Backlash as top Anglican minister says: Pray Prince George is gay
AN Anglican minister has provoked a backlash by urging Christians to pray for Prince George to be gay to make the church more inclusive.
Critics yesterday called the Very Reverend Kelvin Holdsworth’s extraordinary recommendation ‘unkind’ and ‘profoundly un-Christian’.
And his own senior bishop warned that he would be having ‘discussions’ with him.
The senior Scottish cleric, Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow, made his comments about George, four, in a blog then repeated them this week as part of the debate in the Church of England and its sister churches over the rights of gay Christians. Provost Holdsworth, who is himself gay, said Christians should ‘ pray for the Lord to bless Prince George with a love, when he grows up, of a fine young gentleman.’
He added: ‘A royal wedding might sort things out remarkably easily though we might have to wait 25 years for that to happen.’
The remarks by the 51-year-old provost were part of a campaign to speed up the introduction of same-sex marriage into the Scottish Episcopal Church’s sister institution in England.
The Scottish branch of Anglicanism has long called for full equality for gay people in the church in a manner that has sometimes embarrassed Anglican leaders south of the border.
Former honorary chaplain to the Queen the Reverend Dr Gavin Ashenden said: ‘I understand what Kelvin is trying to do, but my objection is that Prince George isn’t just a media personality that can be used as a political football.
‘He’s a real child with real parents, and more than that he’s a prince who carries an expectation that he will produce a biological heir with a woman he loves. George will grow up with that burden just like his father.
‘It is an unkind and destabilising prayer. It is the theological equivalent of the curse of the wicked fairy in one of the fairy tales. It is un-Christian as well as being anticonstitutional. It is a very long way from being a blessing for Prince George.
‘Kelvin needs to apologise and should have thought twice before choosing to use a prince to promote his own political agenda.’
Susie Leafe, director of the Reform grouping which represents 500 evangelical CofE clerics, said: ‘ It is clear that Provost Holdsworth is prepared to do pretty much anything to get his way when it comes to samesex marriage.
‘But to give an argument that brings in a four-year-old prince is inappropriate. As a church we pray that children find the love of Jesus Christ and to put the love of a “fine young gentleman” above that is wrong.
‘ The comments show what Provost Holdsworth’s priorities are and as a result of this it might be appropriate for him to face some repercussions.’
Lee Gatiss of the Church Society, another conservative CofE organisation, said: ‘To co-opt the royal children to service a narrow sexual agenda seems particularly tasteless and, I should add, bizarrely illogical on his own grounds. Is he saying no one can “pray the gay away”, but you can pray it into someone?’ The Church of England this summer declared its opposition to attempts to persuade gay people to revert to heterosexual behaviour.
Born in Leeds and educated in Glasgow, Provost Holdsworth played a key role in campaigning for the legalisation of same- sex marriage in Scotland in 2014.
The Rt Rev Dr Gregor Duncan, Senior Bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church, said the comments were made on a personal blog and ‘do not represent an official view of the Scottish Episcopal Church’. He added that he would be ‘discussing this matter’ with Provost Holdsworth.
The provost was unavailable for comment yesterday.
‘He’s a real child with real parents’