Pope invites anti-gay hate group leader to ‘traditional marriage’ summit
The Pope has invited the head of listed anti-gay hate group the Family Research Council to his summit on ‘traditional marriage’.
Pope Francis will open the ‘Complementary of Man and Woman’ conference on November 17, which brings together religious leaders from across different faiths who oppose same-sex marriage.
As well as representatives from the Catholic Church and other forms of Christianity, speakers from 23 countries will purportedly represent the views of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Taoism and Sikhism.
However, Right Wing Watch reports that anti-gay activist Tony Perkins – whose group is listed as an active homophobic hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centre – has been invited to the Pontiff’s gathering.
Mr Perkins is an extremist figure in the US, and has been repeatedly condemned by the Jewish Anti-Defamation League for comparing gay rights to the holocaust.
This year alone he has warned that Christian business owners who oppose gay rights are being sent to “concentration camps”, and called for the abolition of judges who rule in favour of same-sex marriage.
Decrying Perkins this summer, the Anti Defamation League said: “There is no comparison between contemporary American political issues and the actions of Hitler’s regime during the Holocaust.
“Such inappropriate analogies only serve to trivialize the Holocaust and are deeply offensive to Jews and other survivors, as well as those Americans who fought valiantly against the Nazis in World War II.”
Representatives from the US Southern Baptist Convention and from the Mormon church – both of which fiercely oppose same-sex marriage – are also slated to attend, as part of a united front against marriage equality.
