Christian leaders slam ‘appalling and unAustralian’ gay activists
The nation’s most senior Christian leaders have described as “appalling” and “unAustralian” attacks from gay activists that have driven two Christian charities to request board secrecy.
And the Sydney Anglican Archbishop Glenn Davies has slammed the multinational corporates who surrender to those attacks as “weak-kneed”.
The Lachlan Macquarie Institute and the Australian Christian Lobby have been given permission by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission to keep their board members’ names private on the grounds of “public safety” after abuse and threats from gay activists.
Both organisations applied to the commission last week after gay rights activists targeted marriage equality advocate IBM Australia for employing Mark Allaby, who was on the institute’s board.
Archbishop Davies said it was an appalling indication of the state of national debate in Australia.
“It’s a very sad day in an Australian society which honours free speech and freedom of religion that one can be attacked because one holds to a particular faith,” he told The Australian.
“If religion is worth its salt, it is other-person centred.
“These social media attackers, they are all ‘me’-centred — it’s all about me and protecting my point of view and anyone who disagrees with me has to be vilified or ostracised or marginalised in such a way that the whole society goes against them.
“That is an appalling, unAustralian aspect which we need to address and needs to be knocked on the head by government. Multinational companies need to take a stand on this and show a little steel in their backbones; not be so weak-kneed in regard to addressing the issue and standing firm for their values.”
Archbishop Davies pointed to the dumped Coopers beer advertisement — sponsored by Coopers Brewery and The Bible Society — which featured Liberal MPs Andrew Hastie and Tim Wilson debating marriage equality as an example of corporate capitulation.
“Not that I thought it was a very good idea in the first place but nonetheless ... Coopers just crumpled to the opposition,” he said.
“I thought that was very poor — they put their financial situation ahead of their principles.’’
Archbishop Anthony Fisher, from the Catholic archdiocese of Sydney, said it was “deeply concerning when people of a Christian faith are forced to avoid going on the public record with their deeply held beliefs”.
“It is part of our culture that Australians of all faiths or no faith have the opportunity to contribute to full and open discussion on all issues — without intimidation, coercion or bullying,’’ he said.
