And what provoked such an absurd remark? Catholic adoption agencies refusing to help gay couples adopt.
(Daily Mail) — Christians who argue they should be exempt from equalities legislation are no different from Muslims who want to impose sharia law in Britain, a human rights chief has declared.
Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, said religious rules should end ‘at the door of the temple’ and give way to the ‘public law’ laid down by Parliament.
He said Catholic adoption agencies should drop their opposition to accepting gay couples — even if it conflicts with their religious beliefs – because they were providing a public service.
Last year, following a High Court case, the Charity Commission ruled against an exemption for Catholic Care, a Leeds adoption agency.
Last night his remarks were condemned as ‘totalitarian’ by religious leaders, but they were welcomed by secular groups.
Speaking at a debate in London on diverse societies, Mr Phillips backed the new laws, which led to the closure of all Catholic adoption agencies in England.
‘You can’t say “because we decide we’re different then we need a different set of laws”,’ he said.
‘There’s nothing different in principle with a Catholic adoption agency, or indeed Methodist adoption agency, saying the rules in our community are different and therefore the law shouldn’t apply to us.
‘Why not then say sharia can be applied to different parts of the country? It doesn’t work.’