From England-
One of the Church of England’s most prominent churchmen has said that under Labour’s proposed Equality Bill, he would fail to meet a government definition of clergy for purposes of protection against anti-discrimination lawsuits.
John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, told the House of Lords during a debate on the bill, “The movers of the bill may be of the view that archbishops and other clergy work only on Sundays, but if one looks at my diary, you will find that most of my days and evenings are not filled with preaching or taking services.”
“The same would go for most clergy and ministers and, I am sure, for leaders within other religious communities as well. The exemption is flawed,” he added.
Wording in the bill includes a definition of the phrase “for the purposes of organised religion,” saying the exemption from employment discrimination law applies only when “the employment wholly or mainly in-volves (a) leading or assisting in the observation of liturgical or ritualistic practices of the religion, or (b) pro-mo-ting or explaining the doctrine of the religion (whether to followers of the religion or to others).”
The Labour government has claimed that the bill does nothing more than consolidate existing legislation and regulations. Last month, Michael Foster, Labour's minister for Equality admitted, however, that passage of the Equality bill could lead to a flurry of legal actions against Christians who retain the traditional beliefs and practices of their faith.
More here-
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10010701.html
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