Home for Retired Missionaries Loses Funding on Gay Issues in Questionaire
Brighton Council requests care home for elderly Christians to ask its residents about their sexual orientation and cuts funding when rejected.
Brighton Council requested the care home for elderly Christians to ask its residents about their sexual orientation four times each year as well as to use images of homosexuals in its promotional literature and show a presentation on gay rights to staff. When this request was rejected, the home lost the funding from the local council on grounds of its religious beliefs on homosexuality. Managers at the care home explained that to comply with the demands would unduly distress the elderly residents and undermine the home’s Christian ethos. Residents at the Brighton home are made up of 39 single Christians aged over 80, including former missionaries and a retired church minister. Mr Wainwright said: “There was a strong feeling among people in the home that the questions were inappropriate and intrusive. They felt they had come to Pilgrim Homes because of its Christian ethos and were upset they were not protected from such intrusions.” However council officials accused the home of “institutionalised homophobia” and pulled £13,000 of funding. A spokesman for Brighton & Hove Council said: “The Government specifically states the home must be open to the gay and lesbian community and that it must demonstrate this to qualify for funding. In the absence of any willingness to do this, funding has been withdrawn.” The Christian Institute’s Mike Judge said: “This case is the latest in a series of troubling incidents where the rights of Christians are seemingly being ignored in favour of ‘gay rights’.” We thank the Christian Institute for this report: http://www.christian.org.uk/pressreleases/2009/01january/09jan09.html View also: www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1102206/Home-retired-missionaries-loses-grant--wont-ask-residents-lesbians.html