UK Church Bans Gay Author’s Visit To Catholic School
14.03.2022 - 08:31
/ starobserver.com.au
A Catholic Church in the United Kingdom has banned an award-winning gay author from visiting and speaking at two schools near London. The Archdiocese of Southwark cancelled the talks by young adult fiction writer Simon James Green at the two schools. Green was scheduled to speak at The John Fisher School in Purley, South London on March 7 and at St John’s Primary School in Gravesend, Kent on March 9.
Online news website Inews reported that Dr Simon Hughes, director of education at the Archdiocese of Southwark, also removed a number of members of the governing board, who had supported the school’s decision to invite the author. This followed a campaign by a Catholic website claiming that boys were being “misled into accepting, as normal and good, sexual behaviour which is condemned by Christ’s Church”.You can’t be made gay by reading about gay characters in books. If you’re LGBT, you’re LGBT.
I want LGBT kids to find comfort and understanding in my books, and non-LGBT kids to understand other lives, empathise, see we’re really not so different.— Simon James Green (@simonjamesgreen) March 9, 2022Green described the news as “upsetting” in a thread. “This was an event where I talk about being an awkward teenager, the power of comedy, my career, and about an 8 min section of the importance of LGBT representation.
The school really wanted this to happen, but the (Archdiocese of Southwark) had other ideas. They wanted the visit stopped,” said Green. “You can’t be made gay by reading about gay characters in books.
If you’re LGBT, you’re LGBT. I want LGBT kids to find comfort and understanding in my books, and non-LGBT kids to understand other lives, empathise, see we’re really not so different,” said Green. The Department of
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