell was a Methodist. I've queried this with the officials at Church House but have yet to receive a reply.
Peter is busy running a campaign called "Protest the Pope" . Our own Methodist President is excited by the prospect of meeting "His Holiness" at Edinburgh Castle. Peter's campaign claims that among its motivations is that they accuse The Pope of "failing to address the many cases of abuse of children within its own organisation."
Meanwhile the Daily Mail is running a completely scurrilous article about Peter Tatchell (remember, held up as a role model in a recent Methodist press release) in which he is quoted as saying in 1997: "The positive nature of some child-adult sexual relationships is not confined to non-Western cultures. Several of my friends – gay and straight, male and female – had sex with adults from the ages of nine to 13. None feel they were abused. All say it was their conscious choice and gave them great joy.
‘While it may be impossible to condone paedophilia, it is time society acknowledged the truth that not all sex involving children is unwanted, abusive and harmful.’
This morning we prayed that Benedict's visit to Birmingham should pass without incident. Apparently he is going past our house on the Hagley Road, though I don't think it will be on the number 9 or 126. However I remain concerned that our friends at Church House haven't really thought through the implications of mentioning Peter as a role model.
If the Daily Mail have misquoted Peter - and let's face it the Daily Mail get many things wrong - then we should put the record straight. However if Peter really did say that children aged nine to 13 were abused and it gave them "great joy", we really should think again about who we quote in Methodist Church press releases.![]()
Last week I was a little surprised to see him mentioned in an official Methodist Church press release. I did not know Peter Tatchell was a Methodist. I've queried this with the officials at Church House but have yet to receive a reply.
Peter is busy running a campaign called "Protest the Pope" . Our own Methodist President is excited by the prospect of meeting "His Holiness" at Edinburgh Castle. Peter's campaign claims that among its motivations is that they accuse The Pope of "failing to address the many cases of abuse of children within its own organisation."
Meanwhile the Daily Mail is running a completely scurrilous article about Peter Tatchell (remember, held up as a role model in a recent Methodist press release) in which he is quoted as saying in 1997: "The positive nature of some child-adult sexual relationships is not confined to non-Western cultures. Several of my friends – gay and straight, male and female – had sex with adults from the ages of nine to 13. None feel they were abused. All say it was their conscious choice and gave them great joy.
‘While it may be impossible to condone paedophilia, it is time society acknowledged the truth that not all sex involving children is unwanted, abusive and harmful.’
This morning we prayed that Benedict's visit to Birmingham should pass without incident. Apparently he is going past our house on the Hagley Road, though I don't think it will be on the number 9 or 126. However I remain concerned that our friends at Church House haven't really thought through the implications of mentioning Peter as a role model.
If the Daily Mail have misquoted Peter - and let's face it the Daily Mail get many things wrong - then we should put the record straight. However if Peter really did say that children aged nine to 13 were abused and it gave them "great joy", we really should think again about who we quote in Methodist Church press releases.
