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Bishop urges gay people to repent
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The Bishop of Rochester has been accused of going "against Christ's gospel" after he urged homosexuals to "repent and be changed".
Equality campaigner Peter Tatchell said Dr Michael Nazir-Ali should "repent his homophobia" which went against Jesus's teachings of love and compassion.
The Church of England bishop, who is stepping down from his post in September, told The Sunday Telegraph: "The Bible's teaching shows that marriage is between a man and a woman. That is the way to express our sexual nature. We welcome homosexuals, we don't want to exclude people, but we want them to repent and be changed."
Mr Tatchell said: "As an Asian man, the Bishop knows the pain of racial prejudice. I am shocked that he wants to inflict similar prejudice on gay people.
"Homophobia is a social and moral evil, just like racism. Bigotry, even in the guise of religion, has no place in a compassionate, caring society. I call on the Bishop to repent his homophobia. His prejudice goes against Christ's gospel of love and compassion."
Derek Munn, director of public affairs for gay rights group Stonewall, also criticised Dr Nazir-Ali's comments.
"It is unfortunate that in 2009, a church leader should continue to promote inequality and intolerance," he told the newspaper. "Stonewall knows that most people of faith are accepting of lesbian and gay people. We also know that many lesbian and gay people who are themselves religious believers are not well served by some of those who claim to speak on their behalf."
The Bishop's comments came after more than half a million people, including the Prime Minister's wife Sarah Brown, took to the streets of London to celebrate gay culture at the annual Pride festival.
The remarks also come ahead of the launch in the UK and Ireland of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, a coalition of conservative parishes from around the world.
The evangelical group, which campaigns against active homosexuality in the Anglican communion, counts Dr Nazir-Ali among its supporters.
