It is confirmed. His Madness Benedict XVI will be visiting the United Kingdom at the invitation of PM Gordon Brown. This will be the first papal visit since another controversial catholic leader, John Paul II, came in 1982.

The frock does not make the man

The announcement came with a stern critic of the forthcoming Equality Bill that would remove the exemption given to the Catholic Church not to comply with anti-discrimination laws, particularly in the area of employment and adoption.

The Catholic Church is naturally entitled to have its own views and practices of discrimination; after all, the religious dogma is based on discrimination, between good and evil, between Christians and non-Christian, between Catholics and Protestants and so on. A discrimination that has played a crucial role in the darkest time of human history.

The reasoning being His Holiness’s position is that “in some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed.”

No one would be surprised to hear again the familiar argument of “Natural Law” being put forward, the same argument that was used to justify slavery, the domination of Whites over Blacks, of the developed over the developing, of the “civilised” over the “barbarian”, the argument used by the stronger to oppress the weaker and to also to discriminate against homosexuals, women, condoms…

But this time there is a twist: “Natural Law” according to His Silliness, guarantees the equality of all human beings! Once Natural Law served to justify discrimination, now it is the ground for equality! How it adds up with discrimination against homosexual is where it becomes interesting: the Equality Bill, by removing discrimination, imposes “unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs”. Put simply, the bill discriminates against discriminating beliefs, no matter how discriminating your beliefs are, that’s the domain of the Almighty. As a believer, you just have to follow.

There is not much to argue about with religious beliefs; after all they are beliefs, nothing else, and nothing more. But there are reasons to argue about tax payer money being used to throw a party for a religious leader whose views about society are at best out of sync with reality and at worse dangerous, be they on condoms, women, or family (particularly for someone who has renounced to carnal pleasure and family life).

Should Benedict be allowed to visit the UK? Yes, definitively. As a religious leader who has a tremendous though unjustified power of life and death over billions of individuals, banning him from visiting a country that has many of its roots in Christianity would not make sense. To receive it with honour is a different question. Lest we forget, when another Holiness, the Dalai Lama, visited the UK, much had to be done to minimise the importance of this visit, by fear of offending our Chinese lessor.

Is it justified to throw a party paid by the tax payer, many of them being discriminated by His Silliness understanding of Natural Law? Definitively not as this would amount to state-sponsored homophobia. And because we do not live anymore in a society where every aspects of our life is regimented by the clergy, we should make it clear, very clear, that Natural Law, or His Holiness Benedict XVI or any other spiritual adviser should be received with honours (s)he does not deserve.

Peter Tatchell has set up an online petition at Number 10.

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