Lord Alli attacks bishops in gay marriage row

By Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter Published: 9:00PM GMT 06 March 2010

Lord Alli has strike behind at claims his plans underneath Equality Act to force churches to theatre happy polite partnership ceremonies will land vicars in court.

Lord Alli, who is homosexual, says critics of eremite polite partnership ceremonies are dubious Church leaders and the open over the goods of a due new law.

The counterpart was responding to claims last week that Church of England vicars will be forced to hold homosexual "marriages" on their premises.

Lord Alli: happy matrimony is a feat for eremite leisure Vicars could be sued over happy marriages Vicars could be sued for refusing happy marriages Catholic church-funded matrimony group backs happy and unmaried relatives Archbishop of Canterbury faces last order in Anglican Communion over happy preaching Church of England bishops fright for frail togetherness of Anglicanism over new happy matrimony moves

Others critics of the new offer have warned that clergymen could be sued if they exclude to lift out polite partnership ceremonies in church.

Lord Alli, 45, who tabled an legislative addition to the Equality Bill that was upheld last week, accuses a little Church leaders of sensationalising the issue.

Writing for The Sunday Telegraph, Lord Alli says: "Religious leisure equates to vouchsafing the Quakers, the Unitarians and the Liberal Jews host polite partnerships: a preference that they had deliberate in request and motionless in conscience.

"But eremite leisure additionally equates to with regard to the preference of the Church of England and the Catholic Church decisions additionally done in request and taken in demur that they do not instruct to do so.

"That is what we concluded during the debate, and perplexing to fake differently is to wholly falsify the approach that this preference was taken."

Until now, polite partnerships, that grant same-sex couples to the same authorised rights of tied together spouses, have been limited to register offices and physical venues such as hotels and noble homes.

But, underneath Lord Alli"s new amendment, the anathema on the events receiving place on eremite premises will be lifted. The amendment, upheld on a free opinion by 95 to 21, still has to be authorized by MPs.

During last week"s debate, the Rt Rev David James, the Bishop of Bradford, warned of the "unintended consequences" of the move.

Lord Alli, who as Waheed Alli became a multi-millionaire media entrepreneur, singled out the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, the Bishop of Winchester for his majority severe criticism.

The Bishop of Winchester pronounced last week: "I hold that it [the amendment] will open, not the Church of England, but particular clergy, to charges of taste if they solemnize marriages as they all do, but exclude to host polite partnership signings in their churches. Unless the Government does something pithy about this, I hold that is the subsequent step."

However, Lord Alli, one of the couple of openly-gay Muslim politicians, writes: "I was thus saddened by the Bishop of Winchester, who attempted to characterize this discuss by suggesting that Church of England vicars will be forced to host polite partnerships in their building. Let"s not fake that this legislative addition forces anything onto anyone.

"Let"s not fake that particular preaching are going to face litigation. Let"s not fake that churches will have to close only for obeying Church of England law.

"This legislative addition was all about permitting eremite groups to conform their own law, and the Bishop of Winchester should be on top of sensationalising the issue.

Lord Alli additionally writes: "There can be no jealous the measureless disproportion that polite partnerships have done to British hold up given the initial ceremonies were achieved only over 4 years ago.

"People from all walks of hold up have been means to applaud as they watched their sons and daughters, their brothers and sisters, their uncles and aunts entering in to lasting unions with their partners.

"Indeed, it does appear rather bizarre that the Church of England shouldn"t inspire polite partnerships since, as with marriage, they foster fast and committed relationships."

The Labour counterpart is inexhaustible in his regard for Church leaders who have reacted definitely to his amendment.

He said: "I couldn"t determine some-more with the twenty bishops and former bishops who wrote to the Times last week, arguing that "to repudiate people of conviction the event of induction the majority critical guarantee of their lives in their peaceful church or synagogue, according to the liturgy, is seemingly discriminatory," and who urged that "every counterpart who believes in devout autonomy or in non-discrimination" should await the move.

Lord Alli concludes his article: "So let me assure the Bishop of Winchester and all those concerned: unless their eremite organization wants it, or unless Parliament changes the law, there is positively no risk of being forced to lift out any rite if they do not instruct to.

"In the end, it has to be a great thing that happy and lesbian couples of conviction wish to share their kinship with their congregation, and I unequivocally goal that some-more eremite groups will confirm to take this step. But the preference is theirs alone."