Posted on 11/09/2003 9:50:01 PM PST by Brian Allen
A bishop who angered homosexuals by suggesting they seek a psychiatric cure is to be investigated by police to see if his outspoken views amount to a criminal offence, it emerged yesterday.
The Right Reverend Doctor Peter Forster, the Bishop of Chester, infuriated homosexuals both in and out of the Church of England when he said last week that they could and should seek medical help to "reorientate" themselves.
The Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement [LGCM] accused him of putting forward an "offensive" and "scandalous" argument from a bygone age.
Cheshire Police have said that they are to investigate his comments, made in the local paper, the Chester Chronicle, after receiving a complaint that his views may incite people to turn against homosexuals.
In a statement released by the force, Assistant Chief Constable Graeme Gerrard said: "We are aware of the article in the Chester Chronicle and have received a complaint.
"We will examine the issues raised in the complaint and will speak to the reporter and the Bishop of Chester before considering any further action." A spokesman for the force added that it would send a copy of the article to the Crown Prosecution Service to see if any offence had been committed.
The bishop, who has in the past attacked the immorality of Britain and the ordination of homosexual bishops, spoke out after spending 18 months helping to write the Church of England report Some Issues in Human Sexuality - A Guide to Debate.
He told the newspaper that his research had led him to believe that homosexuals should seek medical help.
He said: "Some people who are primarily homosexual can reorientate themselves. I would encourage them to consider that as an option, but I would not set myself up as a medical specialist on the subject - that's in the area of psychiatric health."
Yesterday he refused to add to his views, but his spokesman said he would fully co-operate with any police inquiry.
Martin Reynolds, the communication director of the LGCM, welcomed the investigation into what he described as "scandalous" views. "These are irresponsible remarks that could inflame latent homophobia," he said.
"I am sure that the bishop is a very gentle man and his views are sincere. But many people in history who are gentle and sincere have said things that are evil.
"If he wants to say that homosexuality is a sin then he is entitled to his views but to say it is a psychiatric disorder is wrong.
"What is particularly worrying is that this man has spent 18 months researching this issue. We welcome the police investigation."
Mr Reynolds denied that the group had made the complaint but said it could have been one of their members.
It is not the first time that Doctor Forster, 53, who is married with four children, has expressed strong views about sexuality.
He is part of the All Souls Day Group which has declared war on what it sees as a tide of liberalism engulfing the Church.
As a response it has called for all Anglican Church leaders to back the 1998 Lambeth conference, which condemned sexual activity outside marriage.
The group also fiercely opposed the appointment of the openly homosexual Gene Robinson as the Bishop of New Hampshire, in America, which took place earlier this month.
Dr Forster was one of nine bishops who signed a letter opposing the appointment of Dr Jeffrey John, a non-practising homosexual, as Bishop of Reading. Dr John later decided not to take up his appointment.
The Public Order Act 1986 covers so called hate crimes, which the Metropolitan Police define as "abusing people because of their race, faith, religion or disability - or because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual".
Ginzburg and O'Connor need to be aborted !!!
People who have anonymous sex with multiple partners aren't exactly "normal" in my book.
That is correct. The Canadians used this stance -- backed up by the Canadian Supreme Court -- that laws that proscribe discrimination (or, in this case, "discriminatory speech") on the basis of race also reflexively apply to "sexual orientation," a leap that has not yet been made by American courts.
From a Lifesite.com blurb on the decision that tarred Dr. Laura north of the border (third item down):
The decision is very disturbing to pro-family Canadians as well as others who respect the findings of peer reviewed scientific and medical research. Dr. Laura identifies homosexual acts as "aberrant", "deviant", and "disordered" in keeping with her Jewish Orthodox faith, but demonstrates her own brand of hard-nosed concern for the individuals who engage in such practices. Nevertheless, the C[anadian] B[roadcast] S[tandards] C[ouncil] would not recognize this separation of behaviour from the person: "Since the sexual practices of gays and lesbians define them as homosexuals and are inseparable from their personas, any attempt by [Dr. Laura] to justify her statements on the basis that she is speaking about the practices rather than the individuals must fail."
Actually they ought to have their souls oeverhauled.
"The Right Reverend Doctor Peter Forster, the Bishop of Chester, infuriated homosexuals both in and out of the Church of England when he said last week that they could and should seek medical help to "reorientate" themselves"
There is NO reason why they can't be NORMAL heterosexuals. Many homos turn back to being normal heterosexuals ONCE their emotional problems are addressed and THEY WANT help to overcome these emotional problems.
I wouldn't believe this if I didn't read it on FR. This is absolutely insane.
Now evil is not criminal. Speaking out against evil is criminal.
As Pascal noted 400 years ago: Those who indulge in perversion tell those who are living normal lives that it is they who are deviating from what is natural. They think they are following a natural life themselves. They are like people on a ship who think it is those on shore who are moving away. Language is relative everywhere. But we need a fixed point for those who are moving aboard ship. But in morality, where are we going to find a harbor?
(697-383)Pensees, from The Mind On Fire, page 53,Multnomah Press,1989
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