Pastors were ordered to hand over sermons that
mentioned homosexuality to lawyers acting for the lesbian mayor of Houston , Texas
The demand for “all speeches, presentations, or
sermons” on issues including homosexuality and transsexualism came in the
middle of a row over a local gay rights law.
Following a religious liberty backlash Houston
mayor Annise Parker conceded that the order was “overly broad”, but is still
demanding some sermons from pastors in the city. Continue...
On Twitter she said: “If the 5 pastors used
pulpits for politics, their sermons are fair game”.
One of the pastors affected, Revd David Welch,
said the city’s actions were a “complete abuse of authority”.
Another pastor described the demand as an
attempt to stop church ministers speaking about the cultural issues of the day.
Alliance Defending Freedom, which is supporting
the pastors, commented: “City council members are supposed to be public
servants, not ‘Big Brother’ overlords who will tolerate no dissent or
challenge”.
The row stems from Houston
Critics raised concerns about HERO and organised
a 50,000-strong petition against it.
The petition was certified, but was subsequently
thrown out over claims that not enough signatures were valid.
The rejection of the petition prompted a lawsuit
from those opposed to HERO, which led to the city’s lawyers calling for sermons
from five pastors in the area.
The lawyers called for “all speeches,
presentations, or sermons related to HERO, the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker,
homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or
approved by you or in your possession”.
Tony
Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, called on pastors across the
country to rally behind the Houston
"The state is breaching the wall of separation between church and state," Perkins told Fox News. "Pastors need to step forward and challenge this across the country.
"I'd like to see literally thousands of pastors after they read this story begin to challenge government authorities — to dare them to come into their churches and demand their sermons."
"The state is breaching the wall of separation between church and state," Perkins told Fox News. "Pastors need to step forward and challenge this across the country.
"I'd like to see literally thousands of pastors after they read this story begin to challenge government authorities — to dare them to come into their churches and demand their sermons."
Source: The Christian Institute
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