Church minister sparks outrage after asking Christians to ‘pray for Prince George to be gay’
By Ross Semple
A Scottish Church minister has asked Christians to pray for Prince George to be gay.
The Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth, the provost of St Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow, made the comments in a blog on the inclusion of the LGBT community in the Church of England.
The post suggests nine ways people can force the Church of England to help the progression of LGBT rights within the church including pressure from the House of Commons and campaigning.
According to Holdsworth, the fastest way to bring LGBT inclusion to the Church of England is by praying “for the Lord to bless Prince George with a love, when he grows up, of a fine young gentleman.”
He added: “A royal wedding might sort things out remarkably easily though we might have to wait 25 years for that to happen. Who knows whether that might be sooner than things might work out by other means?”
The comments prompted a response from the Queen’s former chaplain, Rev Gavin Ashenden, who said praying for the Prince, aged four, to be gay is “unkind”.
He told Christian Today: “It is an unkind and destabilising prayer. It is the theological equivalent of the curse of the wicked fairy in one of the fairytales.”
“It is un-Christian as well as being anti-constitutional. It is a very long way from being a blessing for Prince George.”
The comments come following the announcement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement as well as a study that revealed nearly half of all Brits are opposed to a same-sex royal wedding.
More stories:
The secret world of cottaging explored in new photography exhibition
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to meet people living with HIV in first public engagement as a couple