UNITED KINGDOM
Telegraph
Cardinal Keith O’Brien’s ‘sexual conduct’ has rightly left many gay men and women feeling furious and damaged. Ironically it is his hypocritical intolerance for homosexuality that has ended up harming his “physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing”, writes Alice Arnold.
By Alice Arnold
10:57AM GMT 05 Mar 2013
Homosexuality is “harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of those involved”. So says Cardinal Keith O’Brien. I will be the first to admit that in his case this has been absolutely true. Of course while the Cardinal, or rather ex Cardinal, suffers with his conscience the topic of homosexuality in the Catholic Church comes to the fore once again.
I have made no bones about the fact that I am not a religious person and normally I would leave the Church to its own devices. However, the Catholic Church is such a huge institution influencing opinion over great swathes of the earth; it would be churlish to ignore it.
Do we feel sorry for Keith? That’s the question on which listeners were asked to give their opinion on BBC 5 Live yesterday morning. Well personally, yes I suppose I do, in the way that I feel sorry for anyone who is clearly going through turmoil and sees his life’s work reduced to hypocritical rantings.
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