MP Calls the Pope A Bloke in a Dress, by Adam Hewitt, Reading Chronicle, February 4, 2010

MP Calls the Pope 'A Bloke in a Dress'

By Adam Hewitt
Reading Chronicle
February 4, 2010

http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/reading/articles/2010/02/04/44683-mp-calls-the-pope-a-bloke-in-a-dress/

UNITED KINGDOM -- MARTIN Salter apologised last night after attacking the Pope in a blogpost.

The Labour Reading West MP writes for the website of The Telegraph where he speaks out on the issues of the day, but Tuesday's musings on the Pope's input into the Equality Bill triggered a huge backlash.

Martin Salter

In the blog Mr Salter:

- called Pope Benedict "a bloke in a dress"

- accused Catholic ministers of a "narrow-minded world view of Saints and the Cursed-at-Birth destined to spend an eternity burning in Hell".

- said he finds the "hypocrisy of the Church reprehensible".

- claimed "there's at least one group - predatory paedophiles - that are recognised by the Catholic Church as a minority that need protection. Sadly for His Holiness, this crowd aren't covered by the Equality Bill."

Mr Salter wrote: "Yesterday's comments by the Pope on Britain's lawmaking could possibly be the first time that a bloke in a dress has complained about equality legislation."

Fr Bruce Barnes, parish priest at Christ the King Catholic Church in Whitley, said: "This is rather a cheap slur and it's very unfortunate when this sort of invective is used.

"If you criticise the Pope, you in effect criticise the whole Catholic Church.

"I'm sorry if Martin Salter finds us offensive - he should perhaps remember all the good work the Church has done in his constituency."

More than 100 people commented on Mr Salter's article, most of them deeply unhappy with its contents, including 'Jim' who labelled it "anti-Catholic hate speech".

Another reader, Laurence England, wrote: "Martin Salter MP. I am a Catholic. I revere and respect the Holy Father because he is the exact opposite of you."

Adrian Windisch, who has stood against Mr Salter for the Green Party and is standing in Reading West again this year, said Mr Salter's accusations of hypocrisy could be turned back on him. He said: "He is an expert at hypocrisy, he often says one thing and does the opposite - Iraq, Gurkhas, hunting, blogging, etc."

Mr Salter, 55, who will stand down at the general election, said yesterday (Wednesday): "It was certainly not my intention to cause any major offence to Catholics or anybody else in my latest blog post and I am sorry if people are upset by what I had to say.

"All I was seeking to do was to make some serious points in a somewhat light-hearted way. I am not against religion in any form and I have worked closely with faith groups in the town and I am a member of the Reading Inter-Faith Group. I can guarantee, however, that my future posts will not hesitate to poke fun at other religions and other political parties, including my own.

"However, I do strongly believe that religion and politics can often be a dangerous mix and I believe I am entitled to question the right of a foreign religious leader to tell the elected British Parliament how it should vote."

Amendments made to the Equality Bill in the House of Lords introducing an exemption for religious bodies are likely to be accepted by Harriet Harman. But Mr Salter insisted she was not backing down because of the Pope's intervention, but rather because the Government was "running out of time to engage in a lengthy conflict between the Commons and the Lords".