English, Welsh bishops say Equality Bill redefines who can be priest

[Shana A]

English, Welsh bishops say Equality Bill redefines who can be priest
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
By Simon Caldwell, Catholic News Service

http://www.uscatholic.org/node/5129

LONDON (CNS) -- The Catholic bishops of England and Wales said they could be at risk of prosecution under a proposed law unless they accept women, sexually active gays and transsexuals as candidates to the priesthood.

They made their claims in a briefing for Catholic members of the House of Lords, Britain's upper political chamber, ahead of a scheduled Dec. 15 debate on the Equality Bill, which aims to stamp out discrimination in the workplace.

The bishops said the bill defines priests as employees rather than officeholders. Under the terms of the bill, the church would be immune from prosecution only if priests spend more than 51 percent of their time in worship or explaining doctrine.

[Allamakee]

This is a bogus concern.  The version of the Equality Bill, approved by the House of Commons and sent to the House of Lords, specifically allows religious organizations to restrict hiring to one specific sex, and to require that they not be married, and that they not be homosexual.  It also allows them to refuse to recognize the new gender of a transsexual person.

SCHEDULE 9 Section 83
WORK: EXCEPTIONS
PART 1
OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
<snip>
Religious requirements relating to sex, marriage etc., sexual orientation
2 (1) A person (A) does not contravene a provision mentioned in sub-paragraph
(2) by applying in relation to employment a requirement to which subparagraph
(4) applies if A shows that—
(a) the employment is for the purposes of an organised religion,
(b) the application of the requirement engages the compliance or nonconflict
principle, and
(c) the person to whom A applies the requirement does not meet it (or
A has reasonable grounds for not being satisfied that the person
meets it).
<snip>
(4) This sub-paragraph applies to—
(a) a requirement to be of a particular sex;
(b) a requirement not to be a transsexual person;
(c) a requirement not to be married or a civil partner;
(d) a requirement not to be married to, or the civil partner of, a person
who has a living former spouse or civil partner;
(e) a requirement relating to circumstances in which a marriage or civil
partnership came to an end;
(f) a requirement related to sexual orientation.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200910/ldbills/020/2010020.pdf